hi all,
this seems to be a growing concern to "smarties", this mysterious shifter failure that disables the vehicle. i have had my smart for over 5 months without any problems (knock on plastic!) i am curious when your smart was made that has this failure.
it seems that penski/mercedes/smart should issue a "recall" to fix this problem, rather than wait until we are found on the road or in a parking lot DEAD! i have heard this occurring as early as 350km (canada). i have logged over 3800 miles with no problems, but i have no second vehicle and i'd rather have smart fix it now before it fails and i'm stranded god knows where.
my manufacture date is 12/07
this seems to be a growing concern to "smarties", this mysterious shifter failure that disables the vehicle. i have had my smart for over 5 months without any problems (knock on plastic!) i am curious when your smart was made that has this failure.
it seems that penski/mercedes/smart should issue a "recall" to fix this problem, rather than wait until we are found on the road or in a parking lot DEAD! i have heard this occurring as early as 350km (canada). i have logged over 3800 miles with no problems, but i have no second vehicle and i'd rather have smart fix it now before it fails and i'm stranded god knows where.
my manufacture date is 12/07
Replies to This Discussion
-
In best Laugh-In German accent... "verry interresting"
Failure point based on mileage or number of operations? I would have assumed the latter. A pure with no paddle shifters would get more stick operations overall than a passion with paddles? Or is it more a case of P to N to D and not + to - gear shifts?
The shifter is not purely mechanical in + - 'cos that's sequential... I had assumed the N R P D side to be mechanical 'cos the stick stays in the selected position.
If the service bods failed to notice the warning light indicating they had failed to reconnect the air bag... bit of a worry.
USA plates reading 07/08 instead of JUL 08 ... Yet another trivial difference to keep someone in a job?
-
well, i rarely shift in manual, for most trips it's P to D, then when parking R for a second. i just shift manual when i want to keep the car in 5th where it would sometimes hunt back to 4th when i am happy in 5th.
it was christmas eve, the service tech was in a rush to leave, he was long gone at 3:05pm. he just made sure the shifter was installed right and was functioning. there was a big paw print on the driver side fixed door window, if it wasn't a rush, i'm sure he would have cleaned that up.
since i got the SG2, i've played with manual more. you also bring something else into play, "paddles", obviously they are secondary to the stick. i drove a passion for a couple miles while waiting for the prepping of my pure, i did play with the paddles for a bit. the whole smart transmission control is electrical and not physical, the smart plays the clutch pedal and throttles up or down for the changes. i notice the smart playing with the throttle with the SG2, the fuel flow and current MPG.
i noticed on flat land, the smart gets better milage at 60kph/36mph in 4th, but the milage is better in 5th on smaller upgrades at the same speed. so the normally aspirated smart likes to hump it under a higher load. you having a turbo bring a whole new animal into the equation.
the USA plates have much more information, they state the date of manufacture, place, and conformance to current emissions, economy and safety standards to that date of manufacture.
-
It's really hard for me to be certain if 4th or 5th gives the better mpg at 60 kph with the turbo. In theory it has more torque at lower rpm than the natural breather... but it still sounds a bit burbly and pushes the responsiveness envelope into the soggy paper towel category. My SGII indicates about the same fuel flow. However, it is easier to cruise at 60 kph in 5th than 4th because it is slower to accelerate... so is less likely to unwittingly get over the speed limit.
I don't use the auto much around town because it shifts way too high for economy (it is not the same as the USA program for those readers who have just tuned in). Where my auto program shines is in the twisty mountain roads around here when manual gear changing while going around a narrow sharp bend with a shear drop over a cliff is the last thing I want to think about.
Generally: I use the paddles on straight roads or high speed corners / roundabouts, but on 90 degree suburban bends, where the steering wheel is anyways but straight, I use the stick. My stick is clunky and takes more physical effort to move than a trad stick shift. OK... maybe some lube will ease it up... but the paddles are so much easier and quicker to use (most of the time).
Switching on Auto is by pressing the button on the top left of the stick... the one used as a lock on the USA models. Quite different.
Happy New Year and may all our smart bugs be tiny ones.
-
Ian,
I live up in the Ottawa area and I drive manually most of the time. I do find that it's best to slip into automatic in winter driving when the roads are slippery. The traction control and the ABS work perfectly in winter either way and I'm very impressed with the traction of the smart. I'm a big fan of downshifting when coming to a stop or slowing down but I think the car performs better in automatic when roads are slippery and snow covered. It prevents me from downshifting but that's a good thing on icy roads.
Marc, Casselman Ontario Canada
-
i was back at my smart center today, as i thought, when they replaced the shifter mechanism, they removed the seats and disconnected the airbag wires, it was christmas eve and near closing time. they said there was a crapload of airbag codes in the ECU and had to clear them all. while i was waiting, i got a pair of wiper blade refills... $66 plus 10% sales tax...OUCH!!!!! $73 bucks for 2 wiper blades!!!! that's more than i spent in the last 20 years for wiper blades!
-
My local Walmart sold me the same Michelin wiper blades for $18 each. Our's needed both after just 6 months. I am not impressed.
http://www.michelinwiper.com/
-
thanks for the info, i assumed they were proprietary blades (MB MOA). mine are 11 months old and are ready to be replaced. hopefully i'll never visit a MB dealership again. my last car just needed oil changes for 10 years, i got a new shifter and my airbags are back to normal, so hopefully i'm good for the next decade or so.
-
Did dealer look at shifter at 5000 miles as you planned with first oil change?
Welcome to
451 smart fortwo
Become a Member
or Login
smart Part of Racing History
2008 One Lap of America
Latest Activity on 451s
13 hours ago 