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?
How reliable are the newer Ford Transits? (Have a Sprinter and not even 5K miles on it and a lot of downtime for repair).
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Charissa
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@Charissa if you were talking about an empty cargo Sprinter, I'd say trade it for a Transit ASAP. However you've certainly spent a lot of money on your camper conversion, and you'll take a bath on the selling price. It sounds like your biggest problem with the Sprinter is very simple if Mercedes can find the root cause. Sucks that your adventures have had some major interruptions but unless you have a ton of cash to burn, you might want to stick it out with the Sprinter.
FWIW, my dad had a Benz (ok a Smart car EV) and the AC didn't work...it spent many months at the dealer, back and forth with Mercedes engineering. He threatened to invoke the Lemon Law, and just as he was completing the paperwork they figured it out. Just seems like that's how they operate.
FWIW, my dad had a Benz (ok a Smart car EV) and the AC didn't work...it spent many months at the dealer, back and forth with Mercedes engineering. He threatened to invoke the Lemon Law, and just as he was completing the paperwork they figured it out. Just seems like that's how they operate.
You can order fancy leather seats on a Transit. I did so and they are excellent.
I have mixed feelings about interior quality and fit-and-finish. I guess I would give the Transit the edge, but not by a lot. At least the Transit doesn't have the idiotic German-style dash layout and controls. OTOH, it is true that the Transit seat positioning is wonky. Doesn't matter, though. Reliability issues make the Sprinter a non-starter.
I know. I said "quilted".
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Didn't they drop leather seats as an option in 2023?
No idea. Sorry if I misled. 🤷‍♂️
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the seats are also very narrow, for me the Transit seats are much more comfortable then the sprinter, but yes the seats sit further apart and also sit higher up. again personally would say the Sprinter interior isn't any better then the Transit on quality.
A T.U.R.D. (Tupperware Underhood Rain Deflector) for the ECU or PCU at the driver's side firewall under the hood. The TURD started as a DIY to protect the engine air filter from rain due to a Ford design booboo, and then evolved into an Arizona Tea Jug variant over the ECU. I used yogurt tubs. Corrosion in the exposed connectors can cause all sorts of glitches. Hence the desire to cover. If the images in this thread don't work, may need to get an Administrator to work on it.
Yeah, I just had the same issue with mine. Really easy to fix, but surprised someone has had it as well. Luckily no rodents for me.
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We owned a Winnebago View we purchased new in 2007 until 2018. It was built on the 2006 chassis with a 5 cylinder engine. We also own a 2002 Mercedes ML320 and a 2017 GLS450, both of which we love. I would never buy another Sprinter though. I became quite a good Sprinter mechanic by necessity. I learned all about limp home mode and how to change a turbo resonator. I changed it out 3 times, finally bought a metal one that couldn’t crack. I learned how to change the fan clutch when the engine started getting too hot. I bought a surplus FedEx diagnostic program and corresponded regularly with Dr A, the guru of Sprinters mechanics but unfortunately there are some things you can’t fix yourself.
When our Sprinter began stalling out for no reason on trips we took it to the dealer in Tucson. They said it needed a new ECU which had to be shipped from Germany. We waited a week, the shipment got embargoed by customs. We finally decided to just risk the drive back to Missoula, made it with only two or three stall outs at freeway speeds. Back in Missoula I did some research, and spoke with Dr A and other Sprinter forum folks that seemed pretty knowledgeable. They all agreed there was likely a short in the wire harness because it was well known they were installed with not enough slack and rubbing on the chassis could expose bare wire. I took it to the Missoula Sprinter dealer and told them about the wire harness issue. The tech’s computer diagnostics said we needed a new ECU. I told them to replace the ECU but I’d be back if that didn’t fix it. The third time I went back, they replaced the wire harness which fixed it.
Bottom line is Sprinters have to go back to dealers for any serious repairs and it will take time and they don’t always get it right. There aren’t a ton of dealers and a lot of them don’t have Sprinter specialists. With a Ford or a Ram, pretty much any town in North America will be able to help you.
We’re looking at buying a van conversion again and hitting the road. Sprinters look cool, have a lot of power and get decent mileage but there’s no way in **** I would buy another one. You can be sure you will need service at some point while you’re out on the road, so my advice is to get something that most places can service. We’re leaning seriously towards a Transit.
When our Sprinter began stalling out for no reason on trips we took it to the dealer in Tucson. They said it needed a new ECU which had to be shipped from Germany. We waited a week, the shipment got embargoed by customs. We finally decided to just risk the drive back to Missoula, made it with only two or three stall outs at freeway speeds. Back in Missoula I did some research, and spoke with Dr A and other Sprinter forum folks that seemed pretty knowledgeable. They all agreed there was likely a short in the wire harness because it was well known they were installed with not enough slack and rubbing on the chassis could expose bare wire. I took it to the Missoula Sprinter dealer and told them about the wire harness issue. The tech’s computer diagnostics said we needed a new ECU. I told them to replace the ECU but I’d be back if that didn’t fix it. The third time I went back, they replaced the wire harness which fixed it.
Bottom line is Sprinters have to go back to dealers for any serious repairs and it will take time and they don’t always get it right. There aren’t a ton of dealers and a lot of them don’t have Sprinter specialists. With a Ford or a Ram, pretty much any town in North America will be able to help you.
We’re looking at buying a van conversion again and hitting the road. Sprinters look cool, have a lot of power and get decent mileage but there’s no way in **** I would buy another one. You can be sure you will need service at some point while you’re out on the road, so my advice is to get something that most places can service. We’re leaning seriously towards a Transit.
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
Corvettes use transverse leaf springs - in the rear. Have since 1963. Not really applicable to vans though
52K on our 2020 AWD EcoBoost, zero issues. A pretty heavy build (8500#) and a fair amount of dirt road use, including lots of washboard and some slow crawling. Brakes front and rear seem less than half worn, and we’re on our second set of tires.
That is SO true. It took a few trips in the Transit before I stopped thinking, "Hey! This is great! Whole trip without a limp-mode or anything weird!" Then that facepalm moment of, "this is NOT how we should be thinking about our trips... so glad that darn thing is gone."
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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.
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I went Transit from my T1n Sprinter (350k miles and going strong) because the emissions stuff slapped onto diesel engines ruined the mpg/cost per mile and made them unreliable. And MBZ didn't offer a gas engine Sprinter.
I really can't think of any reason to buy a diesel engine personal vehicle in the USA any more. They used to be more reliable, longer lived, and cheaper to operate than gas, but it's the opposite now.
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