— Nearly 1,500 Mercedes Sprinter vans are recalled because the dashboard displays may appear to be too bright to drivers.
The 2019-2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Freightliner Sprinter vans have instrument cluster displays that may not be adjustable and could cause drivers problems, a violation of federal safety standards.
Specifically, certain combinations of radios and instrument clusters can cause the problem due to software that can set the wrong brightness levels.
Mercedes says a driver won't be able to manually adjust the brightness of the display when the instrument cluster software causes malfunctions.
A driver will know if the problem has occurred if they try to adjust the instrument panel brightness in the dark and the brightness level doesn't change.
Mercedes was notified of a complaint in January regarding a display that seemed "overly bright to this particular consumer."
The automaker also learned about a different report from a different Sprinter owner who said the same thing about the instrument panel display. The customer reported difficulty when trying to see the exterior side mirrors due to glare from the display.
The automaker opened an investigation and found two vans equipped with “Highline” instrument clusters in combination with entry-level radios, and some vehicles weren't equipped with infotainment systems.
The investigation showed a small number of European reports where Sprinter van owners complained in 2020 about instrument cluster displays that could not be dimmed.
The U.S. Sprinter recall includes 1,285 vans and a Canadian recall includes 207 vehicles.
Mercedes dealers will update the instrument cluster software when the Sprinter recall begins May 24, 2021.
Sprinter customers with questions should call 877-762-8267. Owners should use recall reference number VS3DISPKI.
