Oh wow, this happened again on our new 453. Same fix….but this time the rubber was very sticky and took a few digs to get it out.. Thanks again John, that’s 2 i owe you.
Excellent explanation. Saved me a lot of head ache. 2018 smart fortwo coupe electric drive. It seems like the outside skin that held the grommet in place deteriorated, letting the grommet rotate and block the mechanical sensor from disengaging, as you say. Because my key was stuck in the ignition, I could not remove the bottom half of the steering column shell, so had to use some forceps to pry it out. Only tried this quick fix based on your suggestion. So, from one physiologist to another: Thanks!
So glad it helped. I was able to remove the lower half cover on mine but just barely. The key fob was in the way but had just enough leeway to slip it over. Haven't had a further problem with mine since I removed the grommet. Hope the same for you!
Thank you sir… mine got stuck and just thumping in that area released it whilst turning but I’ll do the preventative measure you suggested. Kudos to you sir!
@@Thecoutch so your direction to the problem was spot on. It’s often referred to as “sticky button” syndrome. The “rubber” cover has degraded and the structural integrity has failed and it’s gone to mush. So I followed your guidance. I’ve made a video and will put it up soon and show you as the inspiration. Thank you sir! Have a blessed week ahead and thanks for sharing
No where close to being auto mechanically inclined am I. I had this happened a couple of weeks ago, by reading the smart car form and Watch. The couple of the youtube videos, I felt Is confident I could do the job. I purchased the starbit From home depot and went to work. The hardest thing was trying to remove the lower With the key still in place, With patience and a little fineggling The steering column was fully exposed. Again using the starbit, The Ignition solenoid was removed. It was quite simple to remove The sticky rubber From the bottom end of the solonoid. I left the housing off of the steering column In case Further work needed to be done. All was well for about four days, When the pin For a second time. I clean the remaining sticky rubber off the back end of the solenoid and gave the pin.And a good dose of graphite. By turning the key on and off to make the pin work back and forth and add it a little more graphite. After. Waiting in additional three Or four days, I replaced the housing. It's. Now been a Couple of months without any further problems. I saw no need to drill a hole in the steering column housing.
Thanks for this informative and helpful video! That rubber grommet seems like a design flaw. The electromagnet is always hot, and it seems like the rubber disintegrates over time. It gets sticky, and gets drawn into the chamber when the pin recedes, and then the pin can't retract. I assume its purpose is to keep the mechanism clean... ironic!
Leslie-I never disconnected the sensor on mine - I only removed the grommet. I had someone else ask about just removing the sensor altogether and I answered that I didn't know if that would work long-term or not. You might have to call a dealer to see if they can answer your question.......Good luck......
How do you get the housing off? There were 2 screws on both sides behind the steering wheel and I found 1 screw underneath in the lower housing. I took all those out but I was afraid I'd break something but trying to pull it apart. I wish you had put that in the video.
Mine came apart with just a small amount of prying action-the hard part was wrestling it over the key fob once the two halves were separated. I have a lot of experience removing interior panels on cars due to more than a decade of auto glass installation work so it seemed fairly easy to me. Hope that you managed to get it done.
I did get it apart and found the sensor. I removed the 2 screws and took the sensor off. The key just came out. The sensor had rubber on the bottom that was melted so I picked it all off. I reattached the sensor and everything was fine. So I put it all back together and then when I tried to start my car, nothing happened. I got a bunch of weird error/warning messages. The lights all came on but turning the key nothing happened. I went out and tried it this morning and the message was some sort of transmission message. Now I don't know what to do. It's my only car so if you have any advice, let me know.
Been a while but I think it was just a phillips. Only a handful of screws all together. Haven't had a problem with it since I pulled the rubber stopper out......Thanks for the comment!!!!! Hope the video was helpful!!!!!
I'm not sure if you can just remove the whole sensor without creating a further issue-I definitely thought about that when I was dealing with mine. I haven't had a further problem since I removed the rubber grommet on the bottom of the sensor- is this what you did?
@@Thecoutch yes I cleaned it, it worked fine after testing it and then put it back and had the same problem the day after! Left it off for now and I’ll see if any further problems arise.
@@avohman Just make sure you remove both the little plastic 'cap' on the outside, which deteriorates and gets sticky, and the grommet inside the little hole.
Good evening can someone please help me with my 2008 Smart Fortwo passion it just stop turning on after the battery died put in a new alternator, started safety break switch new spark plugs grease up the clutch and my car still won’t crank or start any ideas please help Txs
Sure wish that would have worked for me! I must have hit mine a hundred times to no avail. That's why I had to pull it all apart and find the sensor.......
Here's another fix: Buy a newer car! My car isn't new, but my key never leaves my pocket. I do have to get the batteries in the Fob replaced, but the locks and ignition are push buttons. Handy!
Can you believe this happens to a car with only a few thousand miles on it? Thought that I would be avoiding problems by buying a newer model car but no such luck. Mercedes loves their sensors but why they have this one in the first place I have no idea. At least I was able to fix it myself......
Oh wow, this happened again on our new 453. Same fix….but this time the rubber was very sticky and took a few digs to get it out..
Thanks again John, that’s 2 i owe you.
Hard to believe that they keep using that same flawed design-lots of automotive engineers have no real world experience working on cars.
Simply brilliant, thank you very much for posting this as this was the exact fix. I would never have thought to remove that grommet.
Glad to be of help- I haven't had another problem with mine since I removed that grommet!
Excellent explanation. Saved me a lot of head ache. 2018 smart fortwo coupe electric drive. It seems like the outside skin that held the grommet in place deteriorated, letting the grommet rotate and block the mechanical sensor from disengaging, as you say. Because my key was stuck in the ignition, I could not remove the bottom half of the steering column shell, so had to use some forceps to pry it out. Only tried this quick fix based on your suggestion. So, from one physiologist to another: Thanks!
So glad it helped. I was able to remove the lower half cover on mine but just barely. The key fob was in the way but had just enough leeway to slip it over. Haven't had a further problem with mine since I removed the grommet. Hope the same for you!
Brilliant thanks got me out of a problem
Great to hear!
Well done on this very helpful video, helped me out when our Smart 453 key got stuck, thanks, Ed, Somerset, UK
So glad that it helped you out!!!
Thank you sir… mine got stuck and just thumping in that area released it whilst turning but I’ll do the preventative measure you suggested. Kudos to you sir!
Glad to help-haven't had a single problem with mine since I removed the rubber stopper.
@@Thecoutch so your direction to the problem was spot on. It’s often referred to as “sticky button” syndrome. The “rubber” cover has degraded and the structural integrity has failed and it’s gone to mush. So I followed your guidance. I’ve made a video and will put it up soon and show you as the inspiration.
Thank you sir! Have a blessed week ahead and thanks for sharing
Thanks so much for this video, the exact help that was needed, God blessings from the UK.
Thrilled that I could be of assistance!!!
This got us out of a bind, thanx . . .
Glad to hear it
No where close to being auto mechanically inclined am I.
I had this happened a couple of weeks ago, by reading the smart car form and Watch.
The couple of the youtube videos, I felt Is confident I could do the job.
I purchased the starbit From home depot and went to work.
The hardest thing was trying to remove the lower With the key still in place, With patience and a little fineggling The steering column was fully exposed.
Again using the starbit, The Ignition solenoid was removed.
It was quite simple to remove The sticky rubber From the bottom end of the solonoid.
I left the housing off of the steering column In case Further work needed to be done.
All was well for about four days, When the pin For a second time.
I clean the remaining sticky rubber off the back end of the solenoid and gave the pin.And a good dose of graphite. By turning the key on and off to make the pin work back and forth and add it a little more graphite.
After.
Waiting in additional three Or four days, I replaced the housing. It's.
Now been a Couple of months without any further problems.
I saw no need to drill a hole in the steering column housing.
Thanks for this informative and helpful video! That rubber grommet seems like a design flaw. The electromagnet is always hot, and it seems like the rubber disintegrates over time. It gets sticky, and gets drawn into the chamber when the pin recedes, and then the pin can't retract. I assume its purpose is to keep the mechanism clean... ironic!
Thanks for the comment! I haven't had another issue with the key since I removed that little piece of rubber! Definitely a design flaw like you said!
Leslie-I never disconnected the sensor on mine - I only removed the grommet. I had someone else ask about just removing the sensor altogether and I answered that I didn't know if that would work long-term or not. You might have to call a dealer to see if they can answer your question.......Good luck......
How do you get the housing off? There were 2 screws on both sides behind the steering wheel and I found 1 screw underneath in the lower housing. I took all those out but I was afraid I'd break something but trying to pull it apart. I wish you had put that in the video.
Mine came apart with just a small amount of prying action-the hard part was wrestling it over the key fob once the two halves were separated. I have a lot of experience removing interior panels on cars due to more than a decade of auto glass installation work so it seemed fairly easy to me. Hope that you managed to get it done.
I did get it apart and found the sensor. I removed the 2 screws and took the sensor off. The key just came out. The sensor had rubber on the bottom that was melted so I picked it all off. I reattached the sensor and everything was fine. So I put it all back together and then when I tried to start my car, nothing happened. I got a bunch of weird error/warning messages. The lights all came on but turning the key nothing happened. I went out and tried it this morning and the message was some sort of transmission message. Now I don't know what to do. It's my only car so if you have any advice, let me know.
Thank you for the video! What type of screwdriver did you use to open the car up?
Been a while but I think it was just a phillips. Only a handful of screws all together. Haven't had a problem with it since I pulled the rubber stopper out......Thanks for the comment!!!!! Hope the video was helpful!!!!!
T-20 torque screwdriver on 2018 smart
Can you use the car without the sensor? I’ve removed the plastic and still have the problem
I'm not sure if you can just remove the whole sensor without creating a further issue-I definitely thought about that when I was dealing with mine. I haven't had a further problem since I removed the rubber grommet on the bottom of the sensor- is this what you did?
@@Thecoutch yes I cleaned it, it worked fine after testing it and then put it back and had the same problem the day after! Left it off for now and I’ll see if any further problems arise.
@@avohman Just make sure you remove both the little plastic 'cap' on the outside, which deteriorates and gets sticky, and the grommet inside the little hole.
Good evening can someone please help me with my 2008 Smart Fortwo passion it just stop turning on after the battery died put in a new alternator, started safety break switch new spark plugs grease up the clutch and my car still won’t crank or start any ideas please help Txs
Lol I just hit the dash a couple of times and the key came right out😂
Sure wish that would have worked for me! I must have hit mine a hundred times to no avail. That's why I had to pull it all apart and find the sensor.......
Here's another fix: Buy a newer car! My car isn't new, but my key never leaves my pocket. I do have to get the batteries in the Fob replaced, but the locks and ignition are push buttons. Handy!
Can you believe this happens to a car with only a few thousand miles on it? Thought that I would be avoiding problems by buying a newer model car but no such luck. Mercedes loves their sensors but why they have this one in the first place I have no idea. At least I was able to fix it myself......