Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Recalls Over Wiring Harnesses That May Become Damage

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is one of the most recalled vans in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The German automaker has added one more recall to the tally, comprising 350 vehicles equipped with swivel seats.
 

In February 2022, based on an internal audit, Mercedes found that certain 907-platform Sprinter vehicles had been produced with incorrectly routed wiring harnesses. The vehicles in question were specified with both electrically adjustable front seats and swivel frames. The seat adjustment motor is prone to contact the retaining clip of the wiring harness (part number A9075407465), damaging it due to repeated adjustments of the seat.
 
At the end of February 2022, upon discovering this condition, Merc decided to rework all vehicles at the plant as needed to meet the routing specification. The Stuttgart-based automaker also implemented a corrective action in series production to ensure proper routing.
 
A second corrective action followed suit in May 2022, when Mercedes introduced a mounting clip for the wiring harness to eliminate wiring damage caused by contact with the seat adjustment motor. At the time, the German automaker wasn’t aware of any field reports related to this issue. It still isn’t, but Mercedes nevertheless decided to conduct an in-depth analysis of the potential consequences of wiring harness damage.
 
From July 2022 to February 2023, the Three-Pointed Star analyzed the potential effects of wiring harness damage on the deployment of the side airbags and other safety systems. Merc couldn’t rule out a potential safety risk, hence the recently announced 350-vehicle safety recall.
 
The side airbag installed in the seatback may not deploy in the event of a crash due to wiring harness damage, increasing the risk of injury to the front passenger. When said airbag deactivates, the supplemental restraint system indicator lamp lights up in the instrument cluster. Affected Sprinter vans were produced for the 2022 model year between February 17th, 2022 and May 6th, 2022, featuring ratings that range from 1500 to 4500.
 
Dealers will be instructed on April 7th to inspect the wiring harness and route it properly, if necessary. Affected owners will be notified by first-class mail with Mercedes-branded envelopes no later than April 14th.
 
Also sold under the Freightliner marque, the Sprinter for the U.S. market is presently available in four main configurations. Priced at $43,500 sans destination charge, the cargo van is joined by the $46,700 crew van and $48,700 passenger van. The most customizable and capable of the bunch is the cab chassis at $47,300 as per Mercedes’ online configurator.
 
The only other Mercedes-branded van available stateside is the Metris, which will soon be joined by the eSprinter cargo van. The e-workhorse offers 488.1 cubic feet (13,821 liters) of cargo volume and a 113-kWh battery. Under WLTP testing, said capacity is enough for up to 400 kilometers (249 miles).