Body Problems of Smart Fortwo

The roof detached on the highway. It was just replaced by Mercedes Benz in manhattan and a couple of weeks later when it went on a highway, the roof flew up and I had to hold on to it for dear life while I was searching for a shoulder since they don’t have them everywhere on the east coast. I didn’t want anyone behind me to be killed. I didn’t want myself to be killed either. It’s very hard to drive with wind and a roof coming against you. As soon as I found a shoulder I bumped a street sign in a bush because it was so narrow and then the tow truck driver had to come and bring a ratchet straps to secure my roof to the car. He had to block traffic with his tow truck so we didn’t get hit and die. Then I had to drive five hours with my roof detached from washington DC to new york because it was labor day and they were no mechanics open. It was terrifying. I have nightmares. I had lives on my hands and my own. If it had flown off completely, which it would have if I didn’t pull it down as I pulled over, someone would have been killed and I could have crashed driving and holding my roof down at the same time.

See all problems of the 2016 Smart Fortwo 🔎.

Regarding lightning: water/humidity had access to the sam unit and the right-side signals/stop light stopped working. The vehicle was in motion when it suddenly stopped working. Regarding body/other: some of the convertible-roof steel frame/bars got bent when closing the top and the bent bars would prevent the top from closing unless you forced the steel/metal bars.

See all problems of the 2013 Smart Fortwo 🔎.

My 2016 Smart car at only 51000 miles had transmission failure while driving down freeway almost resulting in crash. My car went from 65 miles a hour, then warning light said transmission failure and car was unable to excel rate or break, the emergency break was the only thing that saved me. Mercedes diagnosed a wig was able to fly up under car and get wrapped around axels, transmission, and break belts. The car was totaled from a wig. This is unacceptable that the underneath is left vulnerable to a object being able to cause so much damage, that could have easily resulted in a fatal car crash. This happened on hwy 59 south houston, while driving.

My car was in motion on the freewaywhen it seized. When stopped the engine in the back caught fire, my vehicle burned to the ground, there were recalls for this the year before, (for the 2009 Smart car) there are videos documnting this on you tube. My brother who worked for mercedes (the parent company of Smart) as a mechanic told me to see if there were any recalls.

See all problems of the 2010 Smart Fortwo 🔎.

Tl- the contact owns a 2008 mercedes-benz Smarta. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 18v273000 (engine and engine cooling) the contact called the midstate auto group inc dealer (508- 832-8886 located at 810 washington st, auburn, MA 01501) and it was confirmed that the parts were not availaable. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and was not able to confirm when the parts were to become available. The contact stated that the location of the ignition key (between the front driver's seat and the front passenger's seat) caused the ignition key to shut the vehicle off whenever the driver or the passengr leaned over to each other. The contact also stated that the convertible roof did not close to the end. The dealer was made aware of the roof and stated that the roof was no longer under the warranty. The manufacturer was called but no one picked up the phone. The contact added that the engine overheated at any speed. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of this and the issue with the ignition key. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 39,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available. Fe ## VIN passed ## 2008 mercedes-benz Smarta ##.

See all problems of the 2008 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.

See all problems of the 2009 Smart Fortwo 🔎.

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).

While driving rear motor caught fire,.

The panoramic roof is crazing! it's unsafe to drive the car because the glass can shattered on top of my head at any giving moment! when it's raining or washing the car at the carwash the roof is also leaking. This is a very common problem with the Smart car passion model! a lot of complaints about it!.

See all problems of the 2011 Smart Fortwo 🔎.

The contact owns a 2012 Smart Fortwo. While driving 60 mph, the passenger side body panel disengaged without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,100.

See all problems of the 2012 Smart Fortwo 🔎.

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.

On Friday, March 28, 2014, at approximately 4:00 pm while driving home from work (us dept of transportation), the latches that holds the front hood down in the car broke and the hood flew into the street. Luckily there were no cars behind or beside me at the time. I had to pull my car to the shoulder of road and walk about 25 feet to retrieve the hood in the road which cause paint damages to the car. This was very frightening for me. This is truly a safety issue that needs to be resolved and recalled. I brought the car about eight months ago. I called the dealership (mercedes-benz of catonsville) that has serviced my car in the past to report the incident and was instructed to bring the car into the shop the next day. The incident was discussed with the sales manager and general manager, I was informed that these types of cars have this problem. They have not serviced many, but services have been performed on these types of cars. The hood latches are made of plastic and its a "wear/tear" issue. My warranty insurance covered the plastic latches, but I had to pay a deductible. The service department identified the problem and resolved the issue by mounting (4) new plastic locking mechanisms (part number smt 451-757-01-01-c22a). I am afraid that this issue will happen again in time and someone will not be as lucky to avoid an accident or fatal incident. This needs to be investigated ASAP.

There is a leak in the seal for the glass roof and the body, resulting in two problems; 1- water has leaked into the passenger compartment. 2- very noticeable "wind noise" coming from roof seal area. This seams consistent with recall # 08v-390, however, this VIN is not included in that recall. I believe the problem is the same, and should be included with recall # 08v-390.

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.

In compliance with my 2013 Smart Fortwo vehicle owner's manual, I washed my vehicle in an automatic car wash, located at a fuel station. Upon the start of the drying cycle, the front "hood assembly" detached from the car and flew back, striking my windshield. It was caused by the failure of one of two plastic clips, located in the front grille. The clip was stressed to the point of breakage. This event blocked all visibility, therefore, causing a possible crash hazard and/or a pedestrian strike. The event also placed risk to occupants, in the event of windshield glass injury and/or hood penetration into the occupant cabin. In this specific incident, the vehicle was at low speed, and risk was minimal; however, I do not know the wind speed of the dryer mechanism. It seems possible that similar exposure to such forces could be replicated naturally, during normal driving conditions. In such case, the possibility of mechanism failure exists. For instance: if wind speeds/gusts and specific directionality is combined with the opposing directionality, and a much higher velocity of a vehicle (than that of one in a car wash). Research conducted, after the incident, indicated a high prevalence of occurrence; this information was found on public Smart car internet forums, by the fuel station company's district manager, and management of a well-established, national car wash franchise. Note: according to the 2013 Smart Fortwo owner's manual, owners can utilize automatic car washes. It does not warns against the possibility of the above described situation. Specific instructions state: "washing your vehicle in an automatic car wash: when running your vehicle through an automatic car wash, water droplets can run down the inside of the side windows. Unscrew your vehicle¿s antenna before driving into an automatic car wash" (p. 154, Smart operator's manual, oct 2, 2012).

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.