Total Complaints
2 filings
FREIGHTLINER SPRINTER 3500 · model year
2 NHTSA complaints, and 2 active recalls for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2006FREIGHTLINERSPRINTER 3500 carries 2 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2006 SPRINTER 3500 is fuel system, gasoline with 1 filings, followed by engine and engine cooling (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 2 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 38 investigation files overlapping the 2006 SPRINTER 3500. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
2 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 |
STEERING:COLUMN
SPRINTER IS RECALLING 10 MY 2001-2006 DODGE AND FREIGHTLINER 2500 AND 3500 VEHICLES. THE WELDING SEAM BETWEEN THE BRACKET AND STEERING COLUMN OF AFFECTED SPARE PARTS DOES NOT MEET DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS. THE RESULT OF AN OUT OF SPECIFICATION WELDING SEAM IS THAT THE STEERING COLUMN MAY DETACH FROM
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
Daimler Vans USA, LLC (DVUSA) is recalling certain model year 2003-2006 Dodge and Freightliner Sprinter 2500 and 3500 vans manufactured June 30, 2003, to August 31, 2006. The instrument cluster on the affected vehicles fails to illuminate the BRAKE warning lamp in the instrument cluster during the
TURBO RESONATOR PREVENTED ME FROM DRIVING OVER 45 MPH WHILE I WAS ON A 70 MPH FREEWAY! HAD TO HAVE RV TOWED! I WAS TERRIFIED. ADDITIONALLY, I JUST FOUND OUT THAT THE TURBO RESONATOR PART 5137154AC WAS THE SAME ONE USED TO REPLACE THE ONE THAT FAILED. I HAVE FOUND OUT THAT THIS PART IS MADE OUT OF PLASTIC, WHICH CRACKS AT HIGH HEAT AND CAUSES MY VEHICLE TO SLOW DOWN AND PREVENTS IT FROM GOING UPHILL. THE SECOND TIME THIS HAPPENED WAS TWO DAYS AGO ON SEPT. 28 WITH ONLY 28,160 MILES ON MY RV WHEN I WAS DRIVING IN MY RV WITH MY FAMILY ON A DARK DESERTED HIGHWAY 4 HOURS FROM MY HOME, AND IT JUST WOULDN'T GO OVER 45-50 MPH WITH MY FOOT ALL THE WAY DOWN ON THE ACCELERATOR. I WAS TERRIFIED AGAIN, AS I THOUGHT IT COULD NOT BE THE RESONATOR, AS I HAD IT REPLACED ONLY 18,000 MILES AGO AND IT SHOULD NOT BE FAILING. I COULD NOT FIND A CHRYSLER DEALER WHO WOULD WORK ON MY VEHICLE NEAR WHERE I WAS SO I DROVE IT SLOWLY 74 MILES (TERRFIED WHEN I CAME TO HILLS OR BRIDGES!!!!!!) TO CORPUS CHRISTI TO
Mileage: 10,692
TURBO RESONATOR PREVENTED ME FROM DRIVING OVER 45 MPH WHILE I WAS ON A 70 MPH FREEWAY! HAD TO HAVE RV TOWED! I WAS TERRIFIED. ADDITIONALLY, I JUST FOUND OUT THAT THE TURBO RESONATOR PART 5137154AC WAS THE SAME ONE USED TO REPLACE THE ONE THAT FAILED. I HAVE FOUND OUT THAT THIS PART IS MADE OUT OF PLASTIC, WHICH CRACKS AT HIGH HEAT AND CAUSES MY VEHICLE TO SLOW DOWN AND PREVENTS IT FROM GOING UPHILL. THE SECOND TIME THIS HAPPENED WAS TWO DAYS AGO ON SEPT. 28 WITH ONLY 28,160 MILES ON MY RV WHEN I WAS DRIVING IN MY RV WITH MY FAMILY ON A DARK DESERTED HIGHWAY 4 HOURS FROM MY HOME, AND IT JUST WOULDN'T GO OVER 45-50 MPH WITH MY FOOT ALL THE WAY DOWN ON THE ACCELERATOR. I WAS TERRIFIED AGAIN, AS I THOUGHT IT COULD NOT BE THE RESONATOR, AS I HAD IT REPLACED ONLY 18,000 MILES AGO AND IT SHOULD NOT BE FAILING. I COULD NOT FIND A CHRYSLER DEALER WHO WOULD WORK ON MY VEHICLE NEAR WHERE I WAS SO I DROVE IT SLOWLY 74 MILES (TERRFIED WHEN I CAME TO HILLS OR BRIDGES!!!!!!) TO CORPUS CHRISTI TO
Mileage: 10,692
EVDM connector plate separation
Halogen Headlights May Cause Fires
Trolley bus circuit breaker fires
Rear Wheel Speed Sensor Failure
Intermittent Loss of Power Steering Assist
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.