Power Train Problems of Smart Fortwo - part 2

Smart car had history of not going in reverse. "r" would not come up on screen, car would just roll forward, hitting vehicle(s) in front. Then for a couple of months, (2 years) car would go into neutral while driving, (even on highway) coast for a while, then shut down, and not restart. If you waited 10 minutes, it would usually restart. If tried sooner, it either would not restart, or only go into neutral. It would not shift into any other gear. The other day, after approaching hill, at red light, car went into neutral, then shut down, and brakes would not respond quick enough since car turned off, and hit two (2) pedestrians, crossing in intersection. Car would not restart, waited 1 1/2 hours, would restart at times, but stayed in neutral, (10/2013). Had to be towed to Smart/mercedes center, quoted me $3000, to change actuater, clutch motor, clutch press, clutch plate, and maybe more if need to replace clutch. Smart forums are all full of the same problems, with the Smart cars, especially the 2008. Manufacturer must have been made aware by now, but is ignoring the problem, apparently changed design and clutch plate assembly for 2009 Smart cars. But has not recalled 2008 year where problems are common, and very dangerous.

See all problems of the 2008 Smart Fortwo 🔎.

This has happened over the last year, at least a few dozen times. Sometimes it's happened as often as 2-3 times per week. I will start my car, and shift into reverse, and where there was a p for park on the display, the display is now blank, and my car will not reverse. It will also not go into drive, or display d. I will try moving it back and forward and the display stays blank, and my car won't move. Sometimes when I restart my car it will go back to normal, shifting into reverse, and displaying an r on the display panel. . . Other times it will take several minutes for it to respond, and to be able to move. I have read on-line about other owners having several parts replaced and software updates, but always the problem seems to come back. Others claim it's the clutch plate assembly, and that those have been fixed for the 2009 model. . . But I've still experienced the problem. I've read about this happening to others in traffic, and I've read about dealerships not being able to find "anything wrong" with cars in this situation.

See all problems of the 2009 Smart Fortwo 🔎.

Driving on interstate on a hot day. After approx. 1 hour of driving, slowed down to change lanes, put on brakes, screen went blank and there were no gears. Nothing. . . The car was still running, but there was no way to move, as if it was in neutral. Went online and found that other owners had same problem. Went through a computer reset and it ran fine. Took it to dealer and they charged me $200 for a software update (after I had to rent a car for $300 to get home).

This shifting problem occurred erratically since I've owned new. First incidence was with selecting reverse and thereby loosing the ability to select any gear mode (fwd or rev). This oddity is usually resolved by turning the switch off &restarting but sometimes by selecting neutral & waiting. The next problem came when attempting to accelerate at approx 20 mph which caused the engine to idle & car to coast as in neutral. The first 2+ years, this was resolved by lifting off the gas completely & reapplying. This began to happen at various speeds, always when accelerating. Note: engine revs for bout 1/2 second before failure. My guess is, it happens when it needs to downshift 2 gears. Then also began to happen under load (up long hills requiring auto downshift) always solved by gas recycle and evolved into having to recycle multiple times before it would downshift. Over time,I learned that I could prevent this by downshifting manually & not waiting for "autoshift failure". Sometime in the last year, it has become more frightening as it will not recover by recycling the gas. I don't remember the date or mileage it first happened but I must almost stop before it regains ability to shift/accel normally. It is erratic but was a long time before it repeated itself after the first incident. They are happening more recently & a couple of times in heavy highway traffic & now my wife refuses to ride with me. I talked with Smart rep when car was new & he stated that "reprograming the transmission" was option but this procedure is not covered by warranty. I have appointment to have this 'reprogramming' done at the dealership but have been told it may only solve the "reverse" selection problem. They are not aware of my problems happening in other models or of any recalls, so maybe other owners are slow to complain like me.

Vehicle started not going into reverse when shifting into reverse from drive. Also if idling then shifting into reverse it will not go, it would go to neutral.