maxwell smart

Have the similar problem yesterday. First the fuel filter/water separator warning light lighted up while I was driving. When I parked the car the seatbelt warning light started to light up too. The door lock was still fine, I can still lock it. When my son drove the car that evening, the fuel/water light and the door open warning lights lighted up and the door will not lock. Changed the fuel filter/water separator this morning (95 000km) and the fuel/water light went off but the door open light still on and the door still will not lock. Will wait till it gets warmer to see if the problem goes away or the door open warning reset.

Have my door latches replaced last summer as part of the recall. Now one or both of the door latch would not lock. Back to the dealer. Should I report this to TC? Is TC following up on whether the new latch actually solves the problem?

Thanks everyone for the information. I will have to replace the whole mechanism. Smart is closed for the Easter holiday. I will get one on Monday. I hope they have it in stock.

My driver side is solid and the plastic bushing is broken too. Do I have to replace the whoe mechanism or can I just replace the plastic bushing? Any instruction on replacing the mechanism?

I did respond to the tickets. I took the tickets to the traffic court and requested a court date to dispute the charges. So far I haven't gotten a court date or anything else from them yet. The York region (Markham) court is so busy that they are ignoring or dropping most of the minor traffic tickets (it was in the news). So if you get a minor speeding ticket from the York Regional police, ask for your date in court.

In the meantime do get the Star or TV station involve so they won't try ticketing your Smart again. I remember the TV station did a story on a driver who got a speeding ticket in Toronto for driving 1 km over the speed limit during the police strike. The police withdraw the ticket so fast you wouldn't beleive it. Some big shot also made a public apology.

You don't have to go to Small Claim Court. Just notify the TPA that you would like to dispute the ticket in court. About 2 years ago I parked my 2 Smarts face to face in front of my house for a picture. After I took the picture I went into the house to load it into my computer. When I came back out to the Smarts I got a ticket for one of the Smart. The offence was "parking a vechicle against the flow of traffic" (a Markham Bylaw). The parking office offer to reduce the fine but refused to cancel the ticket so I said I want to dispute the ticket in court. They say that I would get a court date in 6 months. Six months passed and I did not received a court date so I thought I was off the hook. Three months later I recevied a letter for a court date. So I went to court. I cannot overturn the ticket because of the bylaw but I argue on the point that waiting 9 months for a court date was unreasonable. I wasted so much of their time that they decided to drop the case. It was quite an experience. I also got 2 minor speeding tickets (speed traps) in Markham that I wanted to fight in court. I haven't received anything on the first ticket for over 2 years now so I think I am off the hook on that one. I haven't received anything on the second ticket for 7 months now. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

The same thing happened to my Smart after hitting a few pot holes. The steering was off center also. The front is out of alignment. I got new tires and an alignment. The guy who did the alignment made quite a bit of adjustment to the front. The rear is not adjustable. The print out from the aligment shows the front was out of alignment by quite a bit.

It can be a short in the block heater connection at the back of the car under the engine. The heater cord that plugs into block heater often work loose, mine even came off. Any melting snow/ice or water in there will likely cause a spark.

Can this be a battery related problem? Maybe a 4 years old battery does not have enough juice (voltage) in the cold to heat the glow plugs and operate all the electronics. Do anyone have the same problem with a new battery? I am going to replace my 4 years old battery soon. When it's very cold (-20 c) the ABS and ESP lights stay on, the Smart is very hard to start and the three bars of death comes on once. My other Smart (2 years old) does not have any of this problem at all.

The Kirkland is not fully sealed but I don't think the OEM Smart battery are either. The Optima is fully sealed but it has emergency vents to vent Hydrogen gas into the car when pressure builds up in the battery while charging. So much for the risk of explosion.I have bad experience with products made in Mexico. I wouldn't buy a Sony TV or anything else that is made in Mexico if I have a choice. The factories are set up by large brand name corporations but the workers are usually lowly paid and lowly skilled Mexican. The QC is just terrible. You take your chances.

I almost couldn't start my 2005 Smart yesterday in the -21 C temperature. The recent cold temperature have been giving the Smart a lot of problem. The battery is 4 years old so it's time for a new one. Went to Costco, compared the Red Top 34/78 and the Kirkland 34/78 and brought the Kirkland. I have used the Kirkland in my Toyota and they are great. The Kirkland used to be made in the USA but I couldn't find out where they are made in this one. The Red Top is made in Mexico so I passed on that. The Kirkland 34/78 cost $98.99 (price went up by $15 after I brought mine, it's the lower CND $), CCA=875A, CA=1000A and reserve capacity is 120 minutes. The dimension is slightly larger than the Red Top (L=11",W=7.25",H=8.125"). I will install it tonight or tomorrow.

I have had both my door handles replaced on my 2005 Smart. The door was not latching closed. I had to have the Smart tow to the dealer for the repair because the warning bell kept buzzing and it is not safe to drive with one hand on the door to keep it close. The more you operate the door the faster the door latch will fail. My passinger side door is starting to stick again. This problem seems to be more common on the earlier Smart (2005).

Just a couple cm apart. The fuel line was rubbing the hose on an angle at two spots.

Just checked mine. It is worn like that in two places. Is there a TSB on this?