Has anyone had the problem of their transmission not going into reverse? It has happened with mine six times now. The display does not indicate any letter for the gear and the transmission is not in gear. Sometimes the display indicates "N" instead of "R" and it is still not in gear. Sometimes, it does this in "D" also. If I let it sit when it is indicating "N" instead of "R", an alarm starts sounding. Any help?
Replies to This Discussion
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Well I got my car back from the dealer last night, they replaced the shift and said it was fixed.You know I would not be writing this so soon if it was fixed.
The car will not indicate park now and the park position does not ingage the park in the trans. And it is a crap shout if it will start unless I get it into neutral. Funny same indication on the center of the speedo window for park and neutral some times or it shows a 1 and no start.
Holiday weekend and no service till Tuesday if then. I want a loner this time.
When will this be fixed???????
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Permalink Reply by Veronica on -
Andrew, what's the latest with your smart? Hopefully, all is well and she is on the road again.
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My car was not under warrenty (long story) and service manager said they had only had three other cars with a similar complaint. It was fixed. They diagnosed it and replaced the clutch disc. It cost me $957.34. So far so good. I'm not happy I had to pay and I think this is perhaps a far reaching problem. BTW, part was $230.00 and labor was $630.00. I am following the gas mileage and I don't think I'm getting anything near the claims. Anyone having this problem? "SASSY" is a Chinese Red 2008 Cabriolet with 12,500 miles and I love her anyway.
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Only three other cars... there shouldn't be any. Maybe they are just a small dealer. My guess there have been hundreds or thousands of complaints if you add up all of the dealers. I would definitely contact smart or go back and request a refund.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Riley on -
That is HORRIBLE to have to change a clutch with such low miles. And what gets me, YOU DON'T HAVE CONTROL over it! It's not like in a regular car where a bad driver can ride the clutch because they don't know how to drive. That's not the case with these cars since the computer does all of the work and you have very little to do with the way the car shifts. I don't see why the clutches can't last 150,000 to 200,000 miles. A friend of mine had a Honda that he used to rag on and his clutch lasted way longer than 150,000 miles from the factory. Most people baby their smart cars. A clutch should never wear out prematurely on these things.
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Understand... this is evidently NOT an unusual problem as I am seeing here. I drive SASSY in automatic only and increasingly I could not get her in REVERSE. I think it was a case of faulty discs installed in the 2008's. I certainly don't baby her but I use valet a lot and could see someone having a problem and get into dangerous situation and get hurt. Thanks for the hit. JMD
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I know this is an old post, but I think you all should be made aware the little warranty isn't the ONLY warranty when it comes to defective parts and workmanship, in the USA. The Magnusson-Moss Warranty Protection Act 15USC50 section 2300, with its Implied Warranties of Merchantability and Suitability for a Particular Purpose ARE, STILL in force on your Smart for many years (typically 4 in court but more if it takes that long for defective parts to show up not related to wear)....AFTER their copout warranty is over. It's a FEDERAL LAW good in all states! The clutch issue is about Merchantability...and THEY KNOW IT. Educate yourselves:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15/ch50.html
http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus01-businesspersons-guide-feder...
There are MANY Smart issues that need to be tried under this law. When Smart says you MUST use a certain special Castrol oil in your transmission. at $24/quart?!...THEY MUST GIVE IT TO YOU FOR FREE for the life of the car under this law. This is why you don't have to use Toyota branded oil in a Toyota....and THEY KNOW THIS.
(look under 2302 (c)
All this stonewalling about the warranty being over is BULLSHIT! The implied warranties are still in force. SmartUSA just replaced my defective crazing sunroof under it with another defective crazing sunroof which has NOT cancelled out Merchantability. They told me they would replace it again as soon as the NEW sunroof with a DIFFERENT part number became available....and I recorded it for court, if it comes to that. This guy should NEVER paid for the defective clutch...or its labor....NOT A DIME. The law is very plain and easily read by even the stupidest car company bureaucrat. FAX 'em the whole FTC manual after they close so they'll have it all over the floor the next morning. Your FAX receipt is VALID at their trial as proof they do know about this law and what is required of them. I used it against Yamaha about a defective jetski in 1997...and never paid a dime to return the defective PoS.
Smart and SmartUSA and the dealers just need a little education so they can willingly obey this law...just like WalMart! Ever notice how WalMart doesn't resist you're bringing back the defective toaster? WalMart is not your friend...WalMart is OBEYING THE LAW to avoid more class action lawsuits.
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Permalink Reply by Veronica on
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Rebecca, It was not a coincidence that you had to put it in Drive before it would go into reverse. That is the only way I can get my 2008 to go into reverse when I experience this same problem that I have had two major repair jobs to correct - including a new clutch plate. Please keep me informed if there ever is a real solution for this problem
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I own a 2008 smart fortwo passion cabriolet and just experienced this exact problem today. I have an appointment at the dealership tomorrow. I'll share their response.
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Mimi...read through all of these problems...I hope that the service peeps here at at Wilde in Sarasota fixed mine. So far, so good...but who knows? Keeping my fingers crossed and hope you are up and running safely soon. I do think this is a definate safety concern and we may have to band together and file a class action suit. Keep us in the loop. Best, JM Davis
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San Diego smart (on Kearney Mesa Rd) extended the warranty on my '08 smart fortwo (12,600 miles) for this one issue only (officially, they call it a "known production issue") and replaced my clutch plate at no charge to me.
I dealt with Kyle and Sal. They were both awesome.
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Hope it's fixed...keep in touch. Wilde still claims only three of these problems here in Sarasota, but I am not sure it is so. Thanks for update...good luck. JMD
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