transmission

[charles kitch]

Hello,
I have had my For two three months now and love
it.
One thing I have a problem with is the
latency in the shift pattern.Twice I had a problem,almost getting t-boned in the middle of an intersection. In between first and second gear,it seems to stall momentarily even as I hit the gas pedal hard.It seemed to "stall out" at a bad time.
I have found that it is better to shift manually in heavy traffic as i can keep it in lower gears for a longer time enabling me to get through tricky intersections.
Has anyone had the same experience?
Charles

[xcrew229x]

You might want to re-examine your driving style if you are almost getting t-boned driving a smart. It responds directly to how much you push the go pedal. No such problems here.

[deltadart]

I'm told the transmission is not an automatic trans so therefore it takes gear oil and not ATF fluid. Now from everything that I have read is people don't really like the shift quality of the transmission. Since it is a manual transmission does it have a clutch? How the heck to you change gears in the Smart? Is it some type of automatic clutch but you still have to shift it somehow?

[JPaul]

deltadart, read more on this thread:
http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/for...e-explain.html

[curtis]

before my Smart I had only driven a car that required shifting 1 time in my 22 year driving career so when I got mt my Smart I was worried about the transmission but after a few days shifting with the stick I have found the sweet spots and can drive and shift as easily as driving my automatic, I live right near a pretty busy divided hwy with 45mph limit and I usuially have to haul a$$ to the middle and then wait to cross, even with my old car this could be a pain but I have had no issues with the smart as long as you pop it into 2nd right away your good.

[dennyrex]

I not in any hurry, but I don't find the shift "lag" too problematic. In fact most cars I've ever owned needed to shift half way through the intersection ;-) so I'm used to it. We'll see what differences 1,000 miles brings, but at this rate that'll take 5 months ;-)
I'm OK with it in Drive so far.