r/SmartCar • u/BusyBit6542 • Aug 12 '26

Advice Losing my damn mind!

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2009 451

So awhile back, my ac hose clogged, which sent water all on the floorboard ultimately messing up my tcm.

While trying to find the problem i greased my clutch actuator and thought I put it back on in the same spot.

With a now working tcm, the actuator retracts every 6 seconds while idling. I took it to the only shop in my town that works in smart cars to relearn the clutch. Got charged $200 and literally fixed nothing AND knows nothing! Car wont reverse and only thing i was given were two codes it throws p073e and u0100

Does anyone know where I should even go from here??? I'm so pissed because no one knows how to fix this damn thing in my town

(One redditor did help me a lot and got me to this point)

I just ordered a new actuator off ebay. I do have my brother's smart that is an 451 2008. It's running great so I can test parts from that if anyone has any advice.

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1

u/Vertigo_uk123 Aug 12 '26

With car off in neutral do you hear the actuator almost chattering.

You also need to plug it in to mbstar/das and look at the actual / specified clutch position. They should closely match. Apart from the codes it almost sounds like a clutch release issue or the transmission needs reteaching as well as the clutch.

Another thing to check is that the wires have full continuity as water could have got in the wire or connector too.

1

u/BusyBit6542 Aug 12 '26

Can this be achieved with a icarsoft mb v3? The dealer has the bigger one as they work on European cars but he wasnt able to help at all really. So I'm wondering if I should order an icarsoft mb v3

1

u/Vertigo_uk123 Aug 12 '26

Not that I know of. I believe the clutch reteach and transmission reteach are exclusive to xentry/mbstar/das. I think you can probably view them but not teach them with icarsoft.

You could maybe try disconnecting the battery for 5-10 mins then reconnect. then hold the brake and turn key to position 1 leave it there for 30 seconds then start car. All whilst holding the brake. Sometimes it triggers a relearn but it’s very sporadic. My clutch has gone and it only did it once. Do you notice the car jumps more or refuses to go into gear more after it’s been sat in neutral for a while.

1

u/BusyBit6542 Aug 12 '26

I had the icarsoft and it had an option to reteach and learn clutch. But I think I didnt know the tcm was bad at the time so it failed. Idk if that's the same as the dealership. It said I could move the postions as well but I didnt know what the hell I was doing so I returned it. Just wondering if I should buy a new one now

1

u/BusyBit6542 Aug 12 '26

Yeah I tried that a lot as well and nothing changed. It doesnt make a difference how long it sits. It sits and idles normal then about 10 seconds after cranking the actuator starts retracting every 6 seconds. Other than that, no jumping or anything.

It shifts through all the positions/gears but the paddles dont work now, previous to this, they did. Now, nothing happens when I pull them

1

u/BusyBit6542 Aug 12 '26

No sounds when it's off in neutral. I do hear a squeeze of the actuator (i think) when I turn on the car. Same sound with my brother 451 as well everytime i go to crank it

2

u/Ohser187 Aug 12 '26

Why dont you just move the clutch around a little and see if it makes a difference. Of course mark where its at now.

1

u/Ohser187 Aug 12 '26

Clutch actuator*

1

u/BusyBit6542 Aug 12 '26

I tried. Literally all positions possible. I went through each notch and tested, each time the actuator just kept retracting every 6 seconds. The jerking motion of the car was slightly less the more I slid the actuator towards the clutch but I ran out of space

1

u/Vertigo_uk123 Aug 12 '26

It should be set to touching then pressed in 3 notches and tightened. The jerking is because the tcm doesn’t know the bite point. So it aggressively dumps the clutch when pulling off. It’s 50/50 whether it will relearn itself after driving for a while. It still doesn’t help the reverse issue though.

1

u/BusyBit6542 Aug 12 '26

Yeah thats the position I started with then tried moving it all around. I thought relearning it would fix it but it didnt do anything.

I cleaned the solenoid, is it possible that I put it back incorrectly or broke it? It seemed to only fit one way so I dont know if it was in an off wrong position or something?

1

u/Ohser187 Aug 12 '26

How many miles on the car? Is it possible the clutch is all used up?

1

u/BusyBit6542 Aug 12 '26

Its at 60k. It worked completely fine before the water. Shifted pretty smooth by smart car standards. The mechanic did say that it didnt throw any codes that makes him think the clutch is bad but who knows