Community Forums

Jembo · 06-08-2018, 04:02 PM

Brisk take off with my Winnebago Navion up to 26,000 miles then I have had turbo
Lag of 1 to 4 seconds which is very dangerous when having to merge into traffic. When turbo does kick in I go with usual power. I am on long trip and am heading for a Sprinter service for a fix. On internet mentions of "mass air part/function" .. When fixed will try to tell what I learn of problem and repair. What do others know of this problem?

Hennessy12 · 06-08-2018, 05:30 PM

I've not had this problem and I have 17000 miles on mine. Hope you get it fixed before it becomes a serious issue. Keep me posted and best of luck.

BFlinn181 · 06-08-2018, 05:33 PM

Do you have the stock air cleaner? The MAF (mass air flow) sensor is located after the air cleaner in the tube to the turbo. If it gets dirty, all sorts of balky engine issues can come up. MAF sensor cleaner comes in a spray can and is available at Walmart and most auto parts stores. You might save a trip to the dealer if you try to clean it yourself and see if the turbo delay stops.

I've seen this problem in folks that insist in using K&N air filters.

outpost22 · 06-09-2018, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

Do you have the stock air cleaner? The MAF (mass air flow) sensor is located after the air cleaner in the tube to the turbo. If it gets dirty, all sorts of balky engine issues can come up. MAF sensor cleaner comes in a spray can and is available at Walmart and most auto parts stores. You might save a trip to the dealer if you try to clean it yourself and see if the turbo delay stops.

I've seen this problem in folks that insist in using K&N air filters.

Very true. If the OP does attempt to clean it, most of these MAF sensors are delicate. Use a Q tip with very light pressure. I don't know about the Mercedes as I haven't looked at mine yet as far as construction. Just be careful

BFlinn181 · 06-09-2018, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by outpost22

Very true. If the OP does attempt to clean it, most of these MAF sensors are delicate. Use a Q tip with very light pressure. I don't know about the Mercedes as I haven't looked at mine yet as far as construction. Just be careful

I was suggesting a 'no-touch' spray cleaner.

Hooligan · 06-11-2018, 07:06 PM

I have seen some reports of EGR problems causing a delay in response in the Sprinter. Mercedes shops can read the codes thrown by the sprinter engine.

tderonne · 06-11-2018, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

Do you have the stock air cleaner? The MAF (mass air flow) sensor is located after the air cleaner in the tube to the turbo. If it gets dirty, all sorts of balky engine issues can come up. MAF sensor cleaner comes in a spray can and is available at Walmart and most auto parts stores. You might save a trip to the dealer if you try to clean it yourself and see if the turbo delay stops.

I've seen this problem in folks that insist in using K&N air filters.

Diesels don’t use the MAF sensor in the same way as gassers do. Not saying there couldn’t be issues with a dirty MAF, but probably not in this case.

BFlinn181 · 06-11-2018, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tderonne

Diesels don’t use the MAF sensor in the same way as gassers do. Not saying there couldn’t be issues with a dirty MAF, but probably not in this case.

In a diesel, a dirty or malfunctioning MAF often results in a lack of power, fell sluggish, higher fuel consumption, perhaps increase in black smoke. A dirty MAF doesn't always throw a code, it just causes more fuel to be injected for its perceived air flow.

I'm not sure of a Sprinter's turbo type, if it's a variable vane type it could be getting wrong signals from the ECU which would be getting misinformation from a dirty MAF.

Mr.Goodbar · 06-11-2018, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jembo

Brisk take off with my Winnebago Navion up to 26,000 miles then I have had turbo
Lag of 1 to 4 seconds which is very dangerous when having to merge into traffic. When turbo does kick in I go with usual power. I am on long trip and am heading for a Sprinter service for a fix. On internet mentions of "mass air part/function" .. When fixed will try to tell what I learn of problem and repair. What do others know of this problem?

I have the same engine with over 18,000 miles and have not experienced any turbo lag.

luvlabs · 06-12-2018, 10:45 AM

Just to rule out more common problems:

When did you change your fuel filter?

When did you change your air filter?

Both of those simple maintenance items will cause loss of power in a diesel and are certainly more common than turbo problems. One other thing to check - your air inlet plumbing to the turbo and the plumbing to the manifold. Depending on the year of your chassis, these are other potential problem areas.

SteveNSue · 06-21-2018, 12:42 PM

We have a 2017 MB with about 9K miles and experienced a serious turbo lag in high altitude. We were in Yellowstone National Park and attempted to pull out from a side road only to find that there was a delay in getting power, enough delay that we stopped and rethought our strategy on what we were attempting to do. We double footed the gas and brake until we felt a strong engine pull before letting off the brake and hitting the gas. The delay experienced was about 5 seconds with engine output only able to move the vehicle about 10 mph until the turbo kicked in. Not a good way to make a left turn into moving traffic.

BFlinn181 · 06-21-2018, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveNSue

We have a 2017 MB with about 9K miles and experienced a serious turbo lag in high altitude. We were in Yellowstone National Park and attempted to pull out from a side road only to find that there was a delay in getting power, enough delay that we stopped and rethought our strategy on what we were attempting to do. We double footed the gas and brake until we felt a strong engine pull before letting off the brake and hitting the gas. The delay experienced was about 5 seconds with engine output only able to move the vehicle about 10 mph until the turbo kicked in. Not a good way to make a left turn into moving traffic.

The highest elevation in Yellowstone is Dunraven Pass at 8,859'. Most of the other roads in YNP are 1-2,000' feet below that, or not much higher than the foothills outside Denver. The OP didn't say anything about elevation when they had the turbo lag they reported. It will be interesting to hear what your mechanic finds is the cause of the loss of power. If this was a common problem of Mercedes diesels, I'd think it would be reported far more often.

Jembo · 06-22-2018, 07:23 AM

Just home in Tennessee from 1 month trip to Colorado. First had the turbo lag when on scenic drive between Trinidad Co (6,025 elevation) and Walsenberg (6,171 elev.) along state road 12 with Cubhara Pass at 9,941 ft) Continued lag all through central and north Colorado in the mountains. Once returned to the lower elevations of the eastern great plains began not to notice lag. Home in Tenn, I will be testing for lag more; nearest Sprinter authorized service is 140 miles away one way so will see if large truck service nearer can check for codes.

luvlabs · 06-22-2018, 08:39 AM

Since your Sprinter is equipped with OBD II diagnostics, you can check codes as well. Not sure what you are going to see if it hasn't actually set a code.

BTW, last summer was my drive all over the place at elevations above 5000 ft trip. No problems that I noticed. We live at 4400 ft and have never had a turbo lag event that I'm aware of.