Automatic Transmission Problems of Smart Fortwo

The contact owns a 2009 mercedes-benz Smart car. The contact stated that on multiple occasions when the vehicle was parked and the transmission lever was shifted, the transmission lever only shifted into neutral. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle did not move when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The tire pressure warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic but was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 18v273000 (engine and engine cooling) however parts to complete the remedy were unavailable. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 37,000. The VIN tool confirmed parts are unavailable at this time.

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The contact owns a 2008 Smart Fortwo. The contact stated that while driving 20 mph, the vehicle suddenly shut off without warning. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that the clutch coupling motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 56,150.

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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.

The failing part is in the automatic transmission shift lever. The shift lever release button begins to get resistive in it's operation and then fails to actuate all together. In my case this resulted in the dealer service department having to replace the entire shift lever assembly. The failure occurred at approximately 8400 miles. It has been about 500 miles since the repair and I can feel the lever becoming resistive again.

Gear shift lever freezes in park & therefore will not allow car to move.

It's a problem that happens about once a week, the car won't go into reverse, and sometimes won't go into any gear at all. This has been recurring for 2 years, and the dealership pretends there is no problem. This can be dangerous when in a busy street, or in a slope when you expect to back up while the car rolls down the hill.