Regarding lightning: water/humidity had access to the sam unit and the right-side signals/stop light stopped working. The vehicle was in motion when it suddenly stopped working. Regarding body/other: some of the convertible-roof steel frame/bars got bent when closing the top and the bent bars would prevent the top from closing unless you forced the steel/metal bars.
Body, doors & structure
2013 Smart ED Body problems
Owners have filed 2 complaints about the 2013 Smart ED's body, doors & structure with NHTSA - 8% of all its complaints, most recently on November 28, 2020. Doors, hoods and latches, frame rust, sunroofs, leaks, trim and structural failures.
- Complaints
- 2
- Recalls
- 0
- Crashes
- 0
- Fires
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Deaths
- 0
Body complaints
In compliance with my 2013 smart fortwo vehicle owner's manual, I washed my vehicle in an automatic car wash, located at a fuel station. Upon the start of the drying cycle, the front "hood assembly" detached from the car and flew back, striking my windshield. It was caused by the failure of one of two plastic clips, located in the front grille. The clip was stressed to the point of breakage. This event blocked all visibility, therefore, causing a possible crash hazard and/or a pedestrian strike. The event also...
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placed risk to occupants, in the event of windshield glass injury and/or hood penetration into the occupant cabin. In this specific incident, the vehicle was at low speed, and risk was minimal; however, I do not know the wind speed of the dryer mechanism. It seems possible that similar exposure to such forces could be replicated naturally, during normal driving conditions. In such case, the possibility of mechanism failure exists. For instance: if wind speeds/gusts and specific directionality is combined with the opposing directionality, and a much higher velocity of a vehicle (than that of one in a car wash). Research conducted, after the incident, indicated a high prevalence of occurrence; this information was found on public smart car internet forums, by the fuel station company's district manager, and management of a well-established, national car wash franchise. Note: according to the 2013 smart fortwo owner's manual, owners can utilize automatic car washes. It does not warns against the possibility of the above described situation. Specific instructions state: "washing your vehicle in an automatic car wash: when running your vehicle through an automatic car wash, water droplets can run down the inside of the side windows. Unscrew your vehicle's antenna before driving into an automatic car wash" (p.154, Smart operator's manual, oct 2, 2012). *Tr
Smart ED body complaints by year
ED body problems, every yearSource: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data