[Team_Smartcar]

Anyone's 453 run a bit rough at idle? I bought the car brand new and it wasn't this rough for the first 5k miles. I have tried different gas, etc asll the same. I took it to Mercedes of Sacramento and they said 2 things. 1 they have never even had a newer smart in there and 2 it was normal. If I rev it to like 1200 RPM's it is fine and smooth but just sitting at a light its definitely rumbling.

 

[ElementalDragon]

Anyone's 453 run a bit rough at idle? I bought the car brand new and it wasn't this rough for the first 5k miles. I have tried different gas, etc asll the same. I took it to Mercedes of Sacramento and they said 2 things. 1 they have never even had a newer smart in there and 2 it was normal. If I rev it to like 1200 RPM's it is fine and smooth but just sitting at a light its definitely rumbling.

Well, also have to keep in mind that it's only a 3-cylinder. Smarts do tend to idle on the odd side in my experience. I guess you could say less like butter, more like oatmeal with a touch too much milk. Just a bit lumpy.

On another note, getting your 453 straight-piped only makes it more obvious. Lol

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[smart_gary]

I had the same concern with a new 453 (smart fortwo), and like yourself, my local dealer also assured me that it was normal for 3-cylinder engine in smarts. There's loads of articles on Internet explaining the reasons for vibration/imbalance on straight-three engines, and a bit of roughness/vibration at idle definitely seems to be normal. Hopefully you'll get used to it

 

[1stiski]

Our 453 idles smoothly . I have the Lorinser powerpack . I’m guessing that may have something to do with it . When I first installed the powerpack I had an electrical interference issue with the car running smoothly at idle. I had to re route some of the powerpack wires to the top of the stock harness to avoid the problem .. since I did that , the idle has been super smooth .

 

[Aristophanes]

There is a known issue with a solenoid guys I have the same car (0.9 tce Renault engine) and rough idle too ,you can take the part out and clean it, personally i ordered the part : smart : A2811530159 / Renault : 237964892R

Evilution - Smart Car Encyclopaedia

cheers

 

[Aristophanes]

And here is the solenoid in question, installed today really easy as per the evilution guide.

personally it DID fix my idle issue and engine is running stable @900 rpm(just below 1K)

went with Renault as I found it discounted from a Renault parts shop (£60) as opposed to the Renault / Smart dealerships (£200+) also mounting was really easy,it is hold only by a 8mm bolt.
it took me less then 15minutes in total.

would reccomend to anyone who has symptoms of missfire/rough idle,and likes to fix stuff By himself like I do 😁

 

[jwight]

Are you aware of any EU sources that would ship to the USA? No Renault dealers here. 🙂

 

[Aristophanes]

i bought mine off eBay mate, and actually it came from UAE lol there was a shop with a huge discount there,actually was about £29 + £28 the shipping,as I couldnt find that part anywhere in the UK for less than £100+

type the part code on eBay or google ,eiher Renault or Smart and have a look the market there is huge you will find plenty of options 😁

 

[Aristophanes]

If you want I can give you the shop name on eBay and you can check if they ship in the US.

 

[ElementalDragon]

Found some on eBay. Just sucks that for here in Pennsylvania, to get it, it's between $60-90 for the part, and another $50-60 to ship it.

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[Aristophanes]

Guys by the way this is covered by Smart/mercedes dealers or from wherever you bought the car from.
even with the warranty expired there are cases that they replace them, it is a very well known manufacture issue.

mine is a ‘17 and bought second hand hence no warranty.

 

[IcarusR]

Guys by the way this is covered by Smart/mercedes dealers or from wherever you bought the car from.
even with the warranty expired there are cases that they replace them, it is a very well known manufacture issue.

mine is a ‘17 and bought second hand hence no warranty.

Had same on my secondhand 453. I bought solenoid from Smart / Mercedes £94. But the lower part that goes into the engine block was well siezed in. I couldnt get it out. Took to dealer, took them two & a half hours to do what they said takes half an hour. Cost £211.

 

[Aristophanes]

Had same on my secondhand 453. I bought solenoid from Smart / Mercedes £94. But the lower part that goes into the engine block was well siezed in. I couldnt get it out. Took to dealer, took them two & a half hours to do what they said takes half an hour. Cost £211.

mate that’s extremely cheap from a dealer £94,from which Mercedes was it?

Yes there is build oxidation like white salts builded around it, it is a chemical reaction resulting from aluminum and steel contact.
all I did was remove the 8mm bolt that holds the solenoid, and spray little bit of WD40 around the solenoid(there is a tight rubber gasket in the solenoid so no fear from dropping inside the engine ) let it soften those white salts for a minute and then wipe it with a clean microfibre and kindly rotate the solenoid before pulling it up,then wipe again making sure nothing can drop in the engine while you re pulling it off.
by rotating the solenoid the little ear (the one that the bolt goes in to hold it in place)is breaking loose all those white oxidation salts and they even become like a white cream (because of the wd40) easy to whipe.
that way it rotates freely and you can gently pull it up.
total time :15 minutes

 

[Aristophanes]

Of course any Dealer can claim x hours,as they are charging labour by the hour.

 

[IcarusR]

Got solenoid from Sytner Mercedes Milton Keynes. Yep electrolytic galvanisation dissimilar metals i'm familiar.
Did like you say & the actual solenoid top part came off leaving the lower part still stuck fast in the engine block. So I gave up & got it done by Sytner under the used car warranty I have.

 

[IcarusR]

Of course any Dealer can claim x hours,as they are charging labour by the hour.

I was sat in showroom waiting whilst they did it. They only charged the original quoted cost & not by the hour. Yes I have checked they have replaced all of the part !

 

[Aristophanes]

Fair enough, mine came out relatevily easy and in one piece.
if it splits then I guess it will be a bit harder to remove, mainly becacuse of the snug fit of the rubber gasket that isolates the solenoid in the engine.