2008 Smart Fortwo problems
Owners have filed 175 complaints about the 2008 Smart Fortwo with NHTSA. Engine accounts for 18.9% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of power train at 17.7%.
Complaints175
Crashes7
Fires33
Injuries9
Deaths1
What owners report breaking
Engine 18.9% · 33
Power train 17.7% · 31
Electrical system 10.9% · 19
Unknown or other 9.7% · 17
Engine and engine cooling 7.4% · 13
Seat belts 6.3% · 11
Structure 4.6% · 8
Fuel/propulsion system 4.6% · 8
Severity
Of those complaints, 7 describe a crash, 33 describe a fire, 9 report an injury and 1 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Filings have fallen off, 10 in the last three years against 19 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 39,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Driving on I - 10 down by palm springs. The car started to slow down, shifted to 4th gear. Soon after the car slowed down more and pulled over. The engine stopped and wasn't able to restart it. Had the car towed to Smart riverside, where they said the engine had over heated and blew out the engine. There were no warning that the engine was getting too hot. All fluids were checked, prior to the incident. Engine · reported at 30,000 miles
While driving on the highway and we noticed sudden smoke within the car. The car got very hot. We stopped and opened the engine compartment in the trunk and noticed that the insulation mat in the engine compartment was on fire. We did not notice any causes that could have lead to the burn besides the mat itself. Engine · reported at 150,000 miles
Engine fire destroyed vehicle while driving on Interstate at 65 MPH. Vehicle was serviced and maintained per manufacturer maintenance schedule at authorized dealer. No prior issues with vehicle. Vehicle also passed emission check on 09/29/2021 with no OBD error codes reported during inspection. Mileage: 60K Engine
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…