451 smart fortwo

Anyone have experience with their SmartCar's engine coming on and off at a whim. I've had mine into the dealership twice and nobody is able to repair it. Now Im waiting for a reply from the "Chief Honcho of Service in the Sky" and should have a reply by Wednesday. I know abut the gas tank lid being tight. I know of one other person in town (Tampa) that is having difficulty. I shelled out a good amount of money for a caged in go-cart (which I really do enjoy) but I find the service lacking ... and one out there that has had a resolution about the "engine light coming on." Sure would like to know about it. 813.988.2442; bdj225@usa.net

Tags: engine, issues, light, service

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Ben Comment by Ben on July 12, 2010 at 12:01pm
Myother issue was that I had a GPS and it screwed up the electrical system when plugged in. Took it off and the light went off. It was an inexpensive Chinese made GPS. But in the final analysis is shouldn't have made the light come on. That was my 2008, now I have a 2009 and I've got it on the market. Loaded, convertible, PS, PW, A/C, premium radio ... $15K. If you know anybody interested. Tampa Florida 813.988.2442
Comment by Jeremy on July 12, 2010 at 12:27am
A check engine light can happen if the car is completely toped off with fuel. the light will come on about 10 to 50 miles after you leave the gas pump, and then it goes off after you let the car sit with the engine off for a while, and some times never goes off until you visit the dealer. Another problem alot of smarts are haveing is the lines for vacume pump for the ozone converter dosent have enough pressure in them, this is caused by a weak electrinic motor in the car a easy way to fix this is to give the car a little time to warm up until you really put alot of load on the engine.
Ben Comment by Ben on September 16, 2009 at 9:02pm
Check to make sure the gas cap is tighten. I have had trouble with the same Cabrio car ... 2008... and continue to have issues. They are about to be resolved, I'll up date you when that happens shortly.

Ben
Comment by Kevin R. Landers on September 16, 2009 at 4:23pm
I recently had a situation with my 2009 Cabrio with only 4000 miles. I topped off with 91 Octane in my hometown and drove 170 miles. I then topped off again with 91 Octane in that town and drove back home, another 170 miles with no incident. My wife drove the car a short distance that evening and the engine light came on and stayed on. I looked through the book and several online sources to no avail. I then decided that it may be a fuel issue, topped off the tank with 91 Octane at my hometown station. Upon starting the car, the engine light went off and after 200 miles, it has not appeared again. I'm guessing that the emissions is so sensitive that it detected crappy gas somewhere down the line. I've spoken to several people in the town that I had visited and they all agreed that the place I filled up at is notorious for bad gas. Just my personal experience.
Ben Comment by Ben on February 18, 2009 at 11:39am
Jeremy ... a couple of great suggestions. I won't mess with the battery terminal but I'll share that with the dealership. It has been out now for about ten days. Hasn't come on and off like it was. I just feel uncomfortable wondering when it will come on (and of course be out of warranty). My gas cap is black. No colors involved. I'll mention that to the dealership as well. I'm just interested in having the car operate for the amount of money I paid for it. They keep delaying me with it. It seems as thought some one up top has forwarded the issue to someone above them. I think it is floating around with someone in Michigan right now.
Many thanks for the comments. I really do appreciate the feedback. I'll get this resolved one way or the other.
Safe driving to your, Jeremy.
Comment by Jeremy on February 18, 2009 at 2:36am
I wouldent reccomend doing this every time, but if you just want the service engine light to go out just remove the negative terminal on the battery for about five to ten minutes this will reset the computer without messing with the clock or the radio settings. But if your service engine light emediately returns on you should get your smart to the dealearship
Comment by Jeremy on February 18, 2009 at 2:25am
What color is your gas cap, my smart did that a fiew times so i took my smart into the dealearship and they replaced my gas cap. they said that they were haveing some problems with the seal on the old caps. If it is green the cap is good, if it is red it is the old style cap. Also check your battery terminals for poor connection low current flow will cause a service engine light to temporary come on and then shut off. this seems to work for me and i have not had any problems since.
Ben Comment by Ben on February 17, 2009 at 9:21am
Marco that is a new one to me. Mine didn't do any shaking. Now the light has suddenly gone off for about two weeks. I'm still concerned about whether it has "repaired itself" or just begun to not operate correctly. I still love the car but would love to have resolution from SmartCar. People have been called, I've been informed they've called people, but no one seems to have come up with a resolution. I find the higher up's a bit pompus and simply passing the buck. You would think they would want to keep the folks who have bought the few that are available very happy. Appears not to be that way.
Comment by MARCO on February 17, 2009 at 1:31am
BEN, does anything happen when the engine light comes on? I was having a problem with my 2009 passion. my engine light would come on at the point of re-accelerating causing my car to start shaking and the engine would be rough without letting me to accelerate. I took it to the MB dealer in clearwater, Florida where they were fantastic & resolved the problem. Let me know if you need more info. & best of luck.
Comment by Tony on February 7, 2009 at 8:09pm
Ben, Hope all goes well on your engine light issue. Looking forward to hearing what the cause is/was.

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