Amazon Mercedes-Benz delivery vans have a mechanical issue

Mercedes-Benz has identified a power-steering-fluid
leak plaguing its Sprinter vans.
Mercedes-Benz

• Mercedes-Benz
  has discovered a power-steering problem with its
  highly touted Sprinter vans.
• The cause of the problem is a fluid leak that can make
  it difficult to turn the wheel of the vehicle, a Mercedes-Benz
  spokeswoman, Catherine Gebhardt, told Business
  Insider.
• This has affected Amazon,
  which recently became Daimler
  AG‘s biggest Sprinter buyer with an order of
  20,000 Prime-branded Sprinter vans for its
  last-mile-delivery program. Amazon had previously ordered 5,000
  vans.
• One Amazon delivery service provider discovered the
  power-steering problem in about a quarter of its Mercedes-Benz
  vans, according to an employee of the courier company, who
  asked to remain anonymous.

Mercedes-Benz has identified a power-steering problem plaguing
its highly touted Sprinter vans.

The cause of the problem is a fluid leak that can make it
difficult to turn the wheel of the vehicle, a Mercedes-Benz
spokeswoman, Catherine Gebhardt, told Business Insider.

It has affected Amazon, which recently became Daimler AG’s
biggest buyer of Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans with an order of
20,000 vehicles — up from a previous order of 5,000 — for its
growing last-mile-delivery
program. The program enables courier companies to lease the
vans, which are emblazoned with the Prime logo, for Amazon
package deliveries.

One Amazon delivery service provider has encountered the
power-steering problem in about a quarter of the 40 Mercedes-Benz
vans that the company received at a delivery station in early
September, according to an employee of the company, who asked to
remain anonymous. This person said Mercedes-Benz had since
repaired the affected vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz notified Amazon’s delivery service partners of the
issue on September 18 and asked them to schedule an on-site
inspection of the power-steering system with their local
Mercedes-Benz dealer, Gebhardt said.

“This is being done as a proactive measure to minimize downtime,”
she said, adding that the vehicles can still be driven safely in
the event of a leak.

“If there is a leak in the power-steering system, the power
assist (especially at a standstill) may be greatly reduced,”
Gebhardt said. “When driving at slow speeds it will require some
additional steering effort, but again, the van can still be
controlled.”

It’s likely that other Mercedes-Benz Sprinter customers in
addition to Amazon have been affected by the issue. Mercedes-Benz
declined to comment on other customers and on how many vehicles
have been impaired by the power-steering issue overall.

Amazon announced its bulk order of the Prime-branded vans at a
joint press conference with Mercedes-Benz in September
celebrating the opening of the automaker’s new factory in North
Charleston, South Carolina, which specializes in making Sprinter
vans.

The vans can be leased to Amazon’s existing delivery service
partners, some of which have worked for Amazon since 2015, as
well as partners that have been recruited through the new
program.

If you have information to share, contact this reporter at
[email protected].

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