Does your transmission still bother you after 2,000 miles?

[a2jack]

16,700 miles. The trans is what it is ie, a cheap comprise to get the car back on the market while spending as little redesign money as possible.

In "D" This trans requires constant attention to the shift points, but it will shift comfortably and quickly if you hold the RPM at around 2,800 to 3,000 on the tach.

My problem with using the stick is, ofttimes, I get distracted and forget I'm not in "D" till the engine sings to me. A2Jack

[Cruising n Coasting]

Originally Posted by GoMXracing

works just as it was advertised. ..perfectly .... very glad i have the opportunity to own a F-1 style gearbox for such an affordable price.

people who ***** about it should go buy an American automatic car .(or know what they are buying before they purchase something)

chris

OMG, what was I thinking, SMART has the epitome of trannys. So I am keeping it for car shows and short drives to the post office.

But for REAL life my truck shifts very well and makes up for everything the smart lacks in a daily driver (tranny, long trips, costco, 2-4 friends in truck at same time for the beach, 0-60 in 8 seconds, tows 7000lbs and hauls 1/2 ton of whatever).

When I drove the SMART around the block a year ago, they said it was a production sample and would get better. But that was then and I honestly can't remember how it drove. My wife reminds me everyday about how badly the SMART drives and is glad she has her own car, an SLK - NOW THAT IS A TRANNY.

This is my Pygmalion and now I need to refine it. Besides, I tried selling it twice on EBAY and it did not sell at less than what I paid for it. So now I will start transforming it into a BRABUS look-a-like starting with 18" wheels in a couple of weeks.The tranny, not a big issue since it is not my only car, and I can live with it.

So "I love the tranny!!" works for now.

[John_H]

I watched 6666 mi pass by on the odometer this week. I still clench my teeth and whip the shifter left/down to get the damned thing to show a little spine. I cannot *stand* the tendency to run 5th gear at 35 mph.

[xcrew229x]

Originally Posted by Cruising n Coasting

OMG, what was I thinking, SMART has the epitome of trannys. So I am keeping it for car shows and short drives to the post office.

But for REAL life my truck shifts very well and makes up for everything the smart lacks in a daily driver (tranny, long trips, costco, 2-4 friends in truck at same time for the beach, 0-60 in 8 seconds, tows 7000lbs and hauls 1/2 ton of whatever).

When I drove the SMART around the block a year ago, they said it was a production sample and would get better. But that was then and I honestly can't remember how it drove. My wife reminds me everyday about how badly the SMART drives and is glad she has her own car, an SLK - NOW THAT IS A TRANNY.

This is my Pygmalion and now I need to refine it. Besides, I tried selling it twice on EBAY and it did not sell at less than what I paid for it. So now I will start transforming it into a BRABUS look-a-like starting with 18" wheels in a couple of weeks.The tranny, not a big issue since it is not my only car, and I can live with it.

So "I love the tranny!!" works for now.

Now we are comparing a smart to a gas sucking truck and a high dollar SLK? How about comparing it to another car it's size sold in the USA? Oh, yea, there aren't any...........

[RussBarnes]

I want to share a few things with all of you - lovers and haters of the transmission. I also own a Kenworth T2000. Now this is 18,000# of truck can pull 62,000# of loaded trailer and it has a 430 hp diesel and 1425 ft lbs of torque. It has a transmission called an Autoshift. It shifts by computer, it reads the throttle setting, it reads the rpm, the turbo airflow and various other parameters. It shifts 10 forward speeds when it wants to, either up or down and believe me it is just like the smart. Sometimes it doesn't make sense, sometimes I have to reach down and bump it, but it is the future. It came out in about 1998 and mine is several years newer, but still works the same way. Why would the major truck builders put something in that experts like all of you think is backward? Because it gets better mileage than automatics that have torque converters. It also is getting harder to find people that know how to drive a stick, but that is the trucking world and not you all that "know how to shift", but look around at today's automobile market, sticks are dissapearing and manuals (however shifted) are in because they get better MPG - accept it.

[Dougg]

Originally Posted by Bum-bling-B

For myself, it never bothered me from the get-go. Over time it has smoothed out as I've learned how to drive the car ...

Exactly my thought as well. And a very interesting comment from RussBarnes!

[VinceLA]

3k miles now. Never bothered by it.

[HGB]

There should have been a third choice with this poll. Personally it bothers me, so it's more than a non-issue...yet I still love my little car. I would have liked to be a fly on the wall when the engineers and beercounters decided that this is what will be placed in the smart. We did go to the moon in 1969 didn't we? MB/McLaren is on the forefront in F1 so the brains are there.
I bet many that voted that it's a non issue can't easily admit to any wrong doing, so they voted that it doesn't bother them.
I also shift in manual and I also forget that it's time to change gears and then I'm reminded by very high RPM's and I cringe at what I may have done to the engine at the time.
Let's face it... we all love our little smarts and we all would have liked a transmission that would perform well on its own with out constant awareness and input from the driver.
Still love the car though...

[Dave Van]

There are so many 'issues' that other have or seem to have that my little car does not. Maybe it's 'ignorance is bliss' but I call myself a car guy. I have muscle cars in my garage and I am in the middle of a full restore of a 66 Mustang 2+2. So I think I am pretty hard on judging my cars. But I feel my car, considering what it is, more than meets my expectations. If I had read only the negative comments made about the Smart I may have passed...but I knew what I was getting into....and now my car is BETTER than what I had hoped.

[mfoster]

9000+ miles. Doesn't bother me with one exception. When slowing down to the point of the car down shifting into second it seems the clutch engagement to be slower than up shifts into second. The next time I'm at the dealer I will ask if it is a software adjustment.