2008 smart fortwo Consumer Reviews

Vehicle

2008 smart fortwo passion 2dr Hatchback (1.0L 3cyl 5AM)

Review

We bought our first Smart in 2008...it shook so violently at speeds over 40mph we had to take it back..I know the car was new to the market then, I think they rushed it out with MANY problems...we had to go back to the dealer and ask them to replace it..they did, but they added that to my loan for the second car...the second car was ok but the loan was now very high, nearly $400 a month for 7yrs..I was too distracted as the recession hit us hard and we were scrambling to survive. We moved far away from the original dealership and the car died in 2012 while still paying the loan off...no service shops near us could diagnose or fix the car..it had to go back to the dealer only. I started reading online reviews abt the car..and that year...many people reported transmission problems..ours wouldn't go forward or in reverse..it could be a chip reset or transmission..but either way the tow truck, diagnostic fee and repair would be all on us...we couldn't afford all of that and we felt Smart should have RECALLED these cars. We got no help from the dealer, or the 800 numbers. My friend's car was purchased the same year and needed the same thing..a new transmission...a 4k repair. My loan over 7yrs was approx. 35k and now the car needed a 4k fix...the car isn't even worth 4k for resale. I am beyond disgusted and pissed. I am looking to take a law suit against Smart.

Vehicle

2008 smart fortwo passion 2dr Hatchback (1.0L 3cyl 5AM)

Review

Personally believe that Smart car needs to fix the problems with the reverse issue. This nearly caused me to be in an accident at the end of my driveway. When I thought my car was in reverse is wasnt it actually was rolling down the drive way. I was stuck in the mioddle of the road trying to figure out why I couldnt get it into gear, had to shut it off while on coming traffic had to slam on the brakes! Very scarey and very close call. I feel that this is a saftey issue. Smart car has done nothing about it and does not want to recall it. My car is the 2008 Smart for two. I think that most people that have this car have the same problem. To help this get resolved people have to get on safecar.Gov and make the report for complaint, so then it will be forced into recall. I believe that people may have tried to make the report but the safecar.gov wasnt easliy working for that make or model until I called them directly. I just want people to be safe and companies to own up to their products. From my research its a computer update that is needed and yes its pretty expensive, well maybe just to me, to fix it is about $500.00

Vehicle

2008 smart fortwo passion 2dr Hatchback (1.0L 3cyl 5AM)

Review

UPDATE: smart fortwo has performed flawlessly. Now over 77,000 miles and recently replaced front brakes, battery, tires. NO PROBLEMS AT ALL. AC still blows cold, will have it refrigerated soon and gas mileage is better than ever! PREVIOUS REVIEW: Had 2 previous owners I LOVE IT! It's like new, love, love the interior. It's roomy, comfortable, the best looking red and black cloth seats and dash. Peppy engine. Love the transmission. The complaints about the transmission are unfounded. Just let it shift, don't floor the gas, this car is a city car and if driven reasonably, the engine has power and the tranny shifts better than [non-permissible content removed]! Really, it is not a sports car and if driven like you live in the city, it performs flawlessly. I Iive in the mountains and it goes up the steepest hills and has hill ascent and descent control which helps a lot. All cars should have it. On the highway it is stable, a little loud. And I'm averaging 38 to 40. It's all I need and the build quality is Mercedes. The AC is wonderful. Very cold and strong. The packaging is amazing, roomy and stylish. I WILL buy another!!! (UPDATE: 6 MONTHS OF OWNERSHIP, NO PROBLEMS, DID OK ON THE ICE AND SNOW, GOOD TRACTION GOING UP AND DOWN MOUNTAINSIDES. I WILL BUY ANOTHER, GREAT GAS MILEAGE AND NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER.)

Vehicle

2008 smart fortwo passion 2dr Hatchback (1.0L 3cyl 5AM)

Review

My wife and I purchased our smart in 2008, paid way to much. The original dealer dropped it,(like no one knew that was coming) and then went to Mercedes. Other then being treated like a red headed step child by the dealer, probably because this thing is so cheap the car is not bad. It took me a while to get the hang of the herky jerky response, and the A/C stop when you really stomp on the accelerator, which other cars I have had did, so no big deal. I now have 25K miles on it and drive it like you beat a rented mule. No real problems to speak of. I use Royal Purple in it and find that seems to work best for oil. I run with the big dogs on the highway and like it a lot.

Best Features

doofas looking car, get a lot of laughs as I am 6'4" at about 200 lbs.

Vehicle

2008 smart fortwo passion cabrio 2dr Convertible (1.0L 3cyl 5AM)

Review

Since I have owned this car, the battery died within the first year, random pieces of plastic have fallen off, it has had numerous transmission "software" problems that have left me stranded and ready to walk away from it, the engine blew at 23,000 miles, AND NOW it has yet ANOTHER transmission problem that the service department can't figure out -- I can't get it to shift out of Park when it is cold! THIS IS A PROBLEM!

I tell everyone I see when I am at the dealership, I tell everyone that ever asks me about it. The guy in the parts department even agreed with me: "Yeah, I have never heard of a car having that many problems in that combination."

Best Features

easy parking