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).
Charissa
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You can sometimes see the model year owned by the poster in their signature. Seems older transits get better reviews.
There is this thread to see some problems reported by some newer Transits too.
My 2020T has spent a few weeks at the dealer. You can read about it in that thread. I am happy that the issues it has had came with fair warning and repairs didn't interrupt any trips. I take it far and wide away from homebase.
I wouldn't tolerate the repeat sensor problem you're having with your Sprinter. I can tolerate the Transit issues because I have another late model backup car. I wouldn't have a Transit as my only vehicle.
It drives really nicely. I haven't had the dead battery problem that others have had...due to parasitic load. That would probably send me over the edge.
This forum has taught me some valuable precautions to take to minimize known issues. You'll see that many of us keep a solar panel in the dash when parked for more than a week or two. And many of us place water shields over exposed electrical connectors under the hood. It takes a village to own a reliable Transit IMO.
There is this thread to see some problems reported by some newer Transits too.
My 2020T has spent a few weeks at the dealer. You can read about it in that thread. I am happy that the issues it has had came with fair warning and repairs didn't interrupt any trips. I take it far and wide away from homebase.
I wouldn't tolerate the repeat sensor problem you're having with your Sprinter. I can tolerate the Transit issues because I have another late model backup car. I wouldn't have a Transit as my only vehicle.
It drives really nicely. I haven't had the dead battery problem that others have had...due to parasitic load. That would probably send me over the edge.
This forum has taught me some valuable precautions to take to minimize known issues. You'll see that many of us keep a solar panel in the dash when parked for more than a week or two. And many of us place water shields over exposed electrical connectors under the hood. It takes a village to own a reliable Transit IMO.
Gives me hope.
I used to love German vehicles. I've owned many over the decades. But in the last 15-20 years or so, they've become money pits once the manufacterer warranty runs out.
I've had my Transit for 5 years now. The only problem I've had that wasn't regular maintenance was a phantom power draw with the ignition off that will kill the battery if the van sits for a few weeks. It's easy enough to just drive it once in a while, but since it's a camper build, it was also easy enough to add a trickle charger to the shore power input that keeps all the batteries topped up if it sits. So I just plug it in if I'm not going to be driving it for a while.
I've had my Transit for 5 years now. The only problem I've had that wasn't regular maintenance was a phantom power draw with the ignition off that will kill the battery if the van sits for a few weeks. It's easy enough to just drive it once in a while, but since it's a camper build, it was also easy enough to add a trickle charger to the shore power input that keeps all the batteries topped up if it sits. So I just plug it in if I'm not going to be driving it for a while.
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Also, rear brakes done every 25 to 30K miles.
I don’t know if 2017 counts as new but mine has been 100% trouble free except for one nut coming loose on the sliding door. 131k miles so far. Just put on the third set of tires so I’m getting 65k per set (could have gone a little longer). Still hasn’t needed an alignment. They also checked the brakes - both front and rear still have 70% and currently have 40k on them. Engine is the 3.7. It’s used in our painting business and sometimes pulls a trailer.
Is there another 600hp Transit yet?
Guy Martin's tube frame euro Transit definitely doesn't count!
I love the Transit. Have had a few for fleet duty in the southwest and although not perfect, if I had the same vehicles again I could make them last indefinitely.
I also have a broken Mercedes van in the garage. I'll never buy another tristar product.
I bet Mercedes Benz underwear would have electrical issues, especially out of warranty, that would cost absurd amounts of cash to fix or replace.
Q: are you thinking a new or used Transit?
I traded in a 2008 Diesel Sprinter (144k mi) for a new 2021 Sprinter. We used it to haul mototcycles from NC to the Rocky Mountains. The only surprise repair was an exhaust system (rusted away). Fuel economy was consistenly 20mpg, not a DEF motor. Hunting for "civialn" Diesel pumps at Interstate truckstops was a pita. In the middle of flyover coutry, we realized there were almost no dealers for Sprinter support (Dodge,MB or Freightliner). We went for an EB gasoline Transit.
Sprinter vs Transit? It's like comparing an MB E300 vs a Ford Taurus, both are good vehicles, one's a bit "nicer" to drive.
Ford dealers & normal gasoline stations are everywhere across the fruited plain. A comforting thought when we travel between 3 different time zones. We bought tires at 44,000mi. Regular maintainence otherwise.
Good luck! - M
THE UPDATED GEN1 ENGINE REMAINS IN PRODUCTION TODAY, POWERING THE FORD TRANSIT ECOBOOST VAN
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The delivery company that bought my van new, wore out the rear brakes in 18,000 miles. Since replacement I,ve done 40,000 more miles and rears are at 40% as are original front pads.
This is a good example of YMMV.
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Yeah, obviously it all depends on how you drive it, how much it is loaded with all of the time. My van was an HVAC van, so it would be loaded all of the time with tools, parts, and fittings of all kinds. After emptying it, for some reason the van felt slower to me. I am in the process of emptying the van. Initially to trade it in, but after seeing of what we could get for it for such a low mileage (18-21K) for a 15' with 28k on it, we decided to keep it and possibly put in a 3 seater in the cargo area to use it for family
Not that I recall. That @Banzai-88 guy has dropped off...
Having driven both I feel the Transit drives better than the Sprinter. It might not have the fancy quilted leather seats or $10,000 higher price tag, but the Sprinter uses transverse leaf springs up front, the Transit has an independent front suspension with coilovers in front.
Sprinter has a much better interior though. The front seats are spaced so much wider apart. For the transit, they moved the front seats close together so they could use the same dashboard as the Ford focus (it seems) and then added 8 inches of empty foam space in the doors. They could of at least put a cubby under the arm rest instead.... the plastics are of the absolute lowest quality, the material on my shifter knob has started to crumble apart and the arm rest plastic is very faded and brittle, window switches failing from cheap printed circuit boards. Literally the laziest and most terrible engineering throughout the design process. But I do agree, the Transit drives very well. FWIW my 2006 Corvette Z06 had traverse leaf springs and handled very well.
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Overall quality of interior, build consistency, fit and finish, etc. the Sprinter seems to be the winner. The space in the front driver and passenger area seems larger. More foot room, more shoulder room and more room to get to the back from inside. Once back there the Transit is bigger. With the Sprinter you have the whole emissions issue head ache with their diesel.
Ford interior is a little cheaper, and narrower as @Truck mentioned but the drivetrain seems to be more reliable and certainly much more powerful. I still can't understand why Mercedes hasn't dropped a detuned V6 with 4Matic from another model into a Sprinter. The diesel is the only thing keeping me away.
When you look at the forums, both Transit and Sprinter, the Transit forums mention little issues that can be annoying, and the occasional major issue. The Sprinter forums seem to have far more major issues, and way too many people experiencing the phantom "limp home mode, turn it off, restart, maybe it goes away or maybe you need to spend money" mode.
There are two major things to consider when comparing the posted issues about Transits and the posted issues about the Sprinter. In 2023, even with supply chain issues, Ford sold 129,009 Transits in the US. In that same year Mercedes sold 46,229 Sprinters. If they both had the same number of issues, you should see 3 times more complaints on the Transit forum, but you don't.
If something does happen with a Sprinter with the diesel, there are only 200 dealers in the US and you will need to get towed hundreds of miles to the nearest dealer. Heck there are more Ford dealers in Texas alone than there are Sprinter dealers across the country. If something happens with the Transit there are 2,876 dealers in the US.
Food for thought.
What kind of "water shield" setup do you have on these electrical connectors? Pics? Thanks.
41k on my 2019 3.5 Ecoboost only needed to replace the sliding door switch. Just changed plugs today without issue. I didn't wait for 2020 knowing they were redesigning the interior didn't know if I could disable start/stop and wanted my own aftermarket stereo. I was planning on trading in at 3 years but Ford QC has gone downhill.
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