STEERING:GEAR BOX:SHAFT SECTOR
The steering shaft disconnecting from the steering gear can cause a sudden loss of steering control, increasing risk of a crash.
14 safety recall campaigns, 1 carrying NHTSA's "park it" advisory, 1 defect investigation, 8 owner complaints filed with NHTSA.
1 campaign covering the 2019 MERCEDES BENZ SPRINTER (VS30) carries NHTSA’s “park it” advisory — the federal government telling owners to stop driving the vehicle until the remedy has been performed. Whether it was performed on any particular car is not something NHTSA publishes in a form anyone can query; a franchised dealer can run the VIN and print the record in a minute, and the repair is free.
Complaints are reports from owners of this model year, not findings about any particular vehicle, and a model that sold in large numbers will collect more of them. They are counted here as filed; nothing is inferred from them.
The steering shaft disconnecting from the steering gear can cause a sudden loss of steering control, increasing risk of a crash.
A wiring harness that overheats increases the risk of a fire.
The ESP may not respond as intended during certain driving scenarios, increasing the risk of a crash.
A hydraulic fluid leak may cause a sudden loss of power steering assist, increasing the risk of a crash.
The consumer may not receive information about open safety-recall campaigns, increasing the risk of injury, a crash, or fire.
If the operator relies on the provided owner's manual, the information about vehicle functions and other safety relevant information may be inaccurate and/or incomplete, which could lead to improper operation of the vehicle and potentially increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Two 2019 MERCEDES BENZ SPRINTER (VS30)s can have entirely different histories, and a recall campaign usually covers a build-date window rather than a whole model year — which a VIN does not encode, so only the door-jamb label settles it. Scanning the VIN adds the decode, the crash tests, the fuel economy and the complaints matched to that exact engine, trim and assembly plant.