2011 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (4) · Seat Belts:front:buckle Assembly (2) · Equipment (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (4)
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2017-07-28 · campaign 17V479000 · 20,665 vehicles
Defect: Daimler Vans USA, LLC (DVUSA) is recalling certain 2010-2011 Freightliner and Mercedes Benz Sprinter 2500 and 3500 vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled into the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and tempera
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: DVUSA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger side air bag, free of charge. The began on January 12, 2018. Owners may contact DVUSA customer service at 1-877-762-8267. Note: This recall partially supersedes recall 16V-379.
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2016-02-10 · campaign 16V077000 · 136,361 vehicles
Defect: Daimler Vans USA, LLC (Daimler Vans) is recalling certain model year 2007-2009 Dodge Sprinter 2500 and 3500 vehicles manufactured July 1, 2006, to July 31, 2008, 2007-2014 Freightliner Sprinter 2500 and 3500 vehicles manufactured July 1, 2006, to July 1, 2014, and 2010-2014 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 2500 and 3500 vehicles manufactured July 1, 2010, to July 1, 2014. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Daimler Vans will notify the Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner owners and Fiat Chrysler will notify the Dodge owners. The respective dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 31, 2017. Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner owners may contact Daimler Van's customer service at 1-877-762-8267. Dodge owners may contact Fiat Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403.
Equipment Adaptive/Mobility 2014-11-05 · campaign 14V706000 · 34 vehicles
Defect: Cummings Mobility Conversion & Supply (Cummings) is recalling certain model year 2006-2014 Ford E-150, E-250, E-350, Chevrolet Express, 2006-2008 Dodge Sprinter, and 2009-2014 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, and 2013 Ford Transit Connect vehicles manufactured January 1, 2006, to October 8, 2014, equipped with certain model S2005, S2010, S5005, S5010, S5505, and S5510 wheelchair lifts manufactured by Ricon Corporation after January 1, 2006. The platform side plate of the affected wheelchair lifts may cr
Risk: If the platform side plates crack, the lift platform can separate from the lift and come to rest against the vehicle's lift door. When the doors are opened, the platform may fall out, increasing the risk of injury to the lift operator.
Fix: Cummings will notify owners to take buses to a Ricon dealer or service center who will install supplemental platform support bumpers. Any platform that has already started cracking will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began January 13, 2015. Owners may contact Cumming's customer service at 1-800-639-5438 or Ricon customer service at 1-800-322-2884. Cumming's number for this recall is 14E-041.
Seat Belts 2011-03-30 · campaign 11V210000 · 3,437 vehicles
Defect: MERCEDES-BENZ IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2008-2011 2500 AND 3500 SPRINTER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH AN OPTIONAL THREE-SEAT BENCH IN THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. THE SEAT BENCHES IN THE SECOND SEATING ROW MAY HAVE BEEN EQUIPPED WITH SAFETY BELTS THAT DO NOT MEET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD 208, "OCCUPANT PROTECTION IN INTERIOR IMPACT," AND MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD 209, "SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES." FIRST, THOSE SAFETY BELTS MAY NOT LOCK AS REQUIRED. SECOND,
Risk: IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THE SAFETY BELTS IN THESE VEHICLES MAY NOT PERFORM AS REQUIRED SUCH THAT A SEAT OCCUPANT MAY NOT BE PROPERLY RESTRAINED, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY OR DEATH IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH.
Fix: MERCEDES-BENZ WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE ANY SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES THAT DO NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 15, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT MERCEDES-BENZ AT 843-695-5000.
Service bulletins (100)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-19 · LI82_85_N_080972_1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
unavailability of mb apps complaint a popup is seen on the hu with the message "data connection temporarily not available". cause mb apps is officially sundowned for all vehicles with ntg5 head unit variant. remedy no support available for ntg5 head unit variants for mb app related topics.
Power Train 2026-08-26 · LI28_00-N-079097_1_en · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
complaint while driving through muddy / sandy/ off road terrain "4matic currently unavailable" message on the dash cause this vehicle is not equipped with a fixed force distribution awd, rather force is only applied to the front axle according to esp calculations. as per gf28.00‑d‑ 9900a: "vehicles
Unknown Or Other 2026-07-01 · LI54_30-N-080701 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
assyst plus service reminder appears earlier than expected due to vehicle operating conditions complaint the assyst plus service reminder appears earlier than expected. the customer or dealer may report that the vehicle did not reach the starting maintenance interval shown in vehicle documentation
Power Train 2026-06-15 · LI14.20-N-073867 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
complaint complaint a: the engine is jolting/bucking between 1700 and 1900 rpm. complaint b: one or more mechanical related fault codes for egr valve stored in cdi control unit, with possible check engine light. review list of mechanical fault codes in table below. note: if one or more electrical r
Fuel/Propulsion System 2026-06-03 · LI49.10-N-080528 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
om642 dpf filter cracked or broken complaint vehicle will not start or exhibits noisy exhaust. check engine lamp (cel) is on. multiple control unit communication and system faults may be present, including but not limited to: 134800, 134900, 11b300, 11ec00, 15e100, 155700, 162500. additional event
Engine 2026-04-18 · LI4910-N-060969 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
complaint rattling noise from underneath the vehicle. cause one or more of the following conditions may be present: 1. the exhaust bracket from the dpf to the transmission is cracked or broken. • see pic. 1 for an example of a broken bracket. 2. transmission bell housing cracked or broken at the exh
Showing the 6 most recent of 100 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2024-08-14 · Seat Belts:front:buckle Assembly · 49,857 mi“the contact owns a 2011 mercedes-benz sprinter 3500. the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the srs warning light illuminated. the contact stated that the front driver's side seat belt buckle functioned as intended; however, the srs warning light had remained constantly illuminated for nearly two years. the vehicle was taken to a…”
2023-02-09 · Seat Belts:front:buckle Assembly · 49,587 mi“the contact owns a 2011 mercedes-benz sprinter 3500. the contact stated that the srs (supplemental restraint system) warning light would intermittently appear on the instrument panel. the contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer where a diagnostic test showed that the wires in the front driver’s side seat belt buckle were defective and needed to b…”
2022-03-17 · Air Bags“takata recall. the contact owns a 2011 mercedes-benz sprinter 3500 built on a freightliner chassis. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 19v003000 (air bags) however, the contact was unable to locate a service center to repair the vehicle. after contacting the manufacturer and the local mercedes-benz dealer, the contact was r…”
2021-09-10 · Equipment · 47,900 mi“the contact owns a 2011 mercedes sprinter 3500 equipped with the tyron multiband runflat tyre protection system on the inside of the front driver’s and passenger’s side tires. the contact stated that while driving above 60 mph, the vehicle would shudder as if the front driver’s and passenger’s side tires were out of balance. the tyron multiband sys…”
2018-05-08 · Air Bags“takata recall. the dealership has the parts on eternal backorder. it has been since the recall came out that we have not been able to get this fixed. very concerned about driving the vehicle. what can i do?…”
2017-09-19 · Air Bags“takata recall. i have contacted mercedes benz dealer several times to make appointment to replace driver and passenger air bag. no work done yet.…”
2016-10-25 · Air Bags“tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2011 mercedes-benz sprinter 3500. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign numbers: 16v077000 (air bags) and 16v379000 (air bags). the part was not available within a reasonable time frame to schedule the recall repair. the dealer did not give a specific date for when the part would become available.…”
2015-04-12 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 2,632 mi“our itasca reyo 2012 motor home with mercedes sprinter engine has had 5 egr valve failures. the first time in 2012 with 2632 miles. the 5th time in march 2015 with 11,000 miles. the vehicle goes into limp mode and speed is reduced to 20 mph. this causes a very serious situation as there is a great risk of being rear ended from highway traffic …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.