— Mercedes-Benz is recalling more than 124,000 Sprinter vans that may have defects that cause the vans to roll away.
The recalled 2019-2022 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Freightliner Sprinter vans are equipped with manual parking brakes and 7-speed automatic transmissions.
Mercedes says the guide bushing on the parking pawl may wear out and cause the parking pawl not to engage. This is what will allow the Sprinter to roll away.
"Due to specific driver parking practices in combination with the threshold speed parameter (maximum speed up to which the parking lock function can be requested), there could be increased wear on the guide bushing of the park pawl. As a result, the parking pawl might not engage temporarily." — Mercedes
Sprinter owners should engage the parking brakes to prevent the vans from rolling away.
The driver will not receive a warning until the van begins to move.
Mercedes originally recalled the vans in January to remove the park lock support function while engineers tried to determine the root cause of the allegedly "rare phenomenon."
The automaker repurchased Sprinters that experienced unintended rolling incidents and shipped the vans to Germany for testing. The parking systems were tested as well as the transmissions and engineers could find only "sporadic malfunctions" of the park lock systems.
In October, Mercedes learned the "rare and temporary park lock function error might be caused by specific wear patterns on the guide bushing in the transmission."
For a rollaway to occur, it takes a "combination of driver parking practices and low-speed ratcheting of the parking pawl when “P” is activated while the vehicle is moving at a low speed."
Mercedes will mail Sprinter recall letters December 19, 2022. Dealers will update the software of various control units, including the electronic stability and transmission control units.
Sprinter van owners may call 877-762-8267 and refer to recall number 22V2790611, 22V2790612 or 22V2790613.
