The amazon is dropping them. Phasing in Transits. My 16 Sprinter has been to the dealer with engine issues. Water pump and egr failures before 80000 miles

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Satan creates nothing: he only ruins everything. He does not invent: he tampers. And his followers are no different ~ Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò

I have heard same thing from others that use their Sprinter daily for work. Many problems with the Bluetec system. If you are a business, perhaps you can afford to maintaining these systems. But as an individual, its like have three expensive systems instead of two (Eng/Trans) to worry about maintaining.
Could be that some OM642s were switched to the low sludge oils early on by dealers. Others were maintained by Indys or owners and stayed with old school MB diesel oils that can create sludge because of, among other things, the high temperatures in the exhaust recirc system.

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

Where did you obtain that information? I've seen all three in use around here (promaster, transit, sprinter), with plenty of sprinters.

Amazon just purchased 20,000 sprinters less than two years ago. I would doubt highly that they'd be replacing them yet.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

I work on the material equipment at the Ladson MB plant. Heard it there.

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Satan creates nothing: he only ruins everything. He does not invent: he tampers. And his followers are no different ~ Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò

I wonder how much better transits actually are in the long run....I've read plenty about powertrain and other issues with those too (and even more with the promasters). Plus there's the increase in fuel consumption vs a diesel....

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Ok, back to the original postings.......Has the OP heard anything further on what actually happened to this engine??

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2012 Mercedes ML350 Bluetec 102K (hers)
2005 Corvette 55K (fun car)
2002 VW Jetta TDI 238K (mine)
1998 Volvo S70 T5 Turbo 211K (kids)
1994 Ford F150 4WD 246K (firewood hauler)
1983 Mercedes 300D 384K (diesel commuter)

Good call.

I still just 100% can't believe this engine isn't under warranty at 55k miles... Dang man that's what I would be doing if I were u complaining and gripeing to everyone you can find at the dealership and Mercedes customer service.

I just really can't believe that. 50k mile powertrain warranty on a 100k dollar car??? What??

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Warranty length is some indication of what a manufacturer believes about the quality and lasting ability. Of a given product they produce themselves.

MB factory warranty is 4 years/50 k miles from original in service date for the original purchaser.

If you buy a CPO you get an additional year tacked on to the original factory warranty and the mileage cap is removed. But they do not cover cosmetic issues in that 5th year.

Or you can buy up for another 2 years on top of that (total of 7 years from original in service date) again with unlimited miles and no cosmetic coverage.

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The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

I got kind of shot down when I suggested contacting MBUSA. MB offer more than the official warranty. There is some flexibility, especially as with this case, with known problems. I have found MBCanada and our local dealer very helpful.

I would not drive one of these more recent Benzes without warranty coverage. Even Bluetec emissions problems can cost as much as a transmission!

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

Dear Mr. Graham, if you’re referring to my previous reply I can assure you that it wasn’t my intention to shoot anybody down. Please accept my apology in the case I mis-spoke. My intention was simply to shed some light on the process MBUSA has in place when inquiries are made

I’ve been following this thread closely, as I’m quite curious about this issue. I’m hoping the OP will provide us with the latest information ASAP.

Some observations, thus far.....

1. The OP stated this vehicle had oil changes every 3K miles, then the engine “locked up”. Hmmmmm......this doesn’t pass the “smell test”. Sorry, but something here doesn’t sound right to me.

2. The fault codes for low rail pressure aren’t likely to provide any useful data.

3. In deference to several posts implying the OM642 has known defects concerning durability, I haven’t seen this to be the case. Check Engine lights? Hell yeah! Everyday! EGR, boost pressure control, NOx systems, AdBlue heaters, SCR issues..... the list goes on, but no major engine failures.

If the vehicle is currently at a dealer the owner would’ve been informed that they would be charged for the preliminary diagnosis, probably two hours to start. If the engine is indeed “locked up” it will be nearly impossible to determine the exact cause in that time. The dealer will then inform the owner that further steps will be necessary to determine the root cause of the problem.

It’s a lousy spot for the owner to be in but that’s the way it is.

No need to apologize. I just thought the owner should have started with MBUSA because it costs nothing. Then see where he would go from there.

There are cases posted elsewhere about these engines seizing up because of sludge formation. Latest oils are supposed to reduce this in these and other Bluetec type engines. But even MB dealers, never mind indies, didn't start using those at first.

Here is a place that could fix the ML350 or at least advise on cost:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0c-3ha5aF0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvEdThSSxos

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

That is absolutely what I would do too. I really think that if it were me or my wife in this same situation I could convince mb to cover this under warranty or at least help in some sort of way.

It's only 5k miles past that could be 3-4 months after end of warranty. Like ya they prolly wouldn't help you if it needed a new sensor or something, but the whole Damm engine freezing up.... I figure they would at very atleast cover labor for free and like Graham said as well I would not be surprised if they did the whole thing for free.

And if OP got his oil changed at any shop he could get records of it.

If he did it at home he could also get records of where and when he purchased the oil from but ya that would be a little harder but still do able.

I would think if he had that proof, even if the oil was really only changed every 5k, that mbusa would absolutely cover this under warranty or at very least help in some significant way.

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Well, I'm starting to think that after 6+ pages of discussion, the OP (or his brother in law) is either no longer interested in finding out what happened to the motor, or no longer wishes to continue the discussing it with us.......Hope this is not the case as I, like many, would like to find out the true cause of the motor failure.

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2012 Mercedes ML350 Bluetec 102K (hers)
2005 Corvette 55K (fun car)
2002 VW Jetta TDI 238K (mine)
1998 Volvo S70 T5 Turbo 211K (kids)
1994 Ford F150 4WD 246K (firewood hauler)
1983 Mercedes 300D 384K (diesel commuter)