"How reliable is the 2009 Smart Fortwo?"

"Based on 139 NHTSA complaints, the 2009 Smart Fortwo has a median complaint mileage of 38500 miles. The most common issue is POWER TRAIN."

"What are common problems with the 2009 Smart Fortwo?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2009 Smart Fortwo is POWER TRAIN, accounting for a significant portion of the 139 total complaints filed."

2009 Smart Fortwo: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 139 complaints

139

Total Complaints

38,500mi

Median Mileage

POWER TRAIN

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

17,600 25th Percentile

38,500 Median Mileage

62,419 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN

ENGINE

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

STRUCTURE:BODY

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

WHEELS

AIR BAGS

TIRES

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"I HAVE A 2009 SMART FOR TWO PASSION MODEL ON 7/21 I WENT TO GO INTO A PARKING PLACE AT A SMALL SHOPPING AREA AND THE BRAKES SLOWED ME DOWN BUT WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP. I WAS GOING VERY SLOW BUT COULD NOT STOP THUS I HIT THE WINDOW OF A FURNITURE STORE. IT BROKE THE WINDOW AND T..."

"SIX WEEKS OUT OF WARRANTY - I WAS DRIVING ALONG & ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE CAR SEEMS TO THINK IT'S IN NEUTRAL, WON'T LET ME CHANGE GEARS - WAS ONLY ABLE TO COAST TO A SAFE AREA OFF THE HIGHWAY. ANY GEAR I SHIFTED TO KEPT COMING ACROSS THE DASH AS THE NEUTRAL POSITION. ONCE I TURNED THE CAR OFF, IT WOULD..."

"I AM HAVING A PROBLEM WITH MY 2009 SMART FORTWO PASSION'S TRANSMISSION. WE PICKED UP OUR CAR ON SATURDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING PROBLEM: I WAS DRIVING ALONG & ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE CAR SEEMS TO THINK IT'S IN N. EVEN CHANGING THE GEARS PROMPTS AN "N" IN THE GEAR POSITION. ONCE I TURNED THE CAR OFF, IT WOUL..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28