general problems of the 2008 Smart Fortwo

We were driving in greensboro nc this afternoon on the way to my husbands birthday dinner when off of bridford? parkway our 2008 Smart car passion for two started malfunctioning all lights flashing on instrument panel & brakes quit & another motorist drove up beside us with window down screaming get out your car is on fire!!! we managed to stop on side of road at woods & jumped out car was on fire looked like under back tires and engine in back! we grabbed what we could save & ran. 911 was called & fire and police came. 2 witnesses also to event we have photos & videos. Our car burned all the way down to frame! total loss! we could have died because we couldnt see the fire behind us under car & if not for the man we may have blown up!!.

The car just shuts off at anytime whiledriving in d your just a sitting duck cant use gear to unlock trammission so it could be moved out of way of on comming traffic, theres no warning the cars is in the shop now, this has happen to other Smart Fortwo owners, its a death trap wating to happen needs to be fixed before more people lose there life, look at gm . 54cent could have saved many lose lives. Please help the public,,.

I was leaving for work in my Smart Fortwo 451 on a snowy morning. My driveway is rather steep, and while slowly going down the hill the car began to slide. I applied the brakes and began slowing to a stop but was still sliding. I pumped the brake pedal and was still in control of the car when my foot slipped off the brake pedal and became wedged between it and the accelerator. I tried frantically to pull it out but it was stuck fast, and the car was accelerating (due to gravity) down the driveway. I finally was able to pull my foot out of my shoe and depress the brake, but by then I was already off the driveway and headed down the side of the hill. Luckily, I was able to stop before any damage was done, but this could have been a very serious problem had it occurred in traffic. After stopping I still had some difficulty removing my shoe from between the gas and brake pedals. I am a male with size 12 shoes.

On my 2008 Smart car passion at 36,585 miles the clutch plate and actuator became defective after only three months of driving. I repaired this issue and at 81,000 miles the same issue on the same part became defective. I put on high miles do to the nature of my business which is a courier company. I am worried for the safety of my drivers. I have expressed this issue to the Smart dealership as well as the national reps. They have no interest in exploring that this could be a major defect with their car. Brakes are a issue I take very seriously since the amount of driving my employees do. Updated 03/15/10.