The Smart Car is a tiny car that's great for driving in cities because it can fit into small parking spots. The 2010 version is one of the earlier models that many people use for short trips around town.
Shifting gears is what drivers do to change how fast or slow the car goes. It's important for making the car move smoothly and efficiently, especially when starting or going uphill.
A clutch helps you change gears in a car with a manual transmission. It connects and disconnects the engine from the wheels so you can switch between gears smoothly.
The transmission is what helps your car move by transferring power from the engine to the wheels. It can be automatic, where the car shifts gears for you, or manual, where you do it yourself.
Diesel is another type of fuel, used in some cars and trucks. Diesel engines are usually more efficient and can produce more power than regular gas engines.
Alignment procedures are the steps you take to make sure a part in the car is in the right place. If it's not aligned correctly, it might not work as it should.
The actuator is a part that helps move the clutch release bearing when you press the clutch pedal. It makes sure the clutch works properly so you can change gears smoothly.
The collar is a part that helps the clutch release bearing move smoothly. It keeps everything aligned so the clutch can work properly when you change gears.
The flywheel is a round metal part that helps the engine run smoothly. It helps the clutch work better by providing a flat surface for it to grab onto when changing gears.
The release bearing helps the car change gears smoothly. When you press the clutch pedal, this part makes it easier to switch gears by disconnecting the engine from the wheels temporarily.
Pawlik Automotive is a car repair shop in Vancouver where you can take your car for maintenance and repairs. They help keep your car running well.
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Hi, it's Mark.
I'm here with Bernie Pawlik, Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Vancouver's best auto service experience, period.
And we're talking cars.
How are you doing, Bernie?
Doing very well today.
Today's guest is a 2010 smart car.
What was happening with this vehicle?
So the vehicle was towed to our shop.
The owner wasn't able to shift gears on the vehicle, like it wouldn't go into gear.
So it was clearly a problem with the clutch or transmission.
And we proceeded to diagnose that concern.
Gas, diesel or electric?
Obviously, we can eliminate electric.
So gas or diesel?
It was gas.
Yeah.
Let's jump right to pictures here.
So here's our strange looking little car.
I always find them amusing to look at, even though we work on tons of them.
They're just cute little things.
The diagnosis went how?
So there's some code stored in the computer for clutch actuator issues.
So we determined the actuator wasn't operating properly.
Got a new one, put it in.
There's some alignment procedures that need to be done.
If you can just move up a couple of pictures.
So you can see there's a couple of slots there near the top of the actuator unit.
You can slide this actuator around and bolt it in a certain way.
So there's a certain position needs to be bolted in.
And then from there, you can electronically actuate the clutch and set it up.
Initialize the clutch actuator, perform that, and it wouldn't do the procedure.
So there's another issue.
Next step, we proceeded to test the electronics, make sure that we weren't missing anything,
that there wasn't a broken wire, tested the power to the module, which is located under
the driver's seat.
Everything seemed to be fine.
So we figured, okay, maybe there's a problem with the actual clutch itself.
The actuator was bad, but something had caused it to get damaged.
So we looked at the clutch with an inspection camera.
The clutch is all hidden, but we're able to see that the clutch release fork,
some of the fingers weren't in the right spot, figured, you know what,
this thing's worn out, we got to replace that.
Pulled the clutch out and found some neat stuff.
So there's a clutch disc, not entirely worn out, but worn pretty badly.
Clothes.
Yeah, you can see there's, yeah, you move in the mouse over, you can see the rivets.
They're almost touching the fibrous material and those lines that are going
across some of them are missing.
That material is actually worn out.
So it's worn pretty badly.
Next picture, we found some issues here too.
This is the clutch release bearing.
So when that actuator is actuated, it actually pushes this bearing against the clutch
and the red is pointing to the collar where that bearing slides.
You can see it's very rusty and not seized, but it wouldn't move very well.
And the yellow is pointing to the clutch release bearing.
And when you spin that bearing, it was very noisy.
So the bearing was worn out as well.
It should look like this.
Should look like that.
That's a new one.
You can see there's a bit of grease on there.
It's nice and shiny.
So everything moves really well.
Other things we replace when we do the clutch, we grind the flywheel.
And that is the ground flywheel.
So the idea of grinding is to make it absolutely perfectly flat.
So it's a good surface for the clutch disc to work against.
There's the new clutch installed.
Lovely forks to make it shift properly.
Yeah, those are the fingers.
You can see that's where the release bearing rides.
It's important that that's all in good condition.
At 2010, the car is at this point 16 years old.
So it's had a lot of years of use.
150,000 kilometers, which is a fair amount for a smart car.
That's a lot of driving in town, basically.
Yes, it is.
And how did everything work after the repair?
Yeah, fairly extensive repair for sure.
And pretty costly.
Unfortunately for the client, you take one step and you do one thing
that you know you need to do.
And then sometimes it leads to a second one.
We set everything up, re-initialized it.
It all worked properly.
And you work on quite a few of these.
How durable are smart cars?
They're not bad.
This car is 16 years old at this point.
Pretty good.
Other than this, it seems to be pretty good.
So they're not bad.
They last longer than you think they would for a little car.
So there you go.
If you're looking for service for your smart car,
it doesn't matter what brand or make, whatever, powering it.
The experts to see in Vancouver are Pawlik Automotive.
You can reach them online at pawlikautomotive.com.
You can check out our many videos about smart car repairs.
I've got close to 1,000 videos on there.
Not all about the smart car.
Or you can call them at 604-327-7112.
They'll answer the phone.
They'll talk to you.
They'll find out what's going on.
They'll get ready for your appointment.
You have to book ahead with Pawlik.
They're always busy.
Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Thanks so much for watching and listening.
Thanks, Bernie.
Thank you, Mark.
Thanks for watching.
About this episode
A 2010 Smart Car was brought to Pawlik Automotive with shifting issues, indicating a potential clutch or transmission problem. Bernie and Mark discuss the diagnosis process, which revealed a faulty clutch actuator and significant wear on the clutch components. After replacing the actuator and clutch, they highlight the importance of proper alignment and inspection. The episode provides insights into the durability of Smart Cars and the complexities involved in their repairs, showcasing the expertise at Pawlik Automotive.
