Transmission (Automatic)

[JaysonDS]

All,

Someone may be able to help me out by sharing some knowledge around the transmission of the Smart.

I was told, the Smart was able to learn your shifting patterns. Right now, I cannot stand the way the smart shifts in automatic. Is there any truth behind the Smart learning your perfered shifting methods?

If not, is there a device that always you to change the smarts computer shifting points?

It’s driving me crazy.

Any insight would be great.

[Springlering]

Mine has adjusted to me. I drive in both auto and manual. The shifting has gotten noticeably better in both formats the more miles I put on it.

I prefer manual (more fun), but find myself using auto more and more often, just feels smoother on the freeway.

I've read somewhere on the forum that you can take the computerized "learning curve" back to zero by disconnecting and reconnecting the battery, but for heavens sake, let one of the others better inform you on that. My knowledge of car innards stretches to "insert key here".

[rollingtones]

Originally Posted by JaysonDS

All,

Someone may be able to help me out by sharing some knowledge around the transmission of the Smart.

I was told, the Smart was able to learn your shifting patterns. Right now, I cannot stand the way the smart shifts in automatic. Is there any truth behind the Smart learning your perfered shifting methods?

If not, is there a device that always you to change the smarts computer shifting points?

It’s driving me crazy.

Any insight would be great.

The smart uses a 5-Speed AMT (Automated Manual Transmission). It is NOT an automatic transmission as defined over the last 60 years, with a torque converter to smooth shifting. AMT is the official technical lingo for this gearbox. Once I learned this (it uses 3 electric motors, one to engage/disengage the single-plate clutch, two to move the gears around inside the manual transmission), as I drove it home today I realized what the shift lag was - just as if I was shifting an older car with a manual transmission! Except all I have to do is press down the gas pedal.

What used to be (during the initial test drive) an annoyance is now just another quirky character trait of an awesome vehicle. The salespeople use the analogy of little monkeys shifting for you. I prefer to think of little robots, or maybe little Wonka people.

And it's cool to be able to lock it in a specific gear when on hilly back roads by using the manual mode.

[bottlerocket]

Step on the gas pedal more, that'll change the shifting point

[SmartCard]

Originally Posted by bottlerocket

Step on the gas pedal more, that'll change the shifting point

but not too hard.....which might cause it to lag more. To me its more like squeezing it a little more and it will sense the urgency and allow a little higher shift point. But manual mode is still the best for rapid acceleration

[74AMX304V8]

the transmission doesn't learn anything, that would require A. I.....people, learn the idiosyncracies of the transmission, and do the adjusting.

[VinceLA]

I think smart usa should really have a couple of pages on the official site dedicated o the technology used in smart. My transmission shifting has definitely improved over the week of ownership.

When SMG (sequential M gearbox) was released in the US in BMW E46 M3s, dealers sold them as "automatics". Some folks who were used to automatics and bought the SMG version had the same complain: Notchy shifting. SMG is really a manual gearbox with hydraulics to do the shifting.

Then to complicate things further, the DCT by Borg Warner....

[74AMX304V8]

go to the Getrag website, it explains it there