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Smart · NHTSA safety record

2011 Smart Fortwo

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

16

Complaints

2

Crashes

1

Fires

2

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2011 Smart Fortwo have filed 16 safety complaints with NHTSA between May 2012 and January 2023. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 5 of them (31%). The typical failure was reported at 29,600 miles, the median across the 14 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.

Defect investigations (1)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Pedestrian alert sounds

DP22005

Closed defect petition · opened January 27, 2023 · closed August 7, 2023 · led to recall 22V063000

the electrical system

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 16.

ENGINE 5 31%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 25%
SEAT BELTS 4 25%
POWER TRAIN 2 13%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 13%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 6%
STRUCTURE 1 6%
TIRES 1 6%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 6%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 6%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 6%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2012 at 3.

2012 2023
2012 to 2023

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

2 injured · crash · towed · 54,000 miles

THE CAR BROKE DOWN ON EXIT 231 B IN VIRGINIA. THE SMART HAD A GAS TANK DEFECT. I WAS NEARLY KILLED. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO TYSINGER MOTORS IN VIRGINIA MULTIPLE TIMES.

NHTSA complaint 10914887. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

fire · 51,000 miles

I WAS DRIVING EASTBOUND IN THE NUMBER 1 LANE OF CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY 24 ABOUT 1/4 MILE BEFORE THE TUNNEL ROAD EXIT. I HEARD A NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE ARE OF THE CAR, LOOKED AT THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER AND NOTICED THAT THE ENGINE LIGHT HAD ILLUMINATED, AND EXPERIENCE A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER. I PULLED OFF OF THE HIGHWAY AT THE TUNNEL ROAD EXIT AND STALLED ON THE OFF RAMP. I ATTEMPTED TO RESTART THE ENGINE TWICE BY TURNING THE KEY. I SAW SMOKE IN MY REARVIEW MIRROR, EXITED THE VEHICLE, AND SAW FLAMES COMING FROM UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE. I CALLED 911 AND GAVE THE DISPATCH OPERATOR MY LOCATION. BY THE TIME THE HIGHWAY PATROL AND LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED, MY CAR WAS TOTALED. THE ATTACHED

NHTSA complaint 10981144, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash · 2,500 miles

STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT BEHIND OTHER CAR. VEHICLE ROLLED FORWARD WHILE FOOT WAS ON BRAKE INTO OTHER STOPPED VEHICLE. *TR

NHTSA complaint 10458246. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TIRES
175 55 r15 Tge tires wires startes to unravelling and chabgibg the ahape of tge tire.

NHTSA complaint 11500754. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEAT BELTS

84,000 miles

THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT LATCH HAS FAILED FOR THE SECOND TIME IN 2 YEARS. THE MALE END CAN NOT BE INSERTED INTO THE FEMALE END.

NHTSA complaint 11143407. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

64,000 miles

THE METAL SEAT BELT CONNECTOR FRAYED IN TO TWO PIECES. REPLACED WITH OEM PART. IT FRAYED AGAIN. IT'S A 2011 DRIVEN BY A 75 YR.OLD SENIOR CITIZEN. MERCEDES ACCUSED OWNER OF MALICIOUSLY CUTTING CABLE. EXTREME SAFETY HAZZARD.

NHTSA complaint 11115029. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEAT BELTS
SAFE BELT BUCKLE JAMMED OR CAN'T CLICK

NHTSA complaint 11020473. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Smart Fortwo

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2016 21 1 —
2014 13 0 —
2013 25 0 —

Every Smart on this site — 4 vehicles, 7 recall campaigns and 0 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

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