2009 Smart Fortwo

THIS SHIFTING PROBLEM OCCURRED ERRATICALLY SINCE I'VE OWNED NEW. FIRST INCIDENCE WAS WITH SELECTING REVERSE AND THEREBY LOOSING THE ABILITY TO SELECT ANY GEAR MODE (FWD OR REV). THIS ODDITY IS USUALLY RESOLVED BY TURNING THE SWITCH OFF &RESTARTING BUT SOMETIMES BY SELECTING NEUTRAL & WAITING. THE NEXT PROBLEM CAME WHEN ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE AT APPROX 20 MPH WHICH CAUSED THE ENGINE TO IDLE & CAR TO COAST AS IN NEUTRAL. THE FIRST 2+ YEARS, THIS WAS RESOLVED BY LIFTING OFF THE GAS COMPLETELY & REAPPLYING. THIS BEGAN TO HAPPEN AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, ALWAYS WHEN ACCELERATING. NOTE: ENGINE REVS FOR BOUT 1/2 SECOND BEFORE FAILURE. MY GUESS IS, IT HAPPENS WHEN IT NEEDS TO DOWNSHIFT 2 GEARS. THEN ALSO BEGAN TO HAPPEN UNDER LOAD (UP LONG HILLS REQUIRING AUTO DOWNSHIFT) ALWAYS SOLVED BY GAS RECYCLE AND EVOLVED INTO HAVING TO RECYCLE MULTIPLE TIMES BEFORE IT WOULD DOWNSHIFT. OVER TIME,I LEARNED THAT I COULD PREVENT THIS BY DOWNSHIFTING MANUALLY & NOT WAITING FOR "AUTOSHIFT FAILURE". SOMETIME IN THE LAST YEAR, IT HAS BECOME MORE FRIGHTENING AS IT WILL NOT RECOVER BY RECYCLING THE GAS. I DON'T REMEMBER THE DATE OR MILEAGE IT FIRST HAPPENED BUT I MUST ALMOST STOP BEFORE IT REGAINS ABILITY TO SHIFT/ACCEL NORMALLY. IT IS ERRATIC BUT WAS A LONG TIME BEFORE IT REPEATED ITSELF AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT. THEY ARE HAPPENING MORE RECENTLY & A COUPLE OF TIMES IN HEAVY HIGHWAY TRAFFIC & NOW MY WIFE REFUSES TO RIDE WITH ME. I TALKED WITH SMART REP WHEN CAR WAS NEW & HE STATED THAT "REPROGRAMING THE TRANSMISSION" WAS OPTION BUT THIS PROCEDURE IS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY. I HAVE APPOINTMENT TO HAVE THIS 'REPROGRAMMING' DONE AT THE DEALERSHIP BUT HAVE BEEN TOLD IT MAY ONLY SOLVE THE "REVERSE" SELECTION PROBLEM. THEY ARE NOT AWARE OF MY PROBLEMS HAPPENING IN OTHER MODELS OR OF ANY RECALLS, SO MAYBE OTHER OWNERS ARE SLOW TO COMPLAIN LIKE ME. *JS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 SMART FORTWO PASSION. WHILE EXAMINING THE VEHICLE, THE CONTACT NOTICED AN OIL LEAK UNDER THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR WAS THE VEHICLE REPAIRED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 19,000. UPDATED 6/4/12 *CN THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALER REFUSED TO ASSIST IN REPAIR COST. THE OIL PAN WAS LEAKING. UPDATED 06/07/12 *JS

ON OR ABOUT 2 MONTHS OR APPROXIMATELY 2000 MILES I WAS DRIVING MY CAR AND HAD STOPPED AT MY MOTHERS DRIVEWAY PUT THE CAR ON PARK AND LEFT THE ENGINE RUNNING FOR LESS THAN A MINUTE WHILE I HANDED SOMETHING TO MY MOTHER WHO APPROACHED THE VEHICLE. WHEN I TRIED PUTTING THE VEHICLE BACK ON DRIVE TO TAKE OFF THE ENGINE WAS NONRESPONSIVE AND READ NEUTRAL. AT WHICH POINT I WENT BACK TO PARK AND TRIED AGAIN TO PUT IT IN DRIVE TO NO AVAIL. I TURNED OFF THE CAR AND STARTED IT AGAIN AND NOTHING. ABOUT THE 5TH ATTEMPT OF OFF AND ON IT FINALLY WENT INTO DRIVE GEAR. THIS HAS CONTINUED TO HAPPEN EVERSINCE WITHOUT ANY NOTICE JUST RANDOMLY, EVEN WHILE I HAVE BEEN AT INTERSECTIONS WHICH HAS PLACED ME AND MY PASSANGER IN GREAT DANGER. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE IN NUMEROUS OCCASIONS TO THE DEALER AND THE HAVE NO ANSWERS FOR ME. *TR

I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE ON FEB 2009 AT ABOUT 62000 MILES/DEC 2011 - JAN 2012 THE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON WITHOUT ANYTHING HAPPENING. I TOOK TO THE MECHANIC WHO SAID THEY PUT IT THROUGH DIAGNOSTIC MACHINE AND ALL WAS SUPPOSE TO BE FINE AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHY LIGHT WAS ON. THAT THEY HAD TO TAKE THE CAR APART IN ORDER TO SEE WHAT WAS WRONG. THIS IS ALL VERY STRESSFUL AS IM EXPECTING AND EVERYTIME I GET IN MY CAR IM AFRAID OF GETTING INTO AN ACCIDENT AND NOT HAVING AIRBAG. *TR

AFTER STARTING THE SMART FORTWO THE SRS (AIRBAG SYMBOL) STAYED LIT. THE OWNER'S MANUAL STATES THAT THE AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT COULD BE COMPROMISED; DO NOT OPERATE THE VEHICLE. I PURCHASED THE CAR NEW FROM THE SMART DEALER AND PURCHASED THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. *TR THIS ISSUE OCCURRED JUST AS SMART WAS TRANSFERRED FROM VOLKSWAGEN TO MERCEDES (SUMMER 2011) SO NO DEALER WAS ABLE TO SERVICE MY VEHICLE FOR A MINIMUM OF 2 WEEKS AS THE MERCEDES DEALERS WEREN'T TOOLED TO SERVICE THEM YET. AFTER THE TRANSITION PERIOD, THE SERVICE REP INFORMED ME THAT IT MIGHT NOT BE COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY AND I WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS (NEARLY $200). IF THE PROBLEM WAS DISCOVERED TO BE COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY I WOULD GET THAT BACK. DUE TO BUDGET CONSTRAINTS I WAS NOT ABLE TO IMMEDIATELY PERFORM THE DIAGNOSIS. NOW, BEGINNING OF 2012, MERCEDES HAS PERFORMED THE DIAGNOSIS AND CONFIRMED THAT THE ADAPTER FOR THE WIRING HARNESS HAS A RESISTANCE THAT IS TOO HIGH AND TRIGGERING THE SYSTEM STATUS LIGHT AND THE SYSTEM WILL NOT OPERATE UNLESS FIXED. THEY HAVE PERFORMED A LARGE NUMBER OF THESE FIXES. HOWEVER, IT IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY. THE ESTIMATE FOR PARTS AND LABOR IS $541. I WAS INFORMED THAT SMART HAS BEEN MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND HAS 'UPGRADED' THE ADAPTER CHOICE, BUT DOES NOT COVER THE PART/LABOR FOR FIXING IT. MY NEW CAR, LOW MILEAGE, GARAGED, NO WRECKS OR DAMAGE OTHERWISE, IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE. FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 208 (FMVSS 208) REQUIRES MINIMUM SRS STANDARDS BE MET: "PASSENGER CARS (EFFECTIVE 9-1-97), MULTIPURPOSE PASSENGER VEHICLES, TRUCKS AND BUSES (EFFECTIVE 9-1-98) SHALL BE EQUIPPED WITH AIR BAGS." SRS WILL NOT DEPLOY; EFFECTIVELY THERE ARE NO AIR BAGS. THAT IS A VIOLATION OF THE STANDARD, AND SMART/MERCEDES WILL NOT WARRANTY THE KNOWN DEFECT. THIS BE COVERED UNDER ANY WARRANTY, IT SHOULD BE A FULL RECALL. DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS ARE AT RISK!

THIS HAS HAPPENED OVER THE LAST YEAR, AT LEAST A FEW DOZEN TIMES. SOMETIMES IT'S HAPPENED AS OFTEN AS 2-3 TIMES PER WEEK. I WILL START MY CAR, AND SHIFT INTO REVERSE, AND WHERE THERE WAS A P FOR PARK ON THE DISPLAY, THE DISPLAY IS NOW BLANK, AND MY CAR WILL NOT REVERSE. IT WILL ALSO NOT GO INTO DRIVE, OR DISPLAY D. I WILL TRY MOVING IT BACK AND FORWARD AND THE DISPLAY STAYS BLANK, AND MY CAR WON'T MOVE. SOMETIMES WHEN I RESTART MY CAR IT WILL GO BACK TO NORMAL, SHIFTING INTO REVERSE, AND DISPLAYING AN R ON THE DISPLAY PANEL...OTHER TIMES IT WILL TAKE SEVERAL MINUTES FOR IT TO RESPOND, AND TO BE ABLE TO MOVE. I HAVE READ ON-LINE ABOUT OTHER OWNERS HAVING SEVERAL PARTS REPLACED AND SOFTWARE UPDATES, BUT ALWAYS THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO COME BACK. OTHERS CLAIM IT'S THE CLUTCH PLATE ASSEMBLY, AND THAT THOSE HAVE BEEN FIXED FOR THE 2009 MODEL...BUT I'VE STILL EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM. I'VE READ ABOUT THIS HAPPENING TO OTHERS IN TRAFFIC, AND I'VE READ ABOUT DEALERSHIPS NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND "ANYTHING WRONG" WITH CARS IN THIS SITUATION. *TR

THE PANORAMIC ROOF ON MY PASSION MODEL HAS BEGUN TO SEPARATE FROM THE REST OF THE CAR IN THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE CORNER. IT RATTLES WHEN THE VEHICLE GOES OVER A BUMP AND WIND NOISE FROM THE PANEL LIFTING OCCURS AT 50 MPH AND ABOVE. DUE TO THE FORCE EXERTED BY THE WIND AND THE FACT THAT THIS PANEL IS MERELY GLUED TO THE REST OF THE VEHICLE -NOT BOLTED, SCREWED, OR OTHERWISE FASTENED- THE CONDITION IS WORSENING AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO UNTIL I IMAGINE THE ROOF SEPARATES COMPLETELY IN A HIGH-SPEED INCIDENT. (OF COURSE I WILL HAVE THE ROOF REPAIRED BEFORE THIS OCCURS, HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE'S TWO-YEAR WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED.) I FIND THIS POTENTIALLY EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS DEFECT TO BE COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. *TR

I AM HAVING A PROBLEM WITH MY 2009 SMART FORTWO PASSION'S TRANSMISSION. WE PICKED UP OUR CAR ON SATURDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING PROBLEM: I WAS DRIVING ALONG & ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE CAR SEEMS TO THINK IT'S IN N. EVEN CHANGING THE GEARS PROMPTS AN "N" IN THE GEAR POSITION. ONCE I TURNED THE CAR OFF, IT WOULDN'T START AGAIN & THE DREADED THREE BARS APPEARED. WE TRIED THE "TEACH-IN" FIX & IT WORKED TEMPORARILY BEFORE ACTING UP AGAIN. WE HAD OUR CAR TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR SERVICE AND PICKED IT UP ON SATURDAY AFTER THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT SUPPOSEDLY FIXED IT. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT DID A DIAGNOSTIC CHECK AND A CODE APPEARED. THEY THEN RESET WHATEVER NEED TO BE RESET FOR $112.98. WE WERE ALSO OFFERED A SOFTWARE UPGRADE FOR $75 ON THE BASIS THE SERVICE MANAGER DID NOT KNOW WHAT THE UPGRADE DOES, BUT HE DID KNOW IT WOULDN'T FIX THE PROBLEM. OBVIOUSLY, WE TURNED DOWN THE UPGRADE. I HAVE CONTACTED MERCEDES TO ABSORB THE COST OF FIXING THIS DEFECT. OUR WARRANTY EXPIRED ONLY 6 WEEKS AGO. SINCE THERE IS A METHOD TO "LIMP" TO A SAFE PLACE IN THE USER MANUAL, IT SEEMS THEY ANTICIPATED THIS PROBLEM TO BEGIN WITH. FROM READING BLOGS ABOUT THIS, I WAS NOT SURPRISED WHEN THE SAME PROBLEM STARTED AGAIN ON SUNDAY. NOW WE ARE HAVING IT TOWED IN FOR SERVICE AGAIN. I URGE MERCEDES-BENZ TO ACTIVATE A RECALL ON THIS MODEL! SOONER OR LATER THIS DEFECT IS GOING TO KICK IN ON THE FREEWAY AND SOMEONE WILL BE REAR-ENDED OR EVEN KILLED. THIS IS NOT SIMPLY A NUISANCE MALFUNCTION! *TR

SIX WEEKS OUT OF WARRANTY - I WAS DRIVING ALONG & ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE CAR SEEMS TO THINK IT'S IN NEUTRAL, WON'T LET ME CHANGE GEARS - WAS ONLY ABLE TO COAST TO A SAFE AREA OFF THE HIGHWAY. ANY GEAR I SHIFTED TO KEPT COMING ACROSS THE DASH AS THE NEUTRAL POSITION. ONCE I TURNED THE CAR OFF, IT WOULDN'T START AGAIN & THE DREADED THREE BARS APPEARED. WE TRIED THE "TEACH-IN" FIX RECOMMENDED IN THE USER MANUAL & IT WORKED TEMPORARILY BEFORE ACTING UP AGAIN. FROM THE INTERNET BLOGS I'VE READ, THIS WAS A PROBLEM IN THE 2008 MODEL - AN UPGRADE WAS PROVIDED FOR A FIX. MY CAR IS A 2009 AND I FEEL SMART USA SHOULD RECALL THE 2009 MODEL DUE TO THIS OBVIOUS DEFECT. IT'S ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS I WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS WHEN THE CAR IS ONLY SIX WEEKS PAST WARRANTY! OUR DEALER KEEPS TRANSFERRING US TO MERCEDES-BENZ FINANCIAL SINCE THEY'RE THE ONE WHO APPROVE THE WARRANTY ISSUE. NO ONE FROM MERCEDES IS ANSWERING OR RETURNING OUR CALLS. *TR

I HAVE A 2009 SMART FOR TWO PASSION MODEL ON 7/21 I WENT TO GO INTO A PARKING PLACE AT A SMALL SHOPPING AREA AND THE BRAKES SLOWED ME DOWN BUT WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP. I WAS GOING VERY SLOW BUT COULD NOT STOP THUS I HIT THE WINDOW OF A FURNITURE STORE. IT BROKE THE WINDOW AND THE ONLY DAMAGE TO MY CAR WEE CUTS IN THE PLASTIC FROM THE FALLING GLASS AS IT TOOK THEM 2 HOURS TO PICK IT UP. THE POLICE FILED A REPORT, NO ONE WAS INJURED, THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, AND I WENT SUCH A SHORT DISTANCE I DID NOT HAVE TIME TO THINK ABOUT PUTTING ON THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. THERE WAS NO WARNING THAT I AM AWARE OF. ALL I REMEMBER IS PUSHING THE BRAKE PEDAL ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR AND IT WOULD NOT STOP. THERE ARE FACTORY FLOOR MATS IN THE CAR AND I HAVE MANY PICTURES. IT HAS BEEN AT THE DEALER SINCE THE ACCIDENT AND THEY SAID THEY CANNOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. SMART IS SUPPOSE TO SEND A REPRESENTATIVE TO SEE IT. I REALLY HAVE LITTLE FAITH IN THIS DEALERSHIP AND YOU CAN NEVER REACH ANYONE TO TALK TO ALL YOU GET ARE VOICEMAILS AND NO CALL BACK. FINALLY GOT THROUGH ON WED 7/28 WHEN THEY SAID THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG. IT IS STILL AT SMART OF TREVOSE (PA). *TR