— Sprinter 2500 and 3500 vans are part of three recalls involving more than 15,300 vans, but two of the recalls include only four Sprinter vans.
The largest recall is for 15,338 model year 2013-2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 and 3500 vans and Freightliner Sprinter 2500 and 3500 vans. Daimler Vans says the vans were built without reinforcement plates and brackets on the airbag control units used to protect the units in a crash.
Engineers discovered the Sprinter vans were built without reinforcement plates and protective brackets designed to protect the airbag control units in a frontal crash to ensure the control units keep working. As a consequence of the missing parts, in the event of a secondary impact requiring deployment of additional airbags, those airbags may fail to deploy.
Daimler says the brackets and reinforcement plates are missing because technical documentation in the plant was incorrect.
Dealers will install the reinforcement plates and protective brackets around the airbag control units, but the automaker doesn't know when the recall will begin.
Separately, two model year 2015 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 and 3500 vans are recalled because the gas tanks can leak fuel because of missing driveshaft straps. Mercedes says a loose driveshaft could possibly strike the gas tank and cause fuel to leak, something that could turn into a bad ordeal if the gas hits an ignition source.
The automaker doesn't know when the recall will begin, but dealerships will install driveshaft catch straps on the two vans.
Another two vans are recalled, again because of parts that are missing from the vans.
The 2015 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 and 3500 vans were built without protective plates for the gas tanks, leaving the tanks with minimum protection in a crash. The protective plates are located on the front of the gas tanks and foam rings at the gas filler necks. Dealers will need to replace the fuel tanks.
As with the other Sprinter van recalls, no information has been released about when the recall will begin.
If you own a Sprinter 2500 or 3500 van and have questions, please call 877-762-8267.
