[cagney57]

Yep, contacted Christian Brothers Automotive and they seem so nice....I am a little sticker shocked but at least the work will be done,
Oil change,spark plugs and engine filter and they will check my brakes=$450.00 and takes 3 hours....they have shuttle service if I need to go anywhere while up there, that is nice and kind of them.
The parts are reasonable, it is the labor that kills you.

I will be going up there next year for an oil change if it is recommended by Smart...can you all tell me if it is as I drive about 1,500 miles a year and it is 99% within the city and no faster then about 35-45 miles per hour.
I want this car to last or at least outlast me as I am soon to be 70.

Thanks for any and all info and ideas. Going to ask them about a back up camera too because it is hard to see.

 

[twcom]

I am a user an really love the VanTop H609 an H610 mirror cameras. They give you forward cam/record, rear cam/record, and Back up camera with the distance lines. I have the rear camera mounted inside on the rear hatch window. That full mirror rear camera view serves as my rearview mirror so filling up the rear hatch area is a non issue for rear visibility. It is a not too difficult if not easy install. The H609 and H610 units are virtually the same size the difference is the the 609 image is 1080p front and rear where as the 610 can have one of the cameras at 2.5k image. It's a fairly inexpensive, low difficulty install option for a visual non-beeping back up camera.

 

[cagney57]

I am a user an really love the VanTop H609 an H610 mirror cameras. They give you forward cam/record, rear cam/record, and Back up camera with the distance lines. I have the rear camera mounted inside on the rear hatch window. That full mirror rear camera view serves as my rearview mirror so filling up the rear hatch area is a non issue for rear visibility. It is a not too difficult if not easy install. The H609 and H610 units are virtually the same size the difference is the the 609 image is 1080p front and rear where as the 610 can have one of the cameras at 2.5k image. It's a fairly inexpensive, low difficulty install option for a visual non-beeping back up camera.

My Smart has a large screen for the radio and TomTom(of which I am not subscribed to)...could I get a rear camera that will be viewed through my radio screen. Probably not explaining that very good.
Not sure about whether or not I want a cam/record....

 

[Jo e Lefors]

My Smart has a large screen for the radio and TomTom(of which I am not subscribed to)...could I get a rear camera that will be viewed through my radio screen. Probably not explaining that very good.
Not sure about whether or not I want a cam/record....

It's always nice to have a "dash cam" recording.

 

[smark]

Yep, contacted Christian Brothers Automotive and they seem so nice....I am a little sticker shocked but at least the work will be done,
Oil change,spark plugs and engine filter and they will check my brakes=$450.00 and takes 3 hours....they have shuttle service if I need to go anywhere while up there, that is nice and kind of them.
The parts are reasonable, it is the labor that kills you.

I will be going up there next year for an oil change if it is recommended by Smart...can you all tell me if it is as I drive about 1,500 miles a year and it is 99% within the city and no faster then about 35-45 miles per hour.
I want this car to last or at least outlast me as I am soon to be 70.

Thanks for any and all info and ideas. Going to ask them about a back up camera too because it is hard to see.

I’m glad you tried Christian Brothers automotive out. we’ve used them for over 8 years, on all our brand cars. They are pretty much nation wide. Labor is high, no matter was shop you go to. Cheaper then a MB dealership. They are very honest. My daughter had her Jeep Renegrade, at they shop a couple weeks ago. Oil change, spark plugs, CVT fluid change, air filter, and cabin filter. She asked for a tire rotation. They told her, they wouldn’t preform that. Not going put the slightly worn tire on the front of the car. Because of steering. Keep the good one there.

 

[cagney57]

It's always nice to have a "dash cam" recording.

I usually hook up my older cell phone on the dash to at least get a front cam/record view.....but will see what the one you mentioned costs and how much to hook up. Thanks.

 

[cagney57]

I’m glad you tried Christian Brothers automotive out. we’ve used them for over 8 years, on all our brand cars. They are pretty much nation wide. Labor is high, no matter was shop you go to. Cheaper then a MB dealership. They are very honest. My daughter had her Jeep Renegrade, at they shop a couple weeks ago. Oil change, spark plugs, CVT fluid change, air filter, and cabin filter. She asked for a tire rotation. They told her, they wouldn’t preform that. Not going put the slightly worn tire on the front of the car. Because of steering. Keep the good one there.

They were so polite on the phone and when I told them about Toyota and that hassle and MB and their crap, they said they did not operate that way...and they would treat my car as well as they were treating the 1977 Ford they were currently working on....Little nervous driving that far and into a bit bigger city then where I live but will be like an adventure LOL
Have no clue if and when the car had the plugs changed as that is not listed on the carfax....

 

[Rambo4]

You can always purchase a Guardians jersey... or an Indians while they last! If I did all of that work on my ride, I like the fact of NOT counting the labor due to mechanical savvy on my behalf.

 

[jzchen]

Navigation is not a subscription service. Car should have come with the map installed, if not the previous owner took it and sold it (most likely). Updates are reasonably priced or free I'm aware of one on the board who uses the TomTom update service...

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

 

[cagney57]

Navigation is not a subscription service. Car should have come with the map installed, if not the previous owner took it and sold it (most likely). Updates are reasonably priced or free I'm aware of one on the board who uses the TomTom update service...

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

How would they have taken it or do you mean it was deleted? Because when I browse through the buttons on the screen it says no maps ....just that on the screen.
How would I or where would I get updates when it looks like there is no program even listed for TomTom.

 

[jzchen]

@cagney57 I may be mistaken, but I thought the maps are on some sort of SD card. I am not certain though. Let me try to link the TomTom page for the smart 453:

TomTom | Smart Media-System

In-dash navigation for smartfortwo, smartforfour with TomTom Live services and capacitive touch screen.

www.tomtom.com

Someone else was missing the maps and had difficulty getting a replacement card sadly...

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

 

[cagney57]

How would they have taken it or do you mean it was deleted? Because when I browse through the buttons on the screen it says no maps ....just that on the screen.
How would I or where would I get updates when it looks like there is no program even listed for TomTom.

This is similar to mine and the "navigation" button is dark and does nothing....

 

[cagney57]

This is similar to mine and the "navigation" button is dark and does nothing.... View attachment 67468 View attachment 67468 View attachment 67468

OOPS did not mean to do that 3 times so sorry.....

 

[cagney57]

@cagney57 I may be mistaken, but I thought the maps are on some sort of SD card. I am not certain though. Let me try to link the TomTom page for the smart 453:

TomTom | Smart Media-System

In-dash navigation for smartfortwo, smartforfour with TomTom Live services and capacitive touch screen.

www.tomtom.com

Someone else was missing the maps and had difficulty getting a replacement card sadly...

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

Went to that site and it is in pounds not American dollars and I thought there was a free site but guess not...no problem.

 

[jzchen]

Went to that site and it is in pounds not American dollars and I thought there was a free site but guess not...no problem.

Strange. Look at the browser address bar should be ..../en_us/... Not /en_gb/...

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

 

[cagney57]

Strange. Look at the browser address bar should be ..../en_us/... Not /en_gb/...

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

it does say en_us...but when I click to see the pricing it is in pounds.

 

[jzchen]

I hope someone who knows can answer this. Could someone option the Smart Media System WITHOUT navigation? At least with the older 451 you got the Highline radio and it included navigation as far as I can recall...

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

 

[Jo e Lefors]

I’m glad you tried Christian Brothers automotive out...... My daughter had her Jeep Renegrade, at they shop a couple weeks ago. Oil change, spark plugs, CVT fluid change, air filter, and cabin filter. She asked for a tire rotation. They told her, they wouldn’t preform that. Not going put the slightly worn tire on the front of the car. Because of steering. Keep the good one there.

You may want to rethink this.

https://www.smartcarofamerica.com/threads/where-do-tires-with-the-best-tread-go-front-or-rear-if-you-are-wrong-you-could-be-dead-wrong.158526/

 

[smark]

The front tires on my daughters Jeep are the worn out ones. That why they wouldn’t rotate them.

Good year says the samething…..

When tires are replaced in pairs, the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle, and the partially worn tires should be moved to the front. Driving with new tires on the rear axle can help the vehicle to maintain control on wet roads because the tires with deeper treads are more likely to resist hydroplaning.

When front tires have less tread than the tires on the rear axle, the vehicle is generally considered easier to control, since sliding would likely be the result of an understeer –which is easier for the driver to control by decreasing throttle. If worn tires are placed on the rear axle and a slide occurs, it’s likely the result of an oversteer (where the rear of the vehicle continues to move straight ahead). Oversteering is generally harder to recover from and decreasing throttle may actually amplify the negative effects of the oversteer.

 

[Atlanta01]

My Smart has a large screen for the radio and TomTom(of which I am not subscribed to)...could I get a rear camera that will be viewed through my radio screen. Probably not explaining that very good.
Not sure about whether or not I want a cam/record....

There is a company in the UK that sells a backup camera kit for the 453 the integrates with the Tom TOM radio, it's expensive and technical to install.

You don't need a subscription to TomTom maps to use the GPS/Maps in your Smart 453. The subscription belongs to the car and doesn't expire, it's burned into the ROM of your radio. If you purchased a formally used Car2Go rental then you just have to reenable it on the radio.