Equipment Problems of Smart Fortwo - part 1

When starting the car, the transmission will not respond to the shifter being put into any gear. A computer diagnostic says it is a communications issue. Mercedes, who sold the car to me new, refuses to do any repair work as they have discontinued Smart sales in the us. If the communications for the transmission fails during operation, this will be very dangerous. There are numerous reports on the internet of similar issues and owners trying to repair this themselves. Mercedes needs to be forced to repair what they have sold and represented. If this is a software update issue, who has the software to fix this issue? it is outrageous that NHTSA has not enforced these issues with Mercedes Benz of America.

See all problems of the 2009 Smart Fortwo 🔎.

Three weeks after got the car from carmax check engine light went on and the after a smell of burning oil every time after driving somewhere. Cruise control failure about a month and half after getting the car, spring shocks in bad condition. Front windshield replaced looks like by the writing on the upper corner driver side (pieces of glass found on the car). Cargo cover missing and no mats.

See all problems of the 2016 Smart Fortwo 🔎.

Engine fire destroyed vehicle while driving on interstate at 65 mph. Vehicle was serviced and maintained per manufacturer maintenance schedule at authorized dealer. No prior issues with vehicle. Vehicle also passed emission check on 09/29/2021 with no obd error codes reported during inspection. Mileage: 60k.

See all problems of the 2008 Smart Fortwo 🔎.

Car has major delays many times when you hit the gas pedal - you can be turning into traffic at times and there's a major delay to propel the vehicle forward when your foot is on the pedal - this delay in getting the car moving could cause a major crash. Motor mounts wear out under 50,000 miles seems too soon when compared to most other vehicles - suspension (shocks) come super hard from the factory.

See all problems of the 2015 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.

Smart car recall I contacted the dealership on August 3, 2018 and they were suppose to contact me back - I am still waiting. They said they would contact me once they had parts available for the recall.

I am writing to you to voice a complaint I have with mercedes-bends USA, llc's recall of their Smart vehicles, recall campaign # 2018060010. It calls for replacement of the rear insulation mat, that if not replace could potentially cause a fire in the engine compartment. I have called several of the local mercedes-bends dealerships and have found that the nearest dealership that can replace the mat is either in salt lake city, utah or seattle washington. I reside in helena montana which is 485 miles from salt lake and 590 miles from seattle. These distances are totally impractical for me to drive to with this vehicle. Please require mercedes-bends to establish a Smart maintenance facility in closer proximity to helena.

Spontaneously caught on fire while driving.

On Friday February 16th when trying to start my 2013 Smart Fortwo brabus, the lights on the dashboard started flicking, smoke started to come out from the ac vents, the car caught on fire and exploded, fire department determined to be an electrical issue. The car was stationary on a city street at the time. . Read more...

Failure to reverse transmission software car is in park will not go into gear.

While driving on 2/7/2018 the vehicles blower motor stopped working. On returning home it was discovered that many vehicle owners also have had the blower motors fail on their vehicles. One person reported 3 failures. Another reported that his dealership advised that several "bad" blower motors were sent out. Was forced to drive home on -4 degree weather without defroster.

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.

My 2009 Smart Fortwo car caught on fire yesterday and burned. When I was pulling into the local post office, the car?s windshield wipers came on by themselves and then the horn began to honk as well. I got into a parking space and turned off the car. I saw something coming from the front of the car but no flames. I got out and went into the post office to get my mail. While in there I heard several people yelling that a car was on fire. I rushed outside to see my car fully engulfed in flames. I lost all my things in the car; laptop, tablet, cellphone and most of all all my business paperwork, contacts, etc.

While driving my vehicle, I had reached about 40 miles per hour and the car just died. I hadn't done anything, the car simply died. When I first attempted to turn the car back on, it wouldn't crank. The lights, air everything electrical came on, but the car didn't crank. After waiting a few minutes, I tried again and luckily the car started. But this scared me and should not have happened.

On July 28 2017 I was driving on the highway and my car "died". Luckily I was able to coast to the side of the road and the car that was following me also pulled over and the man was yelling that my car was on fire. I had no previous warning. No smell, no sounds, no alarms--nothing other than my car died while I was on the highway. I had gotten out to see what I could of the situation (not mechanically inclined), saw smoke and small flames so went to get keys and cell pnone out of car and 2 other people were parked in front of me, having passed by me, and were yelling "get out of the car it is on fire" by now, only a few minutes later, the rear of my car was entirely engulfed in flames. The smoke inside the car now was thick, grayish in color, while the exterior seemed to me melting before my eyes! the entire car was destroyed. All that is left is the basic metal frame. Several bystanders took video and pictures of this as it was horrible and fast. I did not hear anything when I was driving to alert me there was a problem initially. If the car hadn't died, as fast as this happened, I would be dead I am sure. As far as I know there were no recalls on this car. I had less than 30000 original miles on the vehicle and all mandatory upkeep was performed (oil changes etc) there are chp files im sure, I have a claim in with my insurance (usaa) and as I said there is video documentation of the fire. At this point my car, and virtually everything in it is charcoal. The car is not salvageable. I was a shocked beyond belief that such a thing could happen to a well maintained vehicle and I am still afraid to think of driving alone.

Was driving down the road and my vehicle suddenly died-was not out of gas- took a while and started but shook violantly and didn't stay started- waited a while longer and it started and was able to drive it home.

Not sure if you are interested in a canadian complaint (sorry, used the closest state and zip code for address) but I think this is important. After replacing the muffler on our Smart car, as I drove away I smelled a burning odor. Thinking it was just burn off from the new parts I continued driving. Not much further away at a stop a man approached me and said there was smoke coming out the back. I got out to look and the amount of smoke quickly increased and was coming out through the rear body panel sections. I have video of this. I opened the hatch on the engine compartment and smoke poured out. I called the mechanic who immediately came and drove it back to the shop (not sure why he thought that was a safe thing to do?) they reported that the fire wall fire insulation was deteriorating and a large chunk had fallen down onto the engine and was smoldering. As a result they ripped all the fire insulation off the engine compartment door hatch. Could this be the cause of all these reported fires? I consider myself lucky that a fire didn't break out as I was on my way to pick up my 93 year old father.

My car started on fire while it was being driven! my friend escaped a fiery death by merely seconds! I have had this car since 2008. I have been very impressed with it for the most part as, other than regularly scheduled maintenance, there have absolutely no problems with the car for the first 100,000 miles. Until this incident, I was considering purchasing a new Smart car. My friend was driving the car down the freeway yesterday when a driver next to him began flagging him frantically and fortunately forced him off to the shoulder of the road. My friend first thought that he was looking at a case of road rage until his savior jumped out of his truck yelling at my friend to "get out of your car, it is on fire!" my friend jumped out of the car, and within 10 seconds, the very spot where he had been sitting was totally engulfed in flames! he stood there and shot the attached pictures as the car burned, and then after the fire department had put it out. Without the assistance of the good samaritan, I suspect that he would be dead or seriously maimed. There was absolutely no warning sign of any kind prior to the incident! it just had it s 100,000 mile oil change last week. I see where this has happened to others. Will it take a death or serious maiming before mercedes will be forced to remedy this problem?.

Often times after starting up vehicle and going into reverse vehicle will not reverse. I often times get stuck in spots because I am unable to reverse. This is a safety hazard especially when there is oncoming traffic behind me.

The car was in motion the engine cut off then I coasted to a parking lot the vehicle was then stationary I got out and noticed smoke then saw flames coming from the rear of the car by the time I ran a safe distance away the flames had more than doubled.

I was in an office building when I a city fire marshal came in and informed me my car was on fire in the parking lot. I found this to be very hard to believe as it had been parked for over an hour and one half. The fire dept. Had broken my passenger side window, opened the car and sprayed it with chemicals. I was informed the fire had started from wires in the engine compartment. Fortunately, it was caught early and damage was minimal, but the car was not attended nor was the engine hot as it had not been in use for some time. Had it been in a closed garage it could have been a disaster.

The factory installed alarm from Smart goes off for no reason intermittently. I am not the only one. So many people have this issue. It should be recalled or complimentary fixed!.

I can get no information about recalls for this car, but especially whether or not the airbags in this car are part of the takata airbag recall. Mercedes USA can't help. Mercedes germany won't help. The company that purchased these cars, brought them to the us, and modified them to meet us standards, refuses to answer my question. No one can help me find out if my airbags are part of the recall.

See all problems of the 2005 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.

Strong odor of gasoline in and around the car but no visible leak. Learned on the that this 2008 car if prone to fire. Took it to dealer and did not find a problem am I driving a little ww2 mercedes oven?.

Driving to a friends house, about a 10-15 min. Drive. . . Friend say he smells smoke, look to the right side onto the mirror and its smoke coming from the back side of my car. Open the back to look at the engine - a lot of smoke is coming out and as the smoke is clearing my friend sees flames and we quickly after grab a hose and call 9-1-1. Don't know what caused the fire, firemen said not to start the car called aaa. Firemen said we got lucky it didn't reach the gas tank.

After only 10. 000 miles the engine mounts all go bad!.

See all problems of the 2011 Smart Fortwo 🔎.

The left front coil spring broke while the vehicle was sitting in the driveway. This is the second coil spring to break within a one year period.

Shift lever will not go into park. Ignition key cannot be removed. Subsequent failures resulted in not being able to select reverse and park with the shift lever, and therefor, unable to remove ignition key.

Upon starting car, attempt to shift into reverse. Car shows either a blank where the gear (p, r, n, d) would normally appear, or shows 'n' when shifter is in the 'r' position. If 'n' is showing, car begins beeping as it would if seatbelt weren't fastened. Shifting into 'd' makes no difference, car can only have 'n' or 'p' selected at this point. Car must be shifted into park and then turned off and back on (sometimes multiple times) for the problem to resolve.

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.

While a body panel was being replaced on a 2009 Smart Fortwo passion, the mechanic discovered that, unbeknownst to the car's owner, the mechanism securing the tailgate in place had corroded so badly that the tailgate was in danger of, literally, falling off the vehicle. He reattached the tailgate but was sincerely concerned that it had been in danger of falling off or--given the right conditions, like open windows and highway speed--flying off and perhaps hitting another vehicle or being hit by another vehicle. The mechanic advised filing a report in case this corrosion problem affects other similar models. More details and photographs are available from the mechanic. To contact the mechanic, simply email or call the filer of this report.

In traffic, attempting to parallel park, car fails to shirt into "r" must turn car off in middle of road, restart three times to finally get car to engage "r" or "d" to move the car safely out of traffic. 1- this has happened to me many dozens of times, I previously reported a similar problem. 2- I see many other similar complaints. Why has there not been a recall issued?.

Kuhmo tire went flat after only 13,000 miles, dealer recommends all tires be replaced. I drove cars when they had inner tubes and never had tires wear out this fast.