for those of you that have an 08 and have had the re-flash what in your opinion are the differences. do you like it, hate it, what would you ask for in the 3.0 re-flash if there ever is one....
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I had the re-flash done about 10,000 miles ago. I am a hypermiling nut and I disagree that the differences between the two programs are small. At first, I preferred the original version. I drive a Pure with no paddles so the reasons behind the upgrade concerning paddles are of no relevance to me.
The reflash was designed to meet complaints about the Smart not being zippy enough for the U.S. market. To make it quicker, they programmed it to shift at higher RPM and downshift at higher RPM. This hurt the mileage a little but pleased most owners.
#1 MOST AGGRAVATING THING
If you are hypermiling, when coasting the Smart, you used to be able to smoothly shift back into 5th from N to D by simply waiting about 2 seconds before touching the accelerator pedal. Your foot could be resting on the accelerator pedal and you could achieve perfect flywheel/pressure plate synchronization with very slight input. No more! The new program will drop you into 4th if you so much as touch the accelerator pedal. With the reflash, YOU MUST LIFT YOUR FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL to avoid a downshift. It took me a while to figure this out. It really sucked until it did. But now, I'm used to it and it's okay.
#2 MOST AGGRAVATING THING
While hypermiling, I like to run in the lowest ratio gear ("highest gear"). When I am below the programmed downshift point, the optimum technique is to remain in that gear, i.e., 5th, by reducing the load on the engine proportional to the decrease in speed. Before the reflash, I could do this in D at a lower speed before the automatic downshift. But with the reflash, Automatic mode will drop you into a higher ratio gear , i.e., 4th, much sooner than you would choose it downshift (if at all) in manual. Therefore, with the reflash, it is necessary to go into manual mode from D when encountering reduced speed zones.
#3 MOST AGGRAVATING THING
Using hypermiling techniques like Pulse and Glide or terrain coasting, because you cannot shift into neutral in manual mode, it is necessary to go into D and then drop into N. Before the reflash, you had a little more time to pass through D on your way to N than you now have with the upgrade. At first, I was very troubled because the transmission was downshifting when I tried to drop into D. Finally, I realized that the time that I could take traverssing through D had been shortened and I must do this very quickly. Now I don't even think about it and move from N to Manual in one smooth "L" motion with my accelerator foot lifted.
I have come to like the transmission reflash when I am pulling a load in D. The shifting is pretty much ideal -- which is actually to be expected. I think what the engineers did when they reprogrammed the transmission computer was, basically, to tell it that it was always pulling about a 1% grade.
I have pulled half-ton trailer loads from Chicago and Houston to Southern California. I have nothing but the highest praise for this little car. I have achieved 52 MPG lifetime average with the car alone and about 40-42 MPG pulling the trailer.
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Permalink Reply by stuart on -
i live east yorkshire uk i have 2008 pashion had probs with gearbox not changing etc took it in have to pay £200 for upgrade software to the gearboc ecu.hoping its not in 3rd at 40mph etc i want in in the gears quick.hope it has crawl added like a normal automatic fed up of rolling backwards.als a sensor fitted £200 steering
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Permalink Reply by stuart on
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i get reverse prob revs have to reselect sometimes i live uk haveing upgrade gearbox software as well
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Permalink Reply by stuart on
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took it in today theres a new software availible i have 451 2008 revs to much in gears and round town im in 3rd.hopefully it will fix this and i hope i get the added crawl featuyre.they said it comes from germany.i presume all software is the same
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Nearly 40,000 miles and no problems before or after the (free) upgrade. You would think this surprisaing, considering all the weight I've pulled on the trailer -- half a ton from Chicago to Southern California and another half ton from Houston to Southern California -- but I ALWAYS shift gently. I NEVER have driven agressively. In fact, I never put my foot to the floor.
The Smart is surprisingly robust but even so, I suspect a lot of people used to Detroit iron beat it up without realizing it. As for the European model, I'm not sure what the differences are. I was amazed to hear Smart charged 200 British pounds for the upgrade. It certainly isn't worth that! In my opinion, the upgrade was not worth more, it was only different and the value was more for Smart marketing and not so much for the consumer.
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Permalink Reply by stuart on
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my 2008 smart has done 14000 miles and well looked after,has to have a steering angle sensor fitted the new software wich i presume is the same for everyone usa uk and europe,dont know what it will do or i will benefit from.also has a sump oil leak very dissapointed
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I was one of the first to receive the reflash over a year ago. I thought i had noticed a slightly quicker shifting but after driving it a while, I'm not quite convinced. I drive almost exclusively in manual mode. The times that i have switched to automatic, like in heavy stop and go trafic, I always accedentily hit the shift paddles and mess things up. As far as I'm concerned, it's not a feature that i ever got used to using. On a slightly different but related issue, I've been putting the premium 94 octane (available at some Petro Canada stations that used to be Sunoco) only a few months after purchasing my smart in 08. I hopped that it would help the performance. I did this because there is a notice on my gas intake door that 95 is recommended but 91 is the minimum. (I guess 95 must be availalbe in Europe). I've been told by some mechanics that the 94 octane is useless unless you have proper spark plugs that are gueared to work with the higher octane. As I'm not a mechanic, i would appreciate any expert advise on how a higher octane gas would benefit the smart engine if at all. I recently switched back to 91 and I can't say that I've noticed anything different yet. It does however look like I get a bit better mileage with the 91. Am I imagining things?
Marc Ladouceur
Casselman, ON
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In theory, you will get better mileage with higher octane - but only in an engine properly designed and set up for it. The premium air-fuel mixture burns/expands more slowly than lower octane, allowing the downforce of the explosion to apply more evenly and over a longer period of time (measured in miliseconds) to the top of the piston.
With the Smart, as well as with my turbocharged Volvo 5-cylinder, the difference between lower and higher octane consistantly shows in terms of higher MPG - but only when I am attempting to hypermile. I attribute this to a slight increase in torque over the 4-stroke cycle. After a combined 150,000 miles of hypermiling both high and lower octane in these vehicles, I am convinced that there is essentially no practical difference in fuel cost while premium clearly provides better MPG.
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Well, I just picked up my smart from the garage again after having the same problem for the 3rd time within a few years. My car started to jerk between gear shifts. The last time it was just inside the warranty period. They changed the actuator but it obviously didn't fix the problem. People are starting to wonder why i don't just get rid of the smart. It's been one problem after the other. I'm a big fan of the smart and when it works, it's lots of fun to drive. If the mechanics could fix the problem and would be sure how to deal with the issue, it wouldn't be so bad but they actually don't know what is the problem. They re-flashed it again and we'll keep our fingers crossed. Anyone want to buy a used smartcar with 115,000 km of highway miles?
Marc, Casselman Ontario.
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