Smart Fortwo Coupe
Model Fortwo Coupe made by Smart got 34 consumer complains as well as 2 service bulletins. Consumer complaints with reference, among others things, to electrical system and electronic stability control. Technical service bulletines regarding equipment.
Model 2008
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EQUIPMENT - OTHER - LABELS | |||||
| 09-03-08 | 01/24/2008 | 10025723 | Pdi procedure can be accessed through the smart usa dealer portal. this new procedure details four additional pdi processes. *pe | 09/03/2008 | |
| EQUIPMENT - OTHER - OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL | |||||
| 09-03-08 | 01/24/2008 | 10025723 | Pdi procedure can be accessed through the smart usa dealer portal. this new procedure details four additional pdi processes. *pe | 09/03/2008 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 01/08/2011 | 53945 | ||
| 1.high failure rate of heater blower motors. 2.high replacement cost $340+ (price gouging) for a blower motor based on the believed high current failure rate. 3.3 blower failures have occurred in 54k miles. 4.vehicle was new in 4/2008, i am original owner 5.no heat creates a high safety risk to consumer who use the vehicle in extreme weather conditions. 6.no heat can create visibility issue due to inability to properly defrost the windows. 7.no heat presents a health issue to older users in cold weather who may have limited circulation. 8.no heat presents a safety issue to other drivers due to: a.poor visibility b.driver distraction due to comfort c.driver distraction due to gage panel manipulation 9.no heat creates a health issue in the event of being stranded due to severe weather. failure to heat the occupant space could lead to severe injury or death. 10.disassembly and repair of the blower motor is not part of the consumer regular service requirements. 11.smart does not recommend changing of the blower motor during regular service intervals. so far smart has done all service to the vehicle at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50k. not once was blower motor a suggested service item. 12.smart therefore believes the blower motor to have significant life and does not need service. | |||
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL | |||
| 09/10/2011 | 25646 | ||
| Driving on ca70 south towards plumas lake blvd. exit, braking lightly from 55 mph to 35mph to exit the freeway caused abs and electronic stability program (esp)((electronic stability control)) exclamation lights to light up which denoted the abs and esp disabled. when coming to a stop at the stop sign, the smart was shut down and restarted to reset the abs and esp for safety only to find that the transmission would not shift from park to drive and was locked into park. this created a very dangerous situation where the car was unable to be shifted to neutral to move the car into the shoulder and the car was stuck in the middle of the road with cars exiting the freeway (hazard lights were on). to get out of a dangerous situation, an online forum that discusses the smart car (www.smartcarsofamerica.com) showed that if the shifter is stuck into park to check and see if the brake lights in the rear were working. the brake rear brake lights were checked and there was no light emitting from them. the site stated that if there was no brake light then that pointed the problem to the brake light switch which is a known issue with the smart fortwo na451 models. a remedy was recommended to get out of park by rapidly pressing and depressing the brake pedal to get the light to come on which would disable the parking lock on the shifter. that worked and got me out of a dangerous position on the roadway where there was not sufficient time to contact the california highway patrol or a tow truck to get me off the road. i strongly recommend a recall to be drafted to replace the brake light switch on all smart na451 models as they can be defective. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 06/16/2008 | 3000 | 1 | |
| Approximately four nights ago, after exiting the highway, my smart car lost all power and came to a stop in the middle of the street. although the vehicle was still in drive and i had not touched the ignition, even the lights on the vehicle and the radio inside the car cut off completely. there was no warning and no warning lights came on. i was forced to place the vehicle into park and turn the key to start the vehicle back. as soon as i did this, the car returned to normal and i completed the journey home. *tr | |||
| EQUIPMENT | |||
| 07/01/2009 | 29000 | ||
| I have a 2008 smart fortwo and for about 9 months now the blower motor has been working intermittently. i can't seem to detect any pattern for when it does and does not work. it sometimes will work as soon as i start the car, if not it will eventually work after driving for a period of time. it has also not worked at all for hours or sometimes days and then work perfectly for hours and sometimes days. i called the dealer (smart center of engelwood (nj)) about this problem and they said they are increasingly coming across issues that i have described and they recommend replacing the blower motor at a cost of almost $400.00. i went onto a smart car blog website and there are an aweful lot of smart car owners complaining about the same problem. it could be a potential safety issue because if the windshield becomes fogged up and the blower motor does not function, outside visibility would be dangerously obstructed. this has happened to me but i was able to pull over to the side of the road and open the windows until i was able to see through the windows again.i have not replaced the blower motor yet but will be in the very near future. it seems to me this is a design or manufacture defect with the blower motor and at the very least, an investigation by your agency is in order. thank you for your consideration of this matter. | |||
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | |||
| 09/15/2009 | 16513 | 1 | |
| Fuel gauge sticks at 7/8 - many reports to smart car of america forums. will not properly report fuel levels. *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 11/27/2008 | 6789 | 1 | |
| My new smart car would not shift into reverse or park. the button on the shifter lever would not depress. many owners are finding this problem. there is a do-it-yourself fix listed. however this problem is due to faulty manufacture and needs to be recalled and replaced. *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 10/04/2008 | 6500 | 1 | |
| Gear shifter stuck in park. unable to move car. many others having same problem. see: http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/forums/f25/gear-knob-button-stuck-4454/ http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/forums/f25/diy-gear-shift-removal-lube-short-video-5428/ this appears to be a serious problem. *tr | |||
| POWER TRAIN - CLUTCH ASSEMBLY | |||
| 05/11/2009 | 36000 | 1 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2008 mercedes smart car fortwo coupe. the contact stated that the actuator and clutch plate were replaced twice within a year. the failure has occurred while driving various speeds. whenever he shift gears from park and engage the brake pedal the gears were stuck. the failure has occurred on three occasions; however, the dealer has not been contacted. the failure mileage was 36,000. the current mileage was 81,000. updated 03/04/10 *bf updated 06/02/10 | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||
| 03/06/2009 | 11700 | 1 | |
| Gearshift button is stuck. car cannot be shifted into drive. *tr | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 09/10/2011 | 25646 | ||
| Driving on ca70 south towards plumas lake blvd. exit, braking lightly from 55 mph to 35mph to exit the freeway caused abs and electronic stability program (esp)((electronic stability control)) exclamation lights to light up which denoted the abs and esp disabled. when coming to a stop at the stop sign, the smart was shut down and restarted to reset the abs and esp for safety only to find that the transmission would not shift from park to drive and was locked into park. this created a very dangerous situation where the car was unable to be shifted to neutral to move the car into the shoulder and the car was stuck in the middle of the road with cars exiting the freeway (hazard lights were on). to get out of a dangerous situation, an online forum that discusses the smart car (www.smartcarsofamerica.com) showed that if the shifter is stuck into park to check and see if the brake lights in the rear were working. the brake rear brake lights were checked and there was no light emitting from them. the site stated that if there was no brake light then that pointed the problem to the brake light switch which is a known issue with the smart fortwo na451 models. a remedy was recommended to get out of park by rapidly pressing and depressing the brake pedal to get the light to come on which would disable the parking lock on the shifter. that worked and got me out of a dangerous position on the roadway where there was not sufficient time to contact the california highway patrol or a tow truck to get me off the road. i strongly recommend a recall to be drafted to replace the brake light switch on all smart na451 models as they can be defective. | |||
| 05/11/2009 | 36000 | 1 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2008 mercedes smart car fortwo coupe. the contact stated that the actuator and clutch plate were replaced twice within a year. the failure has occurred while driving various speeds. whenever he shift gears from park and engage the brake pedal the gears were stuck. the failure has occurred on three occasions; however, the dealer has not been contacted. the failure mileage was 36,000. the current mileage was 81,000. updated 03/04/10 *bf updated 06/02/10 | |||
| STRUCTURE | |||
| 04/07/2010 | 2000 | ||
| The plastic roof in my 2009 smart fortwo had been cracking substantially from either heat or cleaning chemicals. | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY | |||
| 08/26/2010 | 5300 | ||
| Crazing and failure of makrolon (polycarbonate) roof on all smart fortwo coupes from 2008 to present. polycarbonate (pc) material the transparent roof panel is made from disintegrates from uv sunlight or heat beyond its 150f rating exascerbated by smart's sunshade inside the car. pc is not resistant to ozone and other chemicals listed here: http://www.sheffieldplastics.com/web_docs/makrolon%20chemical%20resistance.pdf many of which are in the air and in cleaning supplies. from this mfg web...exposing makrolon sheet to repeated steam cleaning or dish washing can create hydrolic crazing. the result can be a clouding of the surface and ultimately a loss of physical strength properties. temperatures measured between sunshade and makrolon roof panel in sc parking lot far exceeds 150f spec, causing the observed failures. these failures will, eventually, consume the plastic roof which will fall on occupants or explode outwards onto following traffic when, not if, the plastic finally fails, structurally. the failure is slow and takes a year or more to materialize. as this model is only 2 years old, just out of warranty, smart has done nothing to recall/replace the defective material, stonewalling the customers to the problem. before someone gets hurt, or this panel fails and falls on the children or causes panic to the driver, this roof panel should be recalled, even out of warranty because it takes more than the 2-year warranty period for the failure to occur, by force of government if necessary. smart replaces one defective panel with another under warranty, which does not solve the problem of defective material, so the problem repeats. a forced recall to replace with other material more realistic to intense uv sunshine in a hot parking lot is warranted because of the company's attitude towards proper replacement with a different material. thank you for your consideration in this matter. | |||
| 11/25/2009 | 11400 | 1 | |
| The service flap (hood) on my 2009 smart car has detached twice. in each incident the vehicle was being towed behind a motorhome. after the first incident the dealership sent me a new hood and i installed it myself as there was no dealer within 1,500 miles of my location. after the second time and with more damage done smartusa is claiming that the hood was not properly secured by me causing it to come off. this time extensive damage occurred to the vehicle. i was also informed that this has happened before and that in all instances smartusa faults the owners for not properly replacing the hood. i am concerned that if this is a continuing issue and also happens when then car is not being towed that a hood flying off could cause a severe safety hazard. the hood remains attached to the vehicle by a strap and will flap in front of the driver until speed is reduced. this could cause panic and an accident could result. *tr | |||
| 11/24/2009 | 11500 | 1 | |
| I have owned my 2009 smart fortwo since december 2008 and have had this problem occur twice. while towing the smart on a trailer behind my motorhome one of the pins holding the hood broke causing the hood to come off. the hood is held on by two plastic pins and a cloth strap. the strap restrained the hood causing it to flap around the front of the car. this caused damage to all the front panels and the windshield. luckily i was not driving the car at the time. if i had been driving when this happened it could have caused a major accident. *tr | |||
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | |||
| 06/10/2008 | 156 | 1 | |
| I recently bought a smart for two car from a person in st. louis, technically it was used but on had less than 200 miles on it. i then drove it home to indiana. according to the owners manual, supposedly there is a card in the glove box that you send in if you buy the car used, that way the smart headquarters knows where the car is, who the new owner is, and how to reach you in case of a recall. the card was missing so i called the 800 number of smart hq to see if they could register the car for me over the phone. they said they could not, that the dealer has to do that. so i went to my local smart dealer in indianapolis and gave them the vin, they said they could not access the car's records in the computer since they were not the dealer who sold the car. so i called the dealer in st. louis, they had no idea how to register the car in my name and referred me back to the headquarters. so now i am stuck, if there is a recall or safety issue, i would never know about it because the smart company does not know i have the car. how can i get my car in their computer so they can reach me if needed? *tr | |||
Car dealers selling
| State | City | Zip | Name | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CA | Riverside | 92504 | Walter?s Auto Sales and Service, Inc. | 6883332 |
| CA | Sacramento | 95825 | R.L. Niello Co. Inc. | 4845994 |
| CA | SAN FRANCISCO | 94103 | Cachet Investment Group, Inc. | 5534280 |
| FL | Clearwater | 33764 | PEL Motors, Inc. | 374-2334 |
| FL | Davie | 33331 | Rick Case Davie, LLC. | 364-3021 |
| GA | Atlanta | 30305 | The Baran Co, LLC. | 846-3500 |
| MI | Bloomfield Hills | 48302 | PAG Michigan S1, LLC. | 292-2044 |
| NC | Winston-Salem | 27103 | BOB NEILL INC. OF WINSTON-SALEM | 760-4580 |
| NE | LaVISTA | 68128 | Performance Chrysler Jeep Dodge, Inc. | 339-3131 |
| NJ | cherry hill | 8002 | HSF Enterprises, Inc. | 663.32 |
| TX | SAN ANTONIO | 78230 | Ancira Motor Company | 5582650 |