I had this problem with my 04 smart car and took it to my local garage. They checked it over and the only thing they could find was my clutch was pretty worn and would need replacing. £1,060 later got it home no problem for a couple of weeks and the problem reappeared. Found this video and knew you were on to something as with engine running an couldn't get reverse putting in first gear and jerking forward would free it up. More online investigation turns out putting your foot on the foot brake resets the gearbox. Try having engine off but ignition on and push the foot brake and leave foot on for a while you can hear the gears resetting themselves. Ok I actually would have needed a new clutch eventually but doing it just after Christmas was a financial disaster I could have saved up for later on. Think smart, drive Smart 😎😎😎

You need to have the brake pedal press down when moving the gear lever I’ve found. As I quite often forget to put it in neutral after reversing into my parking space it does a similar thing. So having my brake pedal pressed whilst I change from neutral to reverse and back clears it.

Hi👋 I have same problem with my Honda Civic about five years ago so I disconnected battery 🔋 for 10/15 minutes and it worked on Honda. Thanks 🙏 🙏

You have to have the ignition on and foot on the foot brake to remove from reverse or 1st to neutral. Simple really

I believe it could be the brake light switch, it's a common problem on first generation smarts once it fails you find problems selecting the gears, about 7 quid on ebay, ps love the videos about the little roller skate 😅

Thiis was soooo helpful im stuck right now in tge middle of the night in a bad area just shaked it bit and boom all good thaank you so much

Did you check if the H7 led lights would fit the freelander instead of the Hll 711 thanks

There is an electric motor that moves between the gears, jiggling the car may take the tension off the gearbox and allow it to change, but it does sound like it's either a weak motor or a dodgy sensor. It's best to pay attention to it before it gets worse and leaves you stranded. The gearbox works like a motorcycle gearbox, but with a motor instead of a foot gear lever, any biker will tell you that neutral is often the hardest gear to select. If it was mine I'd start with changing the gear oil, because that's easy and often neglected, then clean test or replace the sensor, and then the motor. Also, if you have not done so yet, change the earth strap because they are notorious and cause all sorts of electrical issues that may seem unrelated.

You are a life saver

I have an automated manual transmission 451 and i have to press the brakes every time i change otherwise it will be stuck.

Brilliant really helpful 👍

Im having the same problem now. Gear register R, but clearly gear is on N and now I stuck in the parking near home. Luckily that happened at home, not somewhere in the middle of the street. I need to try your style 😅

is this the semi automatic or the automatic? I think from 2010 they have automatic. Is it any better the automatic?

Mine happened just now 12/19/2020 the maintenance icon just flashed and I got worried because I accidentally turned off the engine in D. And after driving for 20miles it got stacked with 1 gear. I parked and turned it off and waited for 8-10 tries. I turned my light off then it suddenly worked 🙏

Thanks mate it worked 👍

Thanks pal.

I put into neutral everytime I park and remove the key

You just saved me thank you oh my god

That sounds like a switch on a transmission shaft , as you rock it , it makes contact , u can use that method to fault a startor motor

Thanks

Even after replacing the actuator I still continue getting stuck and won't go into any gear and have to let sit 5 minutes to reset transmission

this happened to me and it appears its common but its the BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH which has 4 contacts. two normally closed and two closed when foot applied to pedal to work brake lights and the normally closed two open. google brake light switch fail smart car and you will see this symptom quoted as to evidence of switch failure when the switch sticks and not making contact it causes the gearchange to fail and not change gear fairly easy to replace under the car after removing plastic underbody plastic shield panel the switch just unclips and are cheap Modern cars nothing seems logical anymore !!!

Thanks 😊 for this one more video

Smart manual states to ''park the car select reverse gear and remove key''

У меня вчера была такая же проблема. Машина не хотела менять передачу, показывала на табло 0, либо три горизонтальные полоски. Отсоединил аккумулятор, покачал машину и после она завелась. Но в чём причина? Что нужно сделать, чтобы проблема ушла? У меня Smart 450, 2001 года.

For whom who are watching this video it happened to me a second time and I couldn't get the car into natural ( n ) put your foot on the break and then try it again it will work .

For the past few days my 2003 smart for two wouldn’t select reverse so a few suggestions said disconnect the battery which I’ve just done. Now it won’t select reverse still or neutral and only stays in first gear meaning I can’t start the car of move it. It’s now stuck in the middle of my driveway. Not impressed with this car at all. Any ideas and suggestions appreciated (scrap it?)

I just press the brake and it takes it out first and puts it back in neutral

Desbloquear Smart llaves son pilas

Got the same issue did you fix it

Weird

Set fire to it and claim the insurance !

It's probably all that Rust you painted on it that's making it stick in gear! 👍

This smart isn’t really smart.....

The most unreliable cars on cars on earth !