It's no surprise to anyone out there who's been following along with Inside Line's long-term Smart Fortwo Passion that we're not thrilled with the transmission. And by "we're not thrilled with" I mean "we avoid the smart at all costs because of."
Well, it seems we're not the only ones. Recently Smart has issued a transmission and engine software upgrade (Campaign C0209002) for '08 model year cars to make the car slightly less useless. 2009 MY Smarts already have it.
Along with the trans/engine reprogram, our Smart also needed a new VIN label, a new owner's manual, and it required open campaign C0209007--shifter lubrication so we don't need to have ours towed away.
The service was performed at Beverly Hills Mercedes and took about 3 hours.
Results?
Well the transmission is still pretty terrible, but it's finally stopped fighting against the brake pedal when stopped and they've programmed some creep into the system; it's now possible to parallel park the damn thing without fear of unintended over-acceleration.
The only other discernable change is the paddles. No, they haven't done the right thing and affixed them to the column (If a wheel has more than 360-degrees of rotation they should be fixed--and the wheel shouldn't have a flat spot!) the paddles now work when pressed, regardless of the position of the shifter. Previously you'd have to move the shift lever to the left to get some control over the gears. The new software lets you tap the paddle for instant results. Good idea, I guess. (but now after tapping the paddles while in D, you have to slide the lever over to manual and then back to D to return to normal drive. Cars that do this correctly revert to drive when you up-paddle through the top gear, this is wrong and irritating.) EDIT: I completely forgot, until after posting of course, the OTHER way to disengage manual mode-- hold the upshift paddle for 2-3 seconds and the car switches from manual mode back to straight-up D. This technique does work in the Smart. Sorry for the confusion.
Midrange shifts are pretty much the same. They're slightly better--maybe-- nothing drastic. Full-throttle shifts are just as annoying, long and abrupt.
So it's free, you can park and it doesn't cause your braking leg undue stress. If you have an '08 Smart, it won't fix everything that's wrong with the Smart, but it's a solid attempt.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 16,754 miles
altimadude00 says:
06:02 PM, 05/21/09
So...it's still a pain. And what are the advantages of this car over real cars (say...the Soul, Cube, xA, etc.)? It certainly isn't for the exclusivity anymore (in SoCal at least).
mr_bots says:
06:04 PM, 05/21/09
Best quote ever "Recently Smart has issued a transmission and engine software upgrade for '08 model year cars to make the car slightly less useless." Too bad the stuck up people driving them don't feel the same way.
caheew says:
06:06 PM, 05/21/09
The Smart car is terrible. Unless you live in New York or something, it's stupid.
carguy622 says:
06:11 PM, 05/21/09
I'm not even going to get into the whole "What's the point?" thing, because the concept is good, but the price point is too high. Instead I'd like to ask Smart why you can't get a regular manual transmission in this car.
OK, it gets driven into the city where there is traffic, but this situation doesn't sound any less painful than working the clutch a lot.
wobbly_ears says:
10:21 PM, 05/21/09
A new VIN label? What happened??
Monocrom says:
12:36 AM, 05/22/09
I've got a better way to improve the Smart... Trade it in for a different car.
stovt001 says:
12:40 AM, 05/22/09
"it's now possible to parallel park the damn thing without fear of unintended over-acceleration"
How is it even possible to over-accelerate a car that can't even accelerate to begin with?
I still think mounting paddles on the column vs the wheel is a moot point because you should only shift with the wheel pointed straight ahead or nearly so anyway.
tantan73 says:
01:18 AM, 05/22/09
I've got an even better way which involves encasing it in concrete and sinking it to the bottom of the ocean.....
bumpy says:
05:48 AM, 05/22/09
"How is it even possible to over-accelerate a car that can't even accelerate to begin with?"
They're griping about the DBW calibration.
felonious says:
08:27 AM, 05/22/09
This image would have been a much better choice for this week's "You Write the Caption".
redliner says:
08:37 AM, 05/22/09
felonious
My caption: Penalty Box
stovt001 says:
11:04 AM, 05/22/09
bumpy, it was a joke.
stephen987 says:
11:10 AM, 05/22/09
caption: "A bored Skippy awaits the return of his newly repaired exercise wheel."
epbrown says:
03:48 PM, 05/22/09
The poor Smart gets no love. Here's me and a friend recently:
Me: I'm finally going to get the new wheels installed on the Smart.
Him: You bought rims for a Smart? Are you kidding?
Me: Yeah, have you seen the stock wheels?
Him: Err, have you seen the REST OF THE CAR?
AlanGriff says:
03:40 AM, 05/26/09
Lucky me, I "live in New York or something," so having a smart is, um, smart.
Last week, I drove 539 miles from NYC to Ohio, installing the update before leaving. Shifts were smoother and activating the manual tranny via paddle shifter was a blessing. It was a good trip.
Maybe the smart isn't a strictly a city car, after all.