Car won't start - Thoughts? - Page 2 - Smart Car of America Forums : Smart Car Forum

mdfortwoguy · 04-30-2008, 04:42 AM

3 lines is a transmission problem.

Search for it on here - one of the remedies involved rocking the car back and forth because something was bound up in the tranny.

jrfuisz · 04-30-2008, 04:51 AM

Yep it is the tranny - 1,500 DC miles and it gave up the ghost. I've tried it all and it is still a no go -tried re-teaching as well and nothing. Car needs to be towed in today.

jrfuisz · 04-30-2008, 06:20 AM

Still no go, but the tech told me the re-teaching process in the manual is wrong (p 132). You need to run the transmission through the gears after you wait the 30 seconds.

Did not work for me, but the manual does warn you that if you re-teach wrong the first time you appear to have no option but to have the car towed. Something is not right because you appear to have on chance to get it right and re-teach, but the manual is wrong on the how to do the re-teach which means you have no option but to tow.

Could be a fuse or some other connection since the car can't find the gear selector. It can't be that big of a deal and frankly the tow saves me the pain of driving the car to the dealer and getting home etc.

Tow truck has been dispatched. I'm off to burn fuel today in my Toyota Tacoma Crew Cab (which came from the factory with half of the dash board not working - someone forgot to connect the wires - only took Toyota 3 visits to figure out how to connect all those wires and check all the switches before they returned the truck - we'll see how Smart does with the tranny issue.)

bottlerocket · 04-30-2008, 08:39 AM

good luck, thanks for keeping us posted

NY Smartie · 04-30-2008, 09:20 AM

yeah, good luck with it man, and please report back!

jrfuisz · 05-01-2008, 11:08 AM

ECU in the Tranny is dead. I need to check the board because I don't think I am the only one. I thought the dealer said there is a bulletin out about the tranny ecu.

Bad news is there are no replacement parts in the US and the dealer has no ETA. Could be because they need a better fix then to put in the existing units that are blowing up. So I Lemon Lawed the car. Not my first choice but I paid for something (a working car) and expect a certain level of performance on SMART's behalf. They have 30 days to fix it or they buy it back. Hopefully that will motivate them to get a replacement part shipped over. I don't mind a a glitch but not knowing when the car can be fixed in not acceptable and so the clock starts to tick.

I gave the dealer until Monday to get an ETA on the part and to come to a decision on a loaner car. I was told the dealer has nothing to loan. Although one may not be required etc., when the delay is purely a SMART issue that is VERY poor customer service.

**jwight** · 05-01-2008, 12:02 PM

Just my .02, but if the part is available in Europe (a big if, I know) they can overnight it and have your car back on the road that day.

PassionforPassionCT · 05-01-2008, 12:15 PM

I would threaten them with the lemon law, they will surely find you a loaner, or at least pay for a rental.

NY Smartie · 05-01-2008, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrfuisz

ECU in the Tranny is dead. I need to check the board because I don't think I am the only one. I thought the dealer said there is a bulletin out about the tranny ecu.
Bad news is there are no replacement parts in the US and the dealer has no ETA. Could be because they need a better fix then to put in the existing units that are blowing up. So I Lemon Lawed the car. Not my first choice but I paid for something (a working car) and expect a certain level of performance on SMART's behalf. They have 30 days to fix it or they buy it back. Hopefully that will motivate them to get a replacement part shipped over. I don't mind a a glitch but not knowing when the car can be fixed in not acceptable and so the clock starts to tick.
I gave the dealer until Monday to get an ETA on the part and to come to a decision on a loaner car. I was told the dealer has nothing to loan. Although one may not be required etc., when the delay is purely a SMART issue that is VERY poor customer service.

Wow, that sucks. I was afraid of part shortages early on. let's hope these are extremely isolated incidents.

bradgarbus · 05-01-2008, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrfuisz

ECU in the Tranny is dead. I need to check the board because I don't think I am the only one. I thought the dealer said there is a bulletin out about the tranny ecu.

Bad news is there are no replacement parts in the US and the dealer has no ETA. Could be because they need a better fix then to put in the existing units that are blowing up. So I Lemon Lawed the car. Not my first choice but I paid for something (a working car) and expect a certain level of performance on SMART's behalf. They have 30 days to fix it or they buy it back. Hopefully that will motivate them to get a replacement part shipped over. I don't mind a a glitch but not knowing when the car can be fixed in not acceptable and so the clock starts to tick.

I gave the dealer until Monday to get an ETA on the part and to come to a decision on a loaner car. I was told the dealer has nothing to loan. Although one may not be required etc., when the delay is purely a SMART issue that is VERY poor customer service.

Well I hate to think it, but if they start ignoring issues and not resolving them like the tranny and the engine light issue maybe some of you with the issues should contact the media. I have learned when the media gets involved companies tend to reply very fast. The last thing they want or need is bad publicity at this point.

I am watching to see, but if I keep seeing more and more stories about the engine light and other issues with cars that are practically brand new, I won't hesitate to get my $99 back. I need a reliable car despite how much I like it... Practicality comes first. If the French are being sloppy with the assembly then smart needs to do something about it, as it WILL start to tarnish the company's name...

I am buying this because Mercedes-Benz and Daimler have always had an excellent reputation for quality. They better get on the stick before this goes too far...

==================

If it comes to that let me know. I have done customer relations and public relations for years so I have several media contacts if we need to go there. I also have several contacts at the state AG offices if this is handled too poorly. Because of the work I have done in the past I have many useful contacts when it comes to issues like these, when companies fail to resolve them properly we do have options...

I agree, I hate to think this, I have a great deal of respect for the companies involved, but smart has to be held accountable for what they are selling. If they aren't being accountable internally, then it is up to the public to hold them accountable.

I am taking a very serious wait and see, I have nearly a year to wait so I have plenty of time to see how they choose to handle these issues. I wish everyone that is having these issues the best. Please be sure to post the concerns so we can all learn from your experience.