2009 smart Fortwo problems
Owners have filed 139 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 smart Fortwo. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 20% of complaints. After that come drivetrain & axles (19%) and electrical system (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 139 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 4 and 21
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 39,000 miles 107 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 | 29 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 25 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 20 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 18 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 5 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 107 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 38,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 48,000 miles (16 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a crash; 21 complaints mention a fire; 3 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2009 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 4 model years of the smart Fortwo with enough data (44 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
I was driving my smart car to work at 1:30 am. There was some snow on the roads so I left 10 minutes earlier than normal so I could drive slowly. I had to go up a hill and the car fishtailed and crashed into the steel rail.I was going 43 MPH in a 55 MPH zone when the car fishtailed. I hit the steel rail almost head on. The car is a total loss yet the airbags did not deploy. I hit my head and have a sore back and knee plus I missed a day of work.
After getting home from school, coming in saying hello to the family I went back out to my car to get my bag. When I approached my car I could hear what I believed to be my radiator fans still running despite the car was turned off. My logic was "maybe a glitch in the computer." so I proceeded to simply turn the car on and then off to see if that would help. Nope, that didn't do the trick.
When car is stationary and I start it and put it into reverse the car would not move. The gear indicator instead of showing "r" shows blank. I have to turn off engine and try again. I succeed in about 3 tries. There are times that when I shift into reverse the gear indicator displays "n". This episode happens about two times a week. My observation is that it does not depend on the time of day - whether morning, afternoon, or evening; or, cold or hot day. It seems to occur at random.
First start of the day it will not shift into r or d. It will show p and n when you shift but it will not go into gear for reverse or drive. You have to restart the car several times to get it to shift. Just spoke with smart car on the phone and they deny knowing anything about it. However searching the web you will see its very common. Its a factory defect that smart car is denying.