Hi Transit Folks - I am thinking of selling my Sprinter which was recently built out as a campervan and starting over with Ford Transit as my platform. I thought Sprinter was super reliable, but that has not been my experience. Apparently it used to be reliable before they changed the diesel engine. So, how would you all rate your newer Transits in terms of reliablity?
Charissa
The MBZ looks nice and I think the basic MBZ engine is OK. The problem I think is all the emissions equipment they hung on it. I heard enough LIMP mode MBZ stories with no dealers close by from almost every MMB camper we talked with to steer us to the Ford. Plus we get an extra 100+ hp with the Ford !!!! We always wave at the MBZ peeps when we blow by them on the big grades
2020 350HD Crew... converted...66k miles. Oil changes and tire rotations only. It's been a dream!
Mine 2020 T250 EXT RWD now has 60K miles and zero problems. We went to Alaska twice, I was in Florida several times, went cross country few times, including Route 66 and now I am coming back from Newfoundland.
I change the oil when the computer shows 25% oil live, which is about every 10K miles, never added any between the changes. I have 17 inch wheels, 3.35 rear end, my fuel milage around 13-14 mpg and my van weighs about 9K pounds.
My 2015 T250 high roof 3.5 Ecoboost has been a very reliable ride. Once the Giubo problem was solved and my fuel pump sensor were fixed under warranty the only other problems at 116500 miles have been the TPS ( throttle position sensor) located in the Throttle Body and #2 ignition coil failing. Two easy fixes. It drives and handles like a car and has a lot of power. I installed a Partition and insulated the ceiling. It gets around 14 to 15 mpg which for a 6000 pound billboard fighting the wind at 70mph... not bad. Rear brakes are an issue but fairly easily changed.
Just at 25k miles with our 2021 Crewcab but it has been flawless in spite of my heavy foot and our propensity to go places that might be "unwise". And performance? We spend 85% of our time on mountain roads and that twinturbo V6 and 10sp trans are heaven in a van! All that said, we take care of it, oil changes at 5k miles or less, etc.
As I've worked through my front suspension issues over the past month, I noticed a nice long/tall/4WD Sprinter conversion at the shop each time I visited. When I complained about some of my 100,000-mile maintenance expenses, he laughed and pointed out that the Sprinter had probably racked up $50,000 in repairs over the last few years. Emissions, transmission, electrical... the owner puts on a lot of miles, but ends up at the shop between trips to fix whatever the latest issue might be.
20K on our Coachmen Beyond Class B based on the extended dually Transit. No problems at all, and I just do routine service in our garage. Just one consideration, however. If you are going full Class B camper, with rooftop AC, awning, bath, etc, you might run into one problem: It can be really hard to find a Ford dealer willing to do service on your van. Once I told our local dealers it was a Class B they all said they would not service the Transit. When I do need service, I am going to have to go over to an industrial Ford dealer over on the other side of town. Not thrilled about this aspect.
AAA is a federation of regional "clubs". Each one has its own policies and products. Coverage policies vary considerably. Last I heard, a few of them don't even offer RV coverage, for example. Even the best of them offer inferior coverage (e.g., very limited towing mile limits). They are a pretty poor choice for covering vans.
Check out CoachNet.
Check out CoachNet.
2019, 350 Mr, 148 ecoboost. 80k on it with no troubles other than squeaky emergency brake when backing up @~15k. Built out, 18-19 mpg on 10k+ trips.
If you're looking for reliability, don't buy a Mercedes. All of the gas Sprinters - every single one for sale on Autotrader - have gas engines that are 2.0L gasoline turbo engines. You can get a naturally aspirated six cylinder with the Transit that will tend to be more reliable, and easier to work on, than a Mercedes turbo 4 cylinder in a heavy van.
Hello Charissa
I own a 2004 Transit 350 high roof extended. Hence my name. I have driven Transit vans for many years. I had a 2008 Dodge Sprinter also.
The Sprinter is a good van but only as long as it is in Warranty. After the warranty the repairs are very expensive and you may or may not have a Mercedes dealer nearby to services it.
In contrast the repair bills on the Transit are much lower and there are dealers everywhere. There are plenty of cheap Used parts on ebay and in local junkyards. for every junked Sprinter you will find about 10 Junked Transits due to accidents.
The only problems I have had with my new van was the passenger window getting stuck and the Sync4 system glitches once i a while.
No van is perfect but I would take a Transit (and I loved My Sprinter), over a Sprinter.
My advice is keep your Sprinter until six months before the warranty runs out and sell it then.
I own a 2004 Transit 350 high roof extended. Hence my name. I have driven Transit vans for many years. I had a 2008 Dodge Sprinter also.
The Sprinter is a good van but only as long as it is in Warranty. After the warranty the repairs are very expensive and you may or may not have a Mercedes dealer nearby to services it.
In contrast the repair bills on the Transit are much lower and there are dealers everywhere. There are plenty of cheap Used parts on ebay and in local junkyards. for every junked Sprinter you will find about 10 Junked Transits due to accidents.
The only problems I have had with my new van was the passenger window getting stuck and the Sync4 system glitches once i a while.
No van is perfect but I would take a Transit (and I loved My Sprinter), over a Sprinter.
My advice is keep your Sprinter until six months before the warranty runs out and sell it then.
Knee-jerk political fealty virtue and vice signaling aside;
The reason I got a Transit was that it was cheaper to own and operate at the time.
Sprinter was niche and more expensive, with a lot of whining on the Sprinter forum about LHM and disabling due to faulty DEF system sensors (10 notifications and then it wouldn't even start; some owners on trips would just leave it idling on short stops to preserve the # of restarts they had remaining until getting to a disservice center). Also, diesel cost more than Supreme at the time, and the mpg was only marginally better than a gas Transit, negating any fuel cost savings.
RamMaster was cheaply made, even more so than the Transit, and also had more owner-reported issues needing warranty repair. Also, by the time I got my van, the RamServant had climbed to the same price as a Transit. In the prior year, they were about 20% cheaper than Transits (back when dealerships sold below MSRP and offered manufacturer discounts). For the same price, it's Transit all the way. At 20% less, it's worth looking at.
It was 70% cost of ownership and 30% reliability for me. About 8 years later the landscape has not changed. There are still just 3 eurostyle vans available, from the same companies. MB has fixed the "inactivate van" issue, but still only offer expensive diesel drivetrain. Stellantis has not improved nor reduced the cost of the ProRamMaster. Transit has had some minor changes and has a new pair of engines; that aren't significantly more efficient than the previous ones, if at all.
GM, Hyundai, Toyota, etc. have yet to release a full size, stand up height (eurostyle) van in 'Merkuh/Canada. The Nissan thing isn't really a "van", and it gets horrible mpg.
So, Transit is the best of what's available at the moment as far as I'm concerned.
The reason I got a Transit was that it was cheaper to own and operate at the time.
Sprinter was niche and more expensive, with a lot of whining on the Sprinter forum about LHM and disabling due to faulty DEF system sensors (10 notifications and then it wouldn't even start; some owners on trips would just leave it idling on short stops to preserve the # of restarts they had remaining until getting to a disservice center). Also, diesel cost more than Supreme at the time, and the mpg was only marginally better than a gas Transit, negating any fuel cost savings.
RamMaster was cheaply made, even more so than the Transit, and also had more owner-reported issues needing warranty repair. Also, by the time I got my van, the RamServant had climbed to the same price as a Transit. In the prior year, they were about 20% cheaper than Transits (back when dealerships sold below MSRP and offered manufacturer discounts). For the same price, it's Transit all the way. At 20% less, it's worth looking at.
It was 70% cost of ownership and 30% reliability for me. About 8 years later the landscape has not changed. There are still just 3 eurostyle vans available, from the same companies. MB has fixed the "inactivate van" issue, but still only offer expensive diesel drivetrain. Stellantis has not improved nor reduced the cost of the ProRamMaster. Transit has had some minor changes and has a new pair of engines; that aren't significantly more efficient than the previous ones, if at all.
GM, Hyundai, Toyota, etc. have yet to release a full size, stand up height (eurostyle) van in 'Merkuh/Canada. The Nissan thing isn't really a "van", and it gets horrible mpg.
So, Transit is the best of what's available at the moment as far as I'm concerned.
No more politics or I'll lock this thread and issue warnings and temporary bans to those that bring it up and those that don't have the self control to let it go who feel they have to respond.
Rather than throwing out the baby with the bathwater, I wonder if you can just remove the particular over-the-line posts and leave the thread otherwise intact?
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