Blinker Plastic Busted On GCBC’s Long-Term 2009 Smart Fortwo

Only a couple months after GoodCarBadCar.net finished up articles based on spending One Year With The Smart, the first genuine build quality issue has crept up in a fairly strange place. Our 2009 smart fortwo was delivered in pure trim with just one option: air-con. Earlier this week GCBC’s long-term smart fortwo crossed the 17,000 kilometre barrier – that’s 10,563 miles, America.

That’s not to say our smart’s quality concern didn’t arise until the 17,000 kilometre mark, however. A few weeks ago, I noticed a little round piece of hollow-out grey plastic on the driver’s floormat. I stared at it for a while. I picked it up. I rolled it over in my hand. I glanced around the car for a few seconds before my eyes landed upon the blinker/headlight stalk to the left of the steering wheel. Missing from the end of the blinker stalk was a little round piece of hollowed-out grey plastic. Hmm. Snapped back on, the quality concern was placed aside as the freaky but forgettable moment of the day.

About a week later, the piece of grey plastic was on the driver’s seat. This was, of course, more curious, since I was sitting in the seat and didn’t notice the piece of grey plastic until I vacated the premises. Nevertheless, the round piece of hollowed-out grey plastic was placed back in its… place.

Then came today. The run did rise, the clouds disappeared, and The Good Car Mother was due to be intentionally blinded by the eye doctor downtown. (He has his reasons.) Moments after unlocking the smart fortwo and placing one foot inside, I spot the little grey piece of plastic on the floormat once again. This time, as I pick it up, I see that the offending grey piece of plastic has a slight crack in it. It still snaps on – and still won’t snap off even if I try – but the crack necessitates a trip to O’Regan’s Mercedes-Benz in Halifax as soon as I have time to concentrate on the needs of our smart fortwo’s blinker stalk.