Fiat Chrysler’s ‘Confusing’ Gear Shifter Has Caused Over 100 Crashes
USA’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has significantly expanded its investigation into the apparently ‘confusing’ gear shifter found in around 400,000 Grand Cherokees. The organisation is now looking at 856,000 vehicles in total, covering 3.6-litre V6 Grand Cherokees from 2014 and 2015, Dodge Chargers from 2012-2014 and Chrysler 300s from the same period.
The issue is that the electronic shifter - a part made by German firm ZF - returns to the middle position after each selection. It doesn’t feature a park button either, and according to the NHTSA, these two factors have resulted in numerous owners inadvertently exiting their vehicles with the car is still in drive.
The organisation reckons that 306 roll-away incidents involving Grand Cherokees can be attributed to confusion over the selector, allegedly leading to 117 crashes and 28 injuries in the USA. The NHTSA stated that their testing revealed “poor tactile and visual feedback to the driver, increasing the potential for unintended gear selection.”
It’s worth mentioning that the cars in question do have an audible and visual warning that appears if the driver’s door is opened while the vehicle is not in park.
A recall has not yet been issued, but Fiat Chrysler Automobiles says that it’s cooperating with the NHTSA’s investigations.
Source: Detroit News
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
Car designers DO PLEASE UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING:
Repeat out loud 3 times: CARS SHALL NOT BE COMPUTERS, SHALL NOT BEHAVE LIKE A COMPUTER, SHALL NEVER HAVE COMPUTER LIKE INPUTS…
Believe, you are getting in front of the door of hell if you continue to do stuff like that…
I am an IT guy, and a car guy and I have seen it…
My worst nightmare is a car with an ecu that runs on Windows and Clippy appearing on the screen saying: “Hi, it seems that you are driving now, would you like me to do some adjustment to the car while driving?” :S
(Sarcastic mode on)Thank God, Koenigsegg invented no transmission cars because it seems that more and more people, after ditching manual, find that auto is still too complicated lol (Sarcastic mode off)
ffs it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out, goddammit. I blame the people tbh.
Problem solved…
wtf is wrong with normal gear levers
Exactly- not a damn thing, a simple gear shifter would be just fine.
I can’t stand their shifters. Not even that giant oven knob they use.
umm, Audi, Mercedes, BMW all have the same system. Its just that Americans are illiterate. Not Jeeps fault.
It’s the same as audi’s A8 i think
From my point of view buy a manual with a proper handbrake done! Then if you think it might run away put it into gear
good old normal shifters are so out of date -_- people are so used to the “normal” shifters there is no way it could go trouble free, ive heard the same problems occur also for ram trucks with the dash mounted knob shifter