
260 MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE
Check the engine oil level at regular intervals with the
vehicle standing on a level surface.
Check engine oil level about 5 minutes after
stopping the engine, which should have reached its
regular operating temperature. The normal
operating temperature should have been reached
and maintained for some time.
Wipe the dipstick clean with a lint-free cloth before
checking.
The engine oil level must be between the
lower (MIN) and upper (MAX) marks on
the dipstick.
Add engine oil only up to the MAX mark.
Excess oil must be drained or siphoned off.Ribbed V-Belt
The 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.

MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE 261
7
Hydraulic Brake System, Clutch Mechanism Fluid
Level
1. 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.Brake fluid
Refer to the "Recommended Fluids" chart later in this
section for recommended brake fluids.
In the course of its service life, the boiling point of the
brake fluid will fall due to the continuous absorption of
moisture from the atmosphere.
If the brakes are placed under heavy loads (e.g., on
steep hills) bubbles of steam can then form in the brake
system.
This will adversely affect the brakes' effectiveness.
Engine Cooling System
The use of aluminum components in Sprinter engines
requires that anticorrosive/antifreeze specifically
formulated to protect aluminum parts be used. The
factory approved Service Products are suitable for
Sprinter engines and can be mixed with the original
anticorrosion/antifreeze filled in at factory.
Cooling system design and anticorrosion/antifreeze
agent used stipulate the replacement interval for the
coolant solution in your vehicle. Please observe the
replacement interval specified in the Service Booklet
for your vehicle.

MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE 263
7
A regular check is included in the maintenance service.
Checking Coolant Level
Pressure cap on coolant 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).
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.

264 MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE
Open the hood.
At first, only turn the pressure cap on coolant
reservoir to the first detent to release the pressure
from the cooling system. Only then should the
pressure 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
(1.5 cm) above the base area which is visible
through the filler opening.
Replace and tighten the pressure cap on coolant
reservoir.
If a large quantity of coolant has been lost, or if smaller
amounts are lost at regular intervals, have the engine
cooling system examined by an authorized Sprinter
Dealer.
For coolant composition and water quality, contact
your Sprinter Dealer.
WARNING!
Do not spill antifreeze on hot engine parts. Anti-
freeze 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.

INDEX 319
10
Care of Vehicle
Engine Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Headlamps, Taillamps, Turn Signal Lenses . . . . 273
Vehicle Washing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Care of vehicle
Paintwork, painted body components . . . . . . . . 272
Power washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Tar stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Catalytic Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Central Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Central Locking Switch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Locking and Unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Locking Status Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
To Program the Automatic Lock Feature . . . . . . . 19
Changing a Bulb
Additional Brake Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Exit Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Front Lamp Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Interior Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Interior Lighting with Interior Sensor
Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294License Plate Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Reading Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Side-Marker Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Side-Mounted Turn Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Taillamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Changing the Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Charging the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Checking Coolant Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Checking Weights of Vehicle and Trailer. . . . . . . . . 224
Cigar Lighter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Cleaning
Cup Holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Hard Plastic Trim Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Light Alloy Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Plastic and Rubber Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Seat Belts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Steering Wheel and Gear Selector Lever . . . . . . . 275
Upholstery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Wiper Blade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Cleaning Tires. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

320 INDEX
Climate Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Comfortseat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Comfortseat (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Compartments in Front Doors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Constant RPMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Consumer Assistance
Be Reasonable with Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
If You Need Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Prepare a List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Prepare for the Appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Coolant Level Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Coolant, Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Cooling System, Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Corrosion Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Cup Holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
DDe-Fogging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Dehumidification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
De-Icing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Diesel Fuels for Use at Very Low Temperatures . . 211Direction of Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Displaying Engine Oil Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Doors
Front Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Rear Cargo Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Sliding Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Draining Fuel Filter with Water Separator . . . . . . . 214
Driver’s Airbag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Driving Safety Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
EElectric Sun Roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Electrical Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Fuse and Relay Optional Equipment . . . . . . . . . . 281
Fuse, Relay, and Diode Assignments - Optional
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Relay Assignment, Standard Equipment . . . . . . 281
Standard Fuse and Relay Equipment. . . . . . . . . . 277
Electrical Outlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Electronic Brake Force Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Electronic Brake Force Distribution Lamp . . . . . . . . 160
Electronic Stability Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Emission Label, Vehicle/Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

INDEX 321
10
Emission Related Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Emissions Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Engine Break-in Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Engine Cleaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Engine Control Unit Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Engine Coolant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Engine Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Engine Oil Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Engine Oil Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Indicator in Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Engine Oil Level - Display in Instrument Cluster . 114
Engine Oil Level Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Engine Oils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Engine oils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Engine Speed, Maximum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Engine, Stopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Exhaust Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Exhaust Gas, Inhalation of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54, 228
FFax Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Fire Extinguisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Fog Lamp Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Folding Seat at Partition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Fording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Front Seat Passenger Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Fuel Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Fuel Filter with Water Separator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Fuel Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Fuel Tank Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Bleeding the Diesel Fuel System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Diesel Fuels for Use at Very Low Temperatures 211
Draining Fuel Filter with Water Separator . . . . . 214
Fuel Filter with Water Separator . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Fuel Tank Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Refueling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Fuse and Relay Optional Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Fuse, Relay, and Diode Assignments - Optional
Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Fuses, Electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
GGear Selector Lever Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Glove Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Lockable Glove Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

322 INDEX
HHazard Warning Flasher Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Head Restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Headlamp Cleaning System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Headlamp Range Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Headlamps, taillamps, turn signal lenses . . . . . . . . 273
Heated Rear Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Heater, Seat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118, 120
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Hydroplaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
IIgnition
Lock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Starter Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Important Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Indicator Lamp Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Inhalation of Exhaust Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Installing a Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Instrument and Display Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Instrument ClusterBattery Charge Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Coolant Level Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Engine Control Unit Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . 109
Engine Oil Level Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Trip Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Water in Fuel Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Instrument Cluster and Indicator Lamps. . . . . . . . . . 93
Instruments and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Interior Lighting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Cargo Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Driver and Rear-Seat Passenger/Cargo Area. . . . 69
Interior Sensor Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Reading Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Intervals, Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Intrument Cluster
Fuel Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
JJack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239