OK, so you have removed the gear change selector because the gear change was stiffer than Ron Jeremy. Ideally, you shouldn't need a hammer to change gears. The issue is down to the pivot in the selector mechanism arm. See below, the original pivot is hollow and...
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454 Forfour Gear Selector Removal
You have the 5 speed manual gear box. Don't tell me, the gear change is stiff right? Time to remove the selector mechanism and get it fixed. Disconnect both battery terminals, earth 1st. Go down between the battery and the air intake and remove the single bolt that...
450 Cabin Intake Box Removal
Remove the front panels. Remove the headlights. Remove the front crash bar. Remove the front frame. Lift the brake fluid reservoir off the clip on the side of the cabin air filter intake box. Use a long flat blade screwdriver to push in the clip as you lift it. Now...
450 Washer Bottle Removal
Remove the front panels. Remove the headlights. Remove the front crash bar. Remove the front frame. Lift the brake fluid reservoir off the clip on the side of the cabin air filter intake box. Use a long flat blade screwdriver to push in the clip as you lift it. Now...
Electric Drive Charging Fault
History In early 2022 I had an issue with my 453 forfour not charging using the proper wall charger. However, my 451 ED charged fine on the same charger. I just presumed that there was a hardware issue with the car since MB Star Diagnostics was claiming there was an...
Charge Cooler Fluid Change
This probably isn't the information you think it is. However, it's more important. How Do I Drain The Charge Cooler System? See, this is the information you thought was going to be here but really, it's not. All you have to do is take a pipe off the charge cooler...
450 ABS Water Ingress
History Of The Fault Back in early 2000's, a smart specialist posted in a forum stating that there was an issue with the 450 fortwo ABS system. They said that over time, the ABS controller would fail. It was their recommendation that owners brought their car to their...
Roadster Lower Light Removal
Remove the front panels from the car. Disconnect the indicator and side light and, if you have them, disconnect the fog lights. Unscrew the 2x Torx screws from the light units and side the unit towards the outside edge of the panel to unclip it.
Smart 453 EQ (Electric Drive) Info
The Smart 453 Fortwo & Forfour Electric Drive (EQ) I have been getting a worrying amount of messages asking why there are no specific pages, tick boxes or information about the electric drive version of the fortwo 451. I'd like to go on record with the 2 answers...
451 Washer Bottle Removal
Get ready because you're about to do a lot of pre-work just so you can get access to this washer tank. Remove the bonnet/hood, remove the front panels, remove the scuttle panel, remove the front frame. You finally have full access to the washer bottle. It's only held...
451 Windscreen Washer Pump
Remove the bonnet to reveal the windscreen washer bottle. Look down the side and you'll see the pump clipped into the side of the bottle. If you need to empty the bottle, pull the pipe off of the squirter nozzle and place it into a contain, start the car and pull the...
Roadster External Temperature Sensor
The external temperature sensor is hidden behind the nearside rear air vent in the rear arch panel. So, to get to it, you ideally need to remove the rear panels. However, you can remove many of the fixings on that side and pull the arch sideways enough to reach in,...
453 EQ Crash Sensor
453 Pyro Fuse Surprise! Unlike most other EV cars, the 453 doesn't have a pyro fuse. Instead of something easy to change, it has an entire controller which internally destructs in a crash. Symptoms You've crashed the car and it will no longer drive. However, the car...
451 Stuck In Park
The 451 generally came with the standard TipTronic layout but American 451s and all electric drive 451s had the fake PRND layout. They had the parking pawl which manually locks the gearbox when the shifter is in park. When you turn the ignition to position 1, it...
453 Roof Rack
I bought my smart 453 roof rack from AliExpress. Click here (make sure you select the correct one for your car). Takes the key... ...place it in the lock and twist to unlock the side cover. Slide the side cover off... ...to reveal the business end of the rack system....
451 ED HV Battery Opening
This is the high voltage battery removed form a 451 electric drive fortwo. It's 178kg of nearly unmovable nightmares. All around the outside, if you look carefully, there are discoloured spots along the outside lip. I have marked them yellow below. The discolouring is...
451 ED HV Battery Removal
This job isn't to be taken lightly. You will need some specialist equipment but it can be done at home in your garage if you really have to. Step 1 is that you have to lift the car high enough so you can get the battery out on some sort of trolley. If you have a...
451 ED HV Mega Fuse
If you have a catastrophic high voltage electrical failure, the battery has a safety feature to stop all of that fire, sparks, screaming, running around and gnashing of teeth as everything in the local vicinity also sets on fire. This fault could be a damaged HV cable...
451 ED Battery Cell Charging
Traction Battery Voltage The 451 ED 400 volt traction battery contains 93 separate cells, all wired in series. At an absolute maximum, lithium ion cells should be charged to no higher than 4.2 volts. 93 cells at 4.2 volts = 390.6 volts but they call it a 400 volt...
453 Speedo Wiring
Speedo Pin Number Wire Colours Connects To / Function 1 Pink Illumination 2 Red/White Power Fuse 31 3 Black Earth/Ground 4 5 6 Pink/White or White Cruise Activation 7 White or Brown/White Cruise Reset 8 Green or White Oil Pressure Switch 9 Green/White or Green Brake...