Smart Automotive Repair Manuals

Interesting Facts About Smart You Probably Don’t Know – Common Problems – and PDF Manuals for Download…

Smart Automobile is a renowned German car manufacturer with headquarters in Boblingen, Germany.

The company markets its cars, ranging from microcars to subcompacts simply as “smart”. Smart Automobile is a division of Daimler AG and mainly markets two cars, Fortwo and Forfour.

The idea of producing “microcars” was developed in 1982 by SMH, a company that specializes in making watches with the brand name Swatch.

Nicolas Hayek, the CEO of Swatch at the time wanted to explore the idea of a new car with the same personalization features and manufacturing strategies that were used in the watches.

He was determined to conquer the niche market with consumers who wanted a stylish but small city car. Hayek’s private company cloned this idea “swatchmobile” and started to design the new car for SMH.

The original design featured a hybrid drivetrain and only two seats, although several other different designs were produced.

To be able to cater for the cost of setting up a distribution network and survive in the competitive industry of automobiles, Hayek decided to corporate with an already established car manufacturer.

On July 3rd, 1991, the company came into an agreement of sharing the development of their new project with Volkswagen. This agreement was later terminated by the new CEO of Volkswagen, Ferdinand Piech.

In 1994, SMH Auto SA and Hayek Engineering Ltd., the two companies behind Smart entered into an agreement with Daimler-Benz.

The two companies ventured into the production of a variety of smart cars, among them the Mercedes City Cars (MCC).

Although the headquarters of smart are in Germany, the company’s primary assembly plant is in Hambach, France and they have another assembly plant in Novo Mesto, Slovenia. The cars are however marketed in 46 countries in North and South America and in Asia.

By 2015, the company was reported to have produced and sold more than 1.7 million units of their Fortwo model.

Daimler-Benz added more capital because the development of MCC became too expensive. Consequently, it earned 81% of the company in 1996.

The company was successfully launched in nine European countries in 1998.

Hayek was however not for the idea of the conventional gasoline engine that final products being assembled were to use.

He pushed for the use of hybrid drivetrain but was not successful. Daimler-Benz bought out the 19% remaining shares that SMH owned making it the sole owner of the brand.

Smart has since increased its model lines to include Forfour, a roadster rear engine four seats and four door super mini cars.

Although it was expected that this expansion would increase the sales made by the company, this was not the case.

In 2006 smart GmbH was liquidated after heavy financial losses and dwindling sales.

The operations for smart were fully absorbed by DaimlerChrysler (after Daimler acquired Chrysler). The products are done by the Mercedes-Benz Cars division under Daimler AG.

To date, smart has discontinued some of the models in its product lines due to their failure to pick up in the market. The canceled models are the super-mini Smart Forfour and the Smart Cross blade.

The excitement in the smart models was again jostled to life in 2006 when they began to develop the smart Fortwo Electric Vehicle (smart ED).

2000 units of this model produced in 2009 and marketed all around the world for leasing or car sharing services.

Even with complaints of the Fortwo being extremely costly, it has still received a lot of attention in the US and in Europe.

A lot of the units that have been sold so far are in countries where there is a rule that makes it hard for people to own big cars like Japan.

Problems with the Smart Car

  • Brake Problems

This has been a common complaint with the smart Fortwo car. Those who have experienced this problem have reported that the car suddenly jerks in bumps or halts unexpectedly.

Your GmbH smart for two cars can also have flashing lights on the dash. Failing brakes are mostly as a result of electrical issues. You can get the problem fixed at the customer care center for smart Fortwo.

If the problem doesn’t look complicated it can be repaired by the ordinary car repair technician.

  • Engine Overheating Problems

The most common cause of engine overheating is lack of cooling due to a failed closure of the thermostat.

In other cases, you may experience engine overheating due to blocked or squashed metal or rubber pumps, leaked air in the system and water pump impeller failure.

Lack of water in the coolant system and a blocked radiator. Since the engine system is closed, it’s necessary that you take certain precautions when opening up the system.

To begin with, don’t take the cap off the reservoir when the engine is still hot since the water will be at almost 110 degrees.

Also, take caution with the anti-freeze both in liquid and gas form. Drinking or inhaling it might affect your skin.

If you are not conversant with servicing or solving coolant problems, ask a professional car care mechanic to help you out.

The mechanic may also perform a block test to find out if the head gasket is still intact. Once he or she knows what the exact problem is, he will follow the required procedure to get a long-lasting solution to the problem.

  • Reverse gear shift problems

Several complaints have been logged about the smart Fortwo being unable to engage the reverse gear.

Although in most of the complaints the problem happens once in a while, you need a lasting solution if you experience such problems.

This would probably be a clutch issue that can be easily solved from the dealer center.

The problem might be fixed with a transmission re-train sequence. If your car still has a warranty, it is best to pursue dealership so that the problem is fixed for free.

  • Weak rims

Some older Fortwo models made of Brabus rims have received a lot of complaint about the quality of the rims.

The rims can get very weak that they get easily damaged even when you drive on bumps. The easiest solution to weak rims is a replacement.

Your dealership can do the replacement for free but only if the car is still under warranty.

Else, you will have to take your vehicle to car care specialist who can give you the best rates for rims.

Conclusion

A lot of the earlier models of smart Fortwo received complaints about one malfunction or the other.

Like all the other smart models that failed to make it in the market, these earlier models were like trial versions. The newer models are better in both quality and performance.

However, in case of minor troubles the car repair manual comes very handy. It’s always wise to keep one. For major problems a certified mechanic should be consulted.

 

 Purpose of this is to catalog and include one of most comprehensive, useful and accessible “automotive repair manual” database on the web for all Smart models.

It’s your go-to source for learning all about Smart – when you can’t find it elsewhere.

To get started, select the intended car model below…

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