2008 SMART FORTWO COUPE towing

>> Keywords
9
Passenger seat
Folding down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Poly
V
belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Potential problems associated with underin

flated and overinflated tires . . . . . . . . . . 195
Power steering see EPS*
Power washer see vehicle care
Power windows
Opening and closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Practical hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Warning and indicator lamps . . . . . . . . . 237
What to do if... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Where will I find... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Premium unleaded gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Problems with your vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Product information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Production options weight . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
PSI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206>> RRadio transmitters, control and
operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220Radio*
smart radio 10* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
smart radio 9* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Rain/light sensor*
Automatic headlamp mode . . . . . . . . . . 102
Exterior lamp switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Rear lamps
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Rear soft top see Soft top system
Rear view mirrors see Mirrors
Rear window defroster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Rear window wiper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Replacing wiper blades . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Recommended tire inflation pressure . . 206
Refrigerant (Air conditioning) . . . . . . . . 305
Refueling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Remote control see Key
Replacing bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Reporting safety defects . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Restraint system
Air bags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Emergency Tensioning Devices (ETDs) . 53
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48, 98
SRS indicator lamp, malfunction . . . . . . 246
Retractable soft top see Soft top system
Retreaded tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Reversing the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124Rims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Roadside Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
RON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
>> SSafety defects, reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Safety guidelines for the seat belt, seat belt
tensioner and air bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Safety, occupant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Seat
Fore and aft adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Seat belt force limiter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Seat belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48, 98
Emergency Tensioning Devices . . . . . . . 53
Proper use of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Release button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Safety guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Telltale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35, 245
Seat heating* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Seating capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Adjusting backrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Adjusting height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Folding down the passenger seat . . . . . . 94
Selector lever see Gear selector lever

>> 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

12
>> Keywords>> VVehicle
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Identification number (VIN) . . . . . . . . . 294
Jump starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Locking (central locking switch) . . . . . . 84
Proper use of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Unlocking (central unlocking switch) . . . 84
Unlocking (door handle) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Unlocking manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Unlocking/locking manually . . . . . . . . . 250
Vehicle capacity weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Vehicle care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Vehicle Identification Number see VIN . 294
Vehicle loading terminology . . . . . . . . . . 204
Vehicle main dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
VIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
>> WWarning sounds
Anti
theft systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Hill start assist system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Panic Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Seat belt reminder system . . . . . . 245, 249
Tow
away alarm* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Warranty coverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Washer fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Washer jet nozzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Washing the vehicle see Vehicle care
Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Wheel trim cap* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Interchanging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Wheels see Tires
Where will I find...? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Windows see Side windows . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Windshield washer system . . . . . . . . . . . . 179Windshield wipers
Adjusting the washer jet nozzles . . . . . 264
Intermitted wiping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Rear window wiper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Replacing wiper blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Switching on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Winter driving
Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Snow chains* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Winter tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

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

Driving and parking
126
>> Controls.Brake pedal
The brake pedal has two brake circuits inde

pendent of each other. A brake servo is used
during braking (when the engine is running) to
increase pedal force.
G
Warning!
When leaving the vehicle, always remove
the key from the starter switch, take it
with you, and lock the vehicle. Do not
leave children unattended in the vehicle,
or with access to an unlocked vehicle.
Children could release the parking brake
and/or move the gear selector lever from
park positionP, either of which could
result in an accident and/or serious
personal injury.
G
Warning
Make sure that absolutely no objects are
obstructing the pedals’ range of move

ment. Keep the driver’s footwell clear of
all obstacles. If there are any floormats*
or carpets in the footwell, make sure that
the pedals still have sufficient clearance.
During sudden driving or braking maneu

vers, objects could become caught be

tween the pedals, reducing or eliminating
entirely the driver's ability to brake or
accelerate. This could lead to accidents
and injury.
G
Warning!
Considerably more effort will be required
to apply the brakes if
• the brake servo has failed
• a brake circuit has failed
• the engine is switched off, e. g. for
towing the vehicle
The braking distance is likewise greater.
Make sure that the engine is running
whenever the vehicle is rolling. Have the
brake system repaired at an authorized
smart center, if there is a fault in the
brake system.

Loading and storing
>> Controls.
163
The gross vehicle weight which is the weight
of the vehicle including fuel, tools, installed
accessories, passengers, and luggage/cargo
must never exceed the load limit and the
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) for your
vehicle as specified on the placard located on
the driver’s door B
pillar (

page 293). In
addition, the load must be distributed in such
a way so that the weight on each axle never
exceeds the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR)
for the front and rear axle. The GVWR and
GAWR for your vehicle are indicated on the
certification label which can be found on the
driver’s door B
pillar (

page 293).
For more information, see "Tire and Loading
Information" (

page 185).
The handling characteristics of a fully loaded
vehicle depend greatly on the load distribu

tion. It is therefore recommended to load the
vehicle with the heaviest items being placed
towards the front of the vehicle.Please pay attention to and comply with the
following instructions when loading the
vehicle and transporting cargo:
• Always place items being carried against
seat backrests, and fasten them as securely
as possible.
• The heaviest portion of the cargo should
always be kept as low as possible against
seat backrests.
• Do not stack loads higher than the top edge
of the head restraints.
• Make sure that no luggage/cargo items can
get above or next to the driver’s and/or
passenger seat into the passenger com

partment.
• Make sure that luggage/cargo is properly
secured.
• Always use, if so equipped, cargo net* when
transporting cargo.
G
Warning!
Do not store any flammable substances
inside the vehicle that could ignite and
start a fire. G
Warning!
The manufacturer has not approved your
vehicle for towing a trailer. A trailer can
permanently impair driving safety.

>> Practical hints.Where will I find ...? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Display messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
What to do if ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Unlocking/locking manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Replacing transmitter battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Replacing bulbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Replacing wiper blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Flat tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Jump starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Towing
278
>> Practical hints.
About towingsmart recommends that the vehicle be trans

ported with all wheels off the ground using
flatbed or appropriate wheel lift/dolly equip

ment.!
Use flatbed or wheel lift/dolly equipment
with the key in the starter switch in position0.
Do not tow with sling
type equipment. Towing
with sling
type equipment over bumpy roads
will damage radiator and supports.
To prevent damage during transport, do not
tie down the vehicle by its chassis or suspen

sion parts. Use the towing eye.
Switch off the tow
away protection*
(
page 78).
When circumstances do not permit the
recommended towing methods, the vehicle
may be towed with all wheels on the ground or
front wheels raised only so far as necessary
to have the vehicle moved to a safe location
where the recommended towing methods can
be employed.
!
If the vehicle is towed with the front axle
raised, the gear selector lever must be in
neutral positionN and the engine must be shut
off (key in starter switch position0). Active
braking action through the ESP
® may other

wise seriously damage the brake system.
When towing the vehicle with all wheels on the
ground, the gear selector lever must be in
neutral positionN and the key must be in
starter switch position0.
When towing the vehicle with all wheels on the
ground or the front axle raised, the vehicle
may be towed only for distances up to 30 miles
(50 km) and at a speed not to exceed 30 mph
(50 km/h).
i
If the the battery is disconnected or dis

charged the gear selector lever will remain
locked in park position P. Contact an autho

rized smart center for assistance or call
Roadside Assistance.G
Warning!
smart does not recommend towing a vehi

cle when all wheels are on the ground.
However, in an emergency a tow bar can
be utilized if:
• the engine will not run
• there is a malfunction in the brake
system
• there is a malfunction in the power
supply or in the vehicle’s electrical
system
A tow bar is necessary to adequately con

trol the towed vehicle.
Prior to towing the vehicle with all wheels
on the ground, make sure that the key is
in starter switch position0.