[gewitzt]

My smart ED is dead.


After having it in the shop for a week to repair two defective parts affecting the A/C unit, I've been relishing the nice, cold air coming out of the vents, especially since we're in a heat wave! On Monday I got a follow up call from my MB service advisor just checking to see how things were.



Yesterday (Tuesday), I was driving to work and about two miles into the trip, got a beeping alert. I looked at the dash and saw all sorts of horrible alerts: HV System -> Workshop and the like. Sure enough, I had no power, and managed to coast to a parking lot, where the alerts continued to flash. "Restart not possible," etc.



So I called the dealership and the service advisor, after having suggested he jinxed me, gave me the number of a towing service. A $170 towing charge, and I was back at the dealership. Once again, I'm advised it's under warranty, and was given a loaner car (NOT a smart!). I expect another week or so in the shop.



A freaky experience. And another example of the down side of owning an electric car: The parking lot was an auto repair center! An auto parts store shares the lot. Neither of them could help me...

 

[lordpaige]

Now this might just be me but when my smart was under warranty and I got a loaner car I definitely did not have to pay for a tow. I called the smart roadside service number and they towed me to my nearest mercedes dealer at no cost. They said I would only have to pay for a tow or loaner had it not been under warranty.

 

[jwight]

I think smart USA owes you $170....

 

[gewitzt]

I think smart USA owes you $170....

The HV battery needs to be replaced.



I got the word yesterday. MB will pay for the replacement, and I have a MB loaner car for the duration of the work. They have to order a battery and make sure their qualified tech does the work, so it's another week in the shop, at least.


I'm very conflicted right now. The car is three years old (warranty expires 12/31/18 ) and has now had several issues that have required specialist attention. 26K on the odometer (19K when I bought it 16 months ago). I'm pleased that my costs have decreased substantially from the first trip, which resulted in new tires and brakes (which still squeak under pressure) to now. From my perspective, the $170 for towing is a pittance compared to what these repairs would have cost me out of warranty.


So, once a new battery is fitted, and the car is back on the road, can I trust it? It's almost like having a very nice pistol that jams a lot. Can you carry it without believing it's 100% reliable, and that your life may depend on it? I'm going to have to give this whole electric vehicle thing a second consideration. Oh, I keep reading how sales are increasing and the infrastructure is getting better, but when I think there's only one place within range of this vehicle that services them, and then only when they have the personnel and parts, the viability gets real cringe-worthy.

 

[Jo e Lefors]

The HV battery needs to be replaced.



I got the word yesterday. MB will pay for the replacement, and I have a MB loaner car for the duration of the work. They have to order a battery and make sure their qualified tech does the work, so it's another week in the shop, at least.


I'm very conflicted right now. The car is three years old (warranty expires 12/31/18 ) and has now had several issues that have required specialist attention. 26K on the odometer (19K when I bought it 16 months ago). I'm pleased that my costs have decreased substantially from the first trip, which resulted in new tires and brakes (which still squeak under pressure) to now. From my perspective, the $170 for towing is a pittance compared to what these repairs would have cost me out of warranty.


So, once a new battery is fitted, and the car is back on the road, can I trust it? It's almost like having a very nice pistol that jams a lot. Can you carry it without believing it's 100% reliable, and that your life may depend on it? I'm going to have to give this whole electric vehicle thing a second consideration. Oh, I keep reading how sales are increasing and the infrastructure is getting better, but when I think there's only one place within range of this vehicle that services them, and then only when they have the personnel and parts, the viability gets real cringe-worthy.

HV Battery Needs to be REPLACED, plus you just had the A/C replaced all at just over 25,000 miles I wouldn't trust it, especially coming out of warranty at the end of the year.
There are those who will say "What's the possibility of a second HV battery going bad" easy argument if they aren't footing the bill. (I don't count brakes & tire expense as they are wear items)
Oh, by the way, where in the US is the smart infrastructure getting better, I hadn't read anything about it? I know there are 25 or 26 dealers for the whole United States.

 

[gewitzt]

HV Battery Needs to be REPLACED, plus you just had the A/C replaced all at just over 25,000 miles I wouldn't trust it, especially coming out of warranty at the end of the year.
There are those who will say "What's the possibility of a second HV battery going bad" easy argument if they aren't footing the bill. (I don't count brakes & tire expense as they are wear items)
Oh, by the way, where in the US is the smart infrastructure getting better, I hadn't read anything about it? I know there are 25 or 26 dealers for the whole United States.

I know. I think I'm in a state of denial. As are perhaps a number of smart ED owners.

It's pretty clear Mercedes has abandoned the market -- at least in the USA -- for the smart. They're even making broad, sweeping announcements of their "future" vehicles, including the Electric Intelligence. Supposedly, these upcoming cars will feature:

• Up to 300-kW electric motor
• Expected 0-60 in less than 5 seconds
• Range of over 300 miles per charge
• Conveniently charge via public charge stations, an at-home wallbox or a wireless induction charger.
• DC Fast Charging - Combined Charging System Standard
• 24-inch TFT high-definition wide-screen display
• "Black Panel"˜ front grille with illuminated LED optical fibers and EQ exclusive Light Signature
• Adaptive ambience lighting
• Car-to-X technology for information exchange with infrastructure and other vehicles
• 3D real-time map display from HERE
• Intelligent Driver Assistance

In other words, everything the smart doesn't -- and will never -- have.

Mercedes just sent me a letter. In it, it said due to my excellent record with MB, all I needed to do was to take the letter to any MB dealer, and I'd immediately have $52K credit toward a new vehicle.

That doesn't include smart.

 

[MB DNA]

I'm going to have to give this whole electric vehicle thing a second consideration.

With only 26 smart Centers remaining, may want to insert "smart" ahead of "electric vehicle" in your sentence? Don't know that this is a global EV thing?

Feeling your pain - MY15 smart ED with only 15,000 miles has now been at the smart Center for a week with no prognosis beyond we're going to throw a 12V battery at it . . .

 

[Mike T]

I should imagine that the EQ cars Mercedes sells will demonstrate similar reliability.....

 

[jwight]

Where do I get one of those $52K credits......

 

[InjuredAgain]

Gewitzt, sorry to hear of your continuing troubles. But as far as the smart itself, what do you have to lose by keeping it? You're not going to get much in selling it, and it's not like you're going to take an extended road trip in it and get stranded in the middle of nowhere. Just drive it until something breaks again and then be done with it.

A $52k credit makes an AMG GT a heck of a bargain! I really hope that at some point in my remaining three years of warranty coverage, that my HV battery will fail and I can get that deal!

 

[jzchen]

I think $52k credit means pre-approval, aka loan....

Well, the car will have all these new parts that I “think” will carry Mercedes standard 1 yr unlimited mile warranty, (some dealerships provide 2 yrs). So in a sense this car is better off than the rest of the ones on the road with all their systems aging.

I agree to keep it until it’s no longer economically wise to do so....

 

[Yinzer]

My smart ED is dead.
.....and another example of the down side of owning an electric car: The parking lot was an auto repair center! An auto parts store shares the lot. Neither of them could help me...

I wouldn't blame it on the car being electric. An electric car should be simpler and more reliable and reparable than an IC engine car. But for some reason, the designers of EV's burden the vehicles with far too much, poorly tested, complexity.

 

[gewitzt]

Gewitzt, sorry to hear of your continuing troubles. But as far as the smart itself, what do you have to lose by keeping it? You're not going to get much in selling it, and it's not like you're going to take an extended road trip in it and get stranded in the middle of nowhere. Just drive it until something breaks again and then be done with it.

Here's the thing that baffles me: A replacement battery costing in the neighborhood of $8K - $10K in a car that's valued by Kelly Blue Book at $4,060 - $5,115? That makes no economic sense!

A $52k credit makes an AMG GT a heck of a bargain! I really hope that at some point in my remaining three years of warranty coverage, that my HV battery will fail and I can get that deal!

LOL! My smart isn't my only car. I've been a Mercedes owner for over 25 years. They like me. And want me to trade in my 2014 E350C4 with only 26K on it for something... better? I'd consider it if they made it an even swap for an SL550...

 

[Niteshooter]

Probably more like a $5,200 credit though if it really is $52,000 credit I'd ditch that smart and get something else that cost just about that amount like a new CLA, GLA etc.

 

[gewitzt]

Probably more like a $5,200 credit though if it really is $52,000 credit I'd ditch that smart and get something else that cost just about that amount like a new CLA, GLA etc.

I think it's more of a credit guarantee, meaning that I show the letter to an MB dealer and they don't have to do all the credit checks and lookups to determine my credit worthiness.


I already have a car I love - a 2014 E350 Coupe 4Matic. I despise the CLA (as does my smart/MB service advisor - he was willing to switch the CLA they were going to loan me for a C300 4Matic), and I have no use for another car. The smart was purchased - for cash - as an experiment to learn more about EVs, since the house I purchased came with an EVSE.


The experiment is now over, I think. I may just cut the juice to the EVSE.

 

[MB DNA]

LOL! My smart isn't my only car. I've been a Mercedes owner for over 25 years. They like me. And want me to trade in my 2014 E350C4 with only 26K on it for something... better? I'd consider it if they made it an even swap for an SL550...

M-B is NOT in the business of giving anything away! They do like most anyone with blank checks that will (old school) clear the bank!

They also like those with a solid credit rating such that MBFS might offer up a $52,000 line of credit. Probably would prefer that you trade in the E350 and take your smart ED down the street . . .

 

[InjuredAgain]

LOL! My smart isn't my only car. I've been a Mercedes owner for over 25 years. They like me. And want me to trade in my 2014 E350C4 with only 26K on it for something... better? I'd consider it if they made it an even swap for an SL550...

Oh, I was pretty sure that you were a long-time and multiple Mercedes owner. You don't get an owner loyalty concession like that without having been very good to them!

I won't ever get that kind of treatment from any car company. I don't believe that we've ever repeat purchased from the same manufacturer. Right now, my kids both have the same car, but the other three cars are not Hondas and are all different manufacturers, and I'm almost 100% certain that our next two purchases will be from manufacturers we've never purchased from. It's not like we haven't loved the cars we've bought - we have and we've kept them a long time, but we just find something new and possibly better when it's time to buy again. I wonder if your history or my history is the more atypical?

 

[Yinzer]

Here's the thing that baffles me: A replacement battery costing in the neighborhood of $8K - $10K in a car that's valued by Kelly Blue Book at $4,060 - $5,115? That makes no economic sense!

Especially considering that the battery cells themselves are almost certainly perfectly fine, and the only thing wrong is a bad $50 relay or little PC board inside the battery case.

 

[gewitzt]

Especially considering that the battery cells themselves are almost certainly perfectly fine, and the only thing wrong is a bad $50 relay or little PC board inside the battery case.

It's now been two and a half weeks since my car was towed to the dealership. In that time, my service advisor has left, and the new service advisor called to inform me it wasn't the big battery that needed replacement, but the little battery (his description made it seem that there is a 12-volt battery and then TWO "drive" batteries.

I may have misunderstood the rep, but I did understand that the "little" battery isn't under warranty and will cost me $346 to replace. This should have been completed last Monday. Maybe Tuesday. It's now Thursday, and I'm now away on business, so it won't be until the weekend at the earliest that I can get my car. I've had no further calls about its status.

Well, I have a C300 4Matic loaner, which is sitting in a parking lot. I'm a captive of a monopolistic sales and service system, but at least I have wheels.

 

[sokoloff]

MSRP on that battery from Mercedes is about $150. That price is obscene even for a dealer.

Len
2014 EV Coupe 16,000 miles
2014 EV Cabriolet 7,000 miles