[Mr Pink]

Noticed some weird dimples on the roof and took a closer look. It seems they are actually little bullseye cracks forming all over. And I have about 5 or 6 linear cracks starting on the edges about an inch long. You can catch your fingernail on them.

It's the textured solid top. Has anyone had these and what is your warrany experience? I'm going to call and make a claim

Almost 3 year old car.

 

[natural phenomenon]

Mine had hairline cracks I had to have it replaced. Guess what Mercedes would not do mine under warranty, thankfully I bought an extended warranty. I didn't buy the car new or from a Smart center/Mercedes dealership.

Take a seat now and listen to this one. Mercedes could do the job because they had no one who knew how to do it. They had to farm the work out and fortunately there was a shop local where I was living at the time who had the expertise required.

5 weeks and a 4 figure job. I had a loaner car from the dealership I bought it from. And the new roof is a whole different look to it, I'm thinking they changed the composition or something.


2016 Passion

 

[twcom]

Noticed some weird dimples on the roof and took a closer look. It seems they are actually little bullseye cracks forming all over. And I have about 5 or 6 linear cracks starting on the edges about an inch long. You can catch your fingernail on them.

It's the textured solid top. Has anyone had these and what is your warrany experience? I'm going to call and make a claim

Almost 3 year old car.

I don't have that top, I have the 2014 451 with glass roof. Trees and phone lines are the enemy stronghold. Bird droppings are bad enough but a squirrel dropping or throwing, as I believe, them huge nuts on the glass roof is out of control bad.
I'm just venting. I have no cracks yet...... Carry on.....

 

[Mr Pink]

Mine had hairline cracks I had to have it replaced. Guess what Mercedes would not do mine under warranty, thankfully I bought an extended warranty. I didn't buy the car new or from a Smart center/Mercedes dealership.

Take a seat now and listen to this one. Mercedes could do the job because they had no one who knew how to do it. They had to farm the work out and fortunately there was a shop local where I was living at the time who had the expertise required.

5 weeks and a 4 figure job. I had a loaner car from the dealership I bought it from. And the new roof is a whole different look to it, I'm thinking they changed the composition or something.


2016 Passion

Interesting...
I imagine they replaced yours with a redesigned version that won't crack.
My car is from a Smart dealer and under warranty so I imagine it will be covered -- it better be...because if they don't cover it, I'll turn it in when my lease is up in one month

 

[natural phenomenon]

Yeah, my thinking is because I wasn't the original owner. But my extended warranty never once bark at it and that one fix paid for the whole cost of the warranty.
I'm below the Canadian border but the car originally came out of New Mexico and my theory is it got baked in the desert sun.

And my fear was in time because of the heavy snow we get up here it would start to leak and then I'd really be screwed.
Yours sounds even worst. Good thing you are in Cali with minimum rain and all ya know.

I think Mercedes knows there is a problem with at least the 2016 models and the real truth is these cars were cheaply made, but affordable.
The quality difference between my former Scion iQ and this thing is night and day, but I will admit I really dig the squirrel and if it wasn't so cheaply made I could have never gotten into it and as it was I still could only afford used.

But once I get it all out of my system in a few years time, you will never be able to give me any vehicle made by the Germans again and mine actually came out of Germany and not Renault in France. Of course that old rule of thumb is if you can afford to buy you can afford to fix it as it says.

Yeah, whatever. I do miss my 12 year interval fluid changes, my 100,000 mile spark plug changes and my oil changes that doesn't require special tools. I must have been under the weather when I traded my wonderful 2016 Ford Fiesta towards the squirrel. :smartlogo:
The Smarts were built for young idiots and older fools.

 

[OliverB]

Out of Germany? Only two locations where smarts were made and neither is Germany.

 

[natural phenomenon]

 

[colin555]

Roofs have always been a problem with Fortwo's. The 450 had glass roofs that would disintegrate into a million pieces if a flying stone hit it, as it was hardened glass instead of laminate. Luckly i went for the plastic solid roof of the base model (a Pure), and avoided such problems.

Then they thought a plastic clear roof was the answer, instead of glass, and the 451 had a plastic clear roof, and mine started to craze as the UV rays of the Sun created micro cracking that shimmered with the sunlight. It looked nice but was a bit worrying. Usually this happened outside of warranty as the roof took a few years to craze, so we all just had to live with it. It was a common problem.

Now with the 453, you can have a plastic roof with cloth style covering, or a clear roof again, and by the sounds of it there are problems again on some, as they age. I went for a 453 cabrio this time to avoid such problems. Just got to worry about the mechanism working, open and close, DOH

My neighbour who owns a 453 Fortwo coupe with the plastic roof with cloth style covering, went to buy and get a small glass tilting sunroof fitted (a Webasco Hollandia 100, the smallest in the range) and the sunroof fitter said it was too heavy for the plastic roof, and said it could cave in, and refused to fit it.

Its never easy with Smart car roofs, no matter which one you buy >

 

[Miss Mercedes]

Noticed some weird dimples on the roof and took a closer look. It seems they are actually little bullseye cracks forming all over. And I have about 5 or 6 linear cracks starting on the edges about an inch long. You can catch your fingernail on them.

It's the textured solid top. Has anyone had these and what is your warrany experience? I'm going to call and make a claim

Almost 3 year old car.

Unfortunately, I have seen reports of 453 roof wear. Like colin555 said, roof problems have been a thing since the brand first launched. 450 glass roofs exploded with stone impacts (the G&K modifications to 450s seem to alleviate that), 451 polycarbonate roofs craze, 451 textured roofs delaminate, 451 cabrio roofs shrink with old age, and now it seems the 453s have some of their own roof issues.

I don't have that top, I have the 2014 451 with glass roof. Trees and phone lines are the enemy stronghold. Bird droppings are bad enough but a squirrel dropping or throwing, as I believe, them huge nuts on the glass roof is out of control bad.
I'm just venting. I have no cracks yet...... Carry on.....

Your 451 actually has a polycarbonate roof.

But once I get it all out of my system in a few years time, you will never be able to give me any vehicle made by the Germans again and mine actually came out of Germany and not Renault in France. Of course that old rule of thumb is if you can afford to buy you can afford to fix it as it says.

Yeah, whatever. I do miss my 12 year interval fluid changes, my 100,000 mile spark plug changes and my oil changes that doesn't require special tools. I must have been under the weather when I traded my wonderful 2016 Ford Fiesta towards the squirrel. :smartlogo:
The Smarts were built for young idiots and older fools.

I'm afraid to tell you that despite your VIN decoding, ALL fortwos are built in the smartville facility in France. There is a second factory in Slovenia, but that one churns out the forfour. Likewise, the 453s are built on a platform jointly developed in a 50/50 partnership by Mercedes (Germany) and Renault (France). Regardless, no fortwos are built in Germany.

And as gentle advice, I'd probably cool it with the negativity towards smart owners and the French.

 

[jwight]

The VIN "decodes" as Germany because Daimler/Mercedes-Benz is a German company. Nothing to do with where the car is built, which is why M-B cars built in Alabama have "German" VINs..... :wink:

 

[Mr Pink]

Car is at the dealer/body shop getting the roof replaced under warranty right now

 

[Mr Pink]

Update: It took about a month to replace the roof. In the interim, I ended the lease on the car. When I went to sign the papers I spotted my Smart in the parking lot. Went to take a look and saw that the new roof was a redesign. It had like...a fabric surface bonded to the poly substrate. I don't know how it would fare with the elements but I have my doubts. I am glad I turned the car in because I don't think I would have been too happy with the results since the top was a bit smaller leading to noticeably wider margins on all four sides (most noticeable at the rear spoiler with a very big gap).

Bonus! I peeked at the work order and the top replacement was $4009!!!

 

[Mailman]

Bonus! I peeked at the work order and the top replacement was $4009!!!

They didn't replace the top, just covered up the crazing with fabric for $4k...

 

[Mr Pink]

They didn't replace the top, just covered up the crazing with fabric for $4k...

I don't think so. The panel gaps were much larger after they did the work. The new top is of a slightly smaller dimension. The biggest gap at the back spoiler was about a quarter inch. It did not look great. The work they did was good but that's what they were given to work with