The Used Car Index

2012 Freightliner Sprinter 3500 problems

NHTSA lists 2 complaints for the 2012 Freightliner Sprinter 3500, 0 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 0 complaints mention an injury, with 0 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-08.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as FREIGHTLINER SPRINTER 3500.

At a glance

Complaints
2
With crash
0
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
3
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
136,361
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
108

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
SERVICE BRAKES2100.0%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL2100.0%
POWER TRAIN150.0%
WHEELS150.0%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags: No tagged complaints are available for this record.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

3 recalls.

21V042000

Date: 2021-02-03. Systems: ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC).

Defect: Daimler Vans USA, LLC (DVUSA) is recalling certain 2012-2018 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 3500 and Freightliner Sprinter 3500 vehicles upfitted into campers or recreational vehicles. The Electronic Stability Control (ESC) unit may become disabled on these vehicles.

Consequence: If ESC becomes disabled, vehicle driving stability may be impacted under certain driving conditions, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: DVUSA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear-wheel speed sensor with a more robust sensor, free of charge. DVUSA issued owners an interim notification on March 10, 2021. Owners may contact DVUSA customer service at 1-877-762-8267. DVUSA's number for this recall is NC3DREZAHA.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

17V480000

Date: 2017-07-28. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Defect: Daimler Vans USA, LLC (DVUSA) is recalling certain 2012 Freightliner and Mercedes Benz Sprinter 2500 and 3500 vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled into the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may rupture due (excerpt)

Consequence: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death. (excerpt)

Remedy: DVUSA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger side air bag, free of charge. The recall began on January 12, 2018. Owners may contact DVUSA customer service at 1-877-762-8267. Note: This recall supersedes recall 17V-025. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

16V077000

Date: 2016-02-10. Systems: AIR BAGS.

Defect: Daimler Vans USA, LLC (Daimler Vans) is recalling certain model year 2007-2009 Dodge Sprinter 2500 and 3500 vehicles manufactured July 1, 2006, to July 31, 2008, 2007-2014 Freightliner Sprinter 2500 and 3500 vehicles manufactured July 1, 2006, to July 1, 2014, and 2010-2014 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 2500 and 3500 vehicles manufactured July 1, 2010, to July 1, 2014. Upon deployment of the driver's fr (excerpt)

Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death. (excerpt)

Remedy: Daimler Vans will notify the Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner owners and Fiat Chrysler will notify the Dodge owners. The respective dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 31, 2017. Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner owners may contact Daimler Van's customer service at 1-877-762-8267. Dodge owners may contact Fiat Chrysler customer service at (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

108 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT52
ENGINE13
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING11
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM6
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER6
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM6
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE4
POWER TRAIN4

11038170

Date: 2026-09-19. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Unavailability of MB Apps Complaint A popup is seen on the HU with the message "data connection temporarily not available". Cause MB Apps is officially sundowned for all vehicles with NTG5 Head Unit Variant. Remedy No support available for NTG5 Head Unit Variants for MB App related topics.

11036855

Date: 2026-08-26. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

Complaint While driving through muddy / sandy/ off road terrain "4Matic Currently Unavailable" message on the dash Cause This vehicle is not equipped with a fixed force distribution AWD, rather force is only applied to the front axle according to ESP calculations. As per GF28.00a Da 9900A: "vehic

11035563

Date: 2026-07-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

ASSYST PLUS service reminder appears earlier than expected due to vehicle operating conditions Complaint The ASSYST PLUS service reminder appears earlier than expected. The customer or dealer may report that the vehicle did not reach the starting maintenance interval shown in vehicle documentation

11034410

Date: 2026-06-15. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

Complaint Complaint A: The engine is jolting/bucking between 1700 and 1900 rpm. Complaint B: One or more mechanical related fault codes for EGR Valve stored in CDI control unit, with possible Check Engine Light. Review list of mechanical fault codes in table below. NOTE: If one or more electrical r

11034416

Date: 2026-06-03. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM.

OM642 DPF Filter Cracked or Broken Complaint Vehicle will not start or exhibits noisy exhaust. Check Engine Lamp (CEL) is on. Multiple control unit communication and system faults may be present, including but not limited to: 134800, 134900, 11B300, 11EC00, 15E100, 155700, 162500. Additional event

11031943

Date: 2026-04-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

Complaint Rattling noise from underneath the vehicle. Cause One or more of the following conditions may be present: 1. The exhaust bracket from the DPF to the transmission is cracked or broken. a ? See Pic. 1 for an example of a broken bracket. 2. Transmission bell housing cracked or broken at the e

11030629

Date: 2026-03-23. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM.

The check engine light is illuminated, or the AdBlue warning is active, with recorded faults related to AdBlue quality or concentration. Complaint Customer reports an illuminated check engine light and or an AdBlue system warning indicating AdBlue quality out of specification. The vehicle may enter

11028113

Date: 2026-01-16. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

EGR Valve Diagnosis & Cleaning (and EGR Cooler Cleaning) a OM642, Sprinter 906/907 Complaint A: The engine is jolting/bucking between 1700 and 1900 rpm. Complaint B: One or more mechanical related fault codes for EGR Valve stored in CDI control unit, with possible Check Engine Light. Review list o

11026891

Date: 2025-12-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

Clunking noise on load change or gear engagement Complaint Clunking noise can be heard on some load changes or when changing from N->R or N->D Cause Movement of transfer case splines Remedy Apply bearing retainer (green) Loctite to both output shaft splines of the transfer case. Loctite 648, 609 and

11023983

Date: 2025-09-26. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Engine Oil Level Cannot Be Checked via Instrument Cluster Service Menu Complaint Sometimes the engine oil level cannot be determined using the instrument cluster's service menu. The following mes- sages may be displayed: a ?Engine oil level currently inoperative. See Attachment: Message "Engine oil

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
SPRINTER 35002

Same model, other years

All model years | All Freightliner models

Other Freightliner models, 2012

Sources

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