general problems of the 2009 Smart Fortwo

The contact owns a 2009 Smart Fortwo. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the air bag warning light was illuminated and would not turn off. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with needing the driver’s side air bag replaced. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The independent mechanic had to order the parts for the repair. The dealer was contacted however, the dealer was unable to confirm when the part would be available. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 127,000.

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. 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!.