CSR

Mercedes-Benz · NHTSA safety record

2023 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

17

Complaints

0

Crashes

0

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2023 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 have filed 17 safety complaints with NHTSA between January 2023 and July 2026. The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 3 of them (18%). The typical failure was reported at 33,000 miles, the median across the 3 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 6 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (6)

SUSPENSION:REAR:SPRINGS:LEAF SPRING ASSEMBLY:U-BOLT, LEAF SPRING TO AXLE

24V517000 · July 9, 2024

The defect
Daimler Vans USA, LLC (DVUSA) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles. The spring U-bolts for the rear axle may have reduced strength due to improper heat-treatment, which can cause the rear axle to shift out of position.
The risk
An axle that moves out of position can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the spring U-bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 23, 2024. Owners may contact DVUSA customer service at 1-877-762-8267. DVUSA's number for this recall is VS3FEDERB.

Daimler Vans USA, LLC · up to 1,232 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING

24V225000 · March 24, 2024

The defect
Daimler Vans USA, LLC (DVUSA) is recalling certain 2023 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles. A 12-Volt ground connection may not be secured properly, which can result in the ground connection overheating and a loss of drive power.
The risk
An overheated ground connection can increase the risk of a fire, and a loss of drive power can increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and repair the 12-Volt ground connection, as necessary free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 3, 2024. Owners may contact DVUSA customer service at 1-877-762-8267. DVUSA's number for this recall is VS3HVERSL.

Daimler Vans USA, LLC · up to 99 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING

24V166000 · March 1, 2024

The defect
Daimler Vans USA, LLC (DVUSA) is recalling certain 2023 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles. The main wiring harness may chafe against the drive shaft and short circuit, which can result in a loss of drive power, power steering, and brake system control.
The risk
A short circuit increases the risk of a fire. In addition, a loss of drive power, power steering, and brake system control increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect the routing of the main wiring harness and correct it, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 5, 2024. Owners may contact DVUSA customer service at 1-877-762-8267. DVUSA's number for this recall is VS3BEFHAU.

Daimler Vans USA, LLC · up to 828 vehicles across all model years covered

STRUCTURE:CRITICAL FASTENERS

23V876000 · December 21, 2023

The defect
Daimler Vans USA, LLC (DVUSA) is recalling certain 2019-2023 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and 2019-2021 Freightliner Sprinter vehicles. The partition wall may be missing bolts, allowing the wall to detach during a crash.
The risk
A detached partition wall can increase the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and secure the partition wall as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed February 16, 2024. Owners may contact DVUSA customer service at 1-877-762-8267. DVUSA's number for this recall is VS3TREWAN.

Daimler Vans USA, LLC · up to 387 vehicles across all model years covered

SUSPENSION:FRONT

23V849000 · December 15, 2023

The defect
Daimler Vans USA, LLC (DVUSA) is recalling certain 2023 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles. The front left suspension strut bolt may not be secured properly, which can result in a loss of steering control.
The risk
A loss of steering control can increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect the front left suspension strut bolt connection and repair the body contact surface as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 31, 2024. Owners may contact DVUSA customer service at 1-877-762-8267. DVUSA's number for this recall is VS3FEDDOR.

Daimler Vans USA, LLC · up to 33 vehicles across all model years covered

STRUCTURE:BODY

23V806000 · December 1, 2023

The defect
Daimler Vans USA, LLC (DVUSA) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and 2021 Freightliner Sprinter vehicles. The topcoat paint formula may cause the windows and interior lashing rails to be insufficiently bonded to the vehicle.
The risk
An insufficiently bonded window can detach during a crash, and objects secured to an insufficiently bonded interior lashing rail can detach, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect the paint adhesion and repair it as necessary, free of charge. Depending on the extent of any damage, DVUSA may offer to repurchase the vehicle. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed February 5, 2024. Owner notification letters were mailed November 4, 2024. Owners may contact DVUSA customer service at 1-877-762-8267. DVUSA's number for this recall is VS3LACKHA.

Daimler Vans USA, LLC · up to 131 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 17.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 18%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 3 18%
POWER TRAIN 3 18%
EQUIPMENT 2 12%
STEERING 2 12%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 12%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 12%
AIR BAGS 1 6%
ENGINE 1 6%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 6%
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL 1 6%
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER 1 6%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2024 at 8.

2023 2024 2026
2023 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL

towed · 46,000 miles

The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact had attempted to restart the vehicle and the vehicle failed to restart. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the diesel fuel was contaminated, and the entire diesel fuel system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact independently had samples of the diesel fuel tested and no water or contamination was found. The contact stated that the Insurance provider also tested the diesel fuel and found no contaminants

NHTSA complaint 11622535, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

9,600 miles

The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, there was an abnormal metal grinding sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. The transmission was shifted into neutral(N) and the vehicle was restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed the vehicle with pinion bearing failure and the LIMP Mode failure causing an Emissions issue. The rear axle, air charger GPS, turbo, and oil sensor were all replaced. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with the same failure. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and a case

NHTSA complaint 11747880, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

33,000 miles

The contact owns a 2023 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35-40 MPH, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. The contact was able to shift to neutral and restart the vehicle. The failure reoccurred at approximately 40,000. The failure became more frequent and was recurring every 3,000 to 4,000 miles. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed the vehicle with an inoperable air charger for the turbo charger. The failure persisted, and the vehicle was returned to another dealer, Mercedes-Benz of Arrowhead (9260 W Bell Rd, Peoria, AZ 85382) to be diagnosed and the vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine

NHTSA complaint 11747881, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
There was an SRS Error message. The SRS system is non-functional on a vehicle with 400 miles. The dealership has attempted to fix the problem by replacing the fuse and control unit, but it appears to be a coding - programming issue. An engineering case has been opened for 2 weeks, but they have given me no notice of what or when the next step takes place.

NHTSA complaint 11733355. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I am filing a formal complaint against Lazydays RV (Tampa, FL) for repeat violations of NHTSA safety standards and probable violation of their 2022 Consent Agreement and Compliance Monitoring Order. In May 2024, I purchased a 2023 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter RV from Lazydays. The vehicle was sold as “new” and delivered to South Carolina. Upon delivery, I discovered it had been stripped of OEM parts and tampered with prior to shipment, including a non-OEM “Tampa Bay Battery” substituted for the factory-installed Mercedes-Benz battery. That non-compliant battery failed in May 2025, leaving us stranded and requiring an emergency replacement. Lazydays also failed to register the manufacturer’s

NHTSA complaint 11674564, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Vehicle suddenly lost ability to accelerate. After driving narrow mountain roads with a lot of downshifting and upshifting, vehicle was on a long, gradual downgrade, then approached a long, slight (4%?) upgrade. Vehicle would not maintain speed and began to decelerate. Pushing the accelerator to the floor did nothing. Attempted to manually shift gears, but transmission would not downshift, or upshift. This almost resulted in being rear-ended by a semi. The speed limit was 55 and vehicle had decelerated to ~25 mph by the time I found a place to pull over. I stopped and was able to shift into Park. Revved engine and it behaved normally. I shut off engine for 1 minute and then restarted.

NHTSA complaint 11633414, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2022 8 6
2021 8 16
2020 12 22
2019 27 41
2018 9 10
2017 27 9
2016 61 16
2015 37 15
2014 54 7
2013 45 5
2012 20 4 1
2011 8 4

Other 2023 Mercedes-Benz models

Every Mercedes-Benz on this site — 216 vehicles, 576 recall campaigns and 1 open investigation .

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst