Smart owners have filed 250 complaints with NHTSA across 2 models. On average the car was 6.71 years old when the problem happened, and 24.1% of reports fall inside the first three years — while the factory warranty was still running.
What breaks on Smart
The systems Smart owners report most, and how often each failure ended in a crash.
| System | Complaints | Share of Smart | Ended in a crash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 16.8% | 0% | |
| Power Train | 14.4% | 8.3% | |
| Unknown Or Other | 7.6% | 5.3% | |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 7.2% | 0% | |
| Seat Belts | 5.6% | 0% | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 4.8% | 8.3% | |
| Electrical System | 4.4% | 0% | |
| Structure | 4.4% | 0% |
When Smart problems show up
| Measure | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Average age at failure | 6.71 years | How old the car was when the problem happened |
| Reported inside 3 years | 24.1% | Share of complaints filed while the factory warranty was likely still running |
| Complaints describing a crash | 11 | Of 250 total |
| Complaints describing a fire | 38 | Of 250 total |
A low average age does not automatically mean a fragile car: a brand with a young fleet on the road will always skew early. Read it next to the share reported inside three years.
Which Smart models draw the most complaints
Volume follows sales, so a bestseller will always top this list. The columns worth reading are age at failure and how many reports ended in a crash.
| Model | Complaints | Share of Smart | Avg age at failure | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORTWO | 99.2% | 6.8 yrs | 11 | |
| FORTWO CABRIOLET | 0.8% | 0.0 yrs | — |
Smart complaints by model year
A bad generation shows up here as a block of years, not as a single spike. Recent years look quiet simply because those cars are young and still under warranty.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | — | — | |
| 2017 | — | — | |
| 2012 | — | — | |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2010 | — | 1 | |
| 2009 | 3 | 10 | |
| 2008 | 7 | 26 |
What Smart owners report
Grouped by the system owners named. Open any row for the full reports, in their own words — one per model so the same fault does not repeat.
Engine 42 Read
Was driving at 35 mph at night, lights flashed on/off, her a thump and pop, car and lights shut off, then a large fire erupted in engine compartment. Vehicle was totally destroyed
Power Train 36 Read
The 2008 smart car, has been consistently, shifting into neutral, while driving, usually, when entering, or exiting a highway, or at an intersection (speed changes). The car shifts into neutral, and then usually shuts down, causing the vehicle to be rear ended, from unsuspecting drivers behind this vehicle..the problem started when the car, would not shift into reverse, while parked..smart offered a software fix, to address that issue. Had that done, then problem progressed, to shifting to neutral while driving, and stalling out...at times car, would restart, but it would not shift into gear, indicating only a flashing neutral position. At times, car would not start at all, because would not know what gear it was in...if waited 10-20 minutes, or several hours, it might restart, and shift, for a short period, before it did the same thing again...apparently it's a common problem, with the smart car forums, full of complaints, about the 2008 year, with smart co., at times, authorizing repairs, and replacement with 2009 mechanisms, that do not have the same problems as the 2008 model year. There should definitely be a recall for the 2008 smart car, model year, before someone is killed, entering, exiting a highway, at a railroad crossing, or at an intersection, where the car, shifts into neutral, won't shift out, and shuts off... Thank you
Unknown Or Other 19 Read
On july 28 2017 I was driving on the highway and my car "died". Luckily I was able to coast to the side of the road and the car that was following me also pulled over and the man was yelling that my car was on fire. I had no previous warning. No smell, no sounds, no alarms--nothing other than my car died while I was on the highway. I had gotten out to see what I could of the situation (not mechanically inclined), saw smoke and small flames so went to get keys and cell pnone out of car and 2 other people were parked in front of me, having passed by me, and were yelling "get out of the car it is on fire" by now, only a few minutes later, the rear of my car was entirely engulfed in flames. The smoke inside the car now was thick, grayish in color, while the exterior seemed to me melting before my eyes! The entire car was destroyed. All that is left is the basic metal frame. Several bystanders took video and pictures of this as it was horrible and fast. I did not hear anything when I was driving to alert me there was a problem initially. If the car hadn't died, as fast as this happened, I would be dead I am sure. As far as I know there were no recalls on this car. I had less than 30000 original miles on the vehicle and all mandatory upkeep was performed (oil changes etc) there are chp files im sure, I have a claim in with my insurance (usaa) and as I said there is video documentation of the fire. At this point my car, and virtually everything in it is charcoal. The car I
Engine And Engine Cooling 18 Read
The contact owns a 2008 Smart Fortwo. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V273000(Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed there was smoke coming from the engine. The contact stated that the vehicle had caught on fire. No warning lights illuminated. The contact exited the vehicle quickly and entered a mechanic shop and a mechanic put on safety gloves to extinguish the fire with a fire hose. The fire was able to be extinguished by the mechanic. The mechanic mentioned that the insulation mat detached from the vehicle and caught on fire. No injuries were sustained. A fire report was not filed since the fire department was not at the scene. A Police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's parents' home where it remained. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. Parts Distribution Disconnect
Seat Belts 14 Read
The driver side seat belt mount, which in this case is a steel cable, has mostly broken and frayed rendering it unsafe to drive. In the event of an accident, it would certainly break completely. I only noticed it yesterday while cleaning, the breakage would've happened while driving it. I've contacted mercedes USA, and they tell me that my warranty has run out, they can't do anything. Even though this is a mandatory safety feature that has completely failed from normal use
Fuel/propulsion System 12 Read
The car broke down on exit 231 b in virginia. The smart had a gas tank defect. I was nearly killed. I have taken the car to tysinger motors in virginia multiple times
Electrical System 11 Read
An hour or hour and a half after parking the car we noticed that there was smoke coming from the inside of the car. The car had smoke and a electrical fire smell. The fire department was called. They disconnected the battery and the smoke stopped. The actual source could not be identified. The smoke was coming from the engine compartment. The car was totaled. Do I have any legal recourse?
Structure 11 Read
The paint on my 2009 red smart car is peeling. Some smart cars have been recalled for bad paint which could lead to loss of the windshield or roof; the adhesive is laid over the paint and if the paint some off the adhesive will too; thus is a safety issue. My car was ordered in 2008, but I purchased it in 2009. I have contacted the dealership, and the smart headquarters and spoke with adam. I had the estimate of how much it would cost to repaint or replace the panels on the car. This was part of a "goodwill out of warranty gesture." adam from headquarters called me today and informed me that they would not honor the repairs. I'm so sad. I'm a senior and I saved up for 3 years to get that car new. I have taken impeccable care of it, and if you google "red smart cars with peeling paint issues" you will fine many postings. I'm stuck with this crappy looking car. It looks awful. I'm not good on the computer, but will try to get someone to take photos and send them in. I have been the soul owner of the car, I had wash it with water, and it is garage kept. I only have 54,000 miles on it. The stress has made me quite depressed as getting in the car I have to be reminded of how it looks. This car was to be my last car due to my age. So now, when someone asks how I like my smart car, I give them the tour around my car so they can see for themselves. They just shake their heads in amazement. I then tell them that mercedes/smart will not make it right. This is wrong. Very poor customer
Unverified owner reports filed with NHTSA. Percentages are shares of all 250 Smart complaints.
Smart against the rest
| Measure | Where Smart sits | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| By complaint volume | #0 | 29 brands with 3,000+ complaints |
| By age at failure (later is better) | #0 | 29 brands |
| Complaints ending in a crash | 4.4% | across all 250 reports |
Ranking by volume says more about how many cars a brand sells than about how they hold up. Age at failure is the fairer of the two.
Compare Smart with the rest
Smart problems by model
1 Smart models have owner complaints on file. Pick one for its worst years, failing systems and what owners actually wrote. Another 1 Smart models have no complaints on record at all.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Go deeper
Frequently asked questions
How reliable is Smart?
Owners have filed 250 complaints across 2 Smart models. On its own that number reflects how many Smart cars are on the road — compare the average age at failure (6.71 years) instead.
What breaks most often on a Smart?
The most reported system is Engine with 42 complaints.
Do Smart problems show up under warranty?
24.1% of Smart complaints describe something that happened in the first three years, while the factory warranty was likely still running.
Which Smart model has the most complaints?
See the model list above — each card shows its complaint count, and the model page breaks it down by year and by system.