new to this and smart car need to know
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Probably. They're quirky, but generally reliable. How many miles has it got? There are some items that tend to become problematic at certain milestones.
A short list of usual pain points....
The flex pipe on mufflers tends to fail. Often quite fixable if one has a tig welder or by brazing.
The shift motors in some wear out, it's hit or miss, some people seem to never have issues and others have them fail.
The clutch actuator can cause some issues and occasionally needs adjusting.
Axle seals often leak on high milage cars (no surprise, not hard especially hard to fix)
ABS rings on the axles get cracked or flake and fill with rust causing issues, especially in northern climates where salt on the roads is common.
Keep up on the maintenance and be proactive and it seems they're as good as any other car.
I'm pro-DIY and I don't let a lack of experience stop me from learning and trying.
There's a site in the UK evilution.co.uk, the cost is pretty negligible (15UK pounds/year ($19.10 as of a moment ago)) which has a fair amount of repair info. I find it's handy, but sometimes is lacking in the particular details I'm looking for though it is a nice one-stop shop for a lot of common issues.
Some parts can be a little harder to acquire than for more common cars, but I find most everything is available though it may take a couple more days to arrive from Europe.
Many parts seem to be best sourced from MB and shopping around will usually yield different prices.
Welcome aboard! The community is pretty kind and helpful.
Edit: There's likely a tire repair kit in the passenger's footwell, under the carpet. One of my cars was missing it, the other had it. Not quite as good as a spare IMO, but combined with some tire plugs probably sufficient for a lot of issues.
Also, the battery is under the foam insert holding the tire kit.
Service schedules can be found here under "Gas Vehicles"
A short list of usual pain points....
The flex pipe on mufflers tends to fail. Often quite fixable if one has a tig welder or by brazing.
The shift motors in some wear out, it's hit or miss, some people seem to never have issues and others have them fail.
The clutch actuator can cause some issues and occasionally needs adjusting.
Axle seals often leak on high milage cars (no surprise, not hard especially hard to fix)
ABS rings on the axles get cracked or flake and fill with rust causing issues, especially in northern climates where salt on the roads is common.
Keep up on the maintenance and be proactive and it seems they're as good as any other car.
I'm pro-DIY and I don't let a lack of experience stop me from learning and trying.
There's a site in the UK evilution.co.uk, the cost is pretty negligible (15UK pounds/year ($19.10 as of a moment ago)) which has a fair amount of repair info. I find it's handy, but sometimes is lacking in the particular details I'm looking for though it is a nice one-stop shop for a lot of common issues.
Some parts can be a little harder to acquire than for more common cars, but I find most everything is available though it may take a couple more days to arrive from Europe.
Many parts seem to be best sourced from MB and shopping around will usually yield different prices.
Welcome aboard! The community is pretty kind and helpful.
Edit: There's likely a tire repair kit in the passenger's footwell, under the carpet. One of my cars was missing it, the other had it. Not quite as good as a spare IMO, but combined with some tire plugs probably sufficient for a lot of issues.
Also, the battery is under the foam insert holding the tire kit.
Service schedules can be found here under "Gas Vehicles"
Awesome! Love hearing this as I am just like you! 😊
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Hi, fit you spare wheel behind the passenger seat and for safety tie it down with nylon rope to the rear of the metal seat runners. Put you jack and tyre brace in a bag behind the drivers seat. This keeps you boot (trunk) empty. I also fitted a wheel cover over the spare, bought from Ebay.
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I did not see mention of a lug wrench. The need to know on that is if your Smart lug bolts are stock, they are 15 mm a breaker bar and 15 mm deep socket is best bet.
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My smart DIY kit has as follows. Of course, it needs noting that I often take my smart to remote places far from any road and the most rural of rural America, so I like to be prepared.
In car at all times:
At home, sometimes in car if I think I'll need them for the specific trip or task:
The neat thing is that given our cars' size, a lot of the bolts don't need to be tightened to a million pounds. Most of my tools (save for equipment like jackstands and the impact) have come from Harbor Freight and they've been lasting me for some years now.
In car at all times:
- Floor jack. I'm often doing field and trail repairs to my smarts and I don't have even an ounce of trust in a scissor jack. If any of the work I'm doing requires parts of my body to be under the car in any way, a wheel goes under as well.
- Impact wrench. A breaker bar works just as good (and I have one of those onboard, too) but an impact is faster.
- Metric socket set (mix of deep and shallow).
- E-Torx socket set.
- Torx socket set.
- Spark plug socket.
- Wrench for oil pan drain plug.
- Cable ties.
- Fix-a-flat (the factory sealant goes bad after 4-ish years).
- Spare tire.
- Air compressor (factory one from the footwell).
- Spare bulbs.
- Spare fuses.
- Wire cutters.
- PB B'laster.
At home, sometimes in car if I think I'll need them for the specific trip or task:
- Jackstands.
- Ramps.
- Angle grinder.
- Sawzall.
- Ratchet straps.
The neat thing is that given our cars' size, a lot of the bolts don't need to be tightened to a million pounds. Most of my tools (save for equipment like jackstands and the impact) have come from Harbor Freight and they've been lasting me for some years now.
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