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Vehicle safety record

2015 Smart ED Problems, complaints & recalls

Owners have filed 9 complaints about the 2015 Smart ED with NHTSA, most often about the engine & cooling (2) and the seats & seat belts (2). Those complaints describe 1 crash, 2 fires and 1 injury. There are no recalls for it. For comparison, the 2014 has 17 and the 2016 has 21.

NHTSA data checked

BFewer problems than a typical ED year, for its age

#234 most complained-about 2015 vehicle

Complaints
9
Recalls
0
Crashes
1
Fires
2
Injuries
1
Deaths
0

Most common 2015 Smart ED problems

Share of all 9 complaints. One complaint can name more than one area. Tap an area for its complaints and recalls.

No recalls for the 2015 Smart ED

NHTSA lists no recalls for the 2015 Smart ED. Recalls can be announced at any time - this page updates daily.

What owners say

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9 complaints about the 2015 Smart ED

Newest first, as filed with NHTSA by owners.

Electrical systemEngine & coolingFire

Sunday 3/23 I was driving west on 225 heading towards work, all of a sudden the check engine light comes on and all kinds of other lights on the dash came on. I got pulled over and looked in the rear view mirror I seen flames. Quickly grabbed my stuff and got out of the car. The investigation at the time stated most of the heat was coming from the engine

Filed Incident Electrical system · EngineNHTSA 11650674
Seats & seat belts

The contact owns a 2015 Smart ForTwo. The contact stated while buckling the seat belt, he became aware that a metal cable through the eyelet bolted to the frame by the door jamb on the driver's side had started to fray. The contact stated that the vehicle was not driven frequently and felt that there could not be a wear and tear issue. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer. The vehicle had not been diagnosed and had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

Filed Incident Seat beltsNHTSA 11532331
Other & unknownFire

The driver was sitting a red light when flames started emerging from the hood. The driver exited the car before the entire front of the car was engulfed in flames and ultimately destroyed. It is unclear what caused the fire but it might have been a wiring harness (or at least there was a wiring harness in the front drivers area under the hood). The car is available for inspection upon request. The safety of the drivers was at risk; he was lucky to be at a red light although he was forced to exit in the middle...

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of a busy street. There is no problem to be reproduced but the incident was reported to Mercedes. The vehicle has not been inspected but the police and fire departments were on scene. There was no prior warning via lamps or other symptoms.

Filed Incident Unknown or otherNHTSA 11530259
Seats & seat belts

The cable that connects the driver's seatbelt to the seatbelt tensioner (smart/Mercedes part number 4518600084) frayed. The car has less than 49,000 miles on it. Six of the seven strands of the cable frayed and broke, leaving just one strand connecting the driver's seatbelt to the car. I've attached photos of the tensioner as mounted in the car and removed from the car. The frayed cable is part of the tensioner (smart/Mercedes part number 4518600084). Mercedes of Portland said that the seatbelts are not covered under the warranty. I paid $252.23 to have the tensioner assembly replaced. I shudder to think what would have happened if I had been in an accident with this defective seatbelt.

Filed Incident Seat beltsNHTSA 11463676
SuspensionFuel system

Car has major delays many times when you hit the gas pedal - you can be turning into traffic at times and there's a major delay to propel the vehicle forward when your foot is on the pedal - this delay in getting the car moving could cause a major crash. Motor mounts wear out under 50,000 miles seems too soon when compared to most other vehicles - suspension (shocks) come super hard from the factory.

Filed Incident Suspension · Unknown or other · Fuel / propulsion systemNHTSA 11413227
AirbagsCrash1 injury

I was driving on the highway a safe distance behind a lincoln navigator when they for no reason slammed on the brakes and stopped. I ended up rear ending the navigator. The rear of the car went up into the air came down and spun around three times before coming to a stop. My wife was injured. She sustained a broken rib cuts and scrapes and chest pains. No airbags never deployed in the car at all.

Filed Incident Air bagsNHTSA 11364499
Engine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 smart fortwo. While driving various speeds, there was an abnormal knocking noise coming from the engine compartment and the traction control warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to mercedes-benz of north olmsted (28450 lorain rd, north olmsted, oh 44070, (440) 716-2700) where it was diagnosed that the steering angle sensor caused the anti-lock brakes to seize. Also, the motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the warranty would not cover the repair. The failure mileage was 12,000.

Filed Incident Traction control system · EngineNHTSA 11166341
Other & unknown

Was driving down the road and my vehicle suddenly died-was not out of gas- took a while and started but shook violantly and didn't stay started- waited a while longer and it started and was able to drive it home.

Filed Incident Unknown or otherNHTSA 11010314
Brakes

While driving, brakes failed, brake pedal became impossible to depress with no brake response, and a warning light indicating a brake fault came on. Fortunately, driver was on a slow moving city street and was able to pull over and stop using hand brake for an emergency stop. Other electrical related glitches in this car can be 'reset' by turning off car and restarting. Driver tried that, error cleared, driver proceeded carefully, turning onto a quiet residential street. Brakes worked for two blocks, but on 3rd...

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block same thing occurred approaching a stop sign - brake pedal became un-usably stiff with no apparent brake response, indicator light came back on, brakes did not work, hand brake was again used to slow and stop vehicle. Two more attempts to reset, no change, used hand-brake while moving vehicle out of street and into a legal parking spot. Vehicle towed to dealer. Dealer indicates there is a service bulletin about this issue, fixes problem, but deflects all questions about whether this is a serious defect that should be part of a product-wide recall. Dealer notes on repair form are equally evasive, claiming that they were unable to recreate the problem but did find fault codes in the computer. I am deeply concerned that smart/mercedes is trying to hide a known brake failure defect that could easily result in a catastrophic and fatal crash - had the driver been on the freeway or a very fast moving busy street, this might not have ended with a simple hand-brake panic stop. This issue, a rubbing wire harness that then causes a short, is well known enough that they have an internal service bulletin about it - if it is that common, they need to recall all impacted vehicles and fix/replace/immobilize/reinsulate the defective wire harness where it rubs on the frame, and they need to do it before someone is gravely injured or dies due to a known defect.

Filed Incident Service brakesNHTSA 10983170

Smart ED: every year compared

YearComplaintsRecallsCrashesFiresTop problemGrade
201621052Engine & coolingD
20159012Engine & coolingB
201417011Engine & coolingC
201324003Engine & coolingC
All ED years

2015 Smart ED vs rivals

VehicleComplaintsRecallsCrashesGrade
2015 Smart ED901B
2015 Smart Coupe1101BCompare
2015 Smart Cabrio ED601BCompare
2015 Smart Cabrio601ACompare

More sales usually means more complaints, so compare similar vehicles of the same year. The grade compares each vehicle with its own model's other years.

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Questions about the 2015 Smart ED

Does the 2015 Smart ED have any recalls?

NHTSA lists no recalls for the 2015 Smart ED right now. Recalls can be announced at any time, and this page checks NHTSA every day. You can also check your exact vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

What are the most common problems with the 2015 Smart ED?

By the complaints owners filed with NHTSA, the most common problem areas are the engine & cooling (2), seats & seat belts (2), suspension (1).

How many complaints has the 2015 Smart ED had?

9 complaints have been filed with NHTSA, the first on May 2, 2017 and the latest on March 26, 2025. Of these, 1 describe a crash and 2 a fire, and together they report 1 injury and 0 deaths.

Is the 2015 Smart ED a reliable vehicle?

Its Safety Index is 65 out of 100 (grade B: fewer problems than a typical Smart ED year, for its age). The index weighs complaints, crashes, fires, injuries, deaths and recalls against how long the vehicle has been on the road, compared with the same model's other years. It is not a measure of every repair - read the complaints and owner experiences, and have any used vehicle inspected before you buy.

Which Smart ED years have the most complaints?
What should I do if my 2015 Smart ED has a problem?

If it is a safety problem, stop driving it if it is unsafe and contact your dealer. Report it to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem - enough reports start investigations and recalls - and share your experience here so other owners know what to look for.

Source: 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

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