2009 Smart Fortwo owner complaints

Within the space of three months, in the middle of driving my smartcar, my dash display has gone from showing d (for drive) to n and then flashing three vertical bars. I have lost all control of driving the car and luckily there was space on the side of the road to coast to a stop. When trying to turn the car back on, the three bars remain. There is a way through the shifter to restart the car or at least getting it into neutral. A series of pumping the brake, turning the start key and trying to move the shifter back and forth through gears. Eventually, the car will start. Unfortunately, the three bars of death (as nicknamed on the smart car forums) can happen for any numerous types of faults such as weak battery to faulty communication with the transmission, to heater/air conditioning ope

The car has a problem with not going in reverse when you put the gear shifter in 'r' position? Usually after driven and the car is warmed up. The car just rolls when put in reverse, as if though it's in neutral.. When giving gas it just revs the engine and nothing happens.. The car is automatic transmission. And it can be dangerous putting the car in reverse if it's on a slope. The vehicle can roll. This is a normal problem with the 08-09 year. This should defiantly be a recall issue. Thank you for taken the time to read my complaint. *tr

While driving the car, the engine will rev and then there is only neutral showing. I have no reverse or drive. Thank goodness when this happens I have had a place to pull off the road. I turn the car off and sit for a few minutes, turn it back on and have all the gears. I have tried driving in the "manual" position but it still happens. Lately it is more and more frequent. One of these days this car will get me smushed. Smart needs to do a major recall on this! I am only the second owner of this car and got it with only 18,000 miles on it. I now have 35,025 miles on it. Took it to a mechanic and gives a po803 code, which states a clutch sensor. Smart cars code says it needs a new clutch! Wth!?? And if it needs a new clutch then why does this only occurr in the colder weather a

2008 Smart Fortwo has a recall open for reprograming the transmission computer because of rough shifting and bucking while shifting and lugging the engine to much before down shifting. Mine is a 2008 but the VIN was not included in the recall and I am having the same problems with mine. Can mine be added to the recall?

The vehicle fails intermittently to shift from brake to reverse or from reverse to drive. When the failure occurs, all that is seen on the front dashboard is a blank screen and the car alert systems lets out a continuous beeping denoting the failure of the shift. It sometimes requires immediate turning off of the engine and restarting in order to get to the desired gear. Seldom that does not work, and turning off and waiting 10 minutes seems to allow gear shifts. This is dangerous especially in the reverse to drive failure as when coming out of a driveway on a busy road, it may cause an accident. This has occurred after warranty and I was told there is a Mercedes benz software upgrade meant to solve it. But this is a charged service. As a safety issue, I implore that this should not be a c

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 smart fortwo. While driving various speeds, the transmission shifted into neutral without warning. The contact also stated that the vehicle would completely shut off, causing the brakes and steering wheel to fail. The vehicle was taken to world wide motors, inc (3900 e 96th st, indianapolis, in 46240) where they updated the software system in the vehicle; however, the same failures occurred multiple times. The manufacturer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 41,000. *tt updated 12/12/18*jb

When car is stationary and I start it and put it into reverse the car would not move. The gear indicator instead of showing "r" shows blank. I have to turn off engine and try again. I succeed in about 3 tries. There are times that when I shift into reverse the gear indicator displays "n". This episode happens about two times a week. My observation is that it does not depend on the time of day - whether morning, afternoon, or evening; or, cold or hot day. It seems to occur at random.

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. *tr

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.

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 believ

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 smart fortwo. The contact stated that the vehicle was included in and repaired per NHTSA campaign number: 18v273000 (engine, engine cooling). Mercedes-benz of westminister (located at 10391 westminister blvd, westminister, co 80020, 303-410-7800) performed the repair. After the repair, the vehicle began to make a booming noise when the engine and/or radio were activated. The contact had not taken the vehicle back to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 55,000.

2009 smart fortwo pure/passion. Consumer writes in regard to safety NHTSA recall notice #18v273. *as the consumer stated the dealer was to arrange having the vehicle repaired locally due to the consumer's disability. The dealer did not make an arrangement that the consumer found reasonable. *js

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 smart fortwo. While driving 25 MPH, the contact heard an abnormal noise and the ABS and check engine warning indicators illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 18v273000 (engine and engine cooling). The contact stated that Mercedes-benz of edison (located at 910 us-1, edison, nj 08817, (732) 394-1870) exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified. The part was not available for the repair. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The failure mileage was 89,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 smart fortwo. The contact stated that the front driver's side seat belt buckle became inoperable and would not latch. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 28,800.

Driver's side seatbelt will not latch, I'm using the passenger side seatbelt for now. I can't have a passenger in my car because of that broken seatbelt. This happened already before, maybe a year ago and Mercedes benz of georgetown wanted me to pay for it after being fixed but I insisted that it's a safety issue and I shouldn't be driving from their shop without having it fixed. So frustrating safety issues that no one wants to take care of it until somebody's dead.

Fuel pump connectors cracked leaking fuel.

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.

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 smart fortwo. The contact stated that the ABS system warning light remained illuminated and caused the traction control to also fail. The dealer advised that the ABS module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 4,600.

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 t