31 of the
595 complaints filed about the Mercedes Benz Sprinter 2500
are about the throttle and cruise control —
5% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2016.
31
Complaints
5%
Share of all complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
Acceleration & Cruise Control complaints by model year
The contact owns a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the highway. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Mercedes Benz of Billings (3045 King Ave W, Billings, MT 59102); but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
NHTSA complaint #11621205 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact stated that on several occasions when the vehicle was started, the message "Distance Assistance Currently Unavailable" was displayed. The contact also stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the cruise control was activated, but the option failed to appear on the screen. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 8,149.
NHTSA complaint #11613946 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Depressing accelerator while in 'D'rive or 'R'everse does not increase RPM or power and vehicle does not move. While keeping the pedal pressed to the floor it will then slowly RPMs will increase and it will creep forward. It will rev. while in park or neutral.
NHTSA complaint #11600124 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving the MB sprinter with distronic cruise control and there are no vehicles around the cruise control option on the sprinter will disable itself and fail to restart until it senses another vehicle object around. I have noticed this many times while driving long distance on the interstate.
NHTSA complaint #11547014 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
None responsive throttle, driving on highway and engine loses power and loses all throttle response causing rapid slowing to traffic behind the vehicle. No warning lamps and CEL’s. Problem occurs at random times with no CEL or warning.
NHTSA complaint #11519989 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The vehicle will lose power at high altitudes. I will push the gas pedal all the way down and the RPMs do not move nor does the vehicle move. This has left me in dangerous situations at intersections. I have spoken with a Mercedes dealer in Denver and they have multiple reports of this problem. The vehicle only has 1800 miles and this has happened multiple times at altitude.
NHTSA complaint #11516619 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
At elevations above about 6,500ft, the Sprinter is essentially immobile or becomes intermittently unresponsive to the gas pedal when it is depressed. This happens routinely at elevation and has led to unresponsive acceleration while driving. The unresponsive accelerator has compromised safety when trying to pull out onto roads. This issue has occurred frequently to other Sprinter owners in similar conditions. No warning lights, lamps, or messages appear or are associated with this issue. This issue appears difficult to replicate at Mercedes dealerships/service centers as they are all below the affected elevation. When describing the issue to a MB service representative, I was told it was “normal”. Though an unresponsive accelerator should not be written off and discarded as normal when it has the easy potential to inflict harm its passengers.
NHTSA complaint #11515268 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2012 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact stated that on various occasions after coming to a stop at a traffic signal, the vehicle was stalling and shaking while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the engine revved loudly before accelerating. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer on various occasions; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to several unknown dealers for routine maintenance services, and the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 16,000.
NHTSA complaint #11512377 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
it grovernor at 7o mph which you can not pass. you can not go up some hills at the speed limit it will not idle it turn off all the time, to keep the van idling you have to put it in drive and put on the e brake and hope it does not move the back doors are always lock and when you unlock the back doors, the van turn off , in the cold months your passengers freeze. This may not sound like must to you but come and drive this van this could be a bad safety issue. this van is wrongfully and poorly engineer.
NHTSA complaint #11503321 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The cruise control system and related systems (distance control and automatic braking) repeatedly malfunction. Specifically the systems go off and on without warning. For example, when driving at highway speed the systems will suddenly shut off causing the vehicle to slow down (presumably without brake lights to alert the driver behind). Also presumably the automatic braking ceases to work when this happens This problem began shortly after I purchased the vehicle in May 2021 and I have brought it in for three unsuccessful repair attempts. Internet research reveals that this is apparently a common problem.
NHTSA complaint #11491500 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When driving in a low-density area, on roads with little to no traffic, the vehicle assumes that the radar has failed if it does not see a vehicle in front of it for a long enough time. Since this is a larger van, I tend to drive 65mph on higher speed roads such as an interstate. Many cars understandably pass me as the speed limit is usually much higher. Even though they pass me the van does not register that car on the radar in regard to its failure state. When the radar "detects" that it's failed (which it has not) it disables the adaptive cruise control, emergency braking, and in general any speed control. This is a very drastic measure for a device that has not actually failed. Again, all cruise/ speed control functionality is disabled, and the vehicle must be driven with the peddle while the radar is in a "failure" state. To restore functionality, I have to tailgate another car, if there is one around, for 5 to 10 miles. Once the radar is happy with seeing enough return signals it will re-engage the adaptive cruise control and emergency braking. If there are no other vehicles around for the next hour the process repeats. Attached are photos that should also be geo-marked, along with a screenshot showing the progression of the photos on a map.
NHTSA complaint #11491076 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The adaptive cruise control system and forward collision system since the vehicle was new has frequently not worked or stops working. The cruise control system that is tied to the forward collision systems would stop working causing the vehicle to decelerate as no throttle input was present and cause the need to use the foot throttle. The vehicle is available for inspection. As this has happened while driving at freeway speeds with traffic around I consider this a hazard. This problem has been present since the vehicle was new and continues to the present time even after dealership fixes. The dealership is aware of this problem and initially tried to “ recalibrate the sensors “ with no success, and finally found that the wire connectors were not connected properly. Since this fix was performed the cruise control has continued to turn off primarily if minimal forward traffic is sensed, but proceeds to reset either later the same day or the following day. As the vehicle his under warranty and has not been involved in an accident the only people who have seen it are the dealership. The vehicle will give two warnings at the time of the system failing 1.”Active Distance Assist Inoperative “, and 2. “Active Brake Assist Functions Limited See Owners Manual”. For the dates and mileage listed below this issue has been present with the vehicle since new to current as an intermittent issue so the dates and mileage do not represent the actual events. Having looked at van blogs on this issue this is an common problem with owners of vans and other Mercedes vehicles with the radar adaptive cruise control referred to as “Distronic “
NHTSA complaint #11488639 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Brand new van with less than 1000 miles on it. Driving in the High Sierras 8600 - 9000 ft. Altitude seems to be related to this problem. I have not had the problem in San Francisco on steep hills. Problem: When leaving a stop, on any uphill slope RPMs will stay well under 2000 and the van barely moves or not at all. Occurs even with full throttle, manually in lowest gear and in low range (low range 4wd helped a little), warmed up, etc. The to get the rpm's up to back up to a flat spot. This was very scary when entering the highway. When that was impossible, such as in a dip in the road certainly would have have to call a tow truck. Driving as slow as desired on an uphill was possible because if the RPM's dropped below 2000 the van would slow to a stop even with the pedal to the floor. If I managed to anticipate a hill while driving slowly I'd have to depress the accelerator pedal fully it prior to incline. If successful, RPM's would stay above 2000 and the van would have all the power needed (and more would develop instantly) requiring extreme finesse to prevent spinning the wheels.
NHTSA complaint #11483136 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Wheel speed sensor malfunction, partially addressed in NHTSA recall ID: 21V042 Why only rear speed sensors? As of Aug. 2, 2022, I am facing the replacement of both front speed sensors one of which was replaced a year ago. No ABS braking, No stability control, faulty parts creating on going safety problems not addressed in recall 21V042.
NHTSA complaint #11477365 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The distronic cruise control system cuts out after a period of seeing no vehicles in front, sometimes an hour, sometimes two hours. But when this happens, it then begins disabling other safety systems like emergency braking. There is no way to quickly reset the system. I spoke with the Mercedes Benz Dealer about this (van is brand new and this happened twice on my first trip) and I was told that this is both common in the 2019 and older Sprinter Vans, and that it is just a idiosyncrasy of the system. How is this safe? How have there not been any changes to this system in 3 years?
NHTSA complaint #11468531 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
There is a known issue and recall for wheel speed sensors on Mercedes Sprinter 3500 models. However, this same issue applied to 2500 models also. Along with other RV owners, I have just experienced this problem. I was in city traffic when all the sudden multiple warning lights came on: "ESP, visit workshop", "Brake force distribution, visit workshop", ABS warning light, ESP, warning light, collision prevention malfunction warning light, check engine light with fault code U0416. The presence of all these errors, beeping, red messages sounds extremely scary to any driver. The fact that it says brake force distribution isn't working properly suggests a hazardous condition that could lead to a crash if brakes are not working properly. Since this is being caused by a failing wheel speed sensor, these should all be replaced and the recall expanded to include other models like mine.
NHTSA complaint #11440448 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2016 Mercedes-Benz 2500. The contact stated while driving 21 mph, the vehicle independently accelerated when the brake pedal was depressed. The contact was not able to control the vehicle however, the contact was able to shift the vehicle into neutral to stop the vehicle. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer nor an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was relating the failure to faulty wheel speed sensors. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,600.
NHTSA complaint #11424928 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
VEHICLE ACCELERATES UNCHARACTERISTICALLY SLOWLY UPON COLD START IN COLD TEMPERATURES / HIGH ELEVATION. MANY DOCUMENTED CASES IN PREVIOUS AND CURRENT MODEL SPRINTER WHICH USES THE SAME OM642 DIESEL ENGINE. HTTPS://SPRINTER-SOURCE.COM/FORUMS/INDEX.PHP?THREADS/71254/ THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE TIMES WHERE I TRIED TO CROSS AN INTERSECTION OR MAKE A LEFT ACROSS A HIGHWAY UPON RECENT COLD START AND THE VAN ACCELERATED VERY SLOWLY, LEAVING ME MOVING VERY SLOWLY ACROSS THE OPPOSING TRAFFIC LANE(S).
NHTSA complaint #11406089 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
WHILE DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY AND PASSING UNDER A ROAD SIGN DESCRIBING THE NEXT EXIT, THE SPRINTER VAN AUTOMATIC CRASH AVOIDANCE KICKED IN, CAUSING THE VAN TO AUTOMATICALLY JAM ON THE BRAKES AND LOSE APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH WHILE CAUSING THE WHEEL TO PULL DECIDEDLY TO THE LEFT. THERE WERE NO VEHICLES IN FRONT OR BEHIND, AND THANKFULLY ENOUGH NONE CLOSE ENOUGH TO CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. THIS IS A FAIRLY COMMON OCCURRENCE, AND EVEN IF THE BRAKES DO NOT ENGAGE, THE CRASH AVOIDANCE ALERT SOUND WILL OFTEN TIMES CHIME AND STARTLE THE DRIVER FOR OTHER OVERHEAD OBSTACLES LIKE TRAFFIC SIGNS AND TUNNEL ENTRIES. THIS FEATURE, ALONG WITH LANE DEPARTURE ASSIST (WHICH ALSO IS BUGGY) AUTOMATICALLY TURNS ON AFTER EVERY RESTART, EVEN AFTER BEING TURNED OFF MANUALLY. IT IS UNSAFE.
NHTSA complaint #11397255 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
WHILE DRIVING AT APPROX. 65 MPH THE CRUISE CONTROL WENT OFF AND THREE WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON INCLUDING ABS AND 2 OTHER NEXT THAT ONE LOOKING LIKE A SWERVE CONTROL OR SLIPPERY ROAD CONDITION AND ANOTHER TIRE LOOKING LIGHT. NOT SURE OF OTHER TWO LIGHT AS THIS WAS MY FIRST DRIVE IN THIS VEHICLE WHICH I HAD DRIVEN AROUND 800 MILES THIS DAY. I PULLED OVER AND ATTEMPTED TO GET BACK ON THE ROAD AS I WAS IN A DANGEROUS LOCATION ON A STEEP HILL. UPON RESTART IT STARTED TO REV THEN BRAKE MULTIPLE TIMES CAUSING GREAT DANGER IN MY ATTEMPT TO GET BACK ON THE ROAD. I IMMEDIATELY WENT INTO NEXT SIDE EXIT AND SHIP OFF. IT WAS AN EXTREMELY COLD NIGHT AND I HAD TO SPEND THE NIGHT IN MY VEHICLE.
NHTSA complaint #11389718 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.