The SMART car transmission is unlike any ordinary 5 or 6-speed automatic. It is an automated manual gearbox. Which means the vehicle can be driven as a manual or automatic at the flick of a button. The vehicle does not have a clutch pedal and instead operates on sensors and ECU’s.
The system consists of a clutch actuator assembly, a gear shift actuator assembly, and a gearbox ECU. Each of the actuators will also have position sensors. Which sends signals back to the gearbox ECU to determine which gear the vehicle is in or what position the clutch is in. This information along with vehicle speed and other parameters will be used by the gearbox ECU. To calculate the required gear, when the next gear change should take place and when to engage/disengage the clutch.
As many SMART car owners are already aware, this design has many faults and can render the vehicle completely un-drivable.
Common Clutch + Gear Actuator Problems
When the clutch and gear actuators fail on the Mercedes Smart car. It doesn’t always give the same symptom. Below we’ve listed the most common fault symptoms we are aware of so far:
- 3 Bars / Lines Appearing on Gear Change Box
- Slipping Out of Gears
- Getting Stuck in Neutral
- Failing to Select Gears
If your clutch or gear actuator has failed, then you may already be aware of exactly how much it can cost to replace the unit. Each actuator is coded to the vehicle and can cost upwards of £700+Vat each to replace with coding. Furthermore, the replacement unit will only come with a standard 12-month warranty and being that it is such a common failing part, it doesn’t give much confidence that the problem won’t re-occur.
We receive clutch & gear actuators for repair on a daily basis for the following vehicles:
- Smart City
- Smart ForTwo
- Smart ForFour
- Smart Roadster
We have also compiled a short list of part numbers associated to the failing clutch & gear actuator units. Note: this is not a complete list of part numbers, only the most common part numbers we frequently see in our workshops are listed.
| Partnumbers | Partnumbers |
|---|---|
| 000 3226 V011 | 01 3981 007 101 |
| 000 3226 V012 | 01 3981 000 022 |
| 000 3226 V014 | 01 3981 000 066 |
| 000 3226 V016 | 01 3981 000 070 |
| A 451 250 00 62 | A 454 257 05 79 |
My Mercedes Smart Car Actuator is Faulty – How Can SINSPEED Help Me?
We specialise in the testing and repair of clutch + gear actuator units, not just for Smart cars but for all vehicle makes and models where the vehicles gearbox is controlled by electronic actuators. We’re able to fully bench test and repair the Smart car clutch actuator and gear actuator units. We use new genuine OEM parts when repairing the actuators to ensure each and every repaired clutch/gear actuator meets and exceeds OE specifications.
The repaired actuators will be returned to you with a Lifetime warranty for complete peace of mind and will not require re-coding when fitting back to the vehicle – simply plug & play!
If you have a Mercedes Smart Car with a clutch or gear actuator fault then give us a call today on 0203 815 9441.
Ajaz is a seasoned automotive electronics engineer with deep expertise in remanufacturing vehicle electronics. He has developed skills in all areas of the automotive field, from rebuilding hydraulic steering components, and mechanical gearboxes and reworking intricate vehicle electronics. Ajaz also acquired Bodyteq, a London-based vehicle bodyshop where he has developed extensive knowledge in automotive refinishing.
Alongside his automotive career, Ajaz has built a career in the IT industry, gaining accredited certification as an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, Cloud Architect, and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) specialist.
Hi there my 2003 450 snart was all fine untill i dissconnected the battery now ut wont start and has the three bars ?? Could thus be the sensor?? Any gelp be great thanks aswell as costs thanks
Hi,
My smart car 2003 450, will not go from neutral into gear with the 3 bars showing on dashboard. Is this the clutch actuator? Could you please ley me know price.
Thanks
My mum’s smart car failed her last night on a busy road. It was in 5th gear, everything lit up, the 5th & 4th gear had an arrow pointing to go down the gearing. It seems like it went into limp mode. She started it up after 10 minutes, and it worked fine. Please, could you explain the problem?
Thank you.
Kind regards, Jan Gorman
Hi i have a 2009 smart fourtwo soft top iit whent into neutral amd now the n flashes and will not start if i unplug the clutch achuator it starts dose this mean the achuator is at fault and if so could send me a price for repar thanks les
Hi,
I have a 2011 Smart fortwo. How much to repair my clutch actuator?
my ’58 reg Smart Passion makes a Klonk when going into reverse. Still drives OK is there a potential problem about to happen?
I have a 2009 Smart 451, and it’s had all software updated due to not going into reverse, but just lately this problems has reared its ugly head again.
It will go into reverse sometimes..but if it’s been sitting for a couple of days it needs driving forward first.
I am guessing the actuator is sticking, and would appreciate any information you can give me as regards repairing the unit.
Hello, I have a smart fortwo 451, from 2008, the car sometimes when I turned on doesn’t engage rear gear, first gear is OK, but not rear gear, so I try a few times and is all fine, for a while.. But next time a stop the car can happen Again,! Do you think the problem is in Actuator?
Regards
2008 Smart fortwo pure
-intermittent NO start
-Starts and you can select a gear but it won’t move.
-Drives but then just revs like it’s in Neutral but maybe in any gear.
Is this a clutch gear actuator problem? I was told a low battery may cause the same problems but the battery is at 13V
My Smart fortwo Passion on 04 plate drives nicely for around a week and then it slips out of the gear and Three lines appear on the dash Board almost every time. Car can’t move or start unless I wait for 15min or Disconnect the Battery. Then it drives nicely again. I’d like to solved this problem so the three bars will not appear again. Could you please help?