Owners have filed 250 complaints on the Smart Fortwo, covering 2008–2019. The system named most often is Power Train (54 reports). Worst years by volume: 2008, 2009, 2011; cleanest: 2019, 2012, 2010. 11 reports describe a crash, 38 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 6.7 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Smart Fortwo
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 250 Fortwo complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 54 Read
Smart car had history of not going in reverse. "r" would not come up on screen, car would just roll forward, hitting vehicle(s) in front. Then for a couple of months, (2 years) car would go into neutral while driving, (even on highway) coast for a while, then shut down, and not restart. If you waited 10 minutes, it…
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…
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…
Engine 43 Read
I was driving eastbound in the number 1 lane of california highway 24 about 1/4 mile before the tunnel road exit. I heard a noise coming from the engine are of the car, looked at the instrument cluster and noticed that the engine light had illuminated, and experience a sudden loss of power. I pulled off of the highway…
The contact owns a 2009 smart fortwo. The contact was not notified, but the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 18V273000 (engine and engine cooling). While the vehicle was in operation, it caught fire in the engine compartment without warning. The fire extinguished on its own and caused catastrophic engine…
The contact owns a 2009 smart fortwo. While driving 40 mph, the contact felt heat coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact noticed that the rear carpet and plastic from the trunk cover caught fire. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to the…
Electrical System 28 Read
My car was in motion on the freewaywhen it seized. When stopped the engine in the back caught fire, my vehicle burned to the ground, there were recalls for this the year before, (for the 2009 smart car) there are videos documnting this on you tube. My brother who worked for mercedes (the parent company of smart) as a…
The contact owns a 2009 smart fortwo. The contact heard a knocking sound under the hood of the vehicle and smoke began to fill the vehicle underneath the steering column. The contact parked and turned off the vehicle; however, the knocking sound and smoke continued. The horn and alarm began to sound. The contact…
Hello. I saw on the news there was an investigation about 2008/2009 smart cars. Mine caught completely on fire in april of 2012 while driving. I did not know where to complain to other than the dealership until I saw the news. I bought my smart car in december of 2009. With in 9 months I started having electrical…
Engine And Engine Cooling 21 Read
After getting home from school, coming in saying hello to the family I went back out to my car to get my bag. When I approached my car I could hear what I believed to be my radiator fans still running despite the car was turned off. My logic was "maybe a glitch in the computer." so I proceeded to simply turn the car…
The contact owns a 2008 Mercedes-Benz Smart ForTwo. The contact stated while parking the vehicle, there was smoke coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was on fire under the hood. The fire department was called to the scene and the fire was extinguished. A fire report was filed. The vehicle was not towed.…
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…
Seat Belts 15 Read
Seat belts do not retract. There were couple of times while in transit on city road, I had to apply brake suddenly and seat belt fail to engage to hold the passenger back . All the time , both seat belts do not retract to their home position when not in use and car is stopped and parked, this caused dents to the car's…
Passenger seat belt stop securing the buckle no apparent reason
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,…
Structure 14 Read
I was driving my smart car to work at 1:30 am. There was some snow on the roads so I left 10 minutes earlier than normal so I could drive slowly. I had to go up a hill and the car fishtailed and crashed into the steel rail.I was going 43 mph in a 55 mph zone when the car fishtailed. I hit the steel rail almost head…
I represent the owners of this 2009 smart fortwo vehicle. My client drove the vehicle home after work and parked in the garage. Approximately 30 minutes after parking the vehicle in the garage, my client was awoken by his son who smelled smoke. My client followed the smoke to the garage where he found the vehicle on…
The contact owns a 2012 smart fortwo. While driving 60 mph, the passenger side body panel disengaged without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,100
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
Fuel leak of unknown origin/cause while stationary, forming a puddle beneath the vehicle overnight. Vehicle otherwise in pristine condition. No accident or other impact took place -- normal drive home, garaged the car, found puddle in the morning and garage filled with gas fumes, observed dripping from underside of car
Fuel pump connector cracks
Service Brakes 9 Read
I have a 2009 smart for two passion model on 7/21 I went to go into a parking place at a small shopping area and the brakes slowed me down but would not allow me to come to a complete stop. I was going very slow but could not stop thus I hit the window of a furniture store. It broke the window and the only damage to…
The contact owns a 2011 smart fortwo. The contact stated that the check engine light illuminated, the vehicle was taken to the dealer to have a diagnostic performed. The failure was located at cylinder three. The contact also stated that while the brake pedal was depressed, it made a squeaking noise. The dealer…
The contact owns a 2009 smart fortwo. The contact stated that the ABS system warning light remained illuminated and caused the traction control to also fail. The dealer advised that the ABS module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and…
Fortwo years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2017 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2012 | Electrical System,vehicle Speed Control,engine | — | — | |
| 2011 | Electrical System,seat Belts | 1 | 1 | |
| 2010 | Electrical System,structure,engine | — | 1 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 3 | 10 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 7 | 26 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 68 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.7 |
| Worst single series | 15 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.7 years |
A model average of 3.7 hides a worst series at 15. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
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
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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.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Fortwo?
By complaint volume, 2008, 2009, 2011 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Fortwo years are the cleanest?
2019, 2012, 2010 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Smart Fortwo have?
250 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2008–2019. Of those, 11 describe a crash and 38 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.