I had this problem with my 04 smart car and took it to my local garage. They checked it over and the only thing they could find was my clutch was pretty worn and would need replacing. £1,060 later got it home no problem for a couple of weeks and the problem reappeared. Found this video and knew you were on to something as with engine running an couldn't get reverse putting in first gear and jerking forward would free it up. More online investigation turns out putting your foot on the foot brake resets the gearbox. Try having engine off but ignition on and push the foot brake and leave foot on for a while you can hear the gears resetting themselves. Ok I actually would have needed a new clutch eventually but doing it just after Christmas was a financial disaster I could have saved up for later on. Think smart, drive Smart 😎😎😎
You need to have the brake pedal press down when moving the gear lever I’ve found. As I quite often forget to put it in neutral after reversing into my parking space it does a similar thing. So having my brake pedal pressed whilst I change from neutral to reverse and back clears it.
My 1999 Smart City 450 was stuck for two weeks and had a similar issue and was showing it in Neutral. Did some shaking of the car like a crazed animal, emergency break up and down, shifting gears and then it just started. I just looked like someone who was losing their mind then suddenly became ecstatic. Not before trying to solve with normal things like spark plugs, wiring issues, coolant, etc. Who knew you could basically kick like some old Tube TV.
I believe it could be the brake light switch, it's a common problem on first generation smarts once it fails you find problems selecting the gears, about 7 quid on ebay, ps love the videos about the little roller skate 😅
There is an electric motor that moves between the gears, jiggling the car may take the tension off the gearbox and allow it to change, but it does sound like it's either a weak motor or a dodgy sensor. It's best to pay attention to it before it gets worse and leaves you stranded. The gearbox works like a motorcycle gearbox, but with a motor instead of a foot gear lever, any biker will tell you that neutral is often the hardest gear to select. If it was mine I'd start with changing the gear oil, because that's easy and often neglected, then clean test or replace the sensor, and then the motor. Also, if you have not done so yet, change the earth strap because they are notorious and cause all sorts of electrical issues that may seem unrelated.
thanks for sharing your experience here! Very useful. I have a 2001 smart for several years already. It got stuck in A now which is basiclly same as stuck in 1st gear.
had the same issue and just replaced the clutch actuator... got one from aliexpress, took the old one out, new one, did the flipping through the gears thing to calibrate, and off it went... easy fix, took more time to get out all the jacks and stuff, so changed the brake pads while i was at it. have also heard if you get stuck, you can give the actuator a light tap with a hammer.
Im having the same problem now. Gear register R, but clearly gear is on N and now I stuck in the parking near home. Luckily that happened at home, not somewhere in the middle of the street. I need to try your style 😅
Mine happened just now 12/19/2020 the maintenance icon just flashed and I got worried because I accidentally turned off the engine in D. And after driving for 20miles it got stacked with 1 gear. I parked and turned it off and waited for 8-10 tries. I turned my light off then it suddenly worked 🙏
It may be the clutch, gear selector, or both are going out of sink and require adjustment, or the actuator may be sticking and requires taking off and servicing(internal clean and lubrication)
this happened to me and it appears its common but its the BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH which has 4 contacts. two normally closed and two closed when foot applied to pedal to work brake lights and the normally closed two open. google brake light switch fail smart car and you will see this symptom quoted as to evidence of switch failure when the switch sticks and not making contact it causes the gearchange to fail and not change gear fairly easy to replace under the car after removing plastic underbody plastic shield panel the switch just unclips and are cheap Modern cars nothing seems logical anymore !!!
For whom who are watching this video it happened to me a second time and I couldn't get the car into natural ( n ) put your foot on the break and then try it again it will work .
У меня вчера была такая же проблема. Машина не хотела менять передачу, показывала на табло 0, либо три горизонтальные полоски. Отсоединил аккумулятор, покачал машину и после она завелась. Но в чём причина? Что нужно сделать, чтобы проблема ушла? У меня Smart 450, 2001 года.
For the past few days my 2003 smart for two wouldn’t select reverse so a few suggestions said disconnect the battery which I’ve just done. Now it won’t select reverse still or neutral and only stays in first gear meaning I can’t start the car of move it. It’s now stuck in the middle of my driveway. Not impressed with this car at all. Any ideas and suggestions appreciated (scrap it?)
It still does it sometimes - i need to rock the car back and forth and then it goes to Neurtral and i can start the car.... not properly fixed it yet !
I had this problem with my 04 smart car and took it to my local garage. They checked it over and the only thing they could find was my clutch was pretty worn and would need replacing. £1,060 later got it home no problem for a couple of weeks and the problem reappeared. Found this video and knew you were on to something as with engine running an couldn't get reverse putting in first gear and jerking forward would free it up. More online investigation turns out putting your foot on the foot brake resets the gearbox. Try having engine off but ignition on and push the foot brake and leave foot on for a while you can hear the gears resetting themselves. Ok I actually would have needed a new clutch eventually but doing it just after Christmas was a financial disaster I could have saved up for later on. Think smart, drive Smart 😎😎😎
You need to have the brake pedal press down when moving the gear lever I’ve found. As I quite often forget to put it in neutral after reversing into my parking space it does a similar thing. So having my brake pedal pressed whilst I change from neutral to reverse and back clears it.
This comment is very true
Yep just feed on break and it will work
Very good advice, will try that!
You have to have the ignition on and foot on the foot brake to remove from reverse or 1st to neutral. Simple really
My 1999 Smart City 450 was stuck for two weeks and had a similar issue and was showing it in Neutral. Did some shaking of the car like a crazed animal, emergency break up and down, shifting gears and then it just started. I just looked like someone who was losing their mind then suddenly became ecstatic. Not before trying to solve with normal things like spark plugs, wiring issues, coolant, etc. Who knew you could basically kick like some old Tube TV.
Thiis was soooo helpful im stuck right now in tge middle of the night in a bad area just shaked it bit and boom all good thaank you so much
Ahmed - glad you safe.... dont take a smart car into such a place !
I believe it could be the brake light switch, it's a common problem on first generation smarts once it fails you find problems selecting the gears, about 7 quid on ebay, ps love the videos about the little roller skate 😅
There is an electric motor that moves between the gears, jiggling the car may take the tension off the gearbox and allow it to change, but it does sound like it's either a weak motor or a dodgy sensor. It's best to pay attention to it before it gets worse and leaves you stranded. The gearbox works like a motorcycle gearbox, but with a motor instead of a foot gear lever, any biker will tell you that neutral is often the hardest gear to select. If it was mine I'd start with changing the gear oil, because that's easy and often neglected, then clean test or replace the sensor, and then the motor. Also, if you have not done so yet, change the earth strap because they are notorious and cause all sorts of electrical issues that may seem unrelated.
Where is the earth strap mine plays up could be an actuator an update a motor or earth who knows
thanks for sharing your experience here! Very useful. I have a 2001 smart for several years already. It got stuck in A now which is basiclly same as stuck in 1st gear.
had the same issue and just replaced the clutch actuator... got one from aliexpress, took the old one out, new one, did the flipping through the gears thing to calibrate, and off it went... easy fix, took more time to get out all the jacks and stuff, so changed the brake pads while i was at it. have also heard if you get stuck, you can give the actuator a light tap with a hammer.
thanks for the tip
Im having the same problem now. Gear register R, but clearly gear is on N and now I stuck in the parking near home. Luckily that happened at home, not somewhere in the middle of the street. I need to try your style 😅
how did you solve the problem with getting it out of R ?
Thanks a lot in advance
Hi👋 I have same problem with my Honda Civic about five years ago so I disconnected battery 🔋 for 10/15 minutes and it worked on Honda.
Thanks 🙏 🙏
Mine happened just now 12/19/2020 the maintenance icon just flashed and I got worried because I accidentally turned off the engine in D. And after driving for 20miles it got stacked with 1 gear. I parked and turned it off and waited for 8-10 tries. I turned my light off then it suddenly worked 🙏
It may be the clutch, gear selector, or both are going out of sink and require adjustment, or the actuator may be sticking and requires taking off and servicing(internal clean and lubrication)
I have an automated manual transmission 451 and i have to press the brakes every time i change otherwise it will be stuck.
Thanks mate it worked 👍
Cool !
this happened to me and it appears its common but its the BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH which has 4 contacts. two normally closed and two closed when foot applied to pedal to work brake lights and the normally closed two open. google brake light switch fail smart car and you will see this symptom quoted as to evidence of switch failure
when the switch sticks and not making contact it causes the gearchange to fail and not change gear
fairly easy to replace under the car after removing plastic underbody plastic shield panel the switch just unclips and are cheap
Modern cars nothing seems logical anymore !!!
Brilliant really helpful 👍
Glad it helped
is this the semi automatic or the automatic? I think from 2010 they have automatic. Is it any better the automatic?
You are a life saver
Excellent !
For whom who are watching this video it happened to me a second time and I couldn't get the car into natural ( n ) put your foot on the break and then try it again it will work .
Did you check if the H7 led lights would fit the freelander instead of the Hll 711 thanks
You just saved me thank you oh my god
Drive safe my friend !
Smart manual states to ''park the car select reverse gear and remove key''
Obrigado!!!!!!!!
У меня вчера была такая же проблема. Машина не хотела менять передачу, показывала на табло 0, либо три горизонтальные полоски. Отсоединил аккумулятор, покачал машину и после она завелась. Но в чём причина? Что нужно сделать, чтобы проблема ушла? У меня Smart 450, 2001 года.
Thanks pal.
That sounds like a switch on a transmission shaft , as you rock it , it makes contact , u can use that method to fault a startor motor
Thanks 😊 for this one more video
Thanks
For the past few days my 2003 smart for two wouldn’t select reverse so a few suggestions said disconnect the battery which I’ve just done. Now it won’t select reverse still or neutral and only stays in first gear meaning I can’t start the car of move it. It’s now stuck in the middle of my driveway. Not impressed with this car at all. Any ideas and suggestions appreciated (scrap it?)
Did you try rocking it back and forth ?
@@L663 sorry for very late reply, yes I tried rocking it without success. in the end it was the actuator which was fixed by my local garage.
Even after replacing the actuator I still continue getting stuck and won't go into any gear and have to let sit 5 minutes to reset transmission
I put into neutral everytime I park and remove the key
I just press the brake and it takes it out first and puts it back in neutral
Got the same issue did you fix it
It still does it sometimes - i need to rock the car back and forth and then it goes to Neurtral and i can start the car.... not properly fixed it yet !
Set fire to it and claim the insurance !
Desbloquear Smart llaves son pilas
It's probably all that Rust you painted on it that's making it stick in gear! 👍
yes it could have impacted the fine weight balance of the vehicle.... indeed
Weird
Me or the fault ? or maybe both !
This smart isn’t really smart.....
its a smurtcar. real smurt.
The most unreliable cars on cars on earth !