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orlik · 03-31-2019, 02:20 PM

My wife was driving with cruise control on and we were 5 days into our trip on the Natchez Trace. The AI suddenly lurched forward (grabbing and surging) and the ABS, ESP and traction control lights came on, along with the engine light. My wife was driving about 50mph when it happened. Somewhat scary since we had no idea what was going on. We were pretty much in the middle of no where in Mississippi. We pulled over at the first opportunity and dug out the manual, which could have been useful if just one or two lights came on but with four it was pretty useless trying figure out what might be wrong. I decided to call the the service manager at our MB dealer in Pensacola to get an idea what might be wrong and if the vehicle is safe to drive. He felt it would be ok to drive but we should try and get to a MB service dealer asap. He thought one of the wheel speed sensors had failed. He tried to help us locate a dealer near our current location but the closest one was about 100 miles away. He thought we could experience further grabbing and surging but as long we were careful we should be ok.

We decided to cut our trip short and head back home using the main roads and not use the cruise control. We did not experience any further grabbing or surging. I picked up the vehicle on Friday from the dealer and turns out the problem was the left rear wheel speed sensor. The service manager explained he has had a number of customers that have experienced the same problem. He indicated I could expect the other wheel speed sensors to fail at some point. He thought MB should issue a recall but to date they have not done so. He did say that MB issued a warranty change for the wheel speed sensors. The sensors are now covered under the 5 year 100k mile emission warranty instead of the 3 year 36k standard warranty. If anyone experiences this problem and the dealer says it is not covered make sure they are looking at what is covered under the emissions warranty.

Also, the dealer replaced the driver's side air bag that is covered under a recall.

toskeysam · 03-31-2019, 03:35 PM

We had the same issue (last year) about 750 miles from home. Scanner told me what was going on. We waited until we got home, 1 week later. The odd thing was that everytime we stopped for more than a few minutes, the ECU would try to clear and we would have the lurch hit again, followed by the dash lights. Our home service manager felt it "safe" to continue until we were home. Sometimes it has triggered a "Limp" mode, but not in our case....so we continued homeward.

M and R · 04-01-2019, 07:59 AM

We have a 2016 GT. Both rear wheel sensors have been replaced. In addition to the symptoms already described, we experienced a pulsing brake pedal The system would sometimes reset when the ignition was turned off, sometimes it would not reset. Rough road or railroad crossings would usually activate the fault system. The service technician said that rust is usually the culprit and the best defense is frequent driving.

2Dreamin · 04-01-2019, 08:05 AM

OMGosh!!! This is exactly what happened to us last month!!! And of course I was driving and DH was reading the owners manual looking for the warning indicators to see what was happening. We pulled off the road and called a MB dealer to see if the vehicle was safe to drive. Exact same sensor, exact same response from the vehicle engine (now that was scary cuz it felt like the engine was going to fall out or completely break down). No cruise control, no ESP, no lane assist, engine light on, and when our dash lit up like a Christmas tree, we took videos and pics as it was happening, which helped them diagnose the problem and they also changed out our airbag. I remember us talking about it and saying that it might just be a matter of time before the right sensor bit the dust........ It amazes me what happens when those sensors go out!!! We were headed to Naples, FL at the time the sensor went out, we made an appt in Ft Myers while we were there and they had it fixed and we were out of there in less than 2 hours.
It would be nice if I am not driving when the other sensor decides to go on the blitz!!!

drgene · 04-01-2019, 09:29 AM

Had exact same problem two weeks ago 600 miles from home. Violent surging/buckling for three miles. Able to get it fixed same day by the grace of a MB dealer 10 miles away. 600$ repair now out of warranty. Have had multiple other sensor failures. 9 plus. No end in sight. MB unable to solve my problems.
Very disappointing.

orlik · 04-01-2019, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drgene

Had exact same problem two weeks ago 600 miles from home. Violent surging/buckling for three miles. Able to get it fixed same day by the grace of a MB dealer 10 miles away. 600$ repair now out of warranty. Have had multiple other sensor failures. 9 plus. No end in sight. MB unable to solve my problems.
Very disappointing.

Were the other sensors that failed wheel speed sensors or other sensors? With the number of comments reporting the same problem and my dealer stating its a common occurrence, its a shame there is no way to force MB to do the right thing and offer a recall. I would not like being on an interstate going 65 -70 mph and have one these speed sensors fail.

drgene · 04-01-2019, 11:49 AM

All failed sensors are wheel sensors. Three wheels changed twice. One wheel changed three times. ABS/ESP control module changed. Two sensors failed since module changed. Seven or eight trips altered by ABS/ESP warnings and resulting MB shop visit. 2013 Interstate Extend. 54,000 miles now. Bought new. Kept under roof. Interstate miles mostly. No off road. Driven at normal interstate speeds. Great road vehicle. Much disappointment with breakdowns.

Titus · 07-29-2019, 07:13 AM

Had a left rear wheel speed sensor fail at 39,000 miles and had both rear sensors replaced at that time. At 68,000 miles I got the same dash lights (ABS, ESP, BAS/ASR), and cruise control didn't work. But after driving a few miles the lights went out. Happened twice again over the next few hundred miles, clearing itself each time. Then all worked fine for the remaining 1500 miles of our trip. I'm guessing that failure is imminent, and plan to have the replaced now that I am back home. But was surprised that the codes cleared themselves immediately. I would have guessed that they could only be cleared by a code reader, or that it would at least have taken several driving cycles for them to clear themselves. Or maybe the driving cycle provision only applies to emissions codes?

**GCinSC2** · 07-29-2019, 01:03 PM

Folks

Just a possible aftermarket specialty supplier to look at.

https://www.idparts.com/abs-sensor-r...te-p-6880.html

Not sure if this is one of the sensors in question but someone can at least take a look. This sensor is about $112.

I’ve bought top line parts from idparts for several years for my VW Beetle 1.9L TDI and that’s their market, German vehicles with Diesel engines. A good house to work with.

Not affiliated with idparts just a customer.

Gary

Titus · 07-29-2019, 06:22 PM

MB wheel speed sensor is $140. Unless there is a reason to thing that the $112 part would last longer, I think I'd pay a bit more for the MB part. I was told that wheel speed sensor failure is common (or at least not uncommon) on the 3500 chassis, motorhomes especially.

**GCinSC2** · 07-30-2019, 06:04 AM

Titus

I don’t know who made the sensor I don’t own one. You can pretty much bet it wasn’t made by MB.

Gary

Passin Thru · 07-30-2019, 08:10 PM

I had the right wheel sensor go out shortly after we bought our 2013 used in 2016. Then the same problem with the left wheel. However the left wheel problem turned out to be a short in the sensor wiring from the back tire. Since the wiring runs inside which is now covered by all the cabinets they ran a new wire under the chassis. No new problems.

bill-pgh · 05-19-2022, 11:56 AM

**I posted this a few weeks ago after a trip. After reading the post, read the bottom and I state what Mercedes told me today**

============
I have a 2022 Interstate 24GT. I just flat towed my wife's Lincoln Nautilus from New Port Richey FL to Pittsburgh PA. I was more than impressed with the power and the way it handled her car thru the mountains. I did however have an issue that happened 4 times. I had brake assistant and lane assistant turned off.

1: The first time was in FL in construction with switching to temporary lanes. I was switching and the road dipped left as I was in a slight right turn. The coach seemed to apply the brakes very hard for a split second but almost felt like we were going flip.

2: In GA now and the same thing happened again in a slight right bend in the road. Not as severe as the first time but still pretty bad.

3: In VA on the other side of Fancy gap going STRAIGHT and it happened again. Feels like the brake pedal is getting mashed pretty hard for a split second. So now I turned brake assist and lane assist back on thinking the computer didn't like me turning it off.

4: In PA now on 79 and it happens again while going straight.

This is the first trip where I have towed and it's the first time this has ever occured. The coach has 3900 miles on it. I'm going to find a Mercedes dealership and hopefully they can look at the history and tell me what happened.

I drove cross country tractor trailer for 18 years. I say this so you don't think I'm someone not used to a load and maybe over reacting.

Has anyone ever heard of this or experienced it??? Thanks for your help.
__________________
Bill
2022 Airstream Interstate 24 GT
=============

Just came back from Pinehurst last week and it happened again while NOT towing a car.

Today, 5/19/2022:

I went to John Sisson Mercedes in Washington today. The mechanic stated:

"Found several faults stored for implausible wheel speed signal and for communication with the traction system in several control units. No faults in ESP"

I asked what they did about it the service writer replied that there was NO CLEAR path to a bad sensor so they did nothing!!! I feel this is safety issue and they should have replaced the sensors. Even though it's a 2022 and under warranty, I would have paid for the sensors. I'm going to call Mercedes next. Very dissapointed - I paid $205,000 for this vehicle and it only has 5K miles on it.
__________________

Titus · 05-20-2022, 05:30 AM

You might ask the part number of the wheel speed sensor (WSS) used in your 2022, and the part number of the WSS used in the recall of 2012-2018 Sprinters. If your Sprinter's WSS is compatible with the recal replacement, I don't know why they wouldn't be using that. The recall replaced the WSS with a 'new and improved' one that was more robust. My understanding is that the original one was prone to failure due to moisture. Per the recall the failure was most common on conversion vans. My guess is that the failure was most common on 3500 series dual-rear-wheel Sprinters, and those van conversions was the most common application of that configuration. Guessing that the wheel spray off dual rear wheels somehow got into the WSS more than did that single rear wheels.

FWIW, our WSS sensor failures (two rear, one front) resulted in ABS, ESP, BAS/ASR error codes & loss of cruise control, but no erratic, jerky, behavior.

Belegedhel · 05-20-2022, 08:32 AM

Similar problem with my Diesel GL320. I was heading out on a trip, and about 4 hours in, I got the dash lighting up like a Christmas tree. Everything seemed fine, so drove the rest of that day, and most of the next (middle of nowhere, no dealership for hundreds of miles). On the morning of the third day, having arrived at our destination the prior day, we got in the car to go do some visiting, and it was in limp mode, and would not shift out of first gear. So we limped up to the nearest dealership, were informed that there was a wheel speed sensor, as well as some glow plugs, and got on the way again the next day, about $1000 poorer. Had another go out recently, which I changed myself. It is about a 15 minute job. So now I keep a spare front and rear wheel speed sensor in the vehicle when I go on trips, as well as a code reader that can scan all of the systems. I replace my WSS with after market items from reputable manufacturers, and have yet to have a repeat failure.

Last Mango · 05-20-2022, 09:56 AM

To all with wheel speed sensor failures, check with your MB dealer. There is a recall and an upgraded sensor replacement under a new extended warranty for this problem. They will also reimburse you for replacement done by others.

bill-pgh · 05-21-2022, 08:01 AM

Thank you all!!! I will do the research on those part numbers. It would have been nice for John Sisson Mercedes to have been transparent about this matter.

WillieJ · 05-22-2022, 09:32 AM

Had a rear speed sensor fail while driving eastbound in eastern Colorado. Of course I lost cruise control as a result. The sensor resurrected itself after driving across Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana sans cruise. Of course the code cleared itself as well. I took the van to MB of Silver Spring MD in the DC area. The tech checked and the fault code had cleared. The service writer had the tech do some extra testing, apparently taking the van for a drive with their monitor connected, and the fault was located. They replaced the speed sensor with a new one but the old type, because although the recall was pending, the new speed sensor version was not yet available as of our trip in early April of 2021.

The point of my post is that I felt like the service advisor and tech at MB of Silver Spring went the extra mile to resolve the issue. If I recall correctly, MB of Silver Spring has a dedicated separate Sprinter service department with specialized Sprinter techs.

I don’t know the Sprinter service arrangement at Sisson MB.

Boxster1971 · 05-22-2022, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillieJ

Had a rear speed sensor fail while driving eastbound in eastern Colorado. Of course I lost cruise control as a result. The sensor resurrected itself after driving across Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana sans cruise. Of course the code cleared itself as well. I took the van to MB of Silver Spring MD in the DC area. The tech checked and the fault code had cleared. The service writer had the tech do some extra testing, apparently taking the van for a drive with their monitor connected, and the fault was located. They replaced the speed sensor with a new one but the old type, because although the recall was pending, the new speed sensor version was not yet available as of our trip in early April of 2021.

The point of my post is that I felt like the service advisor and tech at MB of Silver Spring went the extra mile to resolve the issue. If I recall correctly, MB of Silver Spring has a dedicated separate Sprinter service department with specialized Sprinter techs.

I don’t know the Sprinter service arrangement at Sisson MB.

Thanks for this info on Sprinter service at MB of Silver Spring, Maryland. It is the closest Sprinter dealer to where I live in Maryland - about 10 minutes away. I’ve been driving to Annapolis Freightliner for all my servicing - perhaps I’ll check out the shop in Silver Spring and save the driving to Annapolis.

drgene · 05-22-2022, 12:06 PM

Replying to Belegedhel. On my 2013 Interstate Extend, I need one spare front sensor that will fit both front wheels. I need a left rear sensor and a right rear sensor as spares. They are wheel specific. Also, both of my rear sensors are the upgraded more hardy types. Holding my breath with the upgrades. Not sure if upgraded front sensors are going to be made available in the future.
I have had 10-12 failed sensors in my 9 years with current Sprinter model.
All four wheels have had failures. Left rear failure gave the most scary vehicle responses of any of the others.