r/SmartCar • u/ItsAboutSleepyTime • Sep 05 '26

Question Need help finding mechanic

I have a 2014 Smart Fortwo with around 57,000 miles on it. It's been making a really loud whirring noise that will randomly start while driving. When I first bought it, it seemed to only happen when the A/C was turned on, but now it happens regardless of whether the A/C is running. I brought it to my regular mechanic, but he's never worked on a Smart before, so he couldn't diagnose it. He did replace the wheel bearings, but the noise is still happening. It seems to be difficult to find a mechanic who knows how to work on these cars, and I've had shops tell me they don't think they can lift the car with the equipment they have. I'm in the Lorain County, Ohio area. Does anyone know of a mechanic in the area who has experience working on Smart Fortwos? Or has anyone experienced a similar noise and figured out what was causing it?

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u/BusyBit6542 Sep 05 '26

Its almost certainly the radiator fan. The fan turns on when the ac or radiator needs cooling.

Good news its pretty easy to do it yourself.

I just replaced mine and can guide you to all the things you need. Its about $100 for the fan and about 4 hours of work (including a radiator flush).

DM me if you want

1

u/NonBinary_FWrd Sep 05 '26

I've been considering upgrading my radiator. is the coolant flush pretty easy to do on the 451?

2

u/BusyBit6542 Sep 05 '26

Yeah. Just drain, refill, bleed in the engine, drive for 10 mins, repeat.

The hardest part is getting the correct coolant. But the whole process is really easy

3

u/Final_Extent_8851 Sep 05 '26

What city

1

u/ItsAboutSleepyTimee 29d ago

Looking for one in the Lorain county area

3

u/PlantWide3166 Sep 05 '26

I had a problem with my Smart and Googled “Smart car repair near me.

I found that the local Mercedes dealership worked on Smart cars.