2008 smart fortwo smart fortwo 2008

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2008 smart fortwo repairs by problem area

Engine (29%)

Transmission and Drivetrain (15%)

Brakes and Traction Control (2%)

Suspension and Steering (4%)

Electrical and Air Conditioning (28%)

Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (12%)

Other (10%)

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Chart based on 416 repairs.
See TSBs and recalls for the 2008 smart fortwo.

2008 smart fortwo electrical repair cost distribution

$2500+ (0%)

$1000 - $2499 (3%)

$500 - $999 (11%)

$100 - $499 (24%)

< $100 (61%)

Worried about potential repair costs? An extended warranty can provide peace of mind.

Chart based on 98 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.

2008 smart fortwo 2dr Hatch

70-horsepower 1.0L I3 5-speed automated manual RWD

2916 mi Alarm sensor installed incorrectly, dealer fixed 
67000 mi Heater motor blower, owner took out motor cleaned and lubed 
8000 mi No a/c heater blower. Went on for two days then started working,the dealer could not duplicate problem, was told by other smart owners and saw on web where others had the same problem.  
84800 mi

US $1300
Starter failed, a bunch of wiring to the starter also got fried. 
19000 mi Heat fan motor failure. 
10000 mi blower replacement 
35000 mi

US $1000
starter went 
45000 mi

US $500
Fan motor in climate system was inoperable; was replaced 
3000 mi Low tire pressure light came on. Checked tire pressures and all were High. Reset to factory recommendation but warning light stayed on. Called dealer and they gave me instructions to reset the light. Now OK. 
5000 mi One of the rear window defroster elements was not operating. Dealer diagnosed the problem and ordered part for replacement. 
54000 mi

US $100
radio booster repaired under warranty 
11000 mi AC/Heater blower stopped working. Part ordered. 
6000 mi Radio making a strange bumping sound thru the speakers even when it was off. Problem was very intermittent. I drove car two months with radio fuse pulled. Shop unable to duplicate problem. Radio working fine now... 
15000 mi

US $130
Battery died after a cold spell - six years old so decided to replace it. 
8000 mi

US $300
tire light 
32000 mi

US $600
Tire pressure sensor replacement. 
40000 mi

US $8
Headlight low beam replaced 
87000 mi

US $180
Blower fan stopped working. Replaced fan assembly. After research on line, found this is a common issue. Ordered from Parts geek on line. 
11000 mi Radio 9 turns on when car turns on. Warranty repair. 
45500 mi Horn didn't work, dealer had to order clockspring and then mechanic got sick before doing repair. 
77000 mi high pressure valve failed totally 
49000 mi Wire loose in steering wheel, horn not working. New terminal and screw. 
18000 mi

US $815
New headlight 
23000 mi

US $200
Dead battery, replaced. 
75300 mi

C $20
Starter motor was stuck. Took it down, cleaned and sprayed with contact cleaner plus lithium lubricant. No more problems since. 
17500 mi Heater fan motor became intermittent. Common problem with many Smarts. Fan motor commutator is poorly made and wears excessively on brushes on $580 motor. Repaired myself by smoothing commutator and repositioning brushes after cleaning. 
19840 mi flat tire sensor replaced, 
15215 mi Replaced both headlights, as both had burnt out. Listed as defective.  
22320 mi

C $4
Driver's side rear tail light was out, no signalling function. 
25720 mi Battery died, failed midtronic tests, and was replaced. 
32540 mi

C $55
One of the lights out, again. 
46480 mi

C $67
Both headlights were out again. 
61380 mi

C $15
Blinker light went out. Bought bulbs on amazon and replaced. 
22000 mi

US $15
replaced headlight bulb 
22100 mi

US $15
replaced bulb 
29020 mi Replaced headlight bulb: a very tricky task on this vehicle 
9000 mi Headlight 'brights' flicker under normal use. The shop neither detected nor repaired this problem, which still exists. The dealer thought it might have had to do with a software update that the car didn't have, so he installed new software, to no ... 
106000 mi

US $140
There was some problem with the electrics, and this appears to have been related to the air pressure sensors that had been malfunctioning. The sensors were fixed, and I also needed (and received) the most updated software. Cheap repair! 
23200 mi

US $200
new starter fan not working so a new one was ordered 
13000 mi

US $100
Spare key did not function. 
22000 mi

US $540
Car alarm sounding for no reason. Sensor unit replaced. 
19800 mi

US $980
Starter motor failed was replaced 
18000 mi 12 volt socket was loose - repaired. 
30000 mi 12 volt socket requires solenoid to us as a charger. 
13000 mi Car displayed 2 bars in the gas gauge. Car lost all power entering highway. Coasted to side and had towed. Dealer replaced fuel sensor inside tank and reset all display gauges. Car was out of fuel and I burned the sensor (2 bars were showing). 
23200 mi

US $11
Burned out headlight. Out of warranty. Replaced without needing tools. 
44300 mi

US $87
Replaced hvac blower motor. 
108000 mi melted connector on fuse block 
163000 mi

US $50
replaced blower 
14000 mi Air bag not able to deploy. 
15000 mi tire pressure monitors would not reset by dash switch. 
68000 mi

US $195
A/C recharged freon and A/C oil 
82000 mi

US $100
HVAC blower motor drawing too much current. Replaced AC blower motor that was ordered on previous visit. 
16000 mi Replace SRS sensor for seatbelt 
95000 mi

US $460
Blower motor failure 
10000 mi A/C and fan didn't operate, dealer replaced blower motor under warranty 
20000 mi It appears that the Subwoofer never worked. They had to electrically trace the wiring and replace part of the wiring harness. 
44000 mi

US $650
Heater fan & Motor replaced 
1400 mi Alarm system would go off at random. First trip in (May) the dealer diagnosed a faulty interior motion sensor. Parts kept not arriving, so after 10 days, they disabled the motion sensor and I picked up the car. Part arrived this month and was installed. replace defective interior motion sensor for alarm (was causing random and frequent false alarms) 
85000 mi

US $750
Dead alternator. Replaced 
1000 mi Factory-installed alarm. 
2000 mi Second trip for alarm. With extended stay they were able to deduce that the alarm problem was due to a microwave part. 
blower motor 
11000 mi

US $500
blower motor, door latch, sun screen, oil change, tire rotation, battery, spare tire 
6000 mi Radio comes on every time vehicle turns on. 
24000 mi HEAT/AC FAN MOTOR - INTERMIT. ON/OFF 
1000 mi AM band on radio would periodically become unlistenable because of high levels od static-like noise. The problem turned out to be a defective pre-amp and/or its connections, which was replaced under warranty. 
18000 mi

US $575
Replaced steering angle sensor in steering wheel to restore horn function. 
19200 mi

US $50
Diagnose car alarm going off randomly 
41000 mi

US $200
Replaced broken antenna mast and base 
45000 mi

US $185
No cold air - they recharged the system and looked for leaks. No leak found. 
52000 mi Slow leak in the AC system since last year, despite using dye they could not find the source. Might be from the cold winter affecting seals. 
62000 mi

US $79
No cold air - need to recharge one a year - no leaks found 
70700 mi

US $1200
Air bag system deactivated, required replacement of seat belt tensioner 
102000 mi

US $500
Slow leak on AC system, requires recharge every year or two 
11000 mi Radio 9 was always on after car started, dealer replaced with Radio 10 
23000 mi Passenger side heated outside mirror stopped heating. Replaced passenger side mirror. Now heating correctly. 
22000 mi

US $10
Rear light bulb replaced 
26000 mi Replace headlight bulb 

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2008 smart fortwo 2dr Convertible

turbocharged 83hp 1.0L I3 5-speed automated manual RWD

23000 mi AC Condenser failure, leaking, 2nd re-gas test to find leaks charged again for re-gas. System check and re-programmed. 
29100 mi A/C Radiator outer casing had become detached from the core. This was repaired easily using industrial heat resistant adhesive. A rattle had occurred as a result at engine idle now cured. 
33000 mi Replace battery with higher output Bosch Silver top 5 yr warranty. Remove corrosion from starter motor braided earth strap, remake connections, and seal from road water contamination. 
44000 mi Dash info strip remained illuminated ran battery flat. Due to not locking car, info light relay remained on. Simple fix to re-set, open and close door, lock and unlock central locking several times quickly. Re-start engine. 
45000 mi As the vehicle has not been used regularly the battery charge went flat. Battery jumped started and then re-charged. 

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2008 smart fortwo 2dr Convertible

70-horsepower 1.0L I3 5-speed automated manual RWD

2000 mi Left front tweeter died, replaced under warranty. 
138500 mi

US $70
heat/ac blower not working replaced brushes in motor. a new blower motor was about $300.00 repaired by replacing brushes for $14.00 
4000 mi Dash vent would not blow air. Levers fell off and dealer repaired. Also asked about tapping sound in engine. Told they didn't hear anything so it was not fixed. 
100000 mi

US $100
Included use of dye and follow up to check for leaks. 
37000 mi

US $100
Replace defective blower motor. 
13496 mi Blower motor n/w Defective blower motor replaced under warranty. 
84600 mi

US $206
recharged the AC, did a leak test 
2000 mi Faulty gasoline gauge. Gauge showed 1/3 tank remaining...; tank was dry. Still in shop...may take a week to get parts from Germany. 
59000 mi

US $585
Blower was working intermittantly. 
24000 mi Fuel gauge reading inaccurately. 
30000 mi

US $17
Drivers side headlamp 
53300 mi

US $12
Replaced Passenger side headlight bulb. 
11000 mi

US $50
Rear headlight went out. Bought and installed replacement myself. 
64000 mi

US $25
The pressure plate that opens the rear hatch broke off. Part was ordered and fixed by owner. 
13000 mi

US $5
Left rear turn signal light bulb needed replacing.  
27000 mi

US $185
A/C needed a recharge - system was tested and refilled and is now working fine. 
32000 mi

US $450
In-cab blower fan unit died - replaced with new smart replacament. 
33000 mi

US $50
No cold - found that a small leak had occured when the blower fan replacement had happened in March. easy fix. 
41000 mi

US $150
A/C stopped being cold. Recharge solved the issue. 
42000 mi

US $125
Nine year old original battery finally needed replacement. Owner-completed repair in approx. 2 hours, Easy job. 
40700 mi

US $100
Intermittent blower motor. Replaced under extended warranty. Remote locking did not work. Gas filler door and rear hatch would not open. Car doors would not lock. 
34300 mi

US $245
A/C not blowing cold. Brought it in for recharge. After driving it for a few days, they will take a look to find the reason for the leak. SRS light constantly on. Reset the light to see if the problem re-occurs. 
37300 mi

US $350
Air bag warning light illuminated. More trouble shooting but could not find the cause. All circuits were checked. I guess I have to go to the dealer. Update: later went away on its own. 
51000 mi

US $365
Starter motor failed and was replaced. A circuit breaker failed. Three years earlier when I installed a new battery, I replaced a broken fuse with the circuit breaker. 

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See TrueDelta's information for all Hatchbacks and Convertibles.
See TrueDelta's information for all smart models.

2008 smart fortwo Electrical Problems

See our lemon odds and nada odds page to see vehicles with no repairs or vehicles with more than three repairs. To see how frequently 2008 smart fortwo problems occur, check out our car reliability stats.