UK Car weirdness - Do you get them as well?

superstevie · 08-15-2009, 05:34 PM

Hi guys,

On the UK forums, we've discovered a few weird differences between smarts. They are:

1. Stereo turns on when you turn the ignition on regardless of the setting you left it on before you turned the car off
2. Some cars, the AC will come on when you direct the air to the windscreen, but some don't
and I dont think this will affect you guys as you have a different shift pattern but
3. when you go from N and put the lever left into drive, it will always go into semi-auto mode, and not remember what setting you were in before. Some other cars, however, will remember

We have two 451 smarts, one petrol, one diesel. The petrol 08 71bhp passion doesnt turn the stereo one, air con does come on whe pointed to windscreen, and doesnt remember what gearbox mode you were last in. In the 09 diesel, it does everything the opposite!

So, my question to you, my dear american smartie owners, do any of the above affect your cars? They can be very random, and can be of any combination.

tvengineer · 08-15-2009, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by superstevie

Hi guys,

On the UK forums, we've discovered a few weird differences between smarts. They are:

1. Stereo turns on when you turn the ignition on regardless of the setting you left it on before you turned the car off
2. Some cars, the AC will come on when you direct the air to the windscreen, but some don't
and I dont think this will affect you guys as you have a different shift pattern but
3. when you go from N and put the lever left into drive, it will always go into semi-auto mode, and not remember what setting you were in before. Some other cars, however, will remember

We have two 451 smarts, one petrol, one diesel. The petrol 08 71bhp passion doesnt turn the stereo one, air con does come on whe pointed to windscreen, and doesnt remember what gearbox mode you were last in. In the 09 diesel, it does everything the opposite!

So, my question to you, my dear american smartie owners, do any of the above affect your cars? They can be very random, and can be of any combination.

#1... some have complained about the radio turning on ... I never turn mine off, except that it shuts off with the ignition... so I don't know how mine behaves..

#2... had not heard of that one before... but some cars do turn on the a/c compressor when you select defrost.. so it is possible that the smart does too.

#3... I don't know how your smarts work.. but U.S. ones. .you pull the lever down from Park.. to Neutral to Drive... if you want manual mode you either then push the lever to the left (from the dirve position) or use one of the paddle shifters.... so on a U.S. smart DRIVE is unavoidable.. you can't go straight away to manual mode without selecting drive first.

superstevie · 08-15-2009, 06:05 PM

Thanks for your reply! here's some more info

Quote:

Originally Posted by tvengineer

#1... some have complained about the radio turning on ... I never turn mine off, except that it shuts off with the ignition... so I don't know how mine behaves..

#2... had not heard of that one before... but some cars do turn on the a/c compressor when you select defrost.. so it is possible that the smart does too.

#3... I don't know how your smarts work.. but U.S. ones. .you pull the lever down from Park.. to Neutral to Drive... if you want manual mode you either then push the lever to the left (from the dirve position) or use one of the paddle shifters.... so on a U.S. smart DRIVE is unavoidable.. you can't go straight away to manual mode without selecting drive first.

1. It never bothers me either, but some are driven up the wall with it. They are annoyed that despite it being off when they switched the car off, when the next start up, the radio is on. I told them just to start it in the AUX mode

2. Yeah some have it, some dont. Whats defrost? IS that when you point it to the windscreen? (or is it windshield you call it?) Basically its the 12 o'clock position

3. In the europe it is COMPLETELY different! I've attached the image below to describe how we do it. We dont have park, we just leave it in revetrse instead. Push the lever forward to neutral and start up. Then, with foot on the brake, push left and either a 1 or A will appear on dash. If its a 1 it means semi auto. if its an A its in Auto mode.

As I said, some start only in Semi-Auto mode, while others will remember what you left it in. If its in semi auto, to get it into auto, you press the button on the left of the gear knob. That is, if you have that option! Some cars in the UK (pure & Pulse models) dont have the auto mode as standard.

mdfortwoguy · 08-15-2009, 06:15 PM

Our transmissions in the US are somewhat different. Gearing is different in them, plus we have a physical cable operated parking pawl in the transmission. I have attached the diagram from an owner's manual, so you can see what we have.

John_H · 08-15-2009, 06:26 PM

#2 - the smart climate control module is designed to force the A/C on when the vent is set to 100% windscreen (which they consider to be irrefutably "defrost") so for your "safety" they will turn the A/C on - even if it's only a few degrees Celsius outside - because you "obviously" want to get the mist off your windscreen.

I do not like this feature one bit. The driver can't disable the A/C and there's no indicator turned on to say the A/C is active. Draconian. For your "safety."

US cars that don't do this are the many produced without A/C. I worry for their safety!

The fix is to not have the vents at 100% windscreen, but one click toward floor or one click toward dash.

superstevie · 08-15-2009, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John_H

#2 - the smart climate control module is designed to force the A/C on when the vent is set to 100% windscreen (which they consider to be irrefutably "defrost") so for your "safety" they will turn the A/C on - even if it's only a few degrees Celsius outside - because you "obviously" want to get the mist off your windscreen.

I do not like this feature one bit. The driver can't disable the A/C and there's no indicator turned on to say the A/C is active. Draconian. For your "safety."

US cars that don't do this are the many produced without A/C. I worry for their safety!

The fix is to not have the vents at 100% windscreen, but one click toward floor or one click toward dash.

Yeah I dont like it either, and our petrol 71 passion does it, but my Diesel doesn't. However it seem that the newer cars in the UK at least don't either. Somone in the UK had the control unit replaced and its stopped doing it as well

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdfortwoguy

Our transmissions in the US are somewhat different. Gearing is different in them, plus we have a physical cable operated parking pawl in the transmission. I have attached the diagram from an owner's manual, so you can see what we have.

Knew it was different, but not by how much! Think the reason they did it is because most american cars are auto, so they have tried to replicate that

mdfortwoguy · 08-15-2009, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by superstevie

Knew it was different, but not by how much! Think the reason they did it is because most american cars are auto, so they have tried to replicate that

Unfortunately. Too many people get in it, put it in D and expect it to drive like an automatic and come away with disdain for the car.

tvengineer · 08-15-2009, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by superstevie

Yeah I dont like it either, and our petrol 71 passion does it, but my Diesel doesn't. However it seem that the newer cars in the UK at least don't either. Somone in the UK had the control unit replaced and its stopped doing it as well

Knew it was different, but not by how much! Think the reason they did it is because most american cars are auto, so they have tried to replicate that

Yea.. though this is the first car I have had that was Auto..
What you guys call A Auto .. we call D Drive.

Defrost.. might be called DeFOG... it is used to clear condensation from the inside of the windscreen ... and cars with A/C use the compressor as well as the heating coil to dehumidify the air forced onto the windscreen.. dry air clears the condensation much quicker...

Most cars that I have owned originally had A/C.. but it was broken long before I got them

.. so clearing condensation is a problem...

now... having driven british cars most of my life.. I know the difference between a boot and a bonnet.....

but what do you guys call the FRONT opening compartment on a smart????

I notice on the forum some call it a "service flap"

It's not really a storage space.. so 'boot" doen't fit... and the engine is not under there so it's not a "bonnet".. ????

**Dunerunner** · 08-15-2009, 09:20 PM

The issue with the radio, many here in the States have had their radio9 replaced to solve this issue.

superstevie · 08-16-2009, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tvengineer

now... having driven british cars most of my life.. I know the difference between a boot and a bonnet.....

but what do you guys call the FRONT opening compartment on a smart????

I notice on the forum some call it a "service flap"

It's not really a storage space.. so 'boot" doen't fit... and the engine is not under there so it's not a "bonnet".. ????

I'd call it the service panel. Your right its not a bonnet, and no way of storing stuff in it either.

As for Defog/demist/AC on when pointing at windscreen, I'm happier that my diesel doesnt have that function. I dont want the AC on all the time, as in Scotland, its rare to have a hot day for 98% of the time! lol