What Did You Do To Your Smart Today?

[MikeT 744]

Yesterday we drove the green smart into Nanaimo to see if any tire shops were open. We wanted to switch the worn rear TS 760s (3 mm left in the centre of the tread, leftovers from the white car when we bought it) for the newer TS 800s (6.5 mm in the centre of the tread). Only Wal-Mart (<shudder>) was open and they were booked up. Went back towards home and Sandy noticed an Esso station where we live with a garage bay door just being shut, so we aked if they could do the job. No problem, they weren't open but it was done (on the honour system too, I haven't paid yet). So Sean T got to drive a considerably safer green smart to Victoria today on the icy/snowy roads.We are having some more snow today again, and it's nicely below zero. Down to minus 9 tonight.

[Francesco 71]

+5 today, +12 tomorrow. Dropping back below freezing the remainder of the week. Hopefully I have time to make room to do the swaps in the garage tomorrow night or Wednesday morning.PS: Even just adding the Tunap 134 to the tank seems to have worked wonders. Much smoother mid-range.

[derekbrochu 0]

Got the Euro Mod Done to my Lights (AND side Red LED lights put on) and put my winter tires on!(Thanks Uncle Glenn)Cheers!

Edited November 25, 2010 by derekbrochu

[PrairieBoy 1]

Yesterday i had my salesmen take my 'new' Grandstyle Cabrio to their service shop,and get some windshield stone chips repaired.(as he had promised).The larger one is still visible,although it's not as noticeable as it was before. It's not directly in my line of vision,anyway.I just hope it doesn't spread.Today,while filling up the tank with diesel fuel in the minus 20 degrees cold, the fuel filler 'flap' just broke right off! I suspect it may have been already slightly damaged,as i've never had this problem with any of my other smart cars.Then i went back to the dealer and picked up a new one,as well as the 'winter mats'. Both were easy to install,and the cost was very resonable!

[ishkabibble 2]

This is what someone else did to my Smart yesterday. A woman missed the turn into MickeyD's and did a hard right into the -no, not the next driveway - side of my car.The plus side is that it wasn't a jarring crash. It was a scraping shove sideways and now I have marks all down the side of the car and a rub on the black tridion paint. Question? How successful is repairing and painting these cars. I don't want it to start peeling a couple of years down the road.Ish.

[Huronlad 186]

The plastic panels are no big deal. Regular paint will never be as hard as the powder coat used on the Tridion though, stone chips will happen easier.

[ishkabibble 2]

So it's ok to paint the panels. I hope they're ready for a fuss pot about matching. There's a small rub on the tridion panel - probably from the mirror - right at eye level so it'll be in my face forever Thanks for letting me know.Ish.

[MikeT 744]

Rub = dent?If not, it should buff away to nothing. The black powder coat is thick enough to take a considerable amount of fine sanding and polishing.

[Huronlad 186]

I overlooked the fact that the stream green panels on your car are not painted. Best to get new panels from the person who ran into you.

[MikeT 744]

Which are NLA at the dealer. She would get black, which would then be painted.

[ishkabibble 2]

That's what I was afraid of. So if they can't get the rubs totally smooth I guess I'll want new panels that will have to be painted??? Groan..........Ish.Fellow at body shop is hopeful that it can be rubbed out. There don't seem to be any mis-shapen spots so here's hoping.......Ish. Edited November 27, 2010 by ishkabibble

[Huronlad 186]

There might be a chance of getting original panels out of Europe.

[2minits 0]

you might find some second hand panels in stream green over here but it's not likely (or could be expensive), and new ones from the dealer are all black (same as over there!) have a look at www.smart-parts-direct.com he had a load of panels a while back, might still have some if your lucky

[Francesco 71]

Today I cursed. Not really at my smart.

I was hoping to make it to vacation next weekend before changing to snows, but we got hit with freezing rain from the remnants of the storm that swept across the continent. So this morning I had to swap my summers for winters before dashing off to work. The rears (with Eibach spacers) went on without a hitch, but when I tried to do the first front wheel, two bolts came out and the third did not. WTF? Neither my 660 lbf-ft Ingersoll Rand air gun nor my longest breaker bar with an 18" pipe could get it to budge. WTF? I always use a torque wrench to tighten the bolts to 80 lbf-ft. And then I remembered that the last person to touch my wheels was the mechanic at MB when they changed my struts a few weeks ago.

I put the other rear snow on, torqued the front bolts to 80, and made my way to the dealership (with only minutes to spare before I had to be on the road to work), and though all the techs were on break, one of the juniors dropped his cigarette and told me to pull in to the shop. As I pulled up to his bay, MB Foreman Neighbour came out of his office, bemused at my presence -- a customer, after all -- in the shop. When I told him what was up his quizzical expression turned to one of anger. He hates when his guys can't seem to do the simplest things correctly. The tech who ushered me in tried with his IR gun, and then his breaker bar before conceding that it would break if he proceeded further. I was going to be late for work, so they agreed to squeeze me in first appointment Monday morning. I hope it doesn't snow tomorrow (5 cm predicted).

Grrr.

[MikeT 744]

There may be a warped disc or damaged wheel from that kind of incompetent over-torquing. I question the quality of this shop if they can't do something simple like this right, no excuses.QA/QC is Job One in a good shop.

[Francesco 71]

I know it's a good shop, that's why Neighbour was fuming when he found out what was up.I will make a point of asking for new discs. We'll see how they handle it, as my rotors are after-market (EBC Turbo Grooves).

[bilgladstone 13]

I've been offline for about a week, and in that time I've temporarily wired up my stick-on pan heater so I can plug the car in at last. Without the heater, when it was -15 or so for a few days, the car started just fine but sounded like a bucket of bolts until it warmed up - and it never warmed up!

Bil

[smartnhappy 218]

I replaced the OEM single cup holder in my 450 with the OEM double cup holder from the 451, sourced from flyingtiger.ca.Now I can carry both an ale AND a lager. Zif!!

[Ghost 0]

Here's the short version:Changed the (head)light bulb.And now the long version:Lost my light at the drivers side last night on the way home. All right, the Smart driver is prepared....... did the change before (passenger side, through the service-opening), and I have a spare bulb in the car. This morning, minus 5, but whatever, it took me 30 minutes the first time, should beat that by at least 10 minutes!So I squeeze my arm through the service-opening on the drivers side - man even tighter, more stuff in there. I reach the plastic cap, take it off and out - step one. Open the metal clamp, remove the light bulb, step 2 and 3. Attach the new bulb (step 4), grab the metal clamp and I have it loose in my hand. Wait a minute, it should be attached and closed now, not be loose..........So far I worked 15 minutes, was good in time. The next 25 minutes I tried to get that f*&%*ng clamp back in place, print pictures from the net to get an idea how and where - at my 227. try I drop the clamp. People say the could here me yelling the F-word downtown Barrie (40 kilometers away). OK, back online, printed the instructions how to remove the front panel. Took the panel off (first time), found the clamp, attached everything, checked the lights - everything worked, put the panels back in place. While attaching the left little triangle (at the mirror) with the plastic screw the screw broke - and the base of the antenna. Who the hell invented a plastic screw??? This guy should be shot (with a plastic bullet)! Anyways, the part stays in place, but now I lost my antenna.........But that's a story for tomorrow, did'nt have enough time to fix it (after 2 hours work for the light bulb) today.Ghost

Edited November 29, 2010 by Ghost

[bilgladstone 13]

Nightmare, Ghost! Last winter I had a light out when it was -20. I can change them myself, but @ -20 and no garage??? No way! I took it to the dealership. $20 for the new bulb and they charged me $20 to swap it out. Spendy, but worth every penny for the convenience at that time.Bil

[Francesco 71]

Today was fun.Oh, wait. No it wasn't.I got to bed after work at 3:30 am, and had to be at West Island MB for 7:45. Ugh. I decided to hang around the shop as no loaners were available today.I had no idea an alignment takes so long, more than 90 minutes. The tech adjusted the front toe, and said that my steering wheel angle is correct but it looks off because there is a pull to the right which I'm constantly correcting. However, the system showed that my alignment was straight so the tech thought it might be a combination of the toe out of spec making it squirrelly combined with my bald summer 145s. He wanted to swap left and right wheels to double-check, but that's when he came to the stuck wheel bolt...He and a varying assortment of other techs from around the shop spent the next couple of hours trying to get the wheel off. After finesse didn't work, brute force snapped the head off the bolt. Of course. Trying to drill out the remnants just made it worse. In the end they had to destroy my wheel to get it off, which was accomplished after lunch, around 1:10 pm. I spent most of those 4½ hours actually in the shop watching and getting play-by-play from other techs. When they removed my brake disc, the rest of the bolt came right out without any tools. No damage to the hub nor the disc.I went to see my SA and told him in no uncertain terms that I will only pay for an alignment, nothing more. The Service Manager went to speak with the techs and survey the mess, then the SA spoke with him in his office. In the interim I decided that it might save me time, money and aggravation to order two new summer tires and have them put on, instead of the shop putting the bald tire back on the new rim. When the SA returned to his desk I told him to order the tires as well, but that I would only pay for the alignment, the tires and tax. They will cover the new rim and mounting and balancing for both. He shook my hand and thanked me for my understanding and patience. Mysteriously, they now had a loaner available for me.

[derekbrochu 0]

I wend and cut down a Christmas tree! Lots of fun... Lots of Looks. But there is nothing a SMart Can't do!I love this Car!We had to tie it tight so it would fly away! HAHAHA! It was just a small little 6foot tree but it is perfect for our house!

[ishkabibble 2]

Very cute!!Ish.

[gordo.bernard 1]

Very cute!!

Ish.

You mean the tree?...Right?

[derekbrochu 0]

Very cute!!

Ish.

You mean the tree?...Right?

I don't know about that!!!