2000 Mercedes-Benz Vito from UK and Ireland - Comments

Warped brake disk from new.

Clutch master cylinder fault from new (the pedal kept going down on its own)

Rusted front panel.

Booster heater stopped working.

Rear washer stopped working.

Front wheel bearings failed twice.

Drive shafts failed twice.

Interior door handle failed.

Hand brake won't hold the weight of this van.

Floor covering rubs through at low miles.

Heater airflow drops off to a point where you don't get any air to face vents.

Front suspension failed when the dealer left the bottom wishbone ball joint clamp bolt out (i had a total loss of steering)

Window winders are so stiff to open.

Central locking broke.

You can't open the tailgate fully when you have a ladder on the roof and the rear screen gets scratched.

You can't see the fog light switch indicator from the drivers seat.

Door mirrors don't have a wide view and are the worst I've come across for some years.

Wheel nuts come loose.

This was the worst van I have ever had,

the reliability was so poor that she soon earned the nickname of "Christine" after the haunted car in the Stephen King film.

The dealer was not set up for a front wheel drive van, they set up the tracking so badly the tyres squealed on shinny tarmac in a straight line.

The Vito 108cdi has been a living nightmare. I bought it with 96000 miles on the clock and the clutch went in the 1st month, I was quoted £1300 by Mercedes to fix. 5 months later problems starting engine so put in garage to change heater plugs. a plug snapped in the head so injectors needed removing. injectors will not come out and I am now looking at buying a new engine as this is the only option. at 3000 new and 1500 second hand I can honestly say this has been the worst experience of my life.

My Vito has had all the problems mentioned in the first two posts. We are about to remove the cylinder head to get the glow plugs out that snapped when I tried to replace them and the heater motor is so poor it won't even clear the screen. The rear door is difficult to open, the brakes are appalling and rust is a major problem.

I have suffered all of the above I own a 1999 108cdi and it has been by far the worst van I have ever owned. In the past 4 months I have spent the best part of 4500 pounds on parts alone, a friend of mine works for mercedes and he still can't get it running right, the computer values are all correct, but it still pulls off like its in 2nd gear, with a top speed or 65-70 mph?...Nothing would give me more satisfaction than to take a sledge hammer to it, other than that the van has been fine.

They have too many problems.

Now where do I start.

Got a 53 vito 110cdi, first 18months no real probs other than grinding brakes which I was assured were fine.

Had a new hazard warning switch from then its been a downhill spiral.

Had steering problems so had a 'steering unit' as they put it replaced.

It came out of dealership with loads of faults.

Front left hand side dips especially when reversing, electrics playing up, control light stays on unless I switch fog lights on, fuel consumption reduced by 30%, can't wind passanger window down or up at times, blower switches too stiff to turn, air not coming out of correct blowers at times, burning smell coming from dashboard, execesive road noise from the back, back door not closing properly, back door not opening full stop, big gap appered in passanger loading door at the top, driver seat collapsed{now 12 stone isn't heavy}floor covering worn out, the steering is awful and feels like I am wobbling from side to side and on a bumpy road, handbreak dosnt work very well and I have to leave it in gear, can't take handbrake off because the seat is in the way, passanger seat belt dosnt recoil at times oh and it came back from the dealership with a buckled wheel and covered in grease.

All this from a van I have had from new with only 56,000 miles on the clock.

What a joke...

No-one wants to help me even though it is under warranty still.

I own a Vito 110 CDI on a 52 plate. bought it 13 months ago with 61000 miles on it. From beginning I had a wobble on one of my front discs, but that smoothed out with some time. Handbrake never really kept the van in its position on a slight incline or on the ferry!!! That was a funny story as the car behind me had some damage due to that. On 78000 I had to spend nearly 2000 pounds on injectors and all the rest that goes with them. Now I am here again, sensor gone and possibly looking at 7 extra hours of gearbox work if they cannot get the thing out in one piece. Cost without this extra work will already be 1400 pounds, but with 7 extra hours I think I rather die now. The van has just passed the 100000 miles and needs a lot doing to it which I expected. But to be told that all brake lines are perished at over 200 pounds per set of 2 and that all discs are hairline cracked at over 300 pounds per set of 2 I find a bit hard to comprehend, we are not talking about some eastern block rubbish vehicle, this is supposed to be a Mercedes. I do not recommend this van to anybody and I will never even look at the brand again, new or second hand. They are massively over rated.

Rear section exhaust, 4 discs and pads, 2 sets of brake lines, crank sensor and extended service for nearly 1500 pounds if I am lucky this weekend. Money spend in total so far (including this biggie right now) is over 4300 pounds and that is for doing just over 40000 miles in the last 13 months. Would you buy my van?

I had my 108D (not turbo) 1997 Vito from new, and I still have it until now, it shows 180.000kms on the clock, it was my daily car until 2 years ago (not anymore), the only 2 mechanical problems until now (and 1 was not a small one), was the steering unit that have been replaced and the bearing generator/water & power steering pomp belt tensor broken, the engine itself don't have any problem and it starts at 1st attempt after 4 weeks stopped sometimes even after 1 or 2 months stopped. The 1st tyres set (Continental made in Spain) after 35.000 kms was completely finished, but when I was ready to change it (very angry with them of course), the Mercedes dealer call my Vito back to their garage and they replaced it for free for a new set of Continental same model, but made in Germany, with that set the rear tyres are bold after 120.000 kms and the in the front I had a bad tyre cut so I have replaced both after 78.000 kms. It doesn't spend any oil between services (20.000kms), but the inside getting old, seats, door covers, carpets etc. is not the same quality of the saloon cars.

I have a 110cdi on a 1999 and have the same problem like others with the heater blower. Has any one solved the problem with very little air not getting to the vents, but the fan is at top speed. please email me with any answers thanks mark.kitch@btinternet.com.

I have a 99 Vito. The head lights work sometimes, and sometimes they don't. Does anyone know why?

I have a 108CDI, 2003 model which I bought at just under 100k. The alternator went within a month, then was the starter and the battery. A bolt snapped in the cylinder head and one of the injectors eventually popped out. I had the blower fan problem with stiff handle and very low output. I solved this by opening the panel, got some WD40 and sprayed the mechanism and the electrics. (this one at least didn't cost me anything)

Reverse gear its terrible and the engine has lost power. Now doing about 70/80 mph. Oh I forgot it's a rust bucket!

I would never buy another mercedes, be it car or van.

I run my own small engineering workshop and have repaired a few vito/sprinter heads now, I have not had a failure yet (he says,fingers crossed)

This engine is a nightmare when the injectors seize and glow plugs snap, mainly because if you snap a glow plug and then have to remove the head you'll run into problems removing the injectors!!! and to cap it all off you can't remove the head bolts until the cam cover is off and the injectors have to come out before the cover comes off!!!!!!, some people mutilate the injectors to get over this and others I have met have had to snap the cam cover off!!!.If you are unlucky enough to have one of these heads and you can take the head off I'm happy to do the machining work for you email me...obscenemofo@fsmail.net.

I bought 2002 Mercedes Vito and will never buy one again. It has caused immense misery.