2008 smart Fortwo problems
Owners have filed 177 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 smart Fortwo. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 26% of complaints. After that come drivetrain & axles (13%) and electrical system (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 177 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 26% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 7 and 33
- Injuries and deaths
- 9 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 39,000 miles 138 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 27 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 44 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 28 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 13 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 10 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 9 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 138 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 39,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 48,000 miles (29 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 7 complaints mention a crash; 33 complaints mention a fire; 9 injuries reported; 1 death reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 90% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 4 model years of the smart Fortwo with enough data (69 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 smart fortwo. While driving approximately 20 MPH, the contact's vehicle was struck by another vehicle on the passenger side. The contact's vehicle rolled over several times and landed on the driver's side. The side air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The driver was fatally injured. The vehicle was not destroyed and was towed from the scene. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and sent an engineer and lawyer to inspect the vehicle.
Smart car had history of not going in reverse. "r" would not come up on screen, car would just roll forward, hitting vehicle(s) in front. Then for a couple of months, (2 years) car would go into neutral while driving, (even on highway) coast for a while, then shut down, and not restart. If you waited 10 minutes, it would usually restart. If tried sooner, it either would not restart, or only go into neutral. It would not shift into any other gear.
The 2008 smart car, has been consistently, shifting into neutral, while driving, usually, when entering, or exiting a highway, or at an intersection (speed changes). The car shifts into neutral, and then usually shuts down, causing the vehicle to be rear ended, from unsuspecting drivers behind this vehicle..the problem started when the car, would not shift into reverse, while parked..smart offered a software fix, to address that issue.
The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-Benz Smart ForTwo. The contact stated while parking the vehicle, there was smoke coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was on fire under the hood. The fire department was called to the scene and the fire was extinguished. A fire report was filed. The vehicle was not towed. There was no injury sustained. There was no warning light illuminated. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 18V273000 (Engine and Engine Cooling).
While driving at night at about 45 miles per hour, I was shifting into fifth gear and the car just went blank. The lights went out and all noise ceased to exist. At first it was a bit of a shock, so I immediately pulled off of the road onto the dirt. Luckily there were no cars around as the sudden lose of power could have caused someone to run into me, as I had no lights. After looking around the insde of the car I noticed that the key was in the off position.