Daimler Vans USA has identified a problem affecting certain 2023 to 2024 model year Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles, ranging from the base 1500 to the big-boy 4500 version. Supplied by Thun Automotive of Germany, the spring U-bolts of said vans may not have been manufactured in accordance with hardness specifications.
Documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveal that said U-bolts may not have undergone hardness treatment. Whatever the case, Daimler Vans USA highlights that bad rear axle spring U-bolts will cause a progressive tilt of the rear axle, impairing the guidance of affected vans.
The Mercedes-Benz AG mothership in Germany identified a potential deviation with the bolting process back in July 2023, prompting an investigation into the affected vehicle and the production equipment. Merc didn't find anything off with said equipment, nor did it identify the root cause of the deviation. To this effect, Mercedes-Benz AG returned the suspect U-bolts to the supplier for more testing. Come September 2023, the folks at Thun Automotive confirmed that said bolts hadn't undergone heat treatment.
Further analyses conducted through December 2023 determined that potentially affected bolts came from a single production batch, prompting the automaker to review purchase and shipping records in order to determine which vehicles received the iffy components. Mercedes couldn't rule out a potential safety risk from the rear axle tilting when subject to sufficient force in certain driving scenarios, hence this Daimler Vans USA safety recall comprising a total of 1,232 vans.
Suspect vehicles were assembled in the period between May 11, 2023 and October 11, 2023. It should be highlighted that Sprinters for the United States market come in CKD kits to the automaker's plant in South Carolina for assembly. This, in turn, means that Merc is circumventing the 25-percent Chicken Tax.
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
The automaker's US division isn't aware of any crashes or worse related to the described condition. Dealers nationwide have already been instructed to replace the spring U-bolts on the recalled vehicles at no charge to the customers. A change in the production procedure at Thun Automotive's plant ensures that said issue can no longer occur from October 12, 2023 onwards.
Owners, meanwhile, will have to wait until September 6 for the recall notifications to arrive via first-class mail. Owners can easily determine if their Sprinters are recalled by running the 17-character VIN on the automaker's website. VINs kick off with the letter W for West Germany.
The Sprinter is available stateside in four distinct flavors: Cargo Van, Crew Van, Passenger Van, and Cab Chassis. When it comes to the priciest base spec, that would be the Sprinter Passenger Van at $55,800 before destination and options.
Pricier still, the eSprinter Cargo Van is $71,886 from the outset for model year 2024 or $61,250 for model year 2025 due to the introduction of an 81-kWh battery. The 2024 model rocks a larger battery pack with 113 kilowatt hours to its name.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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