2008 Smart Fortwo Cabrio problems, complaints & recalls

2021-02-24 · Unknown Or Other · 90,100 mi

“can not turn ignition key to start the car. car was parked in a parking lot. after several hours had to pry up console to switch the the yellow up. then had to put gear in neutral. put oil in gear shaft area. plus blow out any debris that might have fallen in key hole. also put lubricant in key shaft. with several attempts the key finally turned o…”

2020-09-28 · Engine · 21,000 mi

“this concerns nhtsa recall #18v273. i bought this car new at a dealer 30 miles from my home. smart has left the us market and their website shows the closest dealer is 220 miles away (one direction). their website says that authorized mercedes-benz dealers can perform the recall work. i tried my local mercedes-benz and they referred me to a deale…”

2020-06-23 · Engine · 90,000 mi

“recall campaign number 2018060010. i live in boise, idaho. the closest dealer that can do the recall work is in draper utah. the dealer wants me to drive the car to utah to have the recall done. doesn't seem like a safe idea for me. *tr…”

2016-02-22 · Air Bags · 85,000 mi · 💥 crash

“i am the original owner of my continuously maintained 2008 smart car. on 12/3102015 at 11:50 am. (sunny, 80 deg. f) i went thru a city intersection, at about 15 mph, to turn left, i was hit broadside ("t" boned), into my drivers side door by a ford e250 van, filled with air-conditioning equipment, which was traveling at about 35mph. my side airbag …”

2015-01-18 · Structure:body · 86,000 mi · 🔥 fire

“we drove about 12 miles to a friends, parked in driveway, went inside to visit. in 10-15 minutes was a knock on the door by a neighbor who said "your car is on fire". we called 911, emptied a fire extinguisher to no avail. i took many photos from start to finish while waiting for the fire department. they put out the fire. insurance tow truck to…”

2013-11-19 · Power Train · 38,760 mi

“i own 2 of the 2008 smart fortwo automobiles (pure & cabrio). both have periodically been balky shifters (stuck when trying to move the gear selector out of park). one has briefly refused to shift into any gear, independent of the gear indicated. both have briefly refused to shift out of park... until today when my wife was stuck in park at a red l…”

2013-10-22 · Power Train · 21,543 mi

“could not shift into reverse. this problem has gotten worst. the failure to shift into reverse happens almost daily. the smart dealer stated i need a new clutch. this start at about 20,000 miles. all other manual and automatic shifting is normal. several times i have had to push the car backwards to get out of a parking space. my wife refuse…”

2013-09-25 · Seat Belts · 21,245 mi

“i attempted to secure my right front seatbelt clip into the designated right seatbelt receptor but it would not completely insert nor lock into place. then, i checked if any debris had became lodged in the seatbelt receptor that may have blocked the seatbelt receptor entry way. no foreign debris was found so i tried again, but resulted in not l…”

2012-12-27 · Electrical System · 68,500 mi

“tl* the contact owns a 2008 smart fortwo cabrio. the contact stated that while driving 70 mph the vehicle shut off. the vehicle was restarted some time later. in the interim, the dealer was notified and informed the contact that there was an electrical failure. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for repairs to the diode. the failure and current mi…”

2012-05-30 · Power Train · 3,000 mi

“the transmission won't engage into reverse. called for help. they had me reach under gear shift and release a cable to move car, after i did that i went to work and car wouldn't shift out of gear into park. called and they picked it up to fix it, came back and i had no problem for a while and then it would shift but not lock into gear, rocked the c…”