Is there a problem with the Getrag Transmission?

[JPaul]

Originally Posted by GoMXracing

[...]*What other car under 20K can you get a true F-1 style gearbox>?

None! The only other way to get such a trans would be to fork enough dough for a car with a little horse, a trident or such fancy nameplate that just a set of brake discs plates would cost as much as a smart pure...
Granted, for that Ferra-borgh-serati, your shifting would be done a bit faster, just to match the car's speed...

[Schaefca]

Originally Posted by SMART

I have read and continue to hear a number of issues about the Getrag Transmission that is coming in the 2008 Smart. What I know is if any of our members have had issues while test driving this vehicle where the car seems to pop out of gear in cornering.

If so, under what driving condition did this take place? Did your Smart USA rep address this issue?

Here in Germany some 451-Smarties have also a problem with the gearbox: sometimes it is not possible to drive backwards. So you have to stop the engine, wait a while and start again. Some say, the reason is the clutchdisk. There is a new part since June 2008,

german-number: A 135 250 04 03 with nickel schrink disc connection.

The Smart FORFOUR uses a getrag-gearbox too, and I had also this problem. If you believe it or not, I solved it by fixing a new brake-light-switch, because the switch, a VIMERCATI-Transducer, sends some signals to the gearbox if you are braking. If it is broken, the gearbox sometimes won´t change gears and the motor does not accelerate any more.

smart-Forum

Regards

Schaefca

[a2jack]

Guys, this thread was started long before we even took delivery on our cars.

GoMx. Most of us on this forum are now, well aware of idiosyncrasy's of this trans and seldom fall into it's traps. We do indeed understand this is not an automatic, or in any stretch of the imagination an F1 like box.

Schaefca. Good info on the new clutch part numbers. Smart USA must have forgotten to tell us about this. I note I'm starting to get chatter, uphill, in reverse (like a very old Ford ) ).

IMO, this trans is a "too many times updated", light weight, and low cost fix for the relaunch of the Smart car.

Note that Mitsu used a different trans for their new "I" car, while keeping the same basic engine we have. A2Jack

[PerryA]

I think you're seeing the transmission sense the slowing for the turn and start to down shift just as you begin accelerating through the turn and then it has to jump back up a gear. I've experienced the car vacillating as it determines the appropriate gear in turns and also on inclines where the upward incline slows the car as it was getting ready to up shift.

[Schaefca]

Originally Posted by a2jack

Guys, this thread was started long before we even took delivery on our cars.

[...]

A2Jack

Oh, sorry, where are my glasses. I only saw "problem" and "Getrag Transmission".

Regards

Schaefca

[a2jack]

Originally Posted by PerryA

I think you're seeing the transmission sense the slowing for the turn and start to down shift just as you begin accelerating through the turn and then it has to jump back up a gear. I've experienced the car vacillating as it determines the appropriate gear in turns and also on inclines where the upward incline slows the car as it was getting ready to up shift.

Perry, in "D", the shifting on this trans is controlled by the position of your right foot. When you start into corner, press down on the gas about a quarter, and the trans will instantly select the right gear to get you around. Feel for the shift. Try It... A2Jack.`

[ZZAAA]

Originally Posted by JPaul

None! The only other way to get such a trans would be to fork enough dough for a car with a little horse, a trident or such fancy nameplate that just a set of brake discs plates would cost as much as a smart pure...
Granted, for that Ferra-borgh-serati, your shifting would be done a bit faster, just to match the car's speed...

You can get a dual-clutch automated manual on the Audi A3...

Just sayin'