Is there a major difference between a dodge Sprinter and a Freightliner Sprinter?
Yeah, there are several rather large differences:
The grills are different.
The logos on the hub caps are different.
The logos on the steering wheel are different.
The Freightliner Sprinter has the "Freightliner" badge on the front and the back, while the Dodge Sprinters have a Ram's head on the front and say "Dodge" on the back.
They have different driver dome light switches, too.
BTW, those are the same difference between the Mercedes Sprinter and the Dodge and Freightliner Sprinters, as well.
Oh, oh, oh, and the Owner's Manuals, they're different. The cover of the Freightliner Owner's Manual says Freightliner on it, while the Dodge Owner's Manual says Dodge on it.
Whatever Sprinter you have, for about $300 you can buy the necessary parts to turn your Sprinter into any of the other ones. The Mercedes grill and badge kit is real popular on eBay.
The insides of the manual, and the van, are otherwise identical. They do have separate Mercedes, Freightliner and Chrysler part numbers for all the parts, but you can give a Freightliner dealer a Chrysler part number and he can find it easy enough. They are all cross-referenced to each other. Most auto parts stores have moved strictly to Dodge as the make for purposes of part numbers.
"Don't they use the same engines?"
Yeah.
"I can't get answers from dealers."
You have to pay them a $110 diagnostic fee for that.
"What about service availability for warranty work?"
Take it to a Dodge dealer. Mine's a Freightliner and I've never been to a Freightliner dealer. I did go to a Freightliner Service Point at a TA once with a minor problem, and I might as well have been driving a sailboat.
"I always had to wait at least 24 hours at any Freightliner service center for my M2 Business Class FL."
With Sprinters and Dodge dealers, it's pretty much the same as if you took your car or pickup to the dealer, might have to wait, might not, all depends on the dealer. Some will tell you they can get you in next week, some will say leave it and tey'll get to it as soon as they can, some can get you in right away, especially if they know you're on the road travelling. Judging from the posts on the Yahoo Sprinter Group, many Freightliner dealers would just as soon give up all Sprinter service to the Dodge dealers. Most Dodge dealers, the ones that are Sprinter dealers, that is, will have one or two Sprinter techs.
All Sprinter dealers are 5-Star Dodge dealers, but not all 5-Star Dodge dealers are Sprinter dealers. Some Mercedes dealers will service Sprinters, too, depending on what the problem is.
