NHTSA recall 08V390000
SMART USA IS RECALLING 43 MY 2008 FORTWO 451 VEHICLES. A SINGLE BATCH OF PAINT SENT TO THE COMPANY DID NOT MEET SPECIFICATIONS. A RE-WORK WAS DONE IN THE PLANT USING DIFFERENT FORMULATIONS OF PAINTING MATERIALS. AFTER THE RE-WORK WAS COMPLETED, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE COMBINATION OF MATERIALS USED TO REPAINT THE FRAME AND CHASSIS COULD LEAD TO DE LAMINATION OF THE PAINT MATERIALS FROM THE BODY AND FRAME STRUCTURES.
Safety consequence
SUCH DE LAMINATING CAN TAKE PLACE IN THE AREA OF THE BODY WHERE THE WINDSHIELD AND ROOF HAVE BEEN AFFIXED WITH ADHESIVE, WHICH COULD AFFECT THE ADHESION OF THOSE COMPONENTS TO THE VEHICLE BODY, INCREASING THE RISK OF SEPARATION. THIS COULD CAUSE A CRASH IF THE ROOF OR WINDSHIELD SEPARATED FROM THE VEHICLE WHILE IN MOTION.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REPAINT THE AFFECTED AREAS TO MEET SPECIFICATIONS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 18, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SMART USA AT 1-248-648-2451.
Additional notes
SMART USA RECALL NO. 0808-001. CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.
What to do
- Check your VIN. Recalls apply to specific build ranges, not every car of the model year. Look up campaign 08V390000 on nhtsa.gov and enter your VIN.
- If your VIN is affected, the dealer-side fix is free regardless of mileage or model year — recall remedies don't expire. Mercedes-Benz USA handles smart recalls; any MB dealer can perform the work.
- If your VIN isn't affected, no action needed. Save the campaign ID for your records.
Source documents
- NHTSA campaign 08V390000 — official summary, affected vehicles, and recall progress
- NHTSA Recalls VIN lookup
Have a related question?
SmartDiag-AI can answer questions about this recall, related fault codes, or the underlying system. The link below pre-loads the campaign context.