Total Complaints
3 filings
SMART FORTWO COUPE ELECTRIC · model year
2015 SMART FORTWO COUPE ELECTRIC
3 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2015SMARTFORTWO COUPE ELECTRIC carries 3 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 1 fire, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2015 FORTWO COUPE ELECTRIC is service brakes with 1 filings, followed by seat belts (1) and unknown or other (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 2 investigation files overlapping the 2015 FORTWO COUPE ELECTRIC, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
3
Complaints
0
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
Complaints vs. fleet median (215)
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
Complaints by Component
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | 1 |
| SEAT BELTS | 1 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 |
Recent Complaints
20230703FireUNKNOWN OR OTHER
The driver was sitting a red light when flames started emerging from the hood. The driver exited the car before the entire front of the car was engulfed in flames and ultimately destroyed. It is unclear what caused the fire but it might have been a wiring harness (or at least there was a wiring harness in the front drivers area under the hood). The car is available for inspection upon request. The safety of the drivers was at risk; he was lucky to be at a red light although he was forced to exit in the middle of a busy street. There is no problem to be reproduced but the incident was reported to Mercedes. The vehicle has not been inspected but the police and fire departments were on scene. There was no prior warning via lamps or other symptoms.
20220506SEAT BELTS
The cable that connects the driver's seatbelt to the seatbelt tensioner (smart/Mercedes part number 4518600084) frayed. The car has less than 49,000 miles on it. Six of the seven strands of the cable frayed and broke, leaving just one strand connecting the driver's seatbelt to the car. I've attached photos of the tensioner as mounted in the car and removed from the car. The frayed cable is part of the tensioner (smart/Mercedes part number 4518600084). Mercedes of Portland said that the seatbelts are not covered under the warranty. I paid $252.23 to have the tensioner assembly replaced. I shudder to think what would have happened if I had been in an accident with this defective seatbelt.
20170502SERVICE BRAKES
WHILE DRIVING, BRAKES FAILED, BRAKE PEDAL BECAME IMPOSSIBLE TO DEPRESS WITH NO BRAKE RESPONSE, AND A WARNING LIGHT INDICATING A BRAKE FAULT CAME ON. FORTUNATELY, DRIVER WAS ON A SLOW MOVING CITY STREET AND WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER AND STOP USING HAND BRAKE FOR AN EMERGENCY STOP. OTHER ELECTRICAL RELATED GLITCHES IN THIS CAR CAN BE 'RESET' BY TURNING OFF CAR AND RESTARTING. DRIVER TRIED THAT, ERROR CLEARED, DRIVER PROCEEDED CAREFULLY, TURNING ONTO A QUIET RESIDENTIAL STREET. BRAKES WORKED FOR TWO BLOCKS, BUT ON 3RD BLOCK SAME THING OCCURRED APPROACHING A STOP SIGN - BRAKE PEDAL BECAME UN-USABLY STIFF WITH NO APPARENT BRAKE RESPONSE, INDICATOR LIGHT CAME BACK ON, BRAKES DID NOT WORK, HAND BRAKE WAS AGAIN USED TO SLOW AND STOP VEHICLE. TWO MORE ATTEMPTS TO RESET, NO CHANGE, USED HAND-BRAKE WHILE MOVING VEHICLE OUT OF STREET AND INTO A LEGAL PARKING SPOT. VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALER. DEALER INDICATES THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN ABOUT THIS ISSUE, FIXES PROBLEM, BUT DEFLECTS ALL QUESTIONS AB
Mileage: 4,771
Compare 2015SMARTFORTWO COUPE ELECTRIC to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations 1 Open
Frequently Asked Questions
How many complaints does the 2015 SMART FORTWO COUPE ELECTRIC have?▼
The 2015 SMART FORTWO COUPE ELECTRIC has 3 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 1 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 2015 SMART FORTWO COUPE ELECTRIC?▼
The most-complained component for the 2015 SMART FORTWO COUPE ELECTRIC is SERVICE BRAKES with 1 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include SEAT BELTS and UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
Is the 2015 SMART FORTWO COUPE ELECTRIC safe to buy?▼
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?▼
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.
Vehicle Safety Guides
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.