What is going on ?

pepcan · 12-15-2008, 01:08 PM

I recently posted this Thread: Do i have a lemon?

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Do I have a LEMON?
I will make it as short as possible. My Smart Car history is as follows:
DATE DESCRIPTION MILAGE
January 26th 2008 Purchased Orphan 11
March 11th 2008 Engine light on 1300
March 28th 2008 Engine light on 5945
October 7th 2008 Dashes on Dashboard (shifter Replace) 12647
October 31st 2008 Engine light on 13990
November 12th 2008 Engine light on 14568
November 29th 2008 Engine light on 15840
December 6th 2008 Engine light on 16150
Can anyone give me some input on what I can do about this? I asked my Dealer if a set of YELLOW body panels can be put aside for me, because I am driving a LEMON.

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The Smart demo they gave me to drive (while my smart is in the shop) the shifter is stuck and will not come out of PARK without a good hard push.
Knowing this is a problem with the car would you not grease the shifter before giving it as a demo for a customer that is having alot of Problems with a Smart Car ? What do i do about all the problems i am having with SMART?

**Dunerunner** · 12-15-2008, 01:10 PM

Did the dealer download and tell you the OBD Codes for the engine lights?

**jwight** · 12-15-2008, 01:14 PM

May be time for this: http://www.dot4.state.pa.us/pdotform...s/fs-lemon.pdf

pepcan · 12-15-2008, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dunerunner

Did the dealer download and tell you the OBD Codes for the engine lights?

They did not tell me the codes BUT i have a scanguage2 on the car and P0456 is the only code that has ever come up on the screen.The scanguage2 will NOT clear this code ,when i ask it to do so the screen goes blank and i have to reset it.The dealer just this last time told me it was a different code but the scanguage2 displayed the same code before i dropped it off?

rawlusÂ® · 12-15-2008, 01:29 PM

P0456 - Evaporative Emission Control System Leak Detected (very small leak)

pepcan · 12-15-2008, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rawlusÂ®

P0456 - Evaporative Emission Control System Leak Detected (very small leak)

This is what i was told by the dealer and they replaced First a check valve then a switch over valve then the charcoal canister then the sending unit then the gas cap switch in the filler neck then another(second generation )switch valve. What next? Please if anyone has any suggestions i would love to hear them.

pepcan · 12-15-2008, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwight

May be time for this: http://www.dot4.state.pa.us/pdotform...s/fs-lemon.pdf

Thank you for the link, I hope the dealer will work with me before i have to take a step like that. I just asked my contact at the dealer to speak to head person in charge to see if they would trade in my smart against a new 2009 that is about two weeks away.What do you think?

**jwight** · 12-15-2008, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pepcan

Thank you for the link, I hope the dealer will work with me before i have to take a step like that. I just asked my contact at the dealer to speak to head person in charge to see if they would trade in my smart against a new 2009 that is about two weeks away.What do you think?

Worth a try, depending what they offer for the current car. At least you wouldn't be fighting the code issue anymore.

rawlusÂ® · 12-15-2008, 02:38 PM

my impression is that they have been working in good faith to fix whatever is causing the CEL. sometimes these things are not easy to diagnose and track down as they may appear - there are alot of associated systems working in concert in some of these CEL failures so it can be a bit of trial and error - especially when there is not an established base of experienced technicians who have seen the problem before and know the correct solution from experience.

if they are a stealership worth their salt, they probably feel very badly that they cannot correct the CEL situation to their or your satisfaction - my suggestion would be to work with their management so that they understand the amount of inconvenience this situation has caused and negotiate for a reasonable resolution of the matter (a new car for a persistent CEL is not reasonable IMHO) - the stealership should keep the car for a few days - check and repair or replace any EVAP component that is associated with that CEL, and run the car long enough to determine that the CEL situation has been finally cleared - during that time you should get a loaner vehicle from them gratis for your prolonged inconvenience. CELs can be bothersome - but the nature of the warning code itself indicates that the issue is still relatively minor on the scale of things. a very slight leak can be difficult to track down - may not even be a leak but a faulty sensor or even bad gas for that matter. who knows. lots of possibilities. i wouldn't classify it as a lemon personally.

**jwight** · 12-15-2008, 04:18 PM

Quote:

January 26th 2008 Purchased Orphan 11
March 11th 2008 Engine light on 1300
March 28th 2008 Engine light on 5945
October 7th 2008 Dashes on Dashboard (shifter Replace) 12647
October 31st 2008 Engine light on 13990
November 12th 2008 Engine light on 14568
November 29th 2008 Engine light on 15840
December 6th 2008 Engine light on 16150

March to December; just my .02 but I think the OP has been more than patient. Lemon laws exist for a reason - some cars are just lemons. In that case, my approach (not necessarily anyone's else's) would be to get hold of your regional manager and start using Lemon Law in every other sentence. Next step would be a letter from your lawyer to smart USA HQ in Detroit to the effect of "see you in court." May sound harsh, but in this case it appears to be justified.