Robsters

Hi Everyone, Just wondered if anyone might have any clue to this issue I been having with our 2005 forfour smart car (i know i know i drive a fiesta myself but this is my wife car) its a low milage car for its age at 29k. its a semi auto car that has a fully auto mode too (sorry if thats obvious). the issue is that sometimes if you come to a standstill at traffic or a red light the car gears will not automatically shift down into 1st or will jam completely resulting in restarting the car to get it back into the correct gear to pull off. I ran it in semi mode for almost a year and it seem to avoid the issue (it did not happen often in full auto mode and it sometimes took months before it would crop up again) but yesterday it happened in semi mode and it got stuck in 4th and could not shift it down myself (the car normally shifts it down in semi mode if you stop) and had to restart the car to regain control. my first worry is the gear box completely had it? but this would seem very strange for such a low milage car. I don't believe its ever been service properly by the previous owners and I plan to get this sorted as the service icon came up a few 100 miles ago but before i start throwing money at it then it would be good to find out if this is a write off issue or can be repair at a reasonable cost .

hope someone here can give me a clue to what i can do. my normal mechanic i use for my ford says he does not touch smart cars (wise guy lol) but i rang the smart dealership they charge £100 just to plug into there diagnostic computer :/

haz87

Probably just a dodgy actuator or similar. Best bet is to find a Smart specialist (not a dealer) and I'm sure they'll know the issue just by description and do it for a far better price.
A quick google and just the results alone suggest plenty of people seeing the same kind of problems. May even be an answer in those posts but I'm sure you've googled already....

Robsters

thank you, i did google last year at the time and its jogging my memory now. as you say just need to find a smart specialist in my area (berkshire) thanks for your help