Body problems of the 2009 Smart Fortwo

I bought the car and less than two weeks the transmission went there was flashing and beeping and the car would not go into gear. I bought a 2009 and in 2008 there was a recall on that model for that transmission problem sometimes the car won't start sometimes now and the hood latch is broken.

I represent the owners of this 2009 Smart Fortwo vehicle. My client drove the vehicle home after work and parked in the garage. Approximately 30 minutes after parking the vehicle in the garage, my client was awoken by his son who smelled smoke. My client followed the smoke to the garage where he found the vehicle on fire. It appeared the fire started in the engine compartment. The fire spread quickly throughout the garage and into the house. The property damage is extensive, including totaling both vehicles in the garage and extensive property damage to the home.

I am original owner since Feb 09 (manf 12/08) and its now 7 yrs old and reqs new battery. Lifting up floor mat to remove old battery I noticed sticky red oily substance (unkown source but now suspect battery vapor condensation) around top of compartment (mostly where holddown bracket connects). Removing the battery then exposed corroded floor paint from battery acid. In attempting to clean up the mess, I had to remove the battery vent tube exiting the floor. This tube had a spider nest inside about 2" from opening. Wd40 did not penetrate nests end seals & had to extract spider & nest manually. I can not prove this is safety related but im wondering if other vented battery cars have this vent blockage-corrosion problem and also if these blocked fumes were toxic to occupants of my car? I took some phone photo evidence. On unrelated problem. In the last 1-2 years I also have the peeling top clearcoat problem reported by other owners of 2009 red paint (non metalic) which is primarily on hood panel & other top surfaces exposed to direct sun which leaves the dull red base color of the plastic panels. (this is only exhibited on 2009 red models).

There is this horrible problem with the 2009 Smart Fortwo rally red! the clearcoat is peeling for no reason and there is at least 60 people around the country with the same exact issue with proof and statements to prove it! mercedes/Smart should issue a recall or replace these panels free of charge! this ruins the integrity of the car and even the dealership wont help out because the car is out of warranty or im not "loyal enough" to the dealership! my and everyone else with a red Fortwos clear coat is peeling for no exact reason at all, this is a major design flaw with very thin clear coat, I understand if it was just a few cars but we are talking more than 60 cars and lets not forget the safety recall that was made in 2008 for messed up paint as well! fix this mercedes! I honestly believe something bad can happen in this car, makes me feel very unsafe.

I was driving my Smart car to work at 1:30 am. There was some snow on the roads so I left 10 minutes earlier than normal so I could drive slowly. I had to go up a hill and the car fishtailed and crashed into the steel rail. I was going 43 mph in a 55 mph zone when the car fishtailed. I hit the steel rail almost head on. The car is a total loss yet the airbags did not deploy. I hit my head and have a sore back and knee plus I missed a day of work. I do not believe these cars are safe to drive in winter due to the rear wheel drive and the air bags that do not work. Thanks for reading my story.

The contact owns a 2009 Smart Fortwo. The contact stated that the vehicle had mold damage due to water penetration from a crack in the roof. The vehicle was taken a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a crack in the seal between the roof and the body. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 47,500.

The contact owns a 2009 Smart Fortwo coupe. The contact stated that while driving in heavy winds, the hood flew back and struck the windshield, obscuring the contact's vision of the roadway. After attempting to close the hood, he noticed that there was no latch to secure the hood back in place. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was contacted and advised him to take the vehicle to an authorized dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000. The current mileage was approximately 15,000.

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.