My wife and I purchased our 2015 Freightliner passenger van last January, pre-owned with just 25 miles on the odometer. Since that time we haven't given dust a chance to collect on it; some miles for the many enjoyable family trips and others due to the numerous, unfortunate (450 mile r/t) emergency room visits to Portland.
Before we purchased our 2015 Sprinter we figured that we would put around 8,000 miles per year on it. We laughed at the thought that the engine oil needed changed every 20,000 miles or one year. After all, 8,000 miles is what we were averaging in the final year of ownership with its successor, our trusty and comfortable Toyota Sequoia which we had for 8 years. However, after just 9 months with the Sprinter we had accumulated over 20,000 easy miles on the odometer! While the Sequoia was comfortable, the Sprinter is more comfortable and less fatiguing on extended road trips. The seats are more firm in the Sprinter, which apparently reduces fatigue as it supports you in a healthier posture. The Sprinter is a comfortable cruiser with a fuel efficient turbodiesel 6-cylinder engine that easily swallows up big road trips. Road Trips are now far more common, more enjoyable and more affordable than they were in our previous gasoline fed V-8 SUV.
The Sprinter is actually fun to drive and it is remarkably agile, even on twisty highways. With a height of over 9’ tall, the only notable sacrifice has been fewer drive-thru options and practically no parking garage options. With the Sprinter, I have unfortunately outgrown Walmart's Tire Center, which is now too low of clearance to enter. I've mentioned before that the big, beautiful windshield is a magnet for road gravel. However the benefit of being able to walk around inside without needing to hunch is worth all of the sacrifice, especially when we use the van for my son’s wheelchair transport, its main purpose. The interior height also comes in quite useful when we put the van to work on the family’s box hauling duties.
You might think, as I had figured that the high profile of this van would present a freighting scenario with gusty cross winds. To my surprise that hasn't been an issue. Despite driving frequently in strong wind storms of the Oregon coast and through the windy Columbia River Gorge I have had only one occasion when the Sprinter's "Cross Wind Assist'' feature has actually kicked into action. That event was swift, lasting about a second with no drama, outside of the warning beep noise and the windsock symbol that showed up on my driver information screen. The Cross Wind Assist automatically applies the brakes to certain wheels to keep you in your lane. In fact, the Sprinter takes less effort to drive in windy weather than our Sequoia and Subarus I have owned. It drives like a big German van should, nice and stable.
We purchased the van with the rare factory tow package, as we did a lot of towing with our previous Toyota Sequoia. The tow package is a rarely seen option, as other other options like the common rear step bumper package often deletes it. The factory tow package ties into the Sprinter's stability system. This makes towing more stable and more safe, such as in an event of a sudden trailer tire failure. Previous towing was mostly (90+%) loaded Uhaul trailers, used to transport boxes for the business. Our Sprinter's vast interior volume has so far eliminated the need to rent a U-Haul trailer, as it allows us to stack boxes up to the 6'4 ceiling height.
Naturally, the fuel milage is much improved over our Sequoia's average of 15 mpg. In fact, on a recent 2500+ mile trip up through Alberta and British Columbia, Canada we averaged between 22-25 mpg. This is an impressive number, as the van is tall and was full of family, luggage, food and extra supplies which took us up and over 7,000' elevation often, as we drove 400+ miles daily. We traveled through Glacier National Park in the USA into Alberta, Canada to see Banff & Jasper National Park and beautiful Lake Louise. On the way back, we traveled the beautiful Coquihalla Pass; made famous on The Discovery Channel's "Highway Thru Hell" reality show. We stayed the night in Hope, B.C and visited the hallowed Jamie Davis Tow yard in the morning. It was a long, but surprisingly not fatiguing trip.
Last week, while already in Portland for an unscheduled hospital trip I took the Sprinter over to Mercedes of Wilsonville for its 20,000 mile service. Mercedes recommends an oil change every 20,000 miles on the Sprinter along with a few other minor services; a new fuel filter was recommended by the dealer and it was replaced. I have rotated the tires every 5,000 miles and despite the correct air pressure it appears that the factory Kuhmo tires are about spent. I loved the way these tires handled. These factory Kuhmo tires are the only tires I have driven without ever hydroplaning. However, with that said I have not found the identical brand and model to replace with. New Michelin "60,000 mile" tires were ordered at Costco and installed, but they didn't handle the corners nearly as well and were promptly removed and replaced with my former set of well worn Kumho's. Incidentally,
Costco managed to damage all four of my stock alloy wheels, to the tune of $500 with some extensive gouging and scratches. To make matters worse, they have so far denied any accountability. My first visit with the 1 star rated, Eugene Costco Tire Center will be my last. I am proceeding with collection efforts from them.
Wilsonville Mercedes performed the 20k service and I was provided with a well equipped 2018 Mercedes C-class sedan as a free courtesy car (which had just 70 miles on the odometer) to drive while the service took most of the day. Courtesy cars go along way in my book, as my day was a productive one while my rig was in the shop. Kudos to Wilsonville Mercedes-Benz.
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Below is what I have spent on various items for the Sprinter. I was amazed that Mercedes parts were in some cases much cheaper than what I have spent on my previous Toyota, Subarus and VW's.
Expenses Over the past 20,000 miles:
I have had one taillight broken and replaced, $70.00 (my fault)
Cracked Windshield- $225.00 (nature's fault)
20,000 mile service & oil change- $530.00
Typical Fuel Consumption has been city/hwy mix of 18.5-19.2 mpg-
Fuel Cost not recorded
2- Cases of DEF @ $7 case= $14.00
Braun Under Vehicle Lift (UVL) Wheelchair Lift & Installed- $12,500
New Set of Mercedes Alloy Wheels (for Winter)-$580.00
New Set of Michelin Tires- $738.00
New Set of Studded Tires/ sensors/install from Les Schwab-$932.08
Removable Bug/Rock Screen-Which covers radiator- $100 ?
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SIDE NOTE: Did you know the Sprinter model was introduced into the US market under the Freightliner badge in 2000? The Dodge badge was introduced in 2002 and replaced with the Mercedes star in 2010 after they went separate ways. Regardless, Mercedes has made every Sprinter in their Dusseldorf, Germany Plant. The cargo vans are then disassembled, shipped to the U.S and reassembled, to avoid the 25% tariff. A new U.S Sprinter plant is currently being constructed in South Carolina.
The Sprinter is actually categorized and regulated with the US Government as a "BUS", (as is the Ford Transit) visible from the driver's door jam.
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Specs of vehicle mentioned here:
2015 Freightliner Sprinter 144" wheelbase
W/Optional HighRoof Option
W/ Optional V6 Turbo Diesel
(With Various Options new cost $55,000 when New)
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In conclusion, I and the family are very happy with the Sprinter. It has resilient commercial bones, with a powerful, no-nonsense diesel engine. I expect that the Sprinter will provide us many hundreds of thousands of miles of use and enjoyment. In fact there are many Sprinters still running strong with well over 600,000 miles on the odometer.
Stay tuned for the next 20,000 mile update.
What I like so far:
I Love the diesel engine sound
Driving Height, Position and Visibility
Seat Comfort over Longer Trips
Heat & AC, Front & Rear Passengers
17,000 btu Diesel- Heater Booster (on days below 40F)
Load Capacity of more than a ton and a half
Towing Capacity that stays at 5,000 pounds regardless of load
Maintenance is seldom and reasonable cost
Taillight was inexpensive and super easy to replace myself (after watching 12 year-old on Youtube do it first).
Factory parts, such as the alloy wheels have proven to be relatively inexpensive, despite being made in Germany, for Mercedes.
The data/info center provides tire pressure for each tire and other great information
Possible Improvement areas:
The Sliding Door requires force to close and sometimes contributes to
occasional cabin noise when driving.
GPS is not intuitive to use and is easy to mess up settings, with no good map default.
No built in satellite radio
Built in rear view camera or wiring, is not standard
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