Smart Fortwo Quality Review - Halfway Through Long-Term Test

Halfway through its time at GCBC Towers, our 2009 smart fortwo pure is struggling to convince us of its long-term viability. The latest quality concern isn't even completely the car's fault, but the fact that the car could be broken so easily is quite surprising. We'll get to that in a moment.

Back in November, the blower stopped blowing. Unable to defrost the windows or warm up the interior, the 2009 smart fortwo spent over six hours in the shop at O'Regan's Mercedes-Benz where a new blower was installed under warranty.

In September, the blinker stalk lost its end cap for no apparent reason. Without being a Mercedes-Benz parts manager, you'd think this is a truly obscure part, would you not? You'd be right, partially. Though the part wasn't in stock, the problem was described by service representatives as one that happens frequently when the smart's plastic bits undergo constant contact. Well, perhaps the signal device should be designed with the possibility of constant use in mind. This was another warranty repair.

Then there were/are problems with the steering wheel. The material started to peel away at the top of the wheel in November. Before we could find an appropriate, clear adhesive to paste the offending leftovers back into the groove, they'd come undone. Fortunately, it takes a keen eye to spot the faint damage.  More serious, and far more annoying, is the steering wheel's newfound creaking and squeaking when slowly turning to the right at low speeds. It's enough to drive you around the bend.

Get it? It squeaks when turning around corners slowly, and it'll "drive you around the bend"? 

Anyway, if yesterday's problem didn't come at such an inopportune time - it was the end of the day and I had to be downtown fast - we'd have asked the dealer to inspect the wheel yesterday. Surely the noise is still being made at higher speeds, but extra wind and engine noise makes it impossible to hear. Turning into parking spots or rolling away from four-way stops, the wheel's noises aren't unlike that of fingernails on chalkboards. 

Now to yesterday's issue. Although unknown to us for the nearly 18 months in which the 2009 smart fortwo has been in our possession, although never creeping up in the previous 58 trips to gas stations, it was discovered yesterday at a Shell station in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that the smart fortwo has a locking gas cap cover. If the car is locked, so is the gas cap cover. There's no visible lock. The cover still has plenty of give in its range of motion. Indeed, the car's manual describes the locking mechanism as one which includes the fuel filler flap, but who reads the section on how to unlock your car? Not The Good Car Guy. 

Anyway, this had to have been the first time I locked the car after getting out; before opening the fuel filler flap. (A subliminal exercise because I was on Robie and North instead of the safe confines at Lacewood and Parkland?) Yep, it was locked. The plastic was cold, but not that cold. It was 0ºC. The fuel filler flap came off in my hand. In my somewhat disturbed state, I dropped it to the ground like it was a poisonous lead-filled piece of black plastic. (It may also have been dropped suddenly because it was covered in salty winter grime.) There were two problems which immediately came to mind. The fuel door wasn't open - I still couldn't get to the gas cap, so I couldn't fill up the car with Shell V-Power. (It was locked, remember, and I didn't know that it even could lock.) Also, the flappy piece of the door was on the ground.

I gave one tug at what remained of the fuel door which, of course, would not budge. I put the fuel filler flap in the car and drove 1 kilometre to the Mercedes-Benz dealer. They diagnosed the problem as a piece of brittle plastic being tugged when locked. They placed a new fuel filler flap off a brand new 2011 smart fortwo, not having the part in stock, where the missing part was.... er, missing, for $35.25 including tax. On my merry way I went.

Here's the good news. The new fuel filler flap looks great, it's cleaner than the original piece had been in months. The service representative was a friendly fellow who shared the news that I wasn't even the first to do this today. A gent checking out a pre-owned Volvo tore the fuel filler flap off earlier that morning and the Volvo dealer had four in stock. 

The bad news? If the fuel filler flap is going to be locked, why does it have an inch of travel even when locked? This isn't just true of the one I demolished with two grams of force; the new one has the sort of built in give you'd expect in the steering of a 1980 Cadillac Eldorado. It's appalling. 

Our smart car has averaged 6.6 L/100km since the end of September. That's 35.6 miles per gallon in America, 42.8 miles per gallon in the United Kingdom. As always, most driving is done in the city but there are some highway spurts in there. One specific fill-up required just 4.9 litres per 100 kilometres. That's still not quite as good as what the Canadian government says you'll get on the highway but it's seven miles per gallon better than what the EPA says smarts will acheive on the highway, a 17% improvement on that figure if my math's right. Overall, with just under 21,000 kilometres on the 2009 smart (over 13,000 miles), we're averaging 6.38 L/100km. That's 36.8 miles per gallon, slightly better than the EPA's 36 mpg average.

The smart fortwo isn't for everyone. As the theory goes, it's perfect for certain someones. But with quality concerns, albeit minor ones, creeping up on a relatively routine basis, the smart fortwo is increasingly looking like it may go from recommended for certain someones to unrecommended for certain everyones.

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