Yikes! Smart car recalled for steering defect

It's one thing to have the steering fail in a car as you drive. It's quite another if that catastrophe were to happen in a vehicle as tiny as the Smart car.

Steering trouble in the smallest car on U.S. roads might leave you feeling, well, vulnerable. Sure enough, a recall is underway for 5,058 Smart ForTwos for steering mounting gear bolts that can fail.

Not a pleasant prospect, not in a car less than 9 feet long.

"If the steering gear mounting bolts break, vehicle handling could be affected, increasing the risk of a crash," reads a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration filing on the issue that preceded the recall.

The recall covers 2014 and 2015 Smart ForTwo coupes, convertibles, the 2014 Fortwo electric coupes and Fortwo convertible electric vehicles.