2008 SMART FORTWO COUPE check engine

Let the fun begin!
Take a moment to familiarize yourself with
your smart fortwo coupé or smart fortwo ca

brio and read through the Operator’s Manual
before setting off. This will ensure you get
more fun out of your vehicle
and avoid dan

ger to yourself and others.
This Operator’s Manual contains very impor

tant information about how to safely and ef

fectively operate the vehicle. It is important
to note that this is a unique vehicle. It is obvi

ously smaller than most vehicles on the road
and, for this reason, it can provide both
unique experiences and special responsibili

ties. It is extremely important that you read
this entire Manual and that you familiarize
yourself with how the vehicle works. Some of
the features may be different from the fea

tures on other compact passenger vehicles.
Should you have any questions about the vehi

cle and how to safely operate its features,
please use common sense and contact smart
dealer representatives, who are available to
help you.smart is a vehicle manufactured by
DaimlerChrysler, distributed in the United
States by the Penske Automotive Group, and
sold and serviced by independent, authorized
smart centers.
Because of this vehicle’s unique characteris

tics, we strongly recommend that you service
and maintain the vehicle only at authorized
smart service facilities. A list of service facil

ities is available by calling smart Customer
Assistance representatives at:
1
800
762
7887.
Although we cannot prevent you from servic

ing the vehicle at facilities other than smart
authorized facilities, this is not advisable.
Optional extras are identified with an
asterisk *. The equipment in your vehicle may
vary depending on the model, version and
availability. smart is constantly bringing its
vehicles up to the very latest state of the art
and reserves the right to modify them in form,
equipment and engineering.Should you find that a particular feature in
this manual is important to your decision to
purchase the vehicle, we recommend that you
personally check the vehicle to ensure that
this feature has been installed before buying
the vehicle.
The Operator’s Manual, Quick Guide and Main

tenance/Warranty Booklet (USA only) or Ser

vice/Warranty Booklet (Canada only) belong to
the vehicle. You should always keep these
documents in the vehicle and make sure that
you pass them on to the next owner if and when
you come to sell your smart.
Please contact an authorized smart center if
you have any further questions.
The Technical Documentation team at
DaimlerChrysler AG wishes you many happy
hours at the wheel.

>> Keywords
5
Display message
Data bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Electronic immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Shifting system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Display, see Multifunction display
Door control panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Door handle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Door locking system
Locking and unlocking from outside . . . . 83
DOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Drive lock function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Driving abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Driving off
Uphill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Driving safety systems
ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Activating the hazard warning flasher . . 76
ESP
® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Hydraulic brake assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Driving tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
>> EElectric fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Electrical and electronic devices, see Engine
electronics
Electronic immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Display message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Electronic Stability Program, see "ESP
®"
Emergency Tensioning Device . . . . . . . . . 53
Emmission control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Malfunction indicator lamp . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Turning off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172, 305
Adding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Checking the oil level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Pressure indicator lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
EPS (Electronic Power Steering)*
Warning lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
ESP
®(Electronic Stability Program) . 73, 243Exterior lamp switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Exterior lighting
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
See also Brake lamp
See also Front fog lamps*
See also High beam headlamps
See also License plate lamps
See also Low beam headlamp
See also Parking lamps
See also Sidemarker lamps front/rear
See also Turn signal indicators
See also Turn signal lamps, side
Exterior rear view see Mirrors
Exterior view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
>> FFirst
aid kit* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Flat tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234, 265
Fluid capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Front fog lamps* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105, 255
Front lamps
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

>> Keywords
11
Temperature
Setting (air conditioning with
automatic climate control*) . . . . . . . . . . 152
Setting (heating) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
TIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Tire and Loading Information . . . . . . . . . 186
Placard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Tire and loading terminology . . . . . . . . . . 204
Tire care and maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Tire Identification Number see TIN
Tire inflation pressure, checking . . 191, 192
Tire inflation pressure, recommended . . 189
Tire repair kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234, 265Tires
Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Direction of rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Flat tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Important guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Life of tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) . . 192
Problems under
/overinflation . . . . . . 195
Rims and tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Rotating tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Snow chains* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Speed rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Storing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190, 203
TIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Traction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Tread depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183, 208
Treadwear indicators (TWI) . . . . . . . . . 184
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Top tether* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Tow
away alarm* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Towing (Vehicle) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Traction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73, 203
Transmission position indicator . . . . . . 137
Transmitting power values see Engine elec

tronicsTransporting the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Tread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183, 206, 208
Tread depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Treadwear indicators (TWI) . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Trip odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Turn signal indicators . . . . . . . . . . . 104, 255
Indicator lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Turn signal lamps, side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Replacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
TWI see Treadwear indicators
>> UUniform Tire Quality Grading Standards . 202
Unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
From inside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Vehicle manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Unlocking/locking manually . . . . . . . . . . 250
Useful features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Exterior view
>> At a glance.
31
Function
Page
1
Rear soft top
1
1 cabrio only.
112
2
Retractable soft top
1
112
3
Cargo compartment
Locking and unlocking
Opening and closing
•cabrio
•coupé
Opening engine compartment
cover
Engine oil
Rear window defroster
83
88
86
171
172,
242
154
4
Rear lamps
255
5
Fuel filler flap
Refueling
Gasoline
169
169
306
Function
Page
6
Doors
Locking and unlocking
Opening
Locking and unlocking manu

ally
83
85
250
7
Exterior rear view mirrors
96
8
Tires and wheels
Checking tire inflation pres

sure
Flat tire
182,
299
189
265
9
Towing
Installing towing eye bolt
278
279
Function
Page
a
Front lamps
255
b
Opening service flap
Coolant
Windshield washer fluid
176
178,
309
179,
308
c
Windshield wipers
Replacing wiper blades
109
262
d
Windshield
Defrosting
Wiping with windshield
washer fluid
149
110

Occupant safety
>> Safety.
49
The SRS system conducts a self
test when the
ignition is switched on and in regular inter

vals while the engine is running. This facili

tates detection of malfunctions. The SRS
indicator lamp= in the instrument cluster
comes on when the ignition is switched on and
goes out after approximately four seconds.
The SRS components are in operational readi

ness if the SRS indicator lamp= is not lit
when the engine is running.
A malfunction in the system has been detected
if the SRS indicator lamp=:
• fails to go out after approximately
4 seconds after the ignition was switched
on
•does not come on at all
• comes on after the engine was started or
while driving
G
Warning!
Modifications to or work improperly con

ducted on restraint systems (such as seat
belts and anchors, Emergency Tension

ing Devices, seat belt force limiters or
air bags) or their wiring, as well as tam

pering with interconnected electronic
systems, can lead to the restraint sys

tems no longer functioning as intended.
Air bags or Emergency Tensioning Devic

es, for example, could deploy inadvert

ently or fail to deploy in accidents in
which they otherwise should deploy
(although the deceleration threshold for
air bag deployment is exceeded). There

fore, never modify the restraint systems.
Do not tamper with electronic compo

nents or their software.
G
Warning!
In the event that the SRS indicator
lamp= comes on while driving or does
not come on at all, the SRS self
check has
detected a malfunction. For your safety,
we strongly recommend that you immedi

ately but safely pull the vehicle off of the
roadway and stop driving. Contact an au

thorized smart center immediately to
have the system checked; otherwise the
SRS may not deploy when needed in an ac

cident, which could result in serious or
fatal injury, or it might deploy unexpect

edly and unnecessarily which could also
result in injury.

Starter switch positions
>> Controls.
91
Starter switch0For removing key
1Ignition (power supply for all electrical
consumers) and driving position
All lamps (except low beam headlamp
indicator lamp, high beam headlamp
indicator lamp, and turn signal indicator
lamps unless activated) in the instrument
cluster come on. If a lamp in the instru

ment cluster fails to come on when the
ignition is switched on, have it checked
and replaced if necessary. If a lamp in the
instrument cluster remains on after start

ing the engine or comes on while driving,
refer to "Warning and indicator lamps in
the instrument cluster" (

page 237).
2Starting (

page 122)
i
When you switch on the ignition, the indi

cator and warning lamps (except low beam
headlamp indicator lamp, high beam headlamp
indicator lamp, and turn signal indicator
lamps unless activated) in the instrument
cluster come on. The indicator and warning
lamps (except low beam headlamp indicator
lamp, high beam headlamp indicator lamp, and
turn signal indicator lamps if activated) will go
out when the engine is running. This indicates
that the respective systems are operational. P82.00
2491
31

Transmission
134
>> Controls. Kickdown
You can use kickdown when you want maximum
acceleration.
>Press the accelerator past the point of
resistance.
Depending on the engine speed the
transmission shifts into a lower gear.
>When you have reached the desired speed,
briefly push the gear selector lever for

ward in the +direction (

page 128).
or
>Pull right shift paddle
3 (
page 133)
towards you.
The transmission shifts to the next higher
gear.
Deactivating manual gearshifting
>Move the gear selector lever to drive
positionD (

page 128).
System
controlled automatic gearshifting
is switched on again.
Emergency operation (limp
home
mode)In this mode only a certain gear or a certain
gear combination can be selected. This mode
is triggered in case of transmission malfunc

tions and enables you driving to the nearest
workshop such as a smart center.
If vehicle acceleration becomes less respon

sive or sluggish or the transmission no longer
shifts, the transmission is most likely operat

ing in limp
home (emergency operation)
mode. The transmission position indicator
flashes and the ¬ symbol appears in the mul

tifunction display (

page 136).
Driving in limp
home mode:
>Move the gear selector lever to drive
positionD (

page 128).
>Continue to drive.
>Have the transmission checked at an autho

rized smart center as soon as possible.
i
It is possible that a gear combination in

cluding the reverse gear can not be selected.
Keep in mind when parking, that reversing the
vehicle might be impossible.
In case of a minor transmission malfunction, it
might be possible to teach
in the transmis

sion in order to restore the normal transmis

sion mode.
i
If the attempt to teach
in the transmission
fails, you cannot continue to drive. Therefore
we strongly recommend that you have the
transmission taught
in at a qualified work

shop or at an authorized smart center.
Teaching
in the transmission system:
>Stop the vehicle in a safe location.
>Move the gear selector lever to park
positionP.
>Turn off the engine.
>Wait at least 30 seconds before restarting.

Engine compartment
172
>> Operation> Opening: Grasp the strap on cargo com

partment floor
1.
>Lift cargo compartment floor
1 with the
strap.
>Engage hook
4 into top mounting of cargo
compartment cover blind
5.
>Remove fastening screw
2.
>Remove engine compartment cover
3.
>Closing: Slide engine compartment cover
3
forward into the tabs provided.
>Tighten fastening screw
2.
>Disengage hook
4
from top mounting
5.
>Fold cargo compartment floor
1 back
down.
>Push the right hand and left hand cargo
compartment floor edges under the edges
of the side panels.
>Close the tailgate.
Engine oilThe amount of oil your engine needs will de

pend on a number of factors, including driving
style. Increased oil consumption can occur
when
•the vehicle is new
• the vehicle is driven at higher engine
speeds frequently
Engine oil consumption checks should only be
made after the vehicle break
in period.!
Do not use any special lubricant additives,
as these may increase wear and damage the
drive assemblies. Using special additives not
approved by smart may cause damage not
covered by the smart Limited Warranty.
More information on this subject is available
at any smart center.
G
Warning!
The engine is equipped with a transistor

ized ignition system that utilizes high
voltage. Don not touch any components
(ignition coils, spark plug sockets, diag

nostic socket) of the ignition system
• while the engine is running
• while starting the engine
• if ignition is "on" and the engine is
turned manually