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My 2006 CDI with 190,000km has started having shifting problems. Im going to run through my diagnosis in order to hopefully help others that develop this problem. Problem: Car was shifting fine, then it was making a creaking noise with shifting(lubricated it), then it was intermittently failing to downshift followed by 3 bars (temporary solution, switch the car to neutral, turn off and restart the car), Now the car is failing to shift gears about 50% of the time, and when the car is stopped in first gear it makes a strange vibration(no clutch drag). I drive on a lot of dusty gravel roads, very dry environment. Common problems are clutch actuator wiring, clutch actuator issue, or clutch fork wear, where the actuator rod pushes on the fork. As of right now, a new actuator is $450 cad shipped, new fork is $85. Diagnosis: Ill drive the back of the car onto ramps, get under the car and see if the clutch actuator has slipped(unlikely), then I will put penetrating oil on the 3 clutch actuator bolts. Ill unplug the electronic plug for the actuator and check the wires for fraying. Then I will mark the position of the actuator on the car with permanent marker. I will hit the head of the '3 actuator bolts' hard with a hammer a few times, then take my propane torch to try and heat the areas the bolts thread into. Ill gently try to remove the bolts and not snap them, if they don't come out, ill re apply penetrating oil and repeat the hammer and heat process until they do come out. Once the actuator is off, ill examine the actuator rod for signs of wear(if the rod has punched through the fork). Ill take a pic on my phone of the fork through the hole and see if the fork is in ok condition. That will tell me what my problem is (im going to guess wiring fray due to bumpy roads, clutch actuator sluggishness due to lots of dust getting in, or lots of clutch fork wear). I will give the actuator a good cleaning and regreasing (if this fails ill order a new actuator) If the rod has worn a hole in the fork I will try to weld a washer on the actuator rod to increase contact patch between the rod and the fork. Ill update this post until the problem is fixed.

My smart fortwo 450 diesel 2006 had problems with actuator and would get stuck in gear or neutral. We did a fix by welding a washer close to the tip of the actuator to increase surface so it does not go through and get stuck. Now it is shifting normally. However as soon as I move forward, break and release, i do not hear the usual 2 clicks and yellow triangle and three bars appear on the dashboard. But the car keeps driving and switching gear even if it does not know what gear it is in (me either unless i count). Also the hill assistance is not working, possibly cuz it doesn’t know that it is on first gear. I’s like it knows to engage and switch gears but it doesn’t know what gear it is at. Anyone had this problem?

I am troubleshooting 3 lines on the dash. I took my vehicle to have Star Diag run on it and the TCM was determined to be faulty. Sent the TCM for repair but no luck. I have purchased a used TCM with the same part number as the original. Can anyone confirm for sure that the unit will require programming? With the new (used) TCM installed, I am able to move the shifter, the transmission goes into teaching mode (per the shifter motors shuffling) but still 3 lines on the dash. With both the original and new TCMs I get U0103 and 15/6 Electronic Lever Select Canbus faults. Thank you very much.

Good day all, I have been having a lot of problems lately. Cleaned the EGR out and the turbo is spooling up again. Been there before so I knew that problem. Six months after buying the car I got the three bars of death once in the middle of an intersection at night so it was not a problem. Turn the car off turn it back on and it worked. This happened often on every couple of months for the next year. Then one day it happened multiple times, eventually I discovered I could drive the car in the standard mode and not have the problem. Now more recently it happens all the time no matter what mode I drive it in, automatic, manual, it happens a lot. I pulled off the actuator to inspect the clutch fork, it is in good condition. So it’s leading me to believe it is the actuator. All electrical connections are good condition no breaks in the wires. Upon taking off the actuator Two bolts broke into the transmission housing. That’s a future me problem. (Yes I soaked it with liquid wrench before hand. I have not washed it enough through the winter and I’ve been breaking quite a few bolts) the actuator mounting flanges also broke and crumbled away. My real issue is if I purchase a new actuator I’ve read in a few places that they are coded to the vehicle. Is this true? Or can I order a new one through eBay from Germany plug it in in align it to the correct position and just go? 2005 Smart CDI 110,000km Thank you everyone for the help.

Hey all! Bouncing an idea off of you guys. I've had the three bars come up twice now on my 2006 ForTwo diesel. Once was on Dec 24th. It was damp and he quit right after I had run through a puddle. Cut the engine, waited for a few minutes, started him again and he was fine. I got him into the garage and dried him off over the Christmas holidays and he was fine, so I had assumed something had gotten damp and forgot about it until today. Dampness wasn't an issue today at a toasty -10 morning. He started fine (I cycled the glow plugs twice to be safe and he had no problem starting) and I started driving him to school. Sitting at a traffic light, he slipped into the 3 bars again. I turned him off and started again, still 3 bars. Shut him off, waited a few minutes, swore a wee bit, started him again and he was fine until I got to school. So here's what I'm thinking, and I hope I can get your thoughts on this. The past few weeks, he's been down-shifting HARD. Going from 40km to 30km has been really rough, he jumps and shudders. Speeding up is fine, but slowing down is reallllllly rough. Does this sound like a clutch issue? I read somewhere that the clutch might also trigger the three bars. Thoughts? Have you guys had to replace a clutch before?

Hi Everyone Sorry to drop what I'm sure is probably the hundredth 3 bars thread on here but my car has some specific symptoms I'm hoping someone will recognise. So my car is an 04 roadster pretty basic standard spec, only has about 45k miles on the clock and seems like it was fairly well looked after by its previous owner. The 3 bars & bleeping appear as soon as the ignition is live and continue after the engine starts which it does with no issues. Manual mode is unusable however sliding into Automatic or Reverse clears the 3 bars and the A or R appears. Unfortunately on 2 occasions over four weeks the car has gone to 3 bars when in Auto mode, fixed this once by cutting the ignition and restarting after 40 mins, the second time it appeared to work however went back to 3 bars after a couple of mins and had to call recovery to get it home. Two things I've noticed are that when the bars appear in A the car continues to drive and shift gears normally until the car comes to a stop despite the bars however when the box returns to neutral it won't shift into first and take off, the engine just revs. Secondly the rear reverse light sticks on and glows more intensely when the car is put in reverse - Previously just removed the bulb to continue using the car. Thirdly this might be just be, but I swear the problem always manifests when driving uphill.... Have previously attempted to alleviate the problem by applying white lithium grease to the actuator however as an amateur I cant 100% assure it was performed correctly. I'd be deeply grateful for any insight you can offer, I really love my Roadster but I've had a back issue so I'm not earning enough to fund extensive garage repairs. The real irony is the legs outstretched driving position of the Roadster suits my back problem perfectly. Also if this is likely to require a professional repair and anyone knows a ballpark figure then let me know - on the verge of scrapping the car here. Regards RDSTROwner