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Thought I should update my original thread. I ordered a replacement PTC heater from a junkyard in Quebec, replaced the heater and it works perfectly. I also had ordered an openport + xentry kit from Aliexpress and was able to dedicate an older i5 laptop to be my Xentry scantool. Xentry is an ESSENTIAL tool in my opinion, EV or not. I was able to access every system and clear every code. Car is working perfectly now with no remaining malfunctions.

Had a friend's smart that's leaking oil at the front crank seal. I did not have any "proper" seal driver - didn't even have a socket big enough to do the job. It was also a tight spot with the rear spring in the way. So, I 3D printed a seal driver. Cracked the driver as I was low on time and 3D printed with only 30% infill. But it worked beautifully. With the seal driver on, I can now also brake clean the area without any contamination fall in. I will need to make some adjustments to the measurements. If anybody is interested in the file, sent me a pm.

Just to review this issue, inspected the coolant level, it was a tad low (I added a cup or 2 of coolant) and the issue has not reappeared.

Hi folks. Sorry I've not been around a lot these last couple of years. Doing a garage cleanup and I came across a loose bundle of parts that I had made perhaps 10 years ago by a machinist in Greece…! Some of them are to convert 450 rear hubs to accept front brake calipers from IIRC a Mk2 or Mk3 VW Golf. If anyone is interested, please respond here. I'd be willing to let them go for the price of shipping, or I'd be ok with driving to meet anywhere within 80 km of CF Fairview Pointe Claire, otherwise they'd just end up at the local Ecocentre (recycling dump), and that seems like a shame. Once somebody is interested I can do a little bit of the research to find out exactly what years of VW calipers would be needed. Also in that pic are parts to convert 450 front hubs to four-piston Wilwood calipers, but I have zero recollection of which model. Again, free for anyone willing to do the research and cover shipping (or to meet me anywhere within 80 km of CF Fairview Pointe Claire).

Good afternoon all. Took a 2 month break to casually remodel the kitchen, as one does obviously I just wanted to throw in an update and say that I got the parts from MW Smart and the sub frame is separated from the chassis. I have to agree that this is the best way to work on this thing after the first attempt! Thanks a ton for those who have commented. I will continue to post some updates as I dive further into the engine. -Zach

Lots of Facebook postings about the 'redesigned' Toyota IQ (no mention of Scion). Reported available as gas powered.... 1.0L turbo churning out 75 hp with a CVT. Some conflicting info plus test drives are popping up. It's similarity to the Smart is unavoidable due to the similarity in sizes. Anyone have thoughts or opinions pro or con. I'm sure Toyota have addressed shortcomings in the previous model. Also see lots of posts on the 2025 Smart. Available as an EV or turbo gas. It looks good. Again, thoughts or comments. No info on availability of either brand in Canada (Smart highly doubtful). Anyone hear otherwise. I love my '05 Smart but it's painful to concider replacement with what's offered in Canada. Maybe I'll just fir handles to the Tridion for the pawl bearers.

Smart 2025: All the upcoming models

Sounds like limp mode. Run a diagnostic on the OBDII.

No CEL only means that the ECM did not logged a code. This could potentially be that the ECM shut off and that’s why it did not log any codes. If the ECM drops out, the CAN will have issues. Perform a load test to all your power/grounds to the ECM. If you have a scanner that’s capable of connecting to your ABS, airbag, SAM, or cluster module, you might get fault codes that will point to the culprit to the CAN issue - which module is dropping out.

(This first post is split off from the "Time for a new family car" thread of 2007 and modified & updated a bit) I have been wondering how far we could drive the Mercedes-Benz B200 if It were to remain our main touring car and winter car for the coming decade. I could retire with a full pension next year but I have now decided to work through the last bit of 2027, so three more years. This means three more years of commuting 3 days a week and also that if the B 200 is driven 15-18K km for each of those years, it would be at 400,000 km when I retire. Although it's been a very good car overall, it will need the suspension to be replaced sometime - especially the shock absorbers and bushings, which are the originals. The cloth upholstery is in good condition but the driver's seat bolster is beginning to get the tiniest of wear holes and in 3 years it'll be gaping. The engine doesn't burn oil between 15,000 km changes, but I did shred a belt about 8 months ago which made me think the car would be done for as it overheated. So far so good.... After the near car death experience, we kept an eye out for possible replacements. Toyota RAV4 Prime is ugly as sin but practical and economical but the interior is hyper nasty with hard plastic door panels and no leather seats available at any cost.... Then I thought maybe the Crown Signia would be good, despite not being a plug in hybrid, but it's about 60 grand which is a lot for a Toyota that is not a PHEV and I didn't like the low EV only range or the CVT automatic. Anyway, in October when I was paying the M-B dealer for the extensive refit done to Snowball the white Canada 1, my wife was in the showroom and saw a car in a nice light green metallic and when I had paid the bill, I went over to her. She was yakking with a salesman about the car. Funny guy: he said the typical Mercedes is painted in one of the German Rainbow colours: Black, white and grey. Anyway I said "yeah it's nice but I don't want a car that gets worse fuel consumption than our B200" (7.4 L/100 km). The car in the showroom was a GLC 300, a 250 HP mild hybrid model that averages in the mid-8 range, officially. The salesman said that a new model - GLC 350e - that is a PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) will be arriving in the showroom in December and its official fuel consumption on the test cycle with a full battery is 3.7 L/100 km. smart diesel territory. The official range in EV mode according to EPA protocols is 87 km, but the identical model in Europe is rated 118-131 km in their official tests. So more than the actual range of the first smart EV, plus a 208 HP 4 cylinder light pressure turbo and 49L of fuel to extend highway trips painlessly. Sounded pretty good. The GLC is the SUV version of the C Class, which my wife likes due to ease of entry and visibility. Yes, it's a SUV, but it's also a large hatchback, and has a really nice interior. The PHEV has a 2 litre turbo plus an electric motor for 313 total HP and 406 lbs-ft of torque. 9 speed automatic. 0-100 km/h in 6.7 seconds officially, though actual road tests are showing them to be a bit quicker, 5.9 seconds 0-60 MPH in this test: https://www.caranddriver.com/mercedes-benz/glc-class-hybrid I think it is inoffensively or even decently styled, especially in the base trim without all the AMG body kit stuff. The car costs more than the Crown Signia but not that much more, about $5000 MSRP difference. It's $64,950 here whereas in the USA the same model but missing the standard heated steering wheel that we get in Canada is $84,950 CAD once you convert the USD to CAD. Massively cheaper here.....The interior is fantastically nice, and although they didn't have a hybrid yet, we test drove the regular mild hybrid version and it was VERY nice despite having 19 inch wheels and missing the self-levelling rear air suspension of the PHEV. It's 4MATIC 4WD with about 70% standard torque split to the rear, with limited slip central differential. A YouTube vlogger did a real word test of its EV only range in LA - it did 64 miles with full charge and showed 7 miles left when the trip was over. So up to 71 miles (114 km) in that case. We could drive to Victoria in EV mode and drive back in hybrid mode, probably averaging under 3 L/100 km of premium for the total drive, better than the smart. My commute would be purely EV. We will be visiting Europe sometime next year but European delivery is no longer an option for Mercedes-Benz. We'll likely place a factory order for one in the colour seen above in February, or possibly a touch sooner. The spec cars here all have option packages we don't want (including sunroof) and so that's the way to go for us. Green metallic paint Beige Macchiato Leather Cooled front seats (heating is standard) Heated rear seats 60 kW fast (DC) charger Navigation system Brown Ash Wood trim Piano black centre console Distronic cruise control (automatic braking etc) It'll be nice to have a new car again. The current Mercedes-Benz B200 has been good overall for the past 17+ years so it owes us not much. We will see who wants to buy it when the time comes, and it would have about 360,000 km at that time.