Service Manual Coming According to Smart

fmaxwell · 10-07-2008, 01:30 PM

I phoned smart USA and said that I wanted to purchase a service manual but that my dealer said that none was available. I got a call back later from a smart customer service representative. She said that one was being created but that she did not know when it would be released or what the cost should be.

I believe that smart USA is currently in violation of the Magnusson Moss Warranty Act. Specifically, that act contains prohibitions against tie-in sales in order to retain warranty coverage unless the service is offered free of charge.

Because smart USA is not making available the service information that a private automobile service center would need in order to perform routine scheduled maintenance (valve adjustment procedure and specifications, bolt torques, tolerances, service limits, etc.), they are forcing consumers to pay smart dealers for routine scheduled maintenance in order to maintain their warranty coverage.

I am hopeful that smart will rectify this situation quickly with a service manual priced at prevailing market rates (rather than one priced at $100,000 so that they can, in effect, still be denying the information to consumers).

pghjake · 10-07-2008, 02:38 PM

The $100,000 manual comes with a genuine smart trunk monkey! Perfect for reaching those difficult torx bolts, scaring off the gas station seat jumpers, and preventing smart tipping.

SubSlr88 · 10-07-2008, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pghjake

The $100,000 manual comes with a genuine smart trunk monkey! Perfect for reaching those difficult torx bolts, scaring off the gas station seat jumpers, and preventing smart tipping.

I love the trunk monkeys, but they'd be pretty hard to hide since there is no trunk to speak of . . . maybe we could hide it under a cargo cover~!

theguywiththelongestname · 10-07-2008, 04:05 PM

I really hope a service/shop manual for the smartmobile materializes soon...this is the first car I've ever owned without having a shop manual.

jefferios · 10-07-2008, 04:09 PM

Good news, hopefully they are affordable.

Old smart · 10-07-2008, 04:25 PM

Commensurate with other OEM manuals, expect to pay $300+ for a hard copy. Not actually bad as of the time of publication, but updates only come via a subscription. My local guy has to chuck $1,000 every 6-months for a M-B subscription.

BigWarpGuy · 10-07-2008, 04:39 PM

It would be neat if there was a 'Smart Car for Dummies' book.

bdroth · 10-07-2008, 05:20 PM

Got this back from alldata. The guys that just about every dealer and service shop use.

From: "Matt.Grima@alldata.com"

Thank you for your interest in ALLDATAdiy.com. To answer your question, ALLDATA information only supports vehicles and light trucks offered in North America at this time. Sometimes we get lucky with like models, but unfortunately the smart car is not available to us yet. I apologize for the inconvenience.

For more information please click the below link:

traffic.alldatadiy.com/cgi-bin/redir?pd_link=i1-a47787-o4010-c61766

Thanks, and if you have any other questions, please feel free to email me back.

Matt Grima
ALLDATAdiy.com Account Manager
9412 Big Horn Blvd.
916-684-5200

rawlusÂ® · 10-08-2008, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fmaxwell

I phoned smart USA and said that I wanted to purchase a service manual but that my dealer said that none was available. I got a call back later from a smart customer service representative. She said that one was being created but that she did not know when it would be released or what the cost should be.

I believe that smart USA is currently in violation of the Magnusson Moss Warranty Act. Specifically, that act contains prohibitions against tie-in sales in order to retain warranty coverage unless the service is offered free of charge.

Because smart USA is not making available the service information that a private automobile service center would need in order to perform routine scheduled maintenance (valve adjustment procedure and specifications, bolt torques, tolerances, service limits, etc.), they are forcing consumers to pay smart dealers for routine scheduled maintenance in order to maintain their warranty coverage.

I am hopeful that smart will rectify this situation quickly with a service manual priced at prevailing market rates (rather than one priced at $100,000 so that they can, in effect, still be denying the information to consumers).

i would be interested in the specific language in MM Warranty act that you are interpreting and how you are interpreting it. It is not uncommon at all for many auto manufacturers to not make available service manuals for their late-model vehicles. Those generally become available at a later time after a specific % of the total vehicles are out of the warranty period, in my observation anyway.

When it does become available, i would expect hard-copy versions to be in the $150-300 range as is the case with many other manufacturers.

mfoster · 10-08-2008, 07:07 AM

According to smartusa it will be an online, subscription manual. No hard copy. What I'm worried about is the subscription cost. Mini dealers pay thousands per year for their online inquiry. At least there is a hard copy for mini.