Yes. the situation is exactly as I suspected and as bcope01 mentioned. The reasons for disconnecting the battery are to prevent battery discharge in the event a driver fails to turn the key to the power off position, and secondarily, the car doors will self lock with the key in the ignition if the power is not turned off. The Electronic Stability Program will be activated with power on as well which could cause towing problems.
Also, the reason to disconnect the battery is not related to avoiding data loss as Aikensmart had originally suggested. The data loss issue was related to not disconnecting the battery before the multifunction display becomes completely blank and the data control units had shut down properly. To those who use Microsoft's computer software this procedure should be familiar. Improper shut down procedure is what will result in data loss. Not disconnecting the battery will have no such effect.
It is obvious now not only why the recommendation to shut off the battery was mentioned in the manuals, but it is also obvious that not shutting it off will do no harm unless the driver fails to turn the key to the off position. This is what we already knew.
I will continue to leave the battery connected and just do as usual - that is, place the shift lever in the N position, and turn the key to the far left position to turn power off. With power off no there will be no problems.
After reading the wording in the manuals everything makes perfect sense and this should put this matter to rest.
We have used our Smart Car as a "Dingy" with all four rolling on the road now on two trips, one from Milton, WA to Las Vegas and return and a shorter one to the Washington beaches, all with no problems.
Using the following set up: Roadmaster "Ez Twistlock Brackets" and the "Tracker tow bar", the setup from Blueox is said to be cheaper but I have fog lights which do not allow me to use the Blueox equipment. The bracket can be removed in about 5 minutes or so leaving only two small extra black holes in the front (that are hidden by the grill anyway).
Once hooked up, you put the transmission in neutral, turn the key full counter clockwise to position one, you cannot remove the key. We lock the doors with the other remote and away we go. Our Smart is a '08 and doesn't require a battery disconnct, but from the other post I understand the '09 does or the battery will be drained, we have not had that problem.
Other post have also discussed steering/front wheel wobble under some situations, again we have not had that with the rigid tow bar that we are utilizing, but the folks that have had the wobble appear to be using the expensive shock absorbing/foldup tow bars vice the rigid one that I am.
wow I also would like to tow a flat my smart car. I was told that the 08 to 10 can be towed flat four down but not the 2006 models. I sure which I could find some correct information on this. The UK tow all the time. With the front wheel free wheeling. What is differnet about the Canada 2006 model? Please hemp me with this. I also like some papers to review on this. Thanks a Canada GUY
From: Donald LaFavor... Now, GET THIS: The inside of the Smart transmission is a STD transmission. You can Flat tow a STD tranmission.
On your last statement "You can Flat tow a STD transmission." As an overall statement this is not necessarily true.
Some standard transmissions utilized the gear/s on the inside end of the rear output shaft to lubricate the rear bearing/s on this shaft. Some manufacturer's transmissions did not have this design built into them, they required the engine to spin gears that threw oil up onto the rear bearing/s. One such vehicle that I used to have and towed behind my motorhome was a Chevrolet S10 pickup w/ standard transmission. It did not allow towing. I had to install a drive shaft disconnect. Ford's Ranger pickup's standard transmission on the other hand was able to be towed four down because of this feature.
I like the idea in report #76. Basically the Quebecer modified the factory tow bolts to secure a "base plate(bar)" on the smartcar and in turn hook up the smartcar to the MH. My thinking is if one bolt is good enough to tow the car, two bolts will be more than enough. The only question I have is why nobody in the forum mention this method to tow and instead to spend hundreds of dollar to strip the car and install a base plate. By the way I was told by sombody form the forum that on the opposite side under the the body panel, there is another hookup you can screw the second tow bolt on it. This is a perfect set up to install a "base plate(bar)" on the car.
The Following User Says Thank You to Sam Chan For This Useful Post:
I like the idea in report #76. Basically the Quebecer modified the factory tow bolts to secure a "base plate(bar)" on the smartcar and in turn hook up the smartcar to the MH. My thinking is if one bolt is good enough to tow the car, two bolts will be more than enough. The only question I have is why nobody in the forum mention this method to tow and instead to spend hundreds of dollar to strip the car and install a base plate. By the way I was told by sombody form the forum that on the opposite side under the the body panel, there is another hookup you can screw the second tow bolt on it. This is a perfect set up to install a "base plate(bar)" on the car.
Well, Sam, it's been covered already - the threads in the hole where the tow hook goes are not engineered for the stress of towing. Their purpose is to secure the car to a trailer or roll-back truck. If you try to use them to actually tow the car you're likely to be watching your car disappear in your rear-view mirror as you're driving down the road.
But if you brace the metal bumper and then place 1/2" bolts through the towing holes and tighten down you have perfect attachment for a tow bar which can be removed in 3 minutes. Just got back from San Antonio, a 2000 mile trip and had no problem what so ever. Sorry I did not take pics of what I did when the body was off. I'm not about to take it off again.
Just came from my dealer today, and was talking to the Smart Brand Manager who informed me they had just replaced the motor in a Smart from Florida because the transmission electronics lost memory from having the battery disconnected and not letting the electronics reprogram before starting out for the second day of travel. It did not recognize that it was in Neutral (although the console indicator light was lit) and only went 2 miles or so before the engine came apart. Smart paid for the repair because the owners manual does not clearly state this. ( this is what I was told ). Having towed my Smart for over 8,000 miles without disconnecting the battery AND having no problems ( no dead battery) I think I'll stick with what I'm doing, Leave the battery connected, bungee cord the steering wheel and put in neutral and shut off. We did this to a car in the showroom and all electronic displays and lights shut off after a few minutes, leaving nothing on to drain the battery. By the way, This is my 5th coach and probably my 7th towed vehicle. And I've never had a problem other than the front wheel wobble, which the bungee cord eliminates.
Do not need a disconnect. What I do when I have not driven my Smart between towing days is just go through process of starting it, putting it in N and then turning the key as far left as it will go. That just makes me feel better. I know it is in N when I take off.
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