Disaster towing Smart car

nearlyretired · 06-07-2009, 21:02

We towed our smart on A-frame down from the Tunnel to an intermediate stop in south Belgium. (place called Ave-et-Auffe try saying it

)

On arrival would not start. Problem is clutch has 'exploded' taking the gearbox and starter motor with it. It is now in our local garage but probably be beyond economic repair.

The only theory that has been advanced is that somehow it put itself into gear while being towed although ignition was off and the key removed.

I suppose may be feasible given that clutch and gearbox are electrically controlled .

Upshot is that we are now without our toad.

JayDee · 06-07-2009, 22:39

Blimey, that's a bummer

. I'd knew that there were some cars that couldn't be towed, but I hadn't heard the Smart was one of them.

Are you covered by insurance?

Pat'll be be upset for you when I tell her.

Sympathies for the probable loss.

John
As an aside...
Do you plan on doing Malvern? We've signed up for it.

dazzer · 06-07-2009, 23:13

Really sorry to hear that. Is it possible to leave the car in gear when you turn off the ignition and take out the keys, or do Smarts automatically shift to neutral when turned off??

camcondor · 07-07-2009, 06:08

A Smart should never, ever be towed with the key out and ignition off - the manual warns about this too I think, and there are lots of threads on the subject all over the web. Needs to be in Neutral with key in ignition, or else you will blow up the transmission . It isn't a "true" automatic, but nonetheless the transmission overheats badly when towed in gear and blows up eventually

You can't remove the key and tow in neutral, but lots of people have a plain key made without a fob so the car can't be easily stolen when towing like this.

So sorry to hear about the demise of your Smart

you live and learn, I guess, do you take it to a dealership or an independent? We use a good independent for ours -it may be viable to fix from an accident-damaged one, so please PM me if interested and I'll give you the details of the indy we use.

itexuk · 07-07-2009, 07:38

YES You can tow a Smart Car.
I have towed mine for thousands of miles without any problems. What you MUST do is make sure it is in neutral as you can get a FALSE neutral and it is still in gear.
What I do once the A Frame is connected to Motorhome is:
put gear leaver in neutral
check that the gear selection symbol on the dash is on N
If not, put foot on foot brake and move gear selector to Neutral again
Once you have the N symbol on the dash start engine to make sure it is in neutral ( Wont start if not in neutral.)
Turn off and take the key OUT as this locks the gear selector in Neutral
Make sure hand brake is off and do not lock the doors otherwise the alarm will go off when towing.
It is also worth checking the level of engine oil before you tow on an A Frame.

savantuk · 07-07-2009, 09:05

It's particularly important to make sure that the 'N' on the speedo panel is evident. With my Smart, at least, if I forget to move the selector to neutral before stopping the engine, and move it into neutral afterwards so that I can remove the key, the gearbox actually in 1st gear.

There are often major components for sale on this forum:

http://www.smartz.co.uk/

Good luck in getting it sorted out.

gazznsam · 07-07-2009, 10:36

i'd deffo agree, you prolly had it in gear without realising unfortunately,

i dont a-frame my smart yet, but i have noticed loads of times that when i get back in the car and try to start it, it wont, as it wasnt in neuteral, when i was certian i shifted to neuteral with my foot on the brakes before i turned the engine off.

even if the ignition was on and the box not in neuteral, once the road speed reaches 14kmh the clutch wil engage, this is how you can bump start a smart, the official way is to hold the gear lever forwards, it then goes into 2nd, but without it held forwards, it'll go into 1st, but still let the clutch up once it's rolling faster than 14kmh.

The uk smart manual warns against flat towing, the usual 30mph 30 miles thing that all modern cars get,
but the american smart has an A-frame as an option from the dealers, with the lights wired up to a socket on the front panel etc,

they are the same car, but slightly different software for the gearbox... the american smarts have a programmed 'auto' creap, with an auto box the torque converter will make the car move forwardsvery slowly at tickover, the smart being a manual box electricaly operated dosent, so they program the clutch to engage and slip a bit when the brakes are off at idle!!!

the american box also has a park position, as they dont see the handbrake as a parking brake, to them it's an emergancy brake never to be touched unless the service brake has failed,
when parking they shift the gear lever into park which locks the gearbox, i believe the park feature on the american smarts just puts it into reverse gear and lets the clutch up... same as how we can do it, but we need to pull the stick back into reverse, then you can take the key out and it's locked in gear... which is the equivelent of the steering lock on the smart.

anyway, hope you get your smart fixed for not too much cash, there are plenty of indipendant smart garages about who will be able to get second hand parts much cheaper than smart who will only use new.

Shore-is-Good · 07-07-2009, 11:48

This is what I dislike about forums. You get 'Camcondors' and his like espousing their personal (or received) opinion, totally without merit, probably never touched a Smart car much less towed one...and their word becomes Urban Legend for ever and a day!
Quite evidently, many, many people tow Smart cars, me included, and can therefore speak from ACTUAL experience. YES, indeed, they CAN be happily towed for thousands of miles and then driven under their own steam without any ill effects from the towing. Jeeze!