Sprinter comments and question

Prarysun · Aug 29, 2006

Hi, I would like to hear from any Sprinter owners if they are having a "chattering" problem with their transmissions? I have spoken with 4 owners so far who have been having the same problem and when I took it to Caldwell Dodge in Columbus the service cntr said Daimler/Chryslers suggestion was to have the Transmission fluid and filter changed at MY expense of 350 dollars!!! WIth only 26K miles on it at the time and the book says change it at 60K I felt this should not be out of my pocket especially since D/C had a potential solution to the problem. I spoke with one fellow who bought his at Freightliner and he said they did not charge him for the change and it still did not solve the problem.
I was treated less than nice at Caldwell service dept and had my oil changed yesterday in Memphis and they changed my tranny fluid for nothing!! I went in there to have it done figuring I would have to pay the 350 but wanted it done just to see if it helps. I did explain what had happened at Caldwell and they just went ahead and said no charge!! Not sure if it takes care of the problem but I certainly will give them my business from now on! So if you are thinking of shopping at Caldwell, beware! The salesman Shawn is nice but if there is no service after the sale then what good is it. Any how would like to hear from other Sprinter owners if they have had a similair problem with their tranny's? If so how did you correct it? I would hope Daimler comes out with a recall but not sure they will. Have a great day.!

talkinghorse43 · Aug 29, 2006

"Chattering" on heavy load, or light acceleration/deceleration? If under heavy load, then a fluid flush should have cured it. If under light acceleration/deceleration, then DC says there is no known fix (even though my service manual says a new valve body should cure it) and it is not a problem even though it is annoying.

MDB1 · Aug 30, 2006

You may be experiencing what some Sprinter owners refer to as the dreaded "rumble strip noise" or "RSN." There have been extensive discussions of this problem on the Yahoo Sprintervan forum. Some owners report being able to eliminate or minimize it by changing the transmission fluid, adding fluid, using additives, etc. Others report that nothing has helped and they have learned to live with it, and many others report getting the response, "All Sprinters do that" when they ask a dealer service department to check it out.

If you want to read the discussions, go to Yahoo.com and click on "Groups". Then search for "Sprintervan". You will have to join the group and then you can search the messages for "rumble strip noise" or "rsn".

Good luck.

Jack_Berry · Aug 30, 2006

i hope it isn't like the tranny in my 2 chryco minivans both the 93 grand and the 2001 t&c trannys went bad. the dodge at 101k and the t&c at 95k. one minute it was there and the next it was gone. 3k to get both fixed.

next question, not to hijack the thread,....who has the most miles on their sprinter? i know of one expediter with over 80k on his.

if i expedite i would like a sprinter but.........

Jack Berry

MDB1 · Aug 30, 2006

I have over 136K on mine.

It's an '04.

greg334 · Aug 30, 2006

Met someone who has a 2003 with 350K on the clock and it still sounds good.

TJ959 · Sep 6, 2006

I have 105K on mine. I sometimes get a little chatter but not anything I would consider anoying.

Steady Eddie · Sep 6, 2006

140,000 miles on a 2005.

No transmission chatter as of yet. Serviced the trans at 130,000, somewhat over due but seems to be fine. I did hear one owner say that when he was coming to a stop the van would shutter, he said the tech told him it was an indicator of needing serviced.

One thing you sprinter owners need to check is the idler pulley. You have two; check the top one by the power steering pump. Mine had all the groves worn off. The tech said it was a common problem. He also said it would lead to the bottom one breaking.
I also remove and clean the EGR Valve when I change the oil; a can of carb cleaner and a steel brush is good for a few cleanings.

Steady

"The windshield is bigger than the rear view mirror, because it is more important to see where you are going than where you have been"

Prarysun · Sep 6, 2006

THanks I heard the same thing about the EGR valve cleaning! I have had it serviced regularly and the chatter is still there after the tranny fluid service so will see what happens.

cargodreaming · Oct 22, 2006

I had about the same problem and Dodge replaced the whole transmission at 53,000.

Prarysun · Oct 22, 2006

Cargo they replaced the tranny with no questions? I have about 55k now and my friend Dan had the same problem. He changed both the fluid and then the filter and that seemed to do the trick, no more chattering. I had the fluid changed only which didn't help at all and now will go have both changed. His had 135K when he did this. Did your tranny give out completely? What were the symptoms? (aside from it wouldn't go down the road, lol) Am worried about this cause the chattering is getting worse.....thanks

Dianne

vipra · Nov 11, 2006

My Sprinter has 210K miles, and it's been making that noise/vibration since it was new. If it was going to cause any problems it probably would have done so by now, but nothing has happened. It actually occurs less frequently and less strongly now than when my Sprinter was new. My advice is: ignore it.

panthervanman · Nov 11, 2006

I have 280k on 2003,didn't put it on the road until 2004.When mine started making that noise it ended up being the flex plate. It eventually broke in a hundred pieces and cost me 942.00 just for the towing.They said that all 2003 and older had the same real thin flex plate in them and that in 2004 they started putting a much thinker one in them so I don't know if this could be your problem or not.Are you sure the problem is your transmission or could it be that the exhaust pipe is lose and vibarting agaist the body??? I bought my van at southtown dodge in St. Louis and the salesman was great,and thats where it ended. The service department is a joke I only went there about 3 times and I could have very easyly punched the service manager in the face and I'm a very easy going person.I bought the van in Dec and in june when I turned the air on it didn't work at all and by then of course it wasn't under warrenty any longer and they told me I had to pay the full amount,ever though the lines had holes in them and the condencer was out.Don't hold your breath on any type of recall on this van,they have had hundreds of egr vaules go out over and over and they don't care.Sorry for rambling but they tick me off. Panthervanman:7 :7 :7 ;-)

Prarysun · Nov 14, 2006

Hi Vanman, I had the tranny serviced, fluid, filter and all. It now still chatters some but not nearly as bad as it was. My friend Dan said his stopped also with both the filter and fluid change. He says the filter housing is so small and the filter is very small as well and was poorly designed to handle what we do to them. So I guess we'll have to bit the bullet and get them changed more often. My dealer told me I should be changing the fuel filter every 10,000 miles and I said sure....only 140 bucks a month for that and 140 a month for a fuel filter and 350 every other month for a tranny service good Lord I didn't pay anywhere near these prices for my full PM in a straight truck!!! Someone really needs to come up with some after market services real soon! I realize doing these services yourself is a whole lot cheaper but I just don't think I want to be changing oil etc in the winter. Or ever for that matter!!

BTW van man, Roger who had the box van says hello. I think he said he knows you. He sold his van and we are getting into a straight truck together by the end of Dec.

Dianne

OntarioVanMan · Nov 15, 2006

>Hi Vanman, I had the tranny serviced, fluid, filter and all.
> It now still chatters some but not nearly as bad as it was.
> My friend Dan said his stopped also with both the filter
>and fluid change. He says the filter housing is so small
>and the filter is very small as well and was poorly designed
>to handle what we do to them. So I guess we'll have to bit
>the bullet and get them changed more often. My dealer told
>me I should be changing the fuel filter every 10,000 miles
>and I said sure....only 140 bucks a month for that and 140 a
>month for a fuel filter and 350 every other month for a
>tranny service good Lord I didn't pay anywhere near these
>prices for my full PM in a straight truck!!! Someone really
>needs to come up with some after market services real soon!
> I realize doing these services yourself is a whole lot
>cheaper but I just don't think I want to be changing oil etc
>in the winter. Or ever for that matter!!
>
>BTW van man, Roger who had the box van says hello. I think
>he said he knows you. He sold his van and we are getting
>into a straight truck together by the end of Dec.
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>Dianne
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What the heck ya doin????

Service Manual says 20,000 for fuel filter and 80,000 for tranny!
I do my filter about 50,000m's and the old one is spanking clean, no residuel no dirt nada....
Yeah my tranny chatters....its normal for Sprinters the RPMs are so low thats why just don't pressure it on accelaration and let it get up to speed without flooring the pedal!