
208 MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLEDisposal of Service ProductsDispose of service products and of parts which come
into contact with them (e.g. filters) in an
environmentally responsible manner. Comply with
applicable bars and regulations.EMISSION RELA TED COMPONENT WA RRA NTY
STATEMENTThe Manufacturer warrants to the original and each
subsequent owner of a MERCEDES-BENZ heavy-duty
on highway diesel engine that:
(1) the engine was designed, built and equipped so as
to conform at the time of sale with the applicable
regulations adopted by the Federal Environmental
Protection Agency
(2) the emission control system of such engine is free
from defects in materials and workmanship which
would cause it not to conform with those regulations
for a period of use of five years or 100 000 miles or
3 000 hours of engine operation, whichever occurs
first.
REGULA R CHECKSThe following checks should be performed at regular
intervals (for example once a week or each time the
vehicle is refueled):
Windshield cleaner system – fluid reservoir.
Air strainer, in vehicles with an air strainer element
maintenance indicator (optional equipment).
Engine oil level.
Checking ribbed V-belt.
Hydraulic brake system, clutch mechanism fluid
level.
Coolant level.
Tire and spare wheel condition and pressures of the
same. For more information, refer to "Wheels and
Tires".
Vehicle lighting.
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MAINTAININ G YOUR VEHICLE 211
7
Ribbed V-BeltThe ribbed V-belt drives the accessories, such as
generator, coolant pump and hydraulic steering pump.
The ribbed V-belt is automatically kept tensioned.
Check the state of the ribbed V-belt regularly, such as
at every engine oil level check.
The belt must not be damaged, worn, oiled or glazed.
There must be no cracks in the belt running surface.
Replace damaged belts.
Hydraulic Brake System, Clutch Mechanism Fluid
Level1. Brake fluid reservoir
Brake fluid level must be between the MIN and MAX
marks in the reservoir (1).
If the brake fluid is below the MIN mark, there may be
a fault in the hydraulic system. Have the system
checked as soon as possible by an authorized Sprinter
Dealer.
Freightliner-all.book Pag e 211 Monday, December 1, 2003 2:54 PM

MAINTAININ G YOUR VEHICLE 213
7
Have the coolant renewed at least every five years or
after 100,000 miles.
When the coolant is renewed, the new coolant should
contain 50% antifreeze/corrosion inhibitor by volume.
This corresponds to antifreeze protection down to -
37 °C/-35°F.
Do not exceed a proportion of about 55 % by volume
(antifreeze protection down to about -45 °C/-49 °F) as
the heat dissipation properties then deteriorate.
In the event of coolant loss, do not add water only, but
sufficient antifreeze/corrosion inhibitor to maintain
the correct concentration.
The water in the coolant must satisfy certain
requirements. These are often met by tap supply
drinking water.
The water must be specially prepared if the water
quality does not come up to the required standards.
Have the corrosion inhibitor/antifreeze concentration
in the coolant checked at the outset of winter,
respectively once a year in countries with high
prevailing temperatures.A regular check is included in the maintenance service.
Checking Coolant LevelCoolant reservoir (1)
The cooling system is pressurized. Only check the
coolant level with the vehicle parking on a level surface
and with the engine switched off.
– Wait until the coolant temperature has dropped
below 194 °F (+90 °C).
Freightliner-all.book Pag e 213 Monday, December 1, 2003 2:54 PM

214 MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE
Open the hood.
At first, only turn the radiator cap to the first detent
to release the pressure from the cooling system.
Only then should the radiator cap be removed
completely.
To add coolant:
If the engine is cold:
Add coolant until the coolant level reaches the base
area which is visible through the filler opening (area
moistened).
If the engine is already at its regular operating
temperature:
Add coolant until the coolant level is about 0.6 inch
WARNING!
In order to avoid any possibly serious burns:
If you see flames or smoke coming from the
engine compartment, or if the coolant
temperature gauge indicates that the engine is
overheated, do not open the hood. Move away
from the vehicle and do not open the hood until
the engine has cooled. If necessary, call the fire
department.
Do not remove pressure cap on coolant reservoir
if engine temperature is above 194 °F (+90 ×C).
Allow engine to cool down before removing cap.
The coolant reservoir contains hot fluid and is
under pressure.
Using a rag, slowly open cap approximately 1/2
turn to relieve excess pressure. If opened
immediately, scalding hot fluid and steam will
be blown out under pressure.
Do not spill antifreeze on hot engine parts.
Antifreeze contains ethylene glycol which may
burn if it comes into contact with hot engine
parts.
Check coolant level only with the engine
switched off and the key in position 0 in the
ignition lock.
Freightliner-all.book Pag e 214 Monday, December 1, 2003 2:54 PM

INDEX 263
10
Service Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Bulbs
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Front Lamp Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
CCapacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Care of Vehicle
Engine Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Headlamps, Taillamps, Turn Signal Lenses . . . . 222
Vehicle Washing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Care of vehicle
Paintwork, painted body components . . . . . . . . 221
Power washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Tar stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Catalytic Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Central Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Central Locking Switch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Locking and Unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Locking Status Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14To Program the Automatic Lock Feature . . . . . . . 15
Chains, Snow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Changing a Bulb
Additional Brake Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Exit Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Front Lamp Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Interior Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Interior Lighting with Interior Sensor
Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
License Plate Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Reading Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Side-Marker Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Side-Mounted Turn Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Taillamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Changing the Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Charging the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Checking Coolant Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Checking Weights of Vehicle and Trailer. . . . . . . . . 179
Cigar Lighter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Freightliner-all.book Pag e 263 Monday, December 1, 2003 2:54 PM

264 INDEXCleaning
Cup Holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Hard Plastic Trim Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Light Alloy Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Plastic and Rubber Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Seat Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Steering Wheel and Gear Selector Lever . . . . . . . 224
Upholstery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Wiper Blade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Climate Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Comfort Tire Pressures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Compartments in Front Doors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Constant RPMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Consumer Assistance
Be Reasonable with Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
If You Need Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Prepare a List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Prepare for the Appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256Coolant Level Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Corrosion Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Cup Holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
DDe-Fogging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Dehumidification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
De-Icing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Diesel Fuels for Use at Very Low Temperatures. . . 171
Displaying Engine Oil Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Doors
Front Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Rear Cargo Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Sliding Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Draining Fuel Filter with Water Separator . . . . . . . 175
Driver’s Airbag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41EElectric Sun Roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Electrical Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Fuse and Relay Optional Equipment . . . . . . . . . . 230
Freightliner-all.book Pag e 264 Monday, December 1, 2003 2:54 PM

INDEX 265
10
Fuse, Relay, and Diode Assignments - Optional
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Relay Assignment, Standard Equipment . . . . . . 230
Standard Fuse and Relay Equipment . . . . . . . . . 226
Electrical Outlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Electronic Brake Force Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Electronic Brake Force Distribution Lamp. . . . . . . . 148
Electronic Stability Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Emission Label, Vehicle/Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Emission Related Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Emissions Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Engine Break-in Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Engine Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Engine Control Unit Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Engine Coolant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Engine Oil Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Engine Oil Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Indicator in Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Engine Oil Level - Display in Instrument Cluster . 105
Engine Oil Level Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Engine Oils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Engine oils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Engine Speed, Maximum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Engine, Stopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Exhaust Gas, Inhalation of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
FFog Lamp Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Folding Seat at Partition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Fording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Front Seat Passenger Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Fuel Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Fuel Filter with Water Separator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Fuel Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Fuel Tank Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Bleeding the Diesel Fuel System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Diesel Fuels for Use at Very Low
Temperatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Draining Fuel Filter with Water Separator . . . . . 175
Fuel Filter with Water Separator . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Freightliner-all.book Pag e 265 Monday, December 1, 2003 2:54 PM

266 INDEX
Fuel Tank Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Refueling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Fuse and Relay Optional Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Fuse, Relay, and Diode Assignments - Optional
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Fuses, Electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
GGlove Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Lockable Glove Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79HHazard Warning Flasher Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Head Restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Headlamp Range Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Headlamps, taillamps, turn signal lenses . . . . . . . . 222
Heated Rear Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Heater, Seat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109, 111
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
How to Use this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Hydroplaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165Ignition
Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Starter Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Indicator Lamp Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Inhalation of Exhaust Gas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Installing a Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Instrument and Display Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Instrument Cluster
Battery Charge Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Coolant Level Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Engine Control Unit Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Engine Oil Level Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Trip Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Water in Fuel Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Instrument Cluster and Indicator Lamps. . . . . . . . . . 85
Instruments and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83Freightliner-all.book Pag e 266 Monday, December 1, 2003 2:54 PM