NHTSA Complaint #10447076 — 2009 SMART FORTWO

THIS HAS HAPPENED OVER THE LAST YEAR, AT LEAST A FEW DOZEN TIMES. SOMETIMES IT'S HAPPENED AS OFTEN AS 2-3 TIMES PER WEEK. I WILL START MY CAR, AND SHIFT INTO REVERSE, AND WHERE THERE WAS A P FOR PARK ON THE DISPLAY, THE DISPLAY IS NOW BLANK, AND MY CAR WILL NOT REVERSE. IT WILL ALSO NOT GO INTO DRIVE, OR DISPLAY D. I WILL TRY MOVING IT BACK AND FORWARD AND THE DISPLAY STAYS BLANK, AND MY CAR WON'T MOVE. SOMETIMES WHEN I RESTART MY CAR IT WILL GO BACK TO NORMAL, SHIFTING INTO REVERSE, AND DISPLAYING AN R ON THE DISPLAY PANEL...OTHER TIMES IT WILL TAKE SEVERAL MINUTES FOR IT TO RESPOND, AND TO BE ABLE TO MOVE. I HAVE READ ON-LINE ABOUT OTHER OWNERS HAVING SEVERAL PARTS REPLACED AND SOFTWARE UPDATES, BUT ALWAYS THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO COME BACK. OTHERS CLAIM IT'S THE CLUTCH PLATE ASSEMBLY, AND THAT THOSE HAVE BEEN FIXED FOR THE 2009 MODEL...BUT I'VE STILL EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM. I'VE READ ABOUT THIS HAPPENING TO OTHERS IN TRAFFIC, AND I'VE READ ABOUT DEALERSHIPS NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND "ANYTHING WRONG" WITH CARS IN THIS SITUATION. *TR