What 67 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Mercedes-benz Sprinter 2500 Crew

When driving on a cold rainy day, I turned on defrost heat to clear my windscreen. No heat came out. AC, fans and zone select worked fine, but no heat. So I had to stop repeatedly on a narrow road to wipe windshield. After reviewing user forums, some pointed to a known problem with these Sprinter vans. Apparently the actuator servo motor that controls the heater flap can get stuck at limit positions and fail. This explains why my heater is stuck on cold. Also mentioned in forum, there is also a manufacturer software update that prevents this issue by keeping the actuator servo motor from moving to the very last position (cold or hot). This simple preventive fix was never offered to us during our warranty period. Some forum users went further with a modification to servo motor shaft - apparently this fixed the undesirable flexing on heater flap. Now that the servo motor has failed and I no longer have any heat, I do recognize that there were warning signs. I now recall there were occasional instances where my temperature select did not have any effect until I drove the temperature all the way up or down. I believe this was the servo motor getting stuck briefly but it became unstuck before it completely failed. I feel this can be a grave safety issue because of individual circumstance. Most times it may be an annoyance. But in certain conditions (as I experienced) it will be a significant impediment to driver visibility. It also exposed me to roadside risk when I stopped to wipe inside of windshield.

NHTSA ODI 11633974

The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact purchased the vehicle with open recall NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V100000 (Visibility, Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11525594

The main display screen in the unit has failed, which means the following is no longer functional: Reverse camera (rearview camera image) ; Traction control settings ; Lane Departure system settings ; Door lock settings ; Vehicle lighting settings

NHTSA ODI 11433096

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 MERCEDES-BENZ SPRINTER 2500. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 15 MPH, WHEN HE HEARD AN EXPLOSION AND SAW THAT THE REAR DRIVER SIDE WINDOW HAD EXPLODED ON IT'S OWN. THE CONTACT STATED HE SUSTAINED A CUT ON HIS LEFT FOOT BUT DID NOT SEEK ANY MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE CONTACT STATED HE WAS ABLE TO DRIVE TO HIS RESIDENCE. THE CONTACT CALLED AND HAS TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THE LOCAL DEALER MERCEDES-BENZ OF LOVELAND (4040 BYRD DR, LOVELAND, CO 80538, (970) 344-4206,). THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED OF REPAIRED AS OF YET. UPON INVESTIGATION, THE CONTACT ASSOCIATED THE FAILURE WITH NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V507000 (VISIBILITY), HOWEVER THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN INFORMED OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,200.

NHTSA ODI 11340413