Hi All,
This is my first post, If I've missed something important please let me know.
I have a 2004 0.7 450 ForTwo just coming up to 50000 miles.
Unfortunately it shut down yesterday on the M4 at Slough on my commute. I made it to hard shoulder and tried to restart car but got the three lines of death about transmission fault. Despite usual tricks like disconnecting battery and rocking car back and forth in reverse to try to drop it into a gear, the engine will not start and just keeps flashing the three lines.
Against my better judgment in a pinch I had it taken to the nearest Smart service centre which was Mercedes Benz Brentford. I paid the £120 standard diagnostics fee and they've come back with a whole slew of non related things in addition to what might be causing the fault with the transmission issue.
They've quoted it as "Possible Clutch actuator Motor but could Require Clutch".
Just to get it moving again is going to be in the region of £1000 for Clutch Actuator, Release Sys (?) and possible Clutch + Labour, diagnostics and VAT.
I really don't want to give up my 450, its been great for the last four years, and I don't wanna just scrap it if there is another option.
I want to know if there are any Gotchas to watch out for if you try to do your own Clutch Actuator and or clutch? Does the gear box need retrained with an MB Star machine? Would it be drivable to a garage to get this done after fitting the necessary parts or is this impossible?
I'm not adverse to getting my hands dirty and trying to do the fix myself with the help of a friend, and it's not my only car so I can take time to research options.
Any 3rd Party smart places that think they can do this kind of job much cheaper I'm keen to hear from you.
Also if anyone is interested in buying the car for parts I'm willing to entertain sensible offers too.
Thanks,
Chris
This is my first post, If I've missed something important please let me know.
I have a 2004 0.7 450 ForTwo just coming up to 50000 miles.
Unfortunately it shut down yesterday on the M4 at Slough on my commute. I made it to hard shoulder and tried to restart car but got the three lines of death about transmission fault. Despite usual tricks like disconnecting battery and rocking car back and forth in reverse to try to drop it into a gear, the engine will not start and just keeps flashing the three lines.
Against my better judgment in a pinch I had it taken to the nearest Smart service centre which was Mercedes Benz Brentford. I paid the £120 standard diagnostics fee and they've come back with a whole slew of non related things in addition to what might be causing the fault with the transmission issue.
They've quoted it as "Possible Clutch actuator Motor but could Require Clutch".
Just to get it moving again is going to be in the region of £1000 for Clutch Actuator, Release Sys (?) and possible Clutch + Labour, diagnostics and VAT.
I really don't want to give up my 450, its been great for the last four years, and I don't wanna just scrap it if there is another option.
I want to know if there are any Gotchas to watch out for if you try to do your own Clutch Actuator and or clutch? Does the gear box need retrained with an MB Star machine? Would it be drivable to a garage to get this done after fitting the necessary parts or is this impossible?
I'm not adverse to getting my hands dirty and trying to do the fix myself with the help of a friend, and it's not my only car so I can take time to research options.
Any 3rd Party smart places that think they can do this kind of job much cheaper I'm keen to hear from you.
Also if anyone is interested in buying the car for parts I'm willing to entertain sensible offers too.
Thanks,
Chris
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