should smart be liable after reverse gear issue?

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Warren on December 14, 2009 at 12:00pm

Should or shouldn't I can't say but I am thinking they are going to say they did all they could and thought it was likely working when you pulled out.

I feel for you and likely would have done the same thing. I just don;t see this as one you will win.

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Permalink Reply by Herb Bell on December 17, 2009 at 8:15pm

The miserly 2-year warranty on the Smart should ring a clear warning to every prospective buyer that even the reseller of Smarts in the USA thinks it's a bad risk when it come to electro-mechanical failures.

Apart from the car's "cool" and "tiny" factors, why would anyone want to expose themselves to the fiscal damage of owning a car that even the reseller deems to be risky?

Mind you, I haven't experienced any of the typical problems reported by other Smart owners to date, but, Gee, folks, how bad does it have to get before people buy a Hyundai with a 10-year warranty?

One Canadian owner told a harrowing story of getting stuck with a Smart that just wouldn't "go" in the middle of a severe snowstorm, a potentially life-threatening situation caused by crappy transmission programming.

Even under ordinary driving conditions, I have never owned a car with such a quirky transmission. I know that the Smart uses a computer-controlled manual transmission to get maximum mpg. But why does it have to be run in Manual mode to get a proper 1-2 shift? Try running the car in "D" with the gas pedal on the floor to see what I mean. Apart from the excuse that the factory has set up the transmission to give maximum mileage, is there not a better way to make this tranny shift in a more "normal" manner? How about an "economy" vs. "sport" switch?

Don't get me wrong. I love my Smart 451 in spite of its shortcomings, but with a little real engineering, this car could become a planetary sensation.I know enough about German Engineers and Management to realize that the problem lies with management, not the engineers. Hey, guys: "FEEX Eet!"

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Permalink Reply by linda bowers on December 20, 2009 at 9:51am

thanks for your replies, We heated and pushed out the dent (if you could call it that!!) and I'm saving for a new light fitting lol!

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Permalink Reply by the flea on December 21, 2009 at 2:35pm

you need a new clutch plate assembly to fix the problem...had ours done under warranty.you are not the only one that had this issue

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Permalink Reply by Paul Dunne on March 29, 2010 at 2:12am

I have a smart for two Passion Coupe 2009. I was driving today, and tried to parallel park my car along the curb on a street. The street had a decline and when i put the car in reverse to allign myself in toward the curb my car would not go in reverse. i was looking down at the console shifter and visually noticed that my car was in gear but the car was in a neutral mode. I continued to back up with the car rolling forward into a new Accura parked 4+Feet in front of my car. I repeatedly tried to shift the shifter through the gears with no avail. I was nervous at that point because I had rolled with in a few inches of the car in front of me. I even tried to turn the car off and start the car and again it would not reverse. So yes I rolled in to a very nice Accura. I was so upset when I got out of the car that I had to put the car in neutral and push my car in reverse from outside the drivers side back off the bumper of the accura. Then I had to jump into my car and hit the break because as soon as I let go of the car it proceded to roll down at the car I had just rolled into. I was so upset I called the smart dealer in San Diego, and requeste to speak to the servcie dept. I was informed they were closed and that I would have to call 800 Smart number. I called and explained to the person what had happened his only reply was I need the last 9 digets of the vin nubmer and requesed my insurance comany policy number. I was taken back that he was not even concerned about the fact that I had just rolled into a car. He was more interested in my vin number and my insurance policy number. Figure that out. I can't wait to speak to my service advisor tomarow. I will give him an ear full! Im furious they denied there was any mechanical issues when I called. My friend researched this website and Edmunds and we found out there are issues wiht the shifters. Great customer service when you have to reserach on your own to find out about something.

Paul, San Diego Smart Owner!

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Permalink Reply by Herb Bell on March 29, 2010 at 11:43pm

Paul -

Not to add to your outrage, but you had two brakes you could have applied at any moment. Why didn't you?

I had a similar problem at a red light because I had shifted into neutral at a red light, but a foot on the brake pedal prevented any bad consequences. A trip to Smart/Mercedes "failed to reveal a problem", but since that visit to the service department, my Smart has never again done anything like that again.

Now I know why people are so upset with Toyota!

You are simply a victim of the car-maker's propaganda machine, where they get to play CYA and you get to wonder "wh'oppen"?).

Just keep bringing the car back to Mercedes Service, and sooner or later, they will decide to fix the car instead of making lame excuses.

Now here's a NICE thing about my SMART: Since Service finally fixed my car, it has never done anything like your problem again. In fact, it gained considerable acceleration and power, especially in the Manual mode, where I stomp the gas pedal to the floor, leave it there, and upshift by engine sound. Woo-eeh! The car even works much better than it once did in Automatic mode!!!

So yes, there is hope.

Herb

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Permalink Reply by Herb Bell on March 30, 2010 at 12:00am

No need to put up with this sort of crap. Check your State's Lemon Laws and then act accordingly. The problem you described is usually caused by bad micro-switches in the shift mechanism, not something "unknown" to the local Mercedes "fix-a-teria". Let your repair shop's manager know that you intend to invoke the Lemon Law, then watch them scramble and act all obsequious and humble. But even this won't necessarily result in an actual fix! Make it cost them money by going back every week until the ink runs red for them, and they may ACTUALLY REPAIR YOUR CAR! (wow!)

I was in the US Air Force for 5 years. When I was sent out to repair a "red X" problem (safety of flight issue), I damn well made sure not to make excuses why I "couldn't find the problem", or say "there is no problem". One fatal plane crash traceable to me, and I could end up in Leavenworth. Toyota has found out the hard way why this sort of attitude and incompetence won't work in the auto industry either.

Hit 'em where it hurts - in the pocketbook.

Herb

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Permalink Reply by Forest on April 1, 2010 at 3:53pm

Whats all the Fuss about,
THe Clutch needs to be replaced and your smart dealer should know this.

ENd of story

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