It's not exactly a recall, but if you own a Smart Fortwo, you might want to return it to the dealership for a free repair.
Since its debut, the Fortwo has had one consistent problem: a jerky transmission that drives reviewers crazy. Edmunds called it the car's "Achilles' heel," saying, "This sort of rough shifting is unacceptable in any car at any price." Bloomberg called it "so lousy it verges on being a deal breaker."
And plenty of owners have apparently called Smart to complain about it.
Now, Kicking Tires reports, "Smart is sending letters to 24,622 of its 2008 Fortwo owners telling them they can bring their cars in for a transmission upgrade." The upgrade is not mechanical. It's just a software fix. Smart altered the software that runs the transmission for the 2009 Fortwo, and is now offering to upgrade 2008 models to the 2009 software. Smart claims it will minimize the balk between shifts that has been the source of some complaints.
According to USA Today, "The letter says the fix takes about 90 minutes."
According to Autoblog, it won't necessarily make everyone happy. "While the fix supposedly makes a difference," they report, "The few people we've talked to who've driven the 2009 model assure us that while the shifting is better, it's still very far from perfect."
Kicking Tires agrees, calling the 2009 Fortwo's transmission "noticeably improved," but adding that it "still has worlds to go."
If you're in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year's best cars as well as this month's best car deals.
