WE TOW A 2009 SMART PASSION CAB BEHIND OUR RV, AS ALLOWED BY SMART AND IN WRITING WITHIN ITS OWNERS MANUAL. TWICE NOW, WE HAVE LOST THE HOOD (OR AS SMART REFERS TO IT, THE SERVICE FLAP) WHILE TOWING. THE HOOD COMPLETELY DISENGAGES FROM ITS LOCATION AND BASICALLY FLAPS AROUND UNTIL THE CAR IS PULLED OVER TO A STOP. DAMAGE HAS OCCURRED TO THE HOOD, AND THE FIRST TIME WE IMMEDIATELY REPLACED IT AT A SMART DEALER WHO STATED IT MAY HAVE BEEN OUR PROBLEM DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY THAT WE MAY HAVE IMPROPERLY INSTALLED IT.. THE SECOND TIME IT OCCURRED (IN EXACTLY THE SAME MANNER) ANOTHER SMART DEALER TOOK IT TO THE MANUFACTURER WHO DECLARED THAT BY TOWING IT BEHIND THE RV WE HAD AN UNUSUAL AMOUNT OF TURBULENCE AND THEREFORE WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY,NOR WAS THERE ANY 'FIX' FOR IT. MY CONCERN IS THAT THESE SAME TURBULENCE CAN BE FELT ON AN INTERSTATE BEHIND A LARGE VEHICLE OR IN A HIGH WIND. THEREFORE I FEEL THAT IT IS MORE OF A PROBLEM THAN THE MANUFACTURE WOULD CONFIRM. WE HAVE TWO OF THE SMARTS, THE OTHER ONE IS A 2008, AND THIS SITUATION HAS NEVER OCCURRED WHILE TOWING IT. *TR
2009 Mercedes Benz S
Routine
Owners filed 1 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the latches/locks/linkages. No safety recall has been issued.
What fails
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latches/Locks/Linkages | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsLatches/Locks/Linkages
Filed Aug 9, 20094,000 milesCA
1 of 1 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Reading this record
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.