I just purchased a 2016 Passion. I parked at work a bit early to spend time getting to know the car. I'm sitting in 'Park' and realize how loud the engine noise is, a roaring almost. I shut off the a/c to see if that was causing it. I don't think there was much difference. Having only purchased it the previous late evening, I've had little time to figure things out. Later, at my break, I came out, restarted engine to sit for my 15 minutes. The loudness didn't start immediately. Can anyone tell me what I did that I shouldn't have? When I parked the car after having driven it 15 minutes from home, did I leave something running that I should have manually turned off? I'm quite puzzled. I also noticed that what little display is showing, (I haven't had time to organize computer readouts...) showed, as I sat idling, a definite drop in mpg. It just kept dropping and dropping. Was the engine running too, (I don't know what to call it..) high??? If someone understands what I'm concerned about, love to hear from you and thank you!!
A smart owner of 2016 Passion....
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Is it the engine or the gearbox? as early 453's can have real noisy twin clutch autoboxes, when sitting stationary and on the move. The A/C can also be noisy on all models especially on higher fan setting's but can easily be checked as you can switch it off or put it on low speed setting. When I bought my 453 i went for the 5 speed manual box after test driving both auto and manual (manual is available in UK) and one of the reasons I went for manual was it being a lot quieter, another was cost (£1000 cheaper than auto)
PS..the 0.9 turbo is more noisy than the 1.0 engine, having driven both. some owners have fitted sound insulation to cut sound down on 0.9 turbo. You should test drive another Smart with the same transmission you have, just to do a comparision. If you find it the same, ie, noisy, and not a fault, then fit sound insulation.
PS..the 0.9 turbo is more noisy than the 1.0 engine, having driven both. some owners have fitted sound insulation to cut sound down on 0.9 turbo. You should test drive another Smart with the same transmission you have, just to do a comparision. If you find it the same, ie, noisy, and not a fault, then fit sound insulation.
So, gearbox or engine?? I don't know. I am not 'mechanically engineered' (ie- I haven't 'poked' around under the hood since early '80's pre-computerized engines!!). The sound is pretty much all around me, not exclusively under and to the back (where engine lives) if that helps. I did wonder if because this is supposed to be 'Turbo' was that it! I've never driven anything sporty, just vans and sedans. Okay, so re-reading your response, it's more likely I'm unfamiliar with Turbo driven engines. I like the idea of putting insulation in to cut the noise (sound). I found a mechanic specializing in 'smarts', taking it in on Monday to have him give her a thorough going over. Have a 7 day window (CarMax) to see if anything is truly wrong. I don't expect much in the way of failure as only been driven a bit over 6300 m till now. Will ask him if they 'insulate' or will get suggestions. Thank you Colin!!
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Do you know there is an air injection pump that is kind of loud and, depending on outside temp, will run for part of a minute. It shouldn’t run constantly for a long period of time.
I’ve owned my 2016 For more than 4 years now. Before that I owned a 2013 for 3 years. I don’t find the 453 noisier at idle than the 451 and, engine-wise, the car is quieter at speed. There is a fair amount of road noise in the 453 that makes its way into the cabin while underway and on some types of road surfaces.
I’ve owned my 2016 For more than 4 years now. Before that I owned a 2013 for 3 years. I don’t find the 453 noisier at idle than the 451 and, engine-wise, the car is quieter at speed. There is a fair amount of road noise in the 453 that makes its way into the cabin while underway and on some types of road surfaces.
I believe that must be what I heard. It didn't sound so loud today. I think the transition from one vehicle to another was the main difference! I watched a YouTube video a few days prior to purchase.., someone that reviews vehicles, and he mentioned the engine noise because of where it sits. One odd thing, the previous 'owner' was a auto lease company. They removed some of the components inside the car that I believe were supposed to be standard equipment. The cargo cover is missing as well as the phone dock. I haven't looked around to see what else, just noticed those things today... Probably sold them on eBay.. Thank you Oliver for your help!!
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Passion model should have a cargo cover, there are two types, one has netting storage on the cabin side of the cover only (on my Passion cabrio), and the other has netting storage on both the trunk and cabin side (on my wifes Passion Coupe, maybe they think coupe owners do more shopping LOL). The phone dock on the standard radio does not come with the radio and is a cost extra, it is actually quite expensive for a bit of plastic, and when fitted covers a lot of buttons on the radio, not good (standard radio not the screen type radio with sat nav). We have got these phone holders instead from ebay...
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On my '16, I had to remove the tonneau cover\ netting which made the cabin noise slightly elevated. A plugged air cleaner element can cause excess noise due to the turbo can't breath. Lastly, if the previous owner removed any of the 6 hold down fasteners under the back carpet, noise will seep past the seal. Hope this helps... ...a fellow '16 owner.
Thanks for that info.., I'm less upset about the 'missing' dockPassion model should have a cargo cover, there are two types, one has netting storage on the cabin side of the cover only (on my Passion cabrio), and the other has netting storage on both the trunk and cabin side (on my wifes Passion Coupe, maybe they think coupe owners do more shopping LOL). The phone dock on the standard radio does not come with the radio and is a cost extra, it is actually quite expensive for a bit of plastic, and when fitted covers a lot of buttons on the radio, not good (standard radio not the screen type radio with sat nav). We have got these phone holders instead from ebay...
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. I've been using the phone holder from my Mazda. It clips on the vents. The cargo cover that is nowhere to be found is the retractable cover that hides anything in the 'way back'. As I park for hours at a public parking lot, I don't want anything to show that someone might want to walk off with. As before, I immensely appreciate your responses!! Thank you.
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Some 453 Passions did come with the phone holder if the dealer ordered it as an option. I saw a few that way at my dealer when I bought my 2016. If ordered that way it was an additional $100 on the sticker. Otherwise it was something like $169! They can be found on eBay for less and sometimes from owners here on the forum who don’t use them. Since the original design I believe they brought out a larger one to accommodate larger phones.
Thank you!! I will give that a check when I go out again later. I peeked under the carpet, but didn't fully check if all fasteners were there. I have a date with a 'smart' mechanic tomorrow, giving her a full going over before my 7 day CarMax return window expires. I will mention checking the air filter. As always, I appreciate my questions/musings being answered by people who actually know what I'm on about!! Thanks Mr. Rambo!!
I briefly poked around on eBay to see what accessories were available for the car. First thing on my list is a dashboard cover. The ones I saw were no more expensive than the one I put on my Mazda back in 2007. I've never had to replace it and no discoloration/cracks anywhere on dash. I like the looks of the smart's dash, but living in S. Florida, everything cracks and fades. I need to research how to bring the color of the 'plastic' on the outside, back to a blacker black. It's faded from 4 years in Miami!!
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An interesting thing about the cargo cover, is that on the 453 cabrio it hides your weekly food shopping in the trunk because of the soft top with smaller back window, but on the 453 coupe, bigger rear window, it actually shows the shopping in the trunk, as there is about a quarter inch gap (8mm) you can see the full width into the trunk near the window. so if we are leaving the coupe with shopping in the back, I take the black carpet from the passenger side, and place it across the shopping so it looks black inside (empty looking). Just a bit of a bad design with the cover not quite covering the trunk DOH.
Thanks for letting me know about the gap! I read someone's post.. somewhere, they used a black towel as they hadn't a cover. I'll use some black something or other to cover over my bag so that won't happen.
I was scanning the pdf manual while on my break and found out there was storage back there!! I ran around, flipped down the door, opened it... There were all the 'auto papers', manual, service history, a few other things!! I was sure none of that would be included!!
! I still haven't completely investigated everything. Was wondering about a spare 'donut' so did look and didn't see one. I went to YouTube and found a video with 'suggestions' for cramming a wheel in the back. Also, found out where they store 'fix-a-flat'! That was funny!! It's like a scavenger hunt!!
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Check with local locksmiths or search SOS Diagnostics online.
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Spare wheel info...I have put a 15" spacesaver in both our Passion Fortwo's, I put it behind the passenger seat, bought on Ebay UK for just under £100 per spacesaver, its up a bit on price as shown below. I am sure you can get them in the States or get another front wheel as a spare, they are slightly wider than a spacesaver. Very important for safety: tie down the wheel with thick nylon rope from end of seat runner through wheel holes and to the other seat runner, to prevent any movement. The brace and jack and scissors to cut nylon rope I put in a sports bag and it goes behind the drivers seat. When installing the spare wheel (or spacesaver) behind the seat, the passenger seat will be moved forward slightly to get it to fit, but it is only about two or three inches forward, so plenty room for passengers feet. PS..there is a compressor and goo kit under the passenger feet behind a compartment held on by two screws, but i would never use it as it is not 100% certain the tyre will reinflate depending on damage, especially tyre side wall damage. Finally, I also put a black tyre cover bought from Ebay to put over the spacesaver to make it look neat and tidy. I do use the compressor to keep my tyres up to correct pressure
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