Check Engine Light - Secondary Air System Fault

while foraging for coffee last monday morning my 'engine malfunction light' came on as i completed a left turn with 975 miles on the odometer. i coasted to a stop and popped out my owners manual, which informed me of my legal obligation to drive immediately to an authorized smart car service center.

not being a scofflaw, i drove over to the beverly hills mb/smart dealer, which took my car in at 7am and by 4:30 pm had informed me that my smartie needed to have its 'combination valve for secondary air system' replaced, and that my car would have to spend the night in the service department.

they called me around 9:30 am the following morning and told me my car was ready to be picked up.

reading the repair order reveals a series of diagnostic tests and inspections on purge valves, temp sensors, and the air pump, finally locating the faulty combination valve.

at no point in time while the engine malfunction light was on could i discern any abnormal operation of my smartie, everything appeared to work fine as i drove to the dealer. there was no charge for the repair.


in addition to that indicated repair, they also performed a 'cs001 recall - PRND cable lock inspection' which seems to have resulted in a 'PDI enhancement, remove shifter, check cable'. i have noticed an improved feel to the gear selector movement, which now has a more defined selection of each position. previously i would occasionally land just outside of a position without fully engaging it. now the 'fall' into each postion is quite defined. whether this is the intent of the repair, i could not say.


(here the bevhills service advisor and mechanic are writing up my smartie)
(note the complimentary coffee/espresso bar to the left...)

(and i spied in the service department a really cute 20-something girl-mechanic named gabby! how cute she was in her mechanics uniform and big boots and her dirty-blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail! meow!)

 

I hope the dealerships are talking about these issues. I test drove on saturday and teh shifter stuck. The saleswoman had to force it into place and informed me that it was happing lately. I told her about the issues online and she said she had not heard anything yet. This worries me.

 

Engine Light

I picked up my car from the Manhattan dealer last week, as I was driving it off the dealer lot, I got an engine light. Salesman told me to reset the gas cap, and give it an hour or so. But alas that did not do the trick.

I brought the car into the service department, and after running diagnostics, they told me that they needed to drop the fuel tank and replace the fuel sensor.

Now I have to bring it back because I am getting a terrible rattle that sounds like it is coming from the passenger door.

I love the car, but too many dealer visits already. We will see.

 

you might try different fuel. It may not be the same situation but I had a 91 300ZX that would only run on Chevron supreme - any other gas, even supreme, the check engine light would come on and stay on till I put Chevron preme in the tank and ran a few miles. ?? might be worth a try.

 

"I hope the dealerships are talking about these issues."

Spot on, Jedi. smart built a totally connected, networked dealer system. They should be reporting constantly, and cyber-meeting weekly.

If the factory's work isn't perfect, the service better be.

They're flying techs to Vegas, getting it done in BevHills, and some are just opening their doors. They'll have a lot to catch up on, if they're not in on the national smart-information loop.

Seattle and Portland seem to be the lonely dealer voices on this forum, and I doubt that any other forum sees others (?)

Le Petit, you get Five Gold Stars for an excellent post. I can almost smell the coffee... sounds like they're getting into the smart service groove.

(scryfst: Bet you a nickel it's not the gas.)

 

The diagnostic systems in the smart are extremely sensitive. It is a little scary when the light comes on (especially in a brand new car with a couple hundred miles on it), but it IS a good thing. I’m reminded of when I got my first car, a 1978 Cadillac Cpe Deville, and my father said, “Check the fluids every time you fill up because if the [idiot] light comes on, it’s too late!” I have lived by that warning ever since. Today, cars are equipped to let us know when anything is even a little out of tolerance so that we can get the car to the dealer before a bigger problem occurs. I’m sure everyone would agree that it is better to have a light come on, and it turns out to be nothing, than to have a major problem happen without warning.

As for communication between dealers and smart, I have never worked with a brand that had better communication policy or a faster response time to technical inquiries (yes, you can quote me on that). We receive daily bulletins and updates on all issues. I will refrain from going on a rant about specifics, but smart USA has gone above and beyond on several instances, all with complete customer (and dealer) satisfaction as the goal. I have been assured that they will continue to work on reservation holder communication so that it improves as well.

 

So what happened

did La P* get the girl, what was with all the flashing lights...
?

 

Got another check engine light story.

First one was right after filling up. Tighened the cap, turned the car off and on and all was well.

The light came back on Friday afternoon (seems to always happen on the weekends, doesn't it!). No problems driving, so I kept going until Monday when I dropped it off at Beverly Hills Mercedes (BTW, one of the nicest and most expensive shops I've ever dealt with). Free espresso, free shuttle. I'll have to check out the blonde mechanic. Told them about the light and asked about any shifter work that might be needed. The intake gal knew about the service bulletin, and would check to see if my car needed it. Since I was the fifth delivery ever, it probably wasn't checked at PDI.

Got a call back later that a part (fuel valve?) had to be ordered. Its a standard MB part, so they have it at their regular place (not coming from smart). Sounds like the same fuel intake work seen above.

I'm supposed to get the car back this afternoon. I'll update when I pick it up. In the meantime I'm at the mercy of the spouse and the bus to get back to Beverly Hills.

UPDATE: Sorry this took so long, I was waiting for the paperwork from BH Benz.

Turns out they had to pull the gas tank and replace a part. The part came and I had the car by three the next day (so 24 hours total turn around). Even got the car washed before pick-up. Here's a copy of the service order.

 

Got another check engine light story.

First one was right after filling up. Tighened the cap, turned the car off and on and all was well.

The light came back on Friday afternoon (seems to always happen on the weekends, doesn't it!). No problems driving, so I kept going until Monday when I dropped it off at Beverly Hills Mercedes (BTW, one of the nicest and most expensive shops I've ever dealt with). Free espresso, free shuttle. I'll have to check out the blonde mechanic. Told them about the light and asked about any shifter work that might be needed. The intake gal knew about the service bulletin, and would check to see if my car needed it. Since I was the fifth delivery ever, it probably wasn't checked at PDI.

Got a call back later that a part (fuel valve?) had to be ordered. Its a standard MB part, so they have it at their regular place (not coming from smart). Sounds like the same fuel intake work seen above.

I'm supposed to get the car back this afternoon. I'll update when I pick it up. In the meantime I'm at the mercy of the spouse and the bus to get back to Beverly Hills.

I was first told that I would get a loaner car. Then the gentleman called me back and said that since I had a smart car I do not get a loaner. You might want to check that out at your dealership...

 

This post has me very nervous. If anything goes wrong I will have to schlep back to Laguna Niguel which is 50+ miles away. I know, after reading about owners who are driving hundreds of miles I have no room to complain but I really am lazy and don't want to make the trek. Hopefully the Torrance dealer will open long before I need any service (I'm knocking on wood).

 

Relax skyzdlimit, I'm 320 miles from my dealer My "Lil' Blue" has been doing great other than a little mud on her dress (according to my girls )

 

Yea same here, they first offered a loaner on the phone, thought twice when I arrived in a smart! No SL for me!

 

I had a boss that had a 2 seater Benz. He had it in the shop and they loaned him a Ferrari... I would taken that for a day...

David

 

And the answer is......where is Karnac when you really need him
karl

 

This is my recent experiance with an engine light that came on at 1100 miles on my 2008 Passion.

The work order show that ME control unit software performed short test found code P0410 which states that the secondary air injection system is faulty. CK freeze frame data found data to be out of spec. Dealer found newer software avail. Preformed software programming with SCN coding. Performed secondary air injection test with SDS found 02sensor operating and air pump operating as per designed. tech 7055

Any one experiance any of these problem let me know.

 

I've had my car for about 2 days and I have less than 200 miles on it....and the Engine Light is ON. When the Engine Light came ON, the first thing I checked was the gas cap as I had filled the tank with Premium gas yesterday......the cap was on properly (clockwise turns and heard the clicks). I took the cap off and put it back on....the light is still ON. Guess I'll have to call the dealership tomorrow....hope this is no indication of things to come?

 

When I had the problem after the first fill up, I had to turn the car off and on to clear the light. The car also ran real rough without the cap being on tight. After tightening the cap and turning the car on and off , all was well.

I also posted above an update to my first service call, including the written service order. Hope it helps someone.

 

Hmm, I'm still surprised that they don't have some sort of loaner - even if it is an Aveo from Enterprise.

About a year back, we took my dad's '03 S500 in for some work... his dealer gave us an '06 S600 as a loaner. He's been drooling for one ever since.

 

The ford store gives me loaners the Hyundai store gives me a loaner smart wants $80 bucks for an oil change no loaner car. Still love the car be nice to say the same about the dealer.
karl

 

We got our first check engine light after a few fill-ups and 720 miles. We always tighten the fuel cap, but checked it again after reading these posts. It was fine. We re-filled the tank, tightened the cap again and waited another day, while driving it around for errand running. The light stayed on so we ran it over to the dealer.

Results - 733 gas cap loose short test performed, code P0455 & P0457 stored in ME control unit. Check gas cap (found loose) tighten gas cap, clear codes, and perform self test of evap. system (passed)**-*gas cap must be tightened until it clicks***-

So the light has been reset. I take a little exception to the part where they say the cap was found loose since I know we tighten it carefully. Can the cap be loosening itself during the drive? Not likely. I am skeptical - maybe it was just easier to reset the light and send us along. I won't be surprised to see the light reappear. Jamie, the rep, told us that it takes about 100 miles after a fill up and tightening of the cap for the light to reset itself.

And our dealer also has no loaners so this it really getting to be a pain - and we know we are fortunate to live 15 minutes from our dealer. If the car continues to have issues like this, I would hope they can start providing a loaner car since they have no weekend shop hours. Then again if this continues, they couldn't keep enough loaners to cover all the smarties in the shop!!

 

Boo hiss.

Our check engine light just went on. Checked the gas cap - was tight. no recent fillup and we always use premium grade gas. Car is riding fine.

Big problem for us is that we are over 2 hours away from the dealership. Anyway know if Smart I supposed to pick it up and flatbed it under these circumstances?

Also, I was very curious about the previous post that if its the gas cover it should reset itseld, BUT it takes 100 miles of driving?? and a fillup?? Anyone know more about this?? (wouldn' that be crappy - take a day off from work to drive the thing down to the dealershp, and on the way the light goes off!!!)

Djinn

 

Call 800-SMART-USA for roadside assistance with your check engine light.

 

Check engine light

Cars are very sensitive to vacumn leaks caused by the gas cap. I rented a US grey market 450 for a week to decide if I wanted to order a 451 when they were imported. The first tank refill the check engine light came on because I had not turned the cap until I heard 3 clicks, this thing has to be tight! Most new cars state right on the gas cap how many turns or how tight to do the fuel cap.

If might behoove smart owners to purchase a code scanner so if the OBD light does come on you can at least check the basic code. All scanners will give you some basic information as to what is going on, then you can do a web search for more information. All of the basic codes are universal worldwide so the smart is not unique, although it may have codes beyond the basic ones that only the dealer can access. For those of us who are a distance to a dealer this might make the difference between a lost day of work or a phone call to the dealer. Most scanners have an erase function to cancel codes also, so if a code resurfaces you know there is a problem.

 

Are code scanners specific to smartcars? Where can I get one?

 

No - ScanGauge II - many retailers.

 

MPRICE2984 and others - I checked out the code scanners - they seem to hook up by something called a "OBD II 16-pin connector cable" - anyone know where the corresponding 16 pin hookup is in the smartcar ... also anyone have experience using a code reader?

I am reminded of a great quote by Groucho Marx ..... "This is so easy a child of five could do it. Fetch me a child of 5".

Djinn

 

one other code scanner question. Apparently, the current standard is OBD II, however some 2008 cars have started using the latest standard called "CAN". See this quote from a review on Amazon ...

"NOTE: Starting in 2008, a new standard called "CAN" will become mandatory for all vehicles, and some auto manufacturers are already producing CAN-compliant vehicles. OBD II code readers may or may not work with CAN vehicles ** check the product detail page to check if the scanner works with OBD II, CAN, or both"

Of course, scanners that can read both are more expensive. Anyone know whihc standard the smart passion uses - OBDII or CAN?

Djinn

 

one other code scanner question. Apparently, the current standard is OBD II, however some 2008 cars have started using the latest standard called "CAN". See this quote from a review on Amazon ...

"NOTE: Starting in 2008, a new standard called "CAN" will become mandatory for all vehicles, and some auto manufacturers are already producing CAN-compliant vehicles. OBD II code readers may or may not work with CAN vehicles ** check the product detail page to check if the scanner works with OBD II, CAN, or both"

Of course, scanners that can read both are more expensive. Anyone know which standard the smart passion uses - OBDII or CAN?

Djinn

CAN has been around for a long time. I worked for BMW Motorsport for a couple of years about '99-00. BMW road cars had CAN-bus back then; way ahead of the curve. Some of the fun facts I learned from BMW "master techs" included:

One third of the time, the MIL is triggered by the gas cap not being tightened until it clicks, or the tank is filled drop-by-drop until full to the cap. The Siemens ecu is very sensitive to this. It is doubtful that the smart/Mitzu uses Siemens hardware, but it's a common problem. Sometimes my Mini runs perfectly until a fill-up, and then it bucks and hesitates fir a few miles, sometimes with the light flashing. Then it goes away. If you remove and reseal the cap, the MIL might not go off for a few days.

Another 30-40% of the time, these guys claimed that the light triggered because of a bad sensor. The code would point to where, and it would be replaced. Reset the control unit, and the problem is gone. There are dozens of sensors today, and they're in a harsh environment, so they often fail. But sometimes they are fine and set off the light.

The rest of the time, the sensors show that there is a problem and a non-sensor part needs to be replaced.

The most important thing is to not panic. If the car starts to run badly, don't drive it, call roadside assistance. If it runs fine, it might have been a momentary disruption of voltage, and the light comes on. The thing to do is find the code, and turn the MIL off. If it happens again, then something needs to be done. It could be a vacuum line pinching or leaking, an O2 sensor, or a hundred other things.

If you throw a code, drop by an Autozone store and they will be happy to plug an appropriate code reader into your car. There really isn't any reason for the average owner to invest in one. Get the code, and have them reset the light. They don't charge a thing for doing it. If the light comes on again, then you should make an appointment with the dealer. But on a modern new car, it isn't uncommon that it doesn't come back.

What would help the community the most is to get the list of codes specific to the fortwo, and if people see them, post them on the forum so we can see what is happening. Some of them may be quirky things, and others may be things that will be cured by a running change in production, and our cars will get retrofits. Others may be nothing at all.

 

djinn,

check this faq

http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2381

 

Apparently CAN is a new protocol for OBD, which started in 2008 as mentioned above. Several forum folks have bought the Scangauge II scanner which is compliant with the CAN protocol.

From the Scangauge website:

Works On All OBDII Protocols Including CAN, required on all vehicles starting in 2008.