Three-Lines

[DanHarris1000 0]

I'm following Willys advice to post my woes in the relevant Forum. I have a 2005 Smart ForTwo that I bought new. It has about 85K on the dial. Last week on the way to the hardware store I did a too-quick right turn. The car went about 100 feet and stopped, still running. I could turn it off and restart it. It would not go into forward or reverse. There was a very faint clunking noise/vibration when I tried. Each time that I tried to put it into gear I got three horizontal, dashed lines on the gearshift indicator display. I was about 300 yards away from my regular mechanic's garage (right beside the hardware store!). I called the CAA to get it towed to the shop. 45 minutes later the tow-truck arrived, the driver started it, put it into gear and forward it went. I drove to the shop with the tow-truck following behind. The shop read the codes and told me there was some kind of blockage in the transmission. It sounded to me like the car was pooched, so I carefully dove it home, without incident. I cancelled the liability insurance, but thought I should know what was wrong with it before putting it up for sale.

 

I did a google search, found you guys, became a member after several abortive attempts to authenticate my email, I introduced myself, was warmly welcomed and given a gentile nudge in the right direction (I hope). I looked through the archives here, paid my annual fee to evolution.co.uk, successfully authenticated my email there and now hope for the best. I believe that, in a way not surprisingly, the solution is that when in doubt, reboot. I will see if my usual grease monkeys have an MB Star to reintroduce the transmission to the car so that it can once again be a "smart" car and let you know how it turns out. The MB Star device is costly. Is it something that I will need down the road? I had wanted this to be my forever car, and it was doing pretty well on that score.

[Willys 717]

No you do not "NEED" a STAR but like you I was planning on these being my forever car. Can't beat the fuel economy etc etc. It will pay for itself if you are forced to go to the shop 3 or more times imho. That was my thinking behind me getting mine. Plus fixing my own vehicles is what i do for fun, well that was before I owned a Smart...lol. I hate electronics...lol
You just need to know someone willing to help who owns a STAR if you don't want to spend on one. I do re-teaches etc etc for a fee etc. It helps off set the cost.
I would also say you need to adjust your actuator and see if it has what we call the punched through clutch fork issue. That also can be fixed a few different ways without removing the transmission. A re-teach of both actuator and transmission should be a service item after so many kms....imho simply because things wear and get out of place possibly. Not shopping for work but just suggesting.  But all these things cost if you do use a shop or a dealership. 
Very good idea to join Evilution imho if you are having issues as they imho have the best library of info, their big downfall is they do not have a chat so you can ask questions for what is your issue.  To each their own on how to operate, not knocking them or Kane ...the owner.
You will find that unless you are one of the very few who have actuator issues the small bolts holding it in place usually snap when loosening them if you do not take plenty of time working them lose....etc etc. Then you have an issue, drilling and taping etc etc...far bigger job. But it needs to be adjusted all the same.
IF you are handy at all and or are willing to turn a wrench or learn to turn a wrench most things are easily done by you. You just need to learn what the issue is and what the solution is and if it requires special tools past the simple hand tools. Besides it gives you something to do....lol.

IF you do put the car up for sale you won't get swat for it if it doesn't run or move so to speak......and call me first...lol.  So don't sell it just yet.

 

[tyc 25]

The problem with 3 lines is the worst defect in the Smart Fortwo.
There can be a multitude of defects that give 3 lines.
I will list them without pretending that they are all in the list:
-perforation of the clutch fork - improbable at 85k - replacement or repair by a passionate specialist
- faulty clutch actuator/high wear - replacement / maintenance if it allows correct operation
- sensor B43 - replacement or repair by a passionate specialist
-MEG/EDG - replacement + adaptation or repair by a specialist
- defective wiring - repair by a passionate specialist
- water, water, water! to the sensors
- water, pins pushed back, moisture in the sockets.

One step would be to disconnect the battery from the accumulators for 10 minutes and reconnect it. You must write down the code from the radio/stereo before disconnecting.

MB Star is a powerful tool, but it also requires an operator who knows how to interpret the displayed results. Without an interpreter, money is wasted...
  
Without a present defect, only preventive maintenance can be done.
The computer system of the Fortwo is set for reactions of the actuators in a certain time interval. If that time interval is exceeded, the system gives an error. It also waits for certain data and if they do not fit into the tables written in the computer's memory, it gives an error.
You have to keep in mind that 18 years have passed since 2005... in 2002, when this model was designed, the time of good operation was 5 years.

 

Now, please describe exactly the symptoms immediately following the turn (too fast).

 

[Sydney 217]

could it be something as simple as while making too fast of a turn,  your smart tried to skip 2 gears instead of 1 and got confused and went into 3 bars.

after the key was shut of for a bit,  the SAM reset and you were now good to go...

jus throwing it out there,  because it happened to me.

i was slowing down in auto mode,  while the car tried to downshift i hit the paddle shift and tried to force the car to ship a gear while down shifting.

the car didnt like what i did,  and threw a 3 bars hissy fit.