This makes me want to install water temp, oil temp and oil pressure gauges in my smart. Sorry for your bad luck! Hopefully smart will step in and do the right thing.
Sorry about that, 'B_Cebrian'.
Keep us posted before we start to blame smart and/or Daimler for a faulty product. It can be a broken display, a faulty wire, many other things than a defective design, after all!
Did the coolant warning light come on upon starting the car (you know, the few seconds of test between ignition and start)?
Let's wait a bit for a definite technical diagnostic...
Good luck. And thanks for sharing.
This makes me want to install water temp, oil temp and oil pressure gauges in my smart. Sorry for your bad luck! Hopefully smart will step in and do the right thing.
Ditto!!!!!
Before you pay the dealer $7k for the new engine, you may want to consider buying a newish engine from someone who is converting their Smart over to a Smartuki. I have a 2009 Smart with 200 miles on it. I'd be interested in selling you my engine if the price was right. I've always wanted to get a powerful engine in a Smart.
I would be livid if they told me the blown engine was my fault.
Did you have the dealer service your car recently? If you did, perhaps the dealer left the cap off accidentally. When I had my Pathfinder serviced to replace the timing chain, the dealer "found" a leaking water pump (they always seem to find more expensive service add-ons when you don't want it), so I authorized them to repair that as well. I picked up my car, left it at the airport for a business trip, and on the way home after my trip, my check engine light went off, the temp gauge went into the red, and my car died just as I got off the freeway. I looked under the hood, and the service guy had installed a spigot into the coolant line for some reason, but he left the cap off the spigot!
The dealer didn't want to pay the $4500 repair bill, but after I threatened to sue them in small claims, they gave in and replaced my engine.
My smart is dead. True and well killed. I was taking a trip to California from Virginia in my 09 passion. When somewhere between Virginia and San Antonio the cap came off the coolant pressure tank. Not sure when or how anyone messed with it as I've been driving the car for 6 months with not an issue. The car slowly lost coolant but never gave me a symptom till it started pinging then a minute or two later lost power. Road service towed me to the San Antonio dealership, they said that the engine has seriously overheated and was done. The car needs a new engine. Since it was a cap that came off and not really a factory defect the failure is not covered by the warranty...... The estimate is over $7,000 for the repair. Lots of fun, plus I have to go back to San Antonio to pick it up after the new engine is installed. I'm kicking myself for not checking everything, oil, coolant, brake and washer fluid every morning prior to starting out.... damn. Lesson learned the hard way.
Most temp lights and gauges will not sense steam temp. You have to have liquid coolant in the system for the guage or light to register. Some vehicles have a metal temp. sensing gauge that will indicate overheat conditions due to coolant loss. The question here is who left the cap loose? Hopefully, you can pin it on a dealer who serviced your car and get them to take responsibility for the damaged engine.
I would like to know if Smart offered any assistance to this problem. We have just experienced the same thing with ours. My wife was going down the highway noticed that the car started working harder like it was in a lot of wind and in not much more than a mile it shut off. THEN THE LIGHTS ALL CAME ON! I found the cap off the jug as well. I check fluids, have never had to add coolant, and can see throught the container but would say I took it loose and didn't get it back on tight. How does a car that won't go into a gear if it thinks it could harm itself, that can have all the great systems it has, let itself run low on coolant and fry itself with no warning at all! I am hoping Smart can help. What if a hose failed? Any coolant problem-cooked engine- not good.
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