What are the common problems with the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500?
Owners of the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 have filed 62 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the powertrain (14). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 44 of them list a mileage; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 62 owner complaints on the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. Owners named the powertrain most often: 14 complaints, and half of the 12 that list a mileage came after 10,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 62 complaints, 3 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 3 report an injury (6 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2016 Sprinter 3500
NHTSA's file holds 62 owner complaints on the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. Owners named the powertrain most often: 14 complaints, and half of the 12 that list a mileage came after 10,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power Train | 14 | 12 | 11,000 |
| Air Bags | 12 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
| Electronic Stability Control (ESC) | 12 | 11 | 18,000 |
| Service Brakes | 12 | 12 | 11,500 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 10 | 9 | 20,000 |
Of the 62 complaints, 3 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 3 report an injury (6 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2016 Sprinter 3500
The 44 mileages owners gave run from 500 to 200,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 8,000 miles, half at or under 17,000, three quarters at or under 23,580 and nine in ten at or under 40,000; 1 (2%) came after 100,000 miles, 1 (2%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2016 Sprinter 3500 wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 43 of the 44 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2016 Sprinter 3500 can cover.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 500 miles |
| 25th percentile | 8,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 17,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 23,580 miles |
| 90th percentile | 40,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 200,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 1 (2%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 1 (2%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Is the 2016 Sprinter 3500 a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2016 is a good or a bad Sprinter 3500: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2016 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 62 complaints, the 2016 drew the most of the 9 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 model years from 2012 to 2023 with 10 or more complaints. The fewest: the 2020 (13).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 Sprinter 3500 | 21 | 11 | 31,000 |
| 2013 Sprinter 3500 | 45 | 22 | 25,000 |
| 2014 Sprinter 3500 | 55 | 35 | 22,250 |
| 2015 Sprinter 3500 | 37 | 30 | 13,000 |
| 2016 (this page) | 62 | 44 | 17,000 |
| 2017 Sprinter 3500 | 28 | 17 | 18,000 |
| 2019 Sprinter 3500 | 27 | 14 | 9,100 |
| 2020 Sprinter 3500 | 13 | 4 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2023 Sprinter 3500 | 17 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 16 recall campaigns that name the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 21V042000 | Feb 3, 2021 | ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC):CONTROL MODULE |
| 20V663000 | Oct 28, 2020 | STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:HOSE, PIPING, AND CONNECTIONS |
| 19V004000 | Jan 8, 2019 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 19V003000 | Jan 8, 2019 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 18V113000 | Feb 15, 2018 | EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2016 Sprinter 3500 lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2016 Sprinter 3500.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 18 of the 62 complaints on the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: SPRINTER 3500. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: SPRINTER 3500.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 questions
What are the most common 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 problems?
NHTSA's file holds 62 owner complaints on the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. Owners named the powertrain most often: 14 complaints, and half of the 12 that list a mileage came after 10,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 62 complaints, 3 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 3 report an injury (6 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500?
Of the 44 complaints on the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 that list mileage, the middle half came between 8,000 and 24,000 miles; 1 (2%) came after 100,000 miles, 1 (2%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2016 Sprinter 3500 can cover.
Is the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2016 is a good or a bad Sprinter 3500: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2016 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 62 complaints, the 2016 drew the most of the 9 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 model years from 2012 to 2023 with 10 or more complaints. The fewest: the 2020 (13).
How many recalls does the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 16 recall campaigns that name the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500.