Yet another car manufacturer has hit the news. Multiple complaints of Smart cars allegedly bursting into flames have been reported, which is not an issue to ignore!
Manufactured by Smart USA, the 2008-2009 year models of the Smart ForTwo cars are available in over 50 countries, with about 100,000 units sold per year. Mercedes Benz is the parent company of the manufacturer, and the current investigation is looking in to some 40,000 Smart ForTwos arising from complaints.
Some 8 separate complaints have been made which has led to the investigation. Six of the complainants said that they noticed the “check engine” light had come on, with smoking and/or unusual noises coming from the engine. For the other two, they only realised after they had stopped and got out of the car.
One man from Dallas, U.S., said he heard a loud popping noise. He pulled the car over to check the engine at the back of the car and was shocked to find flames. Shortly after, the flames engulfed the entire car and destroyed it.
Speaking about the incident, the owner is adamant that if he had not stopped to get out and check, he would have died in the flames.
The owner said:
“Mercedes-Benz has been notified of this death trap, yet have not chosen to recall or check into the issue.”
Preliminary reports
The parents of another owner of the 2009 model spoke about how their son noticed smoke coming out of the floorboards. He immediately got out of the car and ran to a nearby house to call 911. Moments later, the car exploded, and the whole car was destroyed with only the metal frame and blackened bits of seating left of it.
Preliminary reports say that experts will be looking into the “cause, scope and frequency” of these explosions. Even though the reported cars are fairly old, all 8 explosions allegedly happened in the past couple of years:, with five in 2015, and the other three earlier last year.
They had a mileage range of 29,000 to 86,000.
No recall
Although Mercedes Benz has been made aware of these incidents, no recall has been initiated. Manufacturers can issue recalls whenever they want, but doing so will usually be very expensive and damaging to their reputation.
Many of these cars are sold in the U.K., so owners should take caution and keep an eye out for anything unusual. Of the 8 complainants so far, thankfully, no injuries have been reported.