Smart Car with THREE Stupid Problems That Other Shops REFUSED to Fix!
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- Опубліковано 4 лют 2025
- This 2013 Smart ForTwo Pure has three problems that no local shop was willing to take on. What do I find and see how easy they are to resolve.
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What an absolute treat to see our smart car featured on the Car Wizard! My wife and I towed it on a trailer from Nebraska on the 6th (Saturday) and left it down there after talking to Dave the scheduler. This Smart car was an ebay purchase and it was originally a leased vehicle out of Alabama. It's been in a wreck in the past and I had to pound the steering shaft back down to get the turn signals to auto cancel and replace the clockspring. The sensor Dave speaks of is under there under one of the fenders I think. Since someone had been under there before me, I found a dangling sensor underneath it all and moved it somewhere off to the side so I don't think he's going to find a pinched wire from my horn bracket. The problem didn't manifest itself until sometime later after the horn install. The other problem I mentioned is after the car warms up, it will go into a limp mode and cut out so bad you can barely do 10mph along the highway and since my wife drives it daily 100 miles round trip into Lincoln, it's not a safe position to be in. I'm just as big of a guy as scheduler Dave and I've had this Smart up to 80mph on interstate 80 numerous times. When I did my code scan on it last year, I got a code for a lean condition on one of the cylinders (can't remember which one) which made me immediately suspect intake gaskets. We carry a spare tire in a bag in the back area and Dave evidently removed it for the video shoot. We carry a jack and tire wrench in the tailgate. Now you know why that ring was in the carpet.
and the mousetrap? 8-)
We live in the country and get mice in stuff. If you removed the carpet and looked at the positive battery lead, there is a piece of mouse chewed foam on the wire. I installed a new battery the day before that I picked up in Des Moines from the MB dealership and I vacuumed out some mouse droppings and foam bits in the battery compartment. I caught that culprit, but all my cars have traps in them and it's proven to be a good idea. I had no idea Dave was going to use our Smart in the video or I would have put the wheel covers back on to make it look nicer. I've been trying to get the Smart car down there since February of 2023 and if I had known the blower was that easy to get to, I'd have done it myself, but I'm thrilled to bits to see this for future reference.
@@Cranbum I lived in Omaha during my high school years. I loved it too... in my rear-view mirror! The scenery was OK (back then, marijuana grew wild), but I could not fit into the uptight culture.
Thanks for sharing your car's story. My compliments on that horn. I put a two-tone Camaro horn into my little Scion FR-S. That wimpy "beep" did not command attention in tight situations. Yours almost sounds like a locomotive horn!
@@LazloNQ That thing is a pos.
I live in europe and my neighboors have 2 of these. One of them comes home later when there's no avaiable spots but these little shjts are so small that they can park in just 1 bay lol
Smart man😂
I've seen photos of two parked in one bay. There was a real estate agent here in Australia who only had one bay allocated to their building. They bought 2 and parked them in the one bay
Calling them little shjts is hilarious 😭
Yes these are tiny. I was in Germany in 2008 and lots of small cars but a smart car was noticeable for how much smaller it was in comparison! I am not sure I have ever seen more than 1 or 2 of them in the US, but I don't get into larger cities often.
@@DaveP-uv1ml probably much faster than some of the old East German stuff
Had one come in our shop just for tires. The salesman said we don’t work on them. I was a mechanic, but did a lot of sales because, well, when it is slow in the back, I get bored and look for something to do. I chased the guy out into the parking lot and invited him back in. Found him some tires. Then he looked at the brakes and asked to get them replaced. Might as well do the struts while it is here. Didn’t have to sell him anything. He just got tired of no at other shops, and wanted to get everything done when he could.
I work for a tow company. Had a smart car come in hit by a semi. Car rolled 5 times before coming to a stop. Driver came in the next day to get personal stuff out. A little sore but otherwise unhurt. So they do have very spectacular crashes but the roll cage is remarkably effective at preventing serious injury.
Oh definitely.
I was t-boned on a roundabout and only injured when I put my hand in front of my eyes as the glsss roof shattered.
I would have preferred being in the cabrio.
This right here! Folks dont realize how incredibly well built that roll cage is haha. 😎👌
Rolled a 2009 in the rain. No scratches what so ever.
Tiny car with a big-rig air horn blaster? I LOVE IT!!! 🤯📢🤣
They are electric GM horns. They sure have a big sound though! :)
@@LazloNQ Happen to know the part number? -or what vehicles it might have been used on to look it up? Thanks.
@@cpear760 Many of the stately GM vehicles from the 70s through 90s used them. These are from a 1989/1990 Buick Park Avenue. Cadillacs of the same era used them.
@@LazloNQ Thanks!
I need to replace mine. Thinking about a truck’s
Hi Wizard, I had a smart car for 3 years and I loved it for around town. I paid $4500 for it. Drove it 3 yrs and sold it for $4500, it was a great car and it never broke down. Thanks Wizard 👍
For 4500 it's a great deal. I was looking at one back when they were 45000 and it's like "no, no thank you."
the local police dept in the city i live in has 4 smart cars that are police cars! i think they got them in a drug bust or something...
@@dylanlindsay1993 Haha! Drug dealers who drive Smart Cars? Is that Munchkinland?
So now we know how they got them. Couldn't have been a very long chase!
@@PAHighlander24unless they’re Brabus 🤣💪🏼
The blower motor in my BMW was an 8 hour job to replace! Brilliant Smart Car designers!
One other commenter said he had 3 of these fan motors go during his ownership of a Smart car.
Maybe better a fan made of ductile steel rather than plastic... (steel flexes but doesn't break off blades)
Blower motor on a BMW 1series is under the passenger glove box.
@@JohnSmith-pl2bk Plastic is a better material for fan blades. Smart/Merc just used the wrong plastic. CAD design doesn’t help because it removes common sense from the design process.
My diesel car has an injection pressure problem. It stalls the engine. OMG the injectors or the main pump have failed.
The scanner shows low fuel pressure but the graph curve shows virtually no pressure. There’s no leak so where is the fuel going? It’s actually the fuel filter which has a fuel temperature sensor (throw back to electric heated filter). It’s reading high and causing fuel to go straight back to the tank. New filter unit. No more problem. If I knew the correct resistance from the sensor I could bypass the silly sensor.
Problem looks bad but it’s really a cheap fix.
whole dash out job eh
A friend of mine has one. He loves it. Been super reliable for him and his wife.
I worked with a big guy that had a smart car as his daily driver. He was t boned at an intersection by a fast moving full sized car and he was not injured , but the smart car was totaled. He was told that due to his light weight car being pushed along through the intersection with little resistance and the steel protection cage he escaped injury
The roll cage is built very well. When my wife first got hers, I was looking underneath for the jack points. I found a huge piece of round steel which wraps around the whole car (that black line that bends in the door is the roll cage).
Yes, my co-worker had a similar occurrence. It was a slower speed accident and he walked away.
My daughter has had one for about 12 years and has had a pretty good experience. I've driven it and it's a bit better than I expected. It actually feels surprisingly roomy and bright, and then you turn to look behind you and nearly find your nose on the back window. Great around town.
It feels like a normal car but it is only the sears nothing else.
Bought onee a few months ago and still tryingbto get use to the rear window being right there when you turn around😂 But i am surprisingly enjoying this lil car after owning 28 different brand cars.
Remove the opposing vane to balance it since it's SO easy to service if the motor DOES fail in three months. $150 is not cheap for most people, especially on an old car.
I'm trying to keep the car as original as possible so I'm glad Dave is putting an OEM fan in it. Better quality in my opinion.
Absolutely, no need to replace the unit. You beat me to it.
Still it'd been better to have done it early because the bearings could be shot by now.
I was going to say the same thing!
I thought sure as hell when you opened the engine compartment there would be three squirrels running on a treadmill
no, they actually run on the blower motor..with that missing blade they all fell out!
@@adotintheshark4848LOL 🤣
lol underrated comment
It would probably be faster.
Absolutely go OEM. I made the mistake of buying a cheap Chineseium blower assembly and the pos was out of balance and vibrating brand new!
Yes I'm all about OEM parts. That is where you often find quality.
I love that horn!
I wonder how many people thought they were going to get run over by a truck when that was used? 🤣
I should try fitting that in my Fiat 500! 😂
This is my Smart Car I did the mod on. I put in heavy duty wiring and a relay so the smart car horn button triggers the relay and the current comes right from the battery to drive it. I told my wife if you're gonna use them, use 'em good and long. She's held them down for 15 to 20 seconds before because guys in pickups cut her off and pull out in front of her. The best defense is an offense! LOL!
I have these stock in my 1981 Seville. I had to repair them- but they sure do the job when they need to be used. Kudos to the owner for installing a full set on the Smart! 😂
@@mahatma171 Thank You! It's for my wife dealing with Lincoln traffic.
the stock horn isn't bad, it's not a "meep meep"horn and it's fairly loud.
Actually fun fact. the motor in the 451 smarts are not Dailmer motors, they are provided from Mitsubishi. since the 450 smarts had issues with their motors.
you beat me to it
but isn’t mitshubishi part of daimler ?
@@jamesstudioanimation9410 No, that's Mitusbishi Fuso Trucks. Mitsubishi Motors is part of Renault-Nissan.
@@jamesstudioanimation9410 Nope. As of now Mitsubishi is partnered with Nissan. They were fully independent from 1991 to 2016.
Last week I was surprised to see what looked like a Mitsubishi i-MiEV with an exhaust pipe. It turns out the i-MiEV was based on the rear engined ICE Mitsubishi i which probably used a very similar engine. Edit checked the numbers i = 3B20. Smart = 3B21.
I had a 2005 450 Cabrio. In Canada, they started arriving (only diesels) in late 2004 when we bought ours. Did all $ervice$ at M-B - quite a shock since I also had a 2005 CTS which was under a four year full maintenance program (standard at the time and Cadillac took care of EVERYTHING). The idea behind the Tridion shell is that it was made of extremely strong Boron alloy steel - the car was designed to bounce away from crashes with VERY minor collapse. Inside, you were protected by very strong seats with pyrotechnic belt tensioners, again, the idea that the car would keep you properly in your seat. Add standard stability control, anti-lock brakes and air bags all over the place and you were quite safe. ANY small car is not going to fare well against a semi, but if I had to choose which small car to be in if a crash was going to happen, the smart would be it, hands down.
I drove it Toronto to Tampa twice and even did a lap of the Indianapolis 500 track during race week one year. Surprisingly competent on the highway. People who think otherwise simply have not had seat time in one. The 450 a/c broke completely five times in four years, but all repairs were under warranty (had an extended package). It was a perfect city car too and with paddle shifters quite fun to drive. M-B service was horrible and based on my experience, I will never buy a M-B product again. By air, by land, by sea, Mercedes ain't getting any more from me!
The A/C on the 450/452 have very weak hoses that cracks. I have the 452 roadster, which is very similar despite appearances. I absolutely adore that car, 120bhp remapped and 790kgs, very easy to work on.
I got 2 of these convertible smarties and its like driving a street legal roller coaster car... so much fun!
"Nothing crazy back there"😂😂😅 I've hauled a 22k window a/c unit and also a 38 gallon water heater in mine, among other things.
I used to love working on smart cars back in my dealership days so simple to work on and diagnose
Hi Wizard, great honest review of the smart. Love your work. I live in Lisbon, and this smart, is my companion every day to go to work. Mine is a little bit more complicated, because it's a diesel (CDI). You are right, not all mechanics deal with this kind of car, because in the engine bay, it is very tight. Fortunately, I have a "wizard" here in Portugal, that is an expert in these kinds of cars. If it’s necessary, he can easily that the engine out, with the removal of some plastics, bolts and trims... The worst is the gearbox, like you said it is a manual with an automatic actuator, and has a mind of it’s own :) Sometimes it can reach far into my nerves, and my only wish is to put him in a ditch, but then I remember that, no other car moves around town like this, is very economical, park’s everywhere, and it's surprisingly spacious inside for the size. Makes me forget the gearbox and harsh ride... Keep up the good work. Regards from Lisbon.
the EV version has none of those issues you mention of course, its only drawback is limited range about 70 miles.
@@adotintheshark4848 true, I have droved it. Though it has the harsh ride of the diesel. ;)
@@junkyardsleeperhazard2964 they all have a jittery ride because they are small cars with small tires.
@@adotintheshark4848 You have to change the suspension for a softer ride, but beware body roll.
Soften it too much and it'll fail the elk test.
These cars are all over Paris. Very popular there.
They're everywhere in Rome also.
> Very popular there.
So is Jerry Lewis
In the early 2000's I visited Paris as a teenager and was crazy about the Smart ForFour of that era. As well as the Smart Roadster, what more could you ask for? It's a wonder they never brought more Smart models to the US
You can buy them at Big Box Stores. they come on a pallet wrapped in plastic.
Citroen, Buick Regal Grand National, Lada, and Smart. That’s some automotive diversity you’ve got there! I rented a Smart very similar to that one, and thought I was going to die within the next five miles. But, once I was used to it, no problem. Got it up to 100 mph on a straight country road. Really neat little cars.
The train horns made me happy. I have a set on my 1981 Seville… stock.
We have them on our 1989 Buick Park Avenue which my wife drives daily 100 miles. She gets a lot of looks with the custom deer crash guard on the front, but that crash guard helped her survive a collision with a deer a few years back. Those horns honk with authority!
I loved my Smart car. Solid, very safe, reliable, efficient, and fun. It is basically a shopping cart with bigger wheels and a roof. I had matching storage boxes that filled out the trunk. The passenger seat folds down for hauling larger items. Mine also did great on ice and snow. Too bad they did not sell the 70mpg Diesel version here.
It is a city car. Using diesel engine due to DPF filter clogging in towns would go against the design concept. There are other suitable 70 mpg diesel cars out there for extra urban driving.
@@igorkratka I used mine to commute between Frankfurt and Stuttgart Germany. Worked great. Most 70 mpg never made it to the United States (where I live now).
@@igorkratka Usually European diesel cars had a DPF only after 2008/9 (Euro 5 standard). Many of these are older than that.
@@Vorrester Good to know. I sold mine in 2004.
All right! Up to now I’m the only person I know that used the “soccer ball” analogy!
The Power Ranger reference made me spit my coffee! 😂😂😂
Love the Wizard!
Wow. A mechanic that likes smarties. Not only that, but there is a Lada and a Citroen DS in the background. As a current smartie owner and a former Lada owner this is my kind of shop. 😁
These were very popular in San Francisco when they first came out . Problem #1- if you park it at 90 degrees between parallel parked cars ? The city tows you for improper parking never mind that they fit . Problem #2 - the real problem - the teenagers make a game of picking them up ( literally) and putting them in increasingly dangerous/humorous positions and places . Once it became a social media competition the Smart Car was finished in San Francisco.
I got hit by a semi in a 1978 Mazda GLC when i was 20. Lived to tell about it, but it did go flying into the median grassy area between the interstate, turned over and stopped on the driver’s side. Neither one of is was wearing a seatbelt.
This was fun to see a smart car up close, love Mrs.Wizard’s interior views😊
We have had two of these. It is FANTASTIC car as long as you realize what it is. It is a go-to-work, grocery getter, run errands 2nd car. It is NOT the car you drive 500 miles to the beach, though I have. The absolute lowest total cost of ownership car you will ever have, as long as you take care of it, and do the scheduled maint. (DO NOT use Mercedes for this!) 2nd one ended earlier this year when it was clobbered from behind at a light by a heavy hybrid at high speed. Thank god for Mercedes Safety Engineering!
the EV was even better. Almost no maintenance and what there is you can do for yourself. And the drive train, being electric, doesn't have the issues the gas powered car did. If you can live with the 70 mile range, it is a "smart" car!
I used to commute UK-Belgium in Mine regularly.
Bought it because I was overtaken by one along the coast road driving my Citroen BX.
Actually bought two, his'n'hers.
You don't need to worry about grandpa getting short of breath walking around this car. Hilarious comment from Mrs. Wizard about the horn. Loved it!
A while back Wizard had a Smart in the shop that no one could diagnose. He sprayed some starter fluid in it and it fired right up. Smart. Reminds me of a scene in Sling Blade.
"It ain't got no gas in it."
My diesel responded well to a can of "Start ya Bastard" when the fuel pump failed.
Got it to Mercedes where they took an arm and a leg, but fixed it same day.
Quite a few rv’ers use these to puts around when they’re parked. They fit on the back of a class 8 tractor and still have room for a fifth wheel trailer.
What a lot of people don't know is that this Smart sat with a dead battery for a few months and the day before we took it down there, I installed a new battery so any codes it had would have more than likely been erased. What it will eventually do is go into limp mode on the highway and throw a lean code on one of the cylinders. I suspect intake gaskets. It's all in my notes I left him and Dave simply didn't cover it because he's not that far into it yet. The sensor thing is new - never saw that code before and the horns have been in there for about 6 years now.
Goddamn it, pin this comment, Wizard!
Did he ever fix it?
On earlier models the temperature sensor is on the outside in the front panel.
I had an aircon fault because a stone hit it and snapped it off (it was only plastic).
We had a 2nd gen US market smart and absolutely loved it! The dual clutch transmission made it so much more drivable. 40k miles driven each year. Service was pricey, but as long as we stayed on top of it, no issues.
Only reason we sold it was due to moving across country. We miss that xar SO much!
I’ve actually had 2 of these. The 451 model, albeit in cabrio form. Here in SA 🇿🇦 it’s (bizarrely) sold as a slightly premium product, which further limited appeal. But we do get a turbo version of the same motor which vastly improves performance.
Fascinating to see things like manual window winders and a “Park” position, we never had those.
Both my smart cars were utterly problem free. Mechanically they’re simpler than the 450 version. The motor is actually a Mitsubishi unit, fairly robust and very reliable. The transmission is simpler too (5 speeds vs 6), although it’s still an AMT so shifts are mostly an exercise in patience.
They can be fun to drive, especially in turbo form. It has way more cornering ability than it has any right to possess 😅
It’s a niche product, always will be. But if you have space for one of these in your life, it can be useful fun in the right situations.
Well said. My wife and I like quirky cars...something different. The miles have been mostly trouble free. I've already learned some cool stuff about my Smart Car that I didn't know before by watching this video. My wife finds it incredibly easy to maneuver in traffic with it and misses being able to drive it. It's got a lean condition that puts it in limp mode and so I'm expecting to have intake gaskets replaced, but I'm not positive on that. I'll let the Wizard figure it out while I'm doing a timing belt replacement on my Ford Contour with the Zetec engine.
is yours the Brabus version?
@@adotintheshark4848 sadly not, we never officially got those here.
You didn't have the clutch-wearing "creep" feature to make it feel like a slush box either.
@@smartwombat9116 You’re right. I actually forgot that you were saddled with that unnecessary feature. The smart of course had perfectly functional Hill Start Assist, which made the creep function redundant. But I guess if they were trying to disguise the AMT as a regular automatic, that made sense to them at the time.
I had an 800cc Diesel one, it was excellent. I then had a petrol 2013 cabriolet one for a while too. We just picked up another 2013 one as a cheap run around here in the UK. They are fun to drive :)
A friend of mine had a diesel smart car (we're Canadian) it had to be fueled with Super Diesel but it was a great car. He commuted daily from Oshawa to Toronto Pearson Airport on the Highway with no issues. He downloaded the shop manual and did all his own work easily. He is an AME.
I helped out on a few mods to improve the creature comforts inside. I'm a shade tree hot rodder. Lol.
They are super reliable and easy to work on.
In Europe they had a sweet roadster version I wish we got here.
I have a roadster. Remapped to 120bhp, it's 790kgs and very nimble. It holds its own against a S1 Elise on the track, barely but it does.
I have a 2008 passion, loaded with all the options. Changed the valve cover gasket, put new plugs and ignition coils myself. Bit hard to reach a few valve cover bolts but not impossible. Added more speakers behind the seats and a backup camera. Getting ready to add round fog/driving lights. Goes like a bat out of hell and way safer than the motocycles i got rid of. And i can drive it in any weather so better than motorcycles. You are sitting in a full titanium roll cage so it is the safest vehicle you can imagine. Safe as a formula one car.
spot-on, and you got all the bells and whistles that could come on a Smart!
For a car that's so simple and cheaply made, it's a shame Mercedes wanted almost $20k for these cars when they were new.
If Mercedes would have priced these cars at around $10k new, it probably would have outsold the Volkswagen bug.
AND THE REST. Here in Australia they were like over US$30000
The problem in the US wasn’t the cars, it was the dealer network. Very little margin selling a cheap car both upfront and in finance, so not worth investing a lot of effort into.
@@stemerri6020
Reading comments re MB servicing costs....
the dealers would have made some coin by servicing..
if they were not greedy they could have had a really good thing going especially with retired folks.......
something else Mercedes did with the EV Smart, when they first came out you had to lease the battery from Mercedes. It destroyed sales and by the time Mercedes wised up the damage was done.
When the Smart car was first introduced it had an msrp of 16,000 euros. Most sales were to urban professionals for cash. The concept was to apply the SWATCH group model to the automove sector.
The VW Beetle was a fun car to drive, but not particularly fuel efficient for it's payload. My first 3 cars were Beetles. The Smart Car is a far more sophisticated vehicle. No one wants to change their oil every 3,000 miles, and adjust the valves as frequently as the Beetle requires.
I love my 2012 Smart!
I found a place less than a mile from my house and they’ve never had an issue with anything!!! It’s a little expensive because it’s basically a Mercedes but it’s totally worth it. Parking is atrocious up here in Nj but this little guy/ girl is perfect for getting home and parking it almost anywhere.
Wouldn’t trade it for anything! Love your channel❤
You found a smart car mechanic in NJ? Who, where?
Bergen Imports. Cliffside Park, NJ
The contrast between the horn and smart car is absolutely hilarious to me! LOL
Though I was tempted to do something like that for my 08 Mustang, because for some reason people need a bit louder of a horn in my area.
I just love the idea of surprising someone with a horn that shouldn't belong on certain cars.
I love these cars, so much fun to drive even though they are slow and not bad to work on.
When I worked at O'Reilly's there was a young nurse who came in with a smart fortwo that needed a new battery. She already had all the panels off and I realized it wasn't all too different from other domestic cars I had done batteries on. In fact after I did the smart battery I realized I had more trouble doing a Ford Focus ST than the smart!
Panels??? The Smart Four Two has its battery under the passenger floor board cover carpet. It's very important to remove the battery cables in the proper order to avoid frying the ECM.
@@ronhall3686 What order is that?
My smart had the battery under floor on passengers side in dry of seat
That horn is awesome!!! Now it needs a single 1,000,000 lumen light on the top and then you'll have a Smart Train for 2
When I was bumming around the Minnesota northwoods, I actually saw one of these fitted out with a "Mattracks" track conversion kit! The most ridiculous little car I've ever seen, but in the winter, it'd be a heck of a lot more convenient than getting the snowmobile ready!
Now that I would love to see!
Fun to watch this. I have a 2006 Smart Fortwo diesel Passion and I love it. I'm the third owner (bought it in 2016). I was so pleased to find a local mechanic here in southern Alberta willing to work on it.
What a great UA-cam channel! Car Wizard is.
Thanks for featuring the Smart car again. I own two of them along with a 2008 Ford Escape. Those interior seats were definitely covered with an aftermarket seat cover. The engine is made by Mitsubishi and not Mercedes. I have a 2008 Smart that I use as an around town car in Florida and my wife drives a 2013 that we use both in Florida and then Massachusetts in the summer. The general consensus is that the A/C units are fairly awful. On a long trip the A/C seems to shut itself down for awhile in order to not overheat the engine. Works great on short trips, but not so great on a 1,400 mile trip. I've had no engine problems with either vehicle so far. Both have been reliable, but you are right about most mechanics. They don't want to touch them. Would love to see a follow up video on this car and the repairs that you make to it.
Yes you're correct. He didn't mention that those are in fact an aftermarket seat cover designed just for the smart car. My wife and I installed them. It uses a lot of velcro and strings that both like to come undone, but it helps protect the original seats since this little smart gets a lot of sun. The roof is peeling pretty bad on it too.
Top Speed : 90mph (governed)
Speedometer : always reads 2mph faster than actual
You can't see the engine temp w/o an OBDII reader. But if you opt for the accessories gauges, you get a tachometer and an extra clock.
The model presented here, smart fortwo 451 (2008-2015) came in pure (shown), passion, and cabriolet.
smart : Swatch Mercedes ART
Windshield wiper sizes : 23" (driver), 21" (passenger) (front) and 9" (rear)
Taillights : (Euro version) has amber turn signals ; One of the backup lights will be a rear fog light
Interior : roomy ; I'm 6'5" and find most other cars cramped
Spare tire : there isn't one ; there's an inflation kit and the car's battery underneath the passenger's carpet
Tailgate : the tailgate has a compartment that can hold a roadside kit, first aid kit, spare bulb kit, compact umbrella, pen flashlight, and owner's manual
and in the case of this one, it holds a jack and a tire iron to operate it. I have a specific place where I position the jack so it won't bobble all around in the tailgate. Wizard pulled out my spare tire bag which sits in the back. That was that ring you could see in the carpet from where the spare sits.
@@LazloNQ 4:45 14:55 Ok, I see it now. ✅
BTW, does your car have cruise control? Your wiper arm look like it has that ring on it.
@@cpear760I added cruise control to my friend’s former 2009 451 - plug & play! I do not know where he purchased the cruise control kit.
The 451 featured in this video is black with silver body panels which are all interchangeable with others of the same year & model (many people wrongly believe the panel color is the paint color - they’re mostly two-toned).
@@randyfitz8310 Yes, we swapped our blue-silver to silver-silver because we couldn't order another set of blue panels.
I love the analogy and sound effect of a soccer ball! Made my day!
I have owned 15!!!! Of this SMART cars , love them to pieces ❤ Great cars to work on if you know them , it’s so much videos online how to fix
Smart ForTwo best car 🚘
Purchased a 2009 Smart to pull behind my motorhome. I also drive it around Kansas City on errands as it gets great gas mileage. It shifts great but is a bit sluggish out of first gear in Drive mode but switch to "Sport" mode and it responds much better out of first. I appreciate the Car Wizards honest Smart Car evaluation and may be driving to Newton for brakes etc.
Glad to see the wizard actually doing some work again. Keep it up.
Living in the UK and working on european cars, these are indeed very simple and just a bunch of rebadged Mercedes parts. They're quite common here, the quality is mid level to good, reliability is pretty good. They are simple engines and so simple to fix. As the UK loves to take everything but your fillings for insurance payments, they are a good choice for cheaper insurance and good on fuel too. As for the tall seats, fun fact, they were originally that tall to improve the safety of passengers during a crash if the car flips or is crushed from above, they sort of "hold back" the roof crushing downwards. But honestly, in a high speed collision, you won't have time to blink before you meet your maker 😅
The story of the mechanic who ripped off the hood and couldn't find the Smart engine reminds me of the Matra Murena, a mid-engined French sports car of the 1980s, which I bought in the year 2000. It had an unknown service history so I figured an oil change was due and took it to a local Kwik Fit, kind of like Jiffy Lube in the USA. Anyway, the senior mechanic knew what it was and even knew it took a Citroën oil filter, which another senior mechanic grabbed from the shelf while recalling memories to the Matra Bagheera he drove back in the 1970s. They handed the filter to an apprentice and told him to change the oil. The apprentice walked to the car, opened the driver's door, pulled the bonnet release, opened the bonnet and... stared into a void, with only a battery, washer fluid bottle and steering rack. While the onlooking senior mechanics were trying to keep a straight face, the kid looked at me and said "Sir! I cannot find the engine!"
I pulled the rear hatch release handle hidden in the B-pillar, removed the engine cover and showed him where the engine was: right behind the seats. The kid had obviously never seen a mid-engined car in his life.
Meanwhile, there were two senior mechanics literally rolling over the floor laughing...
I agree. I've been a mechanic for 45 years and I have worked on several of these Smarts. I get the same thing with Subaru's, which are very easy to work on. So many technicians hate them.
You have to be turning work away left and right because you are one of the only reputable and honest mechanic shops I have ever seen. I tell everyone about your channel. I've seen about every episode and I'm a subscriber. Great videos!!!
car wizard is the type of guy do what I say, dont do what I do. He tells people not to buy unreliable cars then goes out and buys a dodge and maserati which are unreliable cars...
he seems smart and honest though just take his opinions with a grain of salt, this is a TV show.
@@potatochobit
The wizard has the ability to fix the garbage that he buys himself, your average customer doesn't have the ability to fix the garbage they buy themselves.
@@potatochobitit really depends on what you can do yourself. If you are familiar with fixing something that is known to be hard to work on or unreliable or whatever, you're golden. I drive old Euro cars, I know how to work on them, how to take care of them properly, etc and they treat me well. Now, would I go and recommend a 1996 W140 to someone looking for "an car"? No, absolutely not. It's the wrong car for that person, especially if they don't do the work themselves.
He loves that car. The Wizard won't bump his knee with the Smart Car like he did with the Toyota FJ Cruiser. Both are engineered well.
I have a 2009 smart passion it's a great little car. When I got it, the blower motor had the same issue, I fixed it myself it's like most newer cars except I would say easier because it doesn't have a retaining clip like my 00 silverado
Well done!!! A ''real mechanic'' who takes the time to solve problems and is not afraid to look at something different!! Kudos!
I'm from Canada and bought my smart car 20 years ago and it's my daily driver. In Canada we were lucky to have received the diesel version with a 6 speed tranny that gets incredible mileage. I used to drive motorcycles so I'm not afraid to take the smart on the highway. I've driven across Canada coast to coast and to Florida and New York city. What I save in fuel allows me travel more and stay in bice hotels! It has served me very well. I'm not a mechanic but have been able to do all the maintenance and repairs! Where there is a will there is a way!
You're handed me the first complementary description of a Smart for Two I've ever heard, for which I Thank You!
Having been a VW van owner for decades, that engine is in absolutely the right place 😁
Still safer than a moped
Rofl
Or a mopar
@@reyaswilfred2228 👍A hemi Mopar
❤’d my 78 puch moped.. put 10,000 miles on it.. all at 30 mph😖
@@Michael-yi4mchemi smart car.. now we are talking.. until the lifter tick starts
I've always wanted one of these.
I had a most similar horn on my adorable little toyota truck I drove in high school. I spent a sweaty hour or so in a local semi truck salvage pulling some air horns to get it. 100% worth it.
I LOVE that horn!
Railroad horn
It came with a price. That’s why Wizard is having fun with it.
They probably fit it because some idiots can't see that small car
@@BubblesTheCat1 That's it exactly. My wife drives this smart and I wired in the horns.
@@wyattdean5658 These are from a 1990 Buick Park Avenue in a junkyard south of Wymore, NE.
Excellent program! Very knowlegeable, down to earth and very informative. A big thank you for sharing so many mechanic's secrets in a logical and entertaining way!
I live outside Denver. My smart was a jewel, in city and out. Parking is a dream. Spaces it can fit on means you can alway park.
We actually bought this Smart out of Denver in December 2016 - Elizabethton suburb I think it was.
Here, at Under The Shade Tree Repairs, we would have broken off a corresponding fan blade on the opposite of the fan, returning it to balance. Tra-la - np parts needed!!
Learned a lot from this Video, Car Wizard!
I will admit, I came into this Video thinking, "Oh, the other places refused to fix them because EV Negativity Bias".
But honestly, as much as I find these Smart Cars Baffling, there is some appeal to it that I can understand.
Keep up the Great Work!
The actual truth is that I didn't trust anyone to do the work and told my wife, when the Smart has problems I can't fix or don't know how to, it's going to Omega. Been trying to get it there since Feb 2023 and finally got it done. That's my horn conversion and it's great! I'm going to do a video of it when we get the car back.
I just _love_ these little cars. Around the same year this car was built, 2014, I was in the market for a much smaller used car than my 1.6L ride due to the UK's car tax system, which heavily penalises anything over 1.3L due to emissions, but which _loves_ tiny engines - but I couldn't find a 2nd-hand Smart car. I settled for a 4yr old used Ford Ka, the next best thing - and all my mechanics hate it too, even though it's entirely conventional and is based on either a Fiat or VW, I believe... ah well. Been driving it ever since!
Panels on car can be replaced easily but now probably can't get these were popular in 08 I wanted one 😮
Thank you mate. Got one in South Africa. Great little car with a big heart. Advanced innovative when it first launched.
Biggest obstacle for these are Potholes…..suspension Always bottoms out and damages shocks etc.
Tell me about it. They're sporty, but that comes with all the problems of a sports car suspension.
remember when these first came out. All vanished now. Guess they belong in the inner city & that's about it. Just gone. Hmm.
Very right, the front suspension especially is way too soft. Uprating the springs and dampers helps a lot, as does larger front rims and tyres.
I wonder if you can just avoid them, like my mirage is small enough I can avoid pot holes and still stay in the lane.
I agree. I've hit some doozies and there is just no suspension there. It'll knock out your fillings.
The Smart EV is the best version of this car. I've owned one for 5 years and replaced two tires and a rear tail light bulb. That's it. Nearly zero maintenance too and far better and cheaper performance! These are a Mercedes design and were marketed by Mercedes, but Renault built them. Lastly, these cars are so different you should bury your nose in the owner's manual before even driving it the first time. Thanks, for this video, Wiz!
I had a 1991 Geo Metro, 3 C, 1L 5 speed manual. When I bought it brand new, it got 65 mpg. When i got rid of it with 145,000 miles on it, it was getting 45 mpg. it was also 1400 pounds and buffetting by trucks could move the car 2-3 feet.
I have seen these Smart Cars. I got passed like I was sitting still by one when I was at about 80 mph. Took the cop 5 miles to catch up to him for the ticket.
No Geo metro gets 65mpg, 50mpg on the highway. Our company had 3 of them during the 90s
@@niacal4nia funny.
I didn't see you in the car with me.
I was getting that. When I first bought it.
I took the miles driven on the trip counter divided by how much fuel to fill it up and reset the trip counter.
Mine got that. Yours may not have.
A girl I knew had one after high school. She rolled it and we rolled it back over. Dented it up a little but that was it. She beat the crap outta that thing and it kept ticking haha
@@niacal4niaI love how as the years go on, the legend of the geo metros gas mileage keeps growing larger and larger.
Never happened.
Now I have to go hunting for the GM 4 horns in the wrecking yard when I go to Arizona for the winter. Lot easier than keeping a Viair compressor working.
Swatch Mercedes Art =SMArt. Mercedes collaborated with the swiss company Swatch to make the smart. Before they had approached GM but were turned down.
It was VW that said Yes to manufacturing them and then broke up with them in a text message. lol Mercedes said Yah
It was fun to see Smart fortwo's next to Mercedes-Benz's in the showroom.
@@EdsVideosRcool yea well is like seeing a Swatch watch next to a Mercedes
I've considered getting one but the thought of getting crushed in an accident kept me from making this mistake. Years ago, in Brazil there were a lot of DKV vehicles similar to this in size but door opened on the front, very popular back then.
Im 6'2" 130kgs and Ive had 2 of these smart cars. Heaps of space, heaps of headroom. Like driving a go-kart. Very fun little car.
I am 6'7" 240lbs and I fit into one of these quite comfortably as well. The only reason I did not buy one approx. 10 years ago is that they had a bad reputation regarding the transmissions. I really wanted a Scion IQ as I trust Toyota, My Tacoma has more years on it than both of my S10's combined and is still running like new. There is not enough headroom in the IQ for anyone taller that say 6' or thereabouts.
they are called the Smart ForTwo..and two people fit comfortably, no matter what size!
Obviously, you're not claustrophobic! 😅
If you want a go-kart look at the Smart Crossblade.
No doors, just side impact bars, no roof, no windscreen just a fly-spalatting strip.
Totally impractical and, based on the cabrio but lighter, a real on-track screamer.
Just wear a full face helmet for stonechips to the face :o
Hi Wizard. Always enjoy your videos.
That oblong hole you see at 10:51 and the corresponding one on the other side are there to insert that panel with the angled lugs on it that you just put somewhere else. Said panel also comes with two small straps attached to avoid having to remove it completely or falling to the ground as this front panel opens only for access to wiper and brake fluid reservoirs, this is how it is on the original European model. Also, the release latches are much simpler, as is the rear lower boot panel release which isn’t electric and has one on each side too. The engine cover mat doesn’t need tools to lift it either.
You were looking for Mercedes-Benz evidence and at 12:56 you can see the A/C box which, apart from the classic MB font should have the logo beside it. Another clue as to its origin is the fact that “Climatisation” is the French word as these cars are built in Hambach France (affectionately known as Smartville by the locals).
This Pure model is the standard 453 with a normally aspirated 1.0 litre engine, however it’s not manufactured by Mercedes, as was the 451 power plant but by Mitsubishi.
1:51 before I even continue watching the rest of the video, well done for not saying "With further adieu" ! 😉
Without further goodbye?
ADO is actually a word. Trouble or difficulty.
@@Kinann
Ah Doo know dat...
Don't be such a damp squid! 😊
@@Dixter64 Don't be such a non-inquisitive bore 🙂
UK here. I read somewhere when these were relatively new that the engine had a design life of 60-70k miles, so this one is doing very well.
I've never heard or read that. But I do try to keep my max RPMs around 5k. When Penske was part of smartUSA, the shop manager said that pushing it to it's indicated 6500 redline was actually below from what it can really handle.
I totally agree there’s no way I would just replace the hamster wheel and not replace the entire blower assembly. For one thing, you could tell that the bearing was already bad because it wasn’t spinning very well. Being off-balance may have caused the bearing to fail.
Probably not even a bearing, those things usually just use a pre-oiled sintered metal bushing. Once they dry out, it's done.
@@MarkoVukovic0 My grandpa had a 1970 Bel Air in which he had to replace the blower fan. He took the fan out, carefully drilled a hole on either end of the fan, soldered in some fine metal tubing which he ran under the fender lip. He would put 3 in 1 oil in that tube which would go slowly gravity feed into the blower fan bushing and he from that point forward he never had to replace it again.
@@LazloNQ brilliant, love that!
Longtime fan. Great episode,Wizard!
Before buying mines i read a comment that said "smart cars are the closest to a street legal gocart you can get" i must say they were correct and even though it is not fast,its fast enough to have fun around corners.
It’s very apparent what needs to do to fix this one….. You just have to synchronize Swatches.
For those not aware, these were originally built as a partnership between Mercedes-Benz and cool, 80s Swiss watchmaker Swatch.
Btw, the original 3-lug car I remember was the Renault LeCar.
I have a Smart as a secondary car and drove it from NJ to Florida to use when I’m there for work. Other than the seat getting uncomfortable after several hours it was surprisingly fine. I had it over 80mph at some points and still felt stable, although kinda loud because of the convertible top. I plan to keep it and drive it mostly for fun.
Cabrio is the only way to go!
Hahaha, I know two welthy guys whom each own one of these cars, they've owned them from when they were first introduced they just use them for driving around a small town. These are are dirt cheap to operate they were cheap when they came out, but if you ever want to know how rich people become, and stay that way look at one of these cars.
Great Video liked Mrs Wizards quick interior engagement and showing us the noise it was making. Love the GM Horns 😂
I told a salesman at a new car show years ago that I wanted the blow up version to keep in the trunk of my car for a spare
I had 2 Smart451 MHD and 3 Smart450 before. Sometimes I felt good but also bad on this car. You always need to replace the 3 engine mounts and O2 sensors. Especially its generator combined with starter, the fixing rod need to be replaced. It's a fun car!
Hey Wizard, how about showing us you completing the repair. Don’t leave us hanging. That’s why we watch UA-cam. You’re slipping Wizard!
He sux and is lazy. Nickel and dimes his customers. I wouldn’t use his services if you paid me.
We used to have a company called Car2Go in my city, which allowed you to rent a Smart Fortwo or a Mercedes CLA 250 for around $0.40 per km. I picked the Smart car every time - it was the most fun I've ever had driving in my life.
I'm currently sitting in a 2009 Smart Fortwo Passion while watching this video on my break at work. LOL.
I had a Smart Car some years ago. It was fun - but service was a problem. There was just one shop on the south side of Indy that would work on it. Having different size tires front and rear always seemed strange to me, but it was a fun little car, anyhow. The design is safer than one might think - but with all of the big SUVs running around, I just decided to join the crowd, and get one of those. I've had little cars (Smart & Fiero) all the way up to a box truck and large luxury cars (like my favorite 2008 Lincoln Town Car). I even had a Nissan Leaf, a while back. That "Leaf" didn't seem to change color in the fall (like the ones on the trees did). The Smart was an experience of its own, and was fun to drive.
Love that horn man lmao!!!!!!
Thanks! It's my mod on my Smart! Wife and I love this little car.
Saw them in Europe and wanted one. I placed a reservation the day Penske said that he'd be importing them and had one of the first batch in January 2008. Sold it in 2016 as I was cutting the fleet back and still miss it.
It was absolutely the weapon of choice for local errand running. That being said, I did drive it to Florida once and up into New England (from northern Virginia).
Never had an issue. May get another.
Cut a fin out 180 degrees from the missing one.
My immediate thought too.
@@tonybowers9490 That's what I say to balance, save your $100-$150
I done this on a Renault 5 30 years ago😂😂😂😂..top suggestion😊
That would probably work, but like wizzard said the motor is old and tired and cheap.
Something big had to get sucked through it to break off that fin.
That's what we would do down here in Arkansas.
A great job on this video and the diagnoisis. Kudos!
smart mouse trap included with trim package?
Special order
You don't want to see the New York trim addition.😀
But I in VA
The owner has commented that when he picked up the car from the dealer the positive cable foam had mouse nibbles and mouse droppings around it.
Therefore he trapped that mouse..
and prepared for any more...
@@JohnSmith-pl2bk That's correct! I've even found mouse tracks in the dust on the engine so those pesky little guys are around. All my cars now have traps in them. Just the ways of Nebraska country living.