smart Car
I know this has been discussed already but I am frustrated. I bought a used smart December 2010. It runs great. The blower motor has died and it is only 8 degrees out and snowing. I have an appointment Monday at the dealer I bought it from. I have no idea how I will get it there, 1 hour away with out a defrosted windshield. Plus I already have the feeling they will say it doesn't come under the lemon laws nor the extended warranty I bought. I looked it over and don't see blower motor in it. The forecast is not looking good for the next month here. I called the MB dealer 2 hours away to see about a blower motor. I was told it will be weeks with no delivery date at all, before I can get one and it will be $361.00 plus tax and shipping. I then called smartcar usa and made sure I was told the truth about weeks of waiting. I will be on an expiated list I was told. I am envisioning end of May.
I am sorry to be such a downer. I love this car. It runs great and phenomenal mileage of 55 a gallon. It is terrific in the snow too. I traded in a BMW x5 4.4i for this car. I am disabled and money is an issue since I became disabled due to an accident. So getting rid of the gas hog BMW who took almost $100 to fill and $126.00 a month insurance to the smart of 8 gallons to fill and 4 times better mileage and down to $65.00 a month insurance was a good move for me to do.
So this weekend my son who is 18 and just got a job at Midas Muffler( I bought him his tools for Christmas, now he loves his mother for life) is going to try and see if it has a resistor on the motor( I did read the forums advice on the resistor and motor repair) or is one of the newer blowers with out one as the MB parts guy is telling me. Maybe there is hope it has one and that is all that is wrong.
One of the things I really like about the car is it has become this tiny personal space for me. I know that seems weird but its true!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Robert Ricewasser on -
This is a known issue. The problem is that the commutator on the blower motor armature needs to be cleaned up and the blower motor will work properly. There are several tutorials on: www.smartcarofamerica.com or go to the Evilution websight. The blower motor is accessed from the passenger side footwell. Simple disconnect the wire connector and twist the blower motor out of it's housing. The cover can then be taken off and the commutator cleaned with some light abrasive paper and electrical cleaner. You should also lightly lube the shaft bushings and reassemble the unit and reinstall. You should be good to go from there.
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Here is the link:
http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/forums/f183/heater-blower-motor-re...
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Permalink Reply by Tony on -
Unfortunately all too often options to a dealer repair are not considered. Many times the problems are repairable by simple steps. I hope you are able to get your blower motor fixed with some help by your son. Keep ups up ... let us know what the end result is.
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Update: The temperature dropped to minus 5 over the weekend so we did not attempt to try and fix the blower.
Today I drove to the dealer an hour away at 5 degrees. I told the mechanic what the forum recommended trying to fix it and he did but no luck so he finally did the hammer method and wacked the blower hard and its working for now. The new motor will be 10 days I was told as MB ordered extras the guy is willing to give one up. I am waiting to hear if it is covered by the extended warranty I bought last month. I hope it is.
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Permalink Reply by Tony on
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Stay warm... sucks that you've had so much trouble. The Blowers are so easy to install... it is a shame that the part is not on the shelf for you.
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Update: I drove to the dealer today and got the new blower put in. It took them an hour and a half.
I was charged $100.00 deductible plus $7.50 sales tax. The new blower works great. I made them give me the old blower too. Now the ground hog says spring is around the corner!
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Permalink Reply by Tony on
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Great news and smart to get them to hand over the old blower. you can take it to a shop that repairs electric motors and see if they can clean it up and get in into proper working order. next time you will have a waiting spare. installing the blower motor is a pretty simple process. http://www.evilution.co.uk has so many self help links. stay warm.
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