2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 problems
NHTSA has received 134 complaints about the 2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500, and 16% of them involve electrical system. Next are forward collision avoidance (15%) and drivetrain & axles (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 134 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 16% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 3,000 miles 37 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 32 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 2 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 0 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 37 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 3,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 89% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2020 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 9 model years of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 with enough data (131 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 22 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
On November 28, 2025, I experienced a vehicle fire in my Mercedes 2020 Sprinter 2500 4WD van. The van engine was on and idling while heating up with the van heater blower on level 6 (out of 7). After about 45 minutes, I saw a haze first and then smelled smoke. Unsure of the source, I turned the vehicle off and exited with my dog. I opened the hood to look for smoke in the engine bay. No smoke under the hood. I contact Mercedes Roadside and open the driver side door where I see flames under the seat.
This van is under recall for roll away incidents. The van did roll away and now has $9K worth of damage from hitting a stop sign and a wall. The van has been at MB Stockton Ca for months and months with out a resolution. Mercedes Benz sent us a letter yesterday stating they deny all responsibility and advising us to pick up the van. The recall is not complete. This vehicle is 100% unsafe and now prone to more incidents, we have refused to pick up the vehicle.
On 10-27-22 the van was parked in my home driveway where it had been parked overnight. The engine was running for approximately 10 minutes while loading things into the vehicle. The vehicle was in park and the hand parking brake was not engaged. Prior to leaving I noticed the dash icon showing the rear door was not fully shut and went back to close it.
My brand new 2020 mercedes sprinter 2500 van just like. Everyone else's on that vehicle has a power steering hose that is too short. Because of this a fair amount of people have had this come off and ended up stranded. When it comes off you lose power steering. If this happens while driving it could be dangerous. I called mercedes benz of westminster in co and they said they cannot fix this until there is a recall for my particular VIN. Other vins have received a recall already.
Vehicle accelerates uncharacteristically slowly upon cold start in cold temperatures / high elevation. Many documented cases in previous and current model sprinter which uses the same om642 diesel engine. [link removed] there have been multiple times where I tried to cross an intersection or make a left across a highway upon recent cold start and the van accelerated very slowly, leaving me moving very slowly across the opposing traffic lane(s).