Towing a Mercedes Sprinter Van (a Third Time)
Allow me to share my latest experience towing a Sprinter van.
It’s April 1st. I started my day with some yoga and making a list of chores that included the laundromat, grocery shopping, and the post office. Boring stuff! I got in the van, started it up, and pulled away from my curbside parking spot.
Within less than one-hundred feet, the van started sputtering and quickly stalled. Not feeling discouraged yet, I tried restarting it. The van hesitated, but it got going. Disappointingly, within one-hundred feet, it began sputtering again and the van was hesitant to move forward.
Fortunately, I was on a suburban residential street. But I still wanted to avoid breaking down in the middle of road. So I pulled over to the curb and parked but kept the engine going.
The van kept sputtering, and as it did, I called the closest Mercedes-Benz and spoke to the service department. They suggested bringing it in right away, but I debated for a moment. The van stopped sputtering and the engine was humming as normal a few minutes into our call. However, as I was trying to convince myself that everything would be fine, it completely stalled again.
I pulled out my AAA card and started the roadside assistance process. This would be my second time using AAA since starting van life and I love their streamlined process. (The first time, I locked Bruce Leroy in the van. Terrifying!)
AAA’s online tool showed that the tow truck driver would be arriving within five minutes. The prompt service caught me off guard so I raced to prep the van. I quickly secured everything inside and pulled out what I might need for a couple of days.
I also had to pull one of our galley drawers out of the van completely. One of the push button latches isn’t working, and I didn’t want the drawer flying open during towing or service.
Lastly, I emptied the food in our Dometic cooler and used the Goal Zero App to turn off 110-volt, USB, and 12-volt plugs. A Goal Zero Yeti 6000x powers our van’s house.
I didn’t power down the Goal Zero completely as the battery was at 63% and nothing was drawing power. I figured I’d let the solar panels keep charging the battery on the ride to Mercedes. Plus, the van will likely be unsheltered in their parking lot for part of the time. If for some reason the van is stuck for more than a couple of days, I can swing by and power it down. But hopefully that won’t be the case!
As I was finishing up my preparation tasks, a flatbed truck was pulling in front of the van within a mere ten minutes.
The driver was hoping he could start the van and get it up on the bed. We had brief hope after he coerced it into starting. But unfortunately, it stalled out as soon as he tried to accelerate up the incline. With persistence, he got it loaded and the van was en route to Mercedes.
A Mercedes service advisor called me as soon as the van arrived. Imagine my disappointment when he said it started without hesitation and was sitting there running just fine.
I explained that the van was sitting for three days, which shouldn’t be unreasonable. But perhaps that had something to do with it? I also suggested it was a filter problem since the van probably isn’t too far from needing it’s next service. After a busy winter, I’m sure some grime is building up.
The van didn’t throw any messages on the dash or other error codes, so Mercedes would continue their diagnosis. Diagnosis alone is $299 and I don’t yet know if a warranty will cover any repairs and parts. After hanging up, I immediately starting searching for email coupons from Mercedes to help soften the blow.
I’m still waiting for a status update, but I thought I would share some van life joys in the meantime.
I actually wrote an article sharing our first time towing a Sprinter van – our 2019 Winnebago Revel that sat on the 2018 Mercedes Sprinter. It includes some tips in case you find yourself needing roadside assistance.
Here’s a fun photo from when our Revel / Sprinter was towed a second time:
April 2nd update
One of the awesome things about Mercedes service, is that you will have a direct line to your service advisor while your van is in the shop. Upon intake of your van, you’ll receive a text message, so you can easily reply or initiate a phone call.
This morning, I had both a text exchange and a phone call with my service advisor, Jesse. They have not been able to reproduce the issue once!
Jesse had a few questions for me because they’re kind of stumped. Was the van parked on an incline? No. When was the last time we topped off the fuel tank? 5 days ago. When did we replace the original fuel tank with this 47-gallon fuel tank replacement? The van conversion completed by Van America in November 2022 included the replacement tank.
Van owners that leave their Sprinters sitting for extended periods of time might see this issue, but our situation is peculiar.
I don’t think I offered anything insightful, but their plan is to let the van sit overnight and try one more time to replicate the issue in the morning. If replicating the rough idle fails, they’ll plan on replacing the EGR valve. Our warranty will take care of this option, so they figured, why not just try it.
Apparently, an EGR valve replacement has fixed other Sprinters with a near identical issue. Carbon can clog the EGR valve leading to our van’s symptoms. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow!
