Thread: Smart Car Suffering

Hello

My 4 year old ForTwo went for its MOT yesterday - Mercedes dealership.

I was shocked when they phoned to say that it had failed!

But not as shocked as when they said that it had failed because the Horn did not work and that it was going to cost me £425 to get it fixed!

Apparently it necessitates a whole new steering wheel.

They cannot explain why the horn should suddenly stop working and I certainly have no reason to accept that it is fair wear and tear - it's such an embarrassing sound that I've barely ever used it

My concern is that just before Christmas I took my car to them with a major problem: The windscreen was leaking very badly and water was literally dripping from the ceiling. This caused the ABS fuse and brake light switch to fail and the window seal had to be replaced.

I contacted Mercedes HQ complaining that at 4 years old and less than 10,000 miles (yes really!) on the clock, this was surely a manufacturing fault. Mercedes agreed and reimbursed me 75% of the costs.

Is it possible that the same leak has caused the failure of the horn do you think? It's perfectly possible that the steering column got very wet...

If not, any other suggestions? As it's an MOT fail I'm kinda stuck and need to act fast... any advice much appreciated

And now it gets worse - after keeping my car overnight and promising that it would be fixed by Wednesday, they telephoned me at close of business today to say that they cannot get the parts and are 'waiting for the suppliers in Germany to let them know when the parts will be available'.

No courtesey car available until Monday at the very latest and I feel totally at their mercy. I'm disabled and can't really start trying to get the car to various independent garages for second opinions and I rely on my car - I've been housebound for two days already and now it looks like I could be in for the long haul, not to mention an extortionate bill at the end of it!

Any thoughts much appreciated

thanks

If you tell them to Google "Smart Car Horn not working" they will find that noone there suggests changing the steering wheel, but it is not an easy item to change. You have to access it from under the car. A replacement horn is around £25-£27 plus probably an hour or two labour.

Originally Posted by dx100uk

i would be inclined to contact whom you did before on the old repair
it is very likely that the two are linked
i would also make noises about reclaiming out of pocket costs etc for not having your car

dx

thank you for your reply.
it was them who did the original repair and I have said that I think it's all linked to the original problem.
I am trying to get in touch with mercedes customer services to try to get them to deal with it.
thanks for your support

Originally Posted by lookinforinfo

If you tell them to Google "Smart Car Horn not working" they will find that noone there suggests changing the steering wheel, but it is not an easy item to change. You have to access it from under the car. A replacement horn is around £25-£27 plus probably an hour or two labour.

exactly - I've searched the internet for examples and nowhere can I find a case of it being so expensive or complicated!

hmm I smell a rat.

thanks for your help

If you are a member of the AA or RAC, they have both a division where you can ask such questions as "do I need a new steering column when changing the horn" and they have a legal section. They can give you free legal advice
which may help to resolve your problem with the garage much quicker.

EG "I have been talking to the AA mechanical and legal departments and they have said......"

Originally Posted by lookinforinfo

If you are a member of the AA or RAC, they have both a division where you can ask such questions as "do I need a new steering column when changing the horn" and they have a legal section. They can give you free legal advice
which may help to resolve your problem with the garage much quicker.

EG "I have been talking to the AA mechanical and legal departments and they have said......"

oh thanks for that - I am an AA member will go and see what they say! thanks a lot