2009 Smart Fortwo problems
Owners have filed 139 complaints about the 2009 Smart Fortwo with NHTSA. Power train accounts for 19.4% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of engine at 13.7%.
Complaints139
Crashes4
Fires21
Injuries3
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Power train 19.4% · 27
Engine 13.7% · 19
Unknown or other 12.9% · 18
Electrical system 10.1% · 14
Structure 7.9% · 11
Engine and engine cooling 6.5% · 9
Fuel/propulsion system 5.8% · 8
Tires 3.6% · 5
Severity
Of those complaints, 4 describe a crash, 21 describe a fire and 3 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Filings have fallen off, 8 in the last three years against 12 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 38,500 miles.
In owners' own words
I also have the problem with the transmission. The transmission will not go into reverse or drive after engine starts. It happens about 2 to 3 times a year. It can happen after an overnight stop or just a few minutes. It always works after a few minutes however, a couple of times the non engaging transmission allowed the car to roll into a vulnerable position in the street. I felt lucky there was no traffic. Power train · reported at 28,000 miles
First start of the day it will not shift into r or d. It will show p and n when you shift but it will not go into gear for reverse or drive. You have to restart the car several times to get it to shift. Just spoke with Smart car on the phone and they deny knowing anything about it. However searching the web you will see its very common. Its a factory defect that Smart car is denying. Power train · reported at 23,000 miles
Randomly, after starting the car and selecting reverse, the dash display doesn't display 'r' or it flashes 'n', and the transmission doesn't engage reverse gear. Moving gear shifter between park and drive several times or restarting vehicle helps sometimes. This would be very dangerous if needing to reverse in an emergency situation and the car doesn't move. Power train · reported at 60,381 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…