Sprinter chassis, how many miles is too many

The Sprinter's emissions problems seem completely unrelated to mileage. They just happen. And dealer-distance-anxiety is a real problem for some folks.

The DPF-equipped but pre-SCR (DEF) diesels have more frequent problems than the SCR-equipped models, but the SCR-equipped models can have more-complicated repairs needed.

Heavy loads (which I would consider an empty motorhome a heavy load) are GOOD for these engines. In town / short cycle driving is bad. Are you buying private party? A Sprinter is small enough some families use them as a 2nd car, and therefore may have a lot of short-cycle driving.

Plan on a rear-axle rebuild if it hasn't been done. Remember it's been running its whole life at rated capacity.

More important... How's the house? That's a lot of shake, rattle, and roll it's been though. I'm not sure any high-produciton RV is made to hold up well with that many miles. The creaks and rattles and groans might seem tolerable on a test drive, but could you put up with if many hours at a time?

tatest wrote:
Commercial users of Sprinter vans run out to 300,000 miles or more before trading. They do know their own use and maintenance records, and how long they keep using a vehicle usually has more to do with tax codes than operating efficiency, but this does indicate a 125,00 mile Sprinter might still be early in its service life, if treated well and properly maintained.

FWIW, I have a son in law who looks for vehicles in the 100,000 to 200,000 mile range when car shopping, because 100K seems to be a magic number that scares away buyers. But the price has to be right.

Good choice. 100K on my dads cars was asking a lot but not today's vehicles. I purchased a K-5 Blazer with 175K miles on it and based on the maintenance records didn't even hesitate. My friends F-350 V-10 turned 475K miles, was running on 9 cylinders basically then he replaced the engine.
I own a Duramax GMC pre-def and could sell it in 5 minutes. Seems the DEF fluid is causing issues in many engines.

Commercial users of Sprinter vans run out to 300,000 miles or more before trading. They do know their own use and maintenance records, and how long they keep using a vehicle usually has more to do with tax codes than operating efficiency, but this does indicate a 125,00 mile Sprinter might still be early in its service life, if treated well and properly maintained.

FWIW, I have a son in law who looks for vehicles in the 100,000 to 200,000 mile range when car shopping, because 100K seems to be a magic number that scares away buyers. But the price has to be right.

How did the previous owner do on maintenance? Maintenance makes a huge difference in the life expectancy of any vehicle.

X2 we have an 0lder one with the I 5 cyc engine just turned 40k service desk says ain,t broke in yet. no engine troubles. go to google and then sprinter source site . we would not give ours up. just from what I,ve read most diesels with the df set are troubles.

azrving wrote:
I have never owned one but have noticed posts about the emission sytems. Here is one example.

Google: "sprinter exhaust emissions issues"

I guess a person needs to stick with the older models that didn't require the DEF. That link you gave is a sobering story. Thanks.

The more a Sprinter is driven, the more reliable it will be.

I have a 2004 Sprinter with about 360,000 miles on it right now, and I wouldn't hesitate to drive across the country in it next weekend (needs an oil change and the ECU, SKREEM immobilizer, and passenger door handle/lock are removed right now, shipped to Oregon for cutting and coding of keys, since my driver lost the last key). No, its not an RV, but it is regularly laden to capacity with freight.

If there are any concerns about emissions, etc, those came in the later years. The 2008 will be fine in the long run, but if you are still concerned, call Green Diesel Engineering and see your tuning options. They can alleviate a lot of the emissions concerns for that era with a simple tune.

I hope there will be responses for you from folks with high mileage Sprinters and their real-world experiences.

We’re on our second one, but traded the first (a Class B) after about 85,000 miles for a Class C because we required more space for a 70 lb Labrador underfoot.

In our experience, the class B’s excellent fuel mileage (23 mpg) got even better at around the 75,000 mile mark (25 mpg). Conventional wisdom, as you probably already know, seems to be that properly maintained diesel engines are just starting to hit their stride around 100,000 mi. and can easily go to 300,000 and beyond.

I have never owned one but have noticed posts about the emission sytems. Here is one example.

Google: "sprinter exhaust emissions issues"