Fiat Chrysler gear shifters confuse drivers, leading to more than 100 crashes: U.S. safety agency

DETROIT — Electronic gear shifters on some newer Fiat Chrysler SUVs and cars are so confusing that drivers have exited the vehicles with the engines running even though they are still in gear, causing crashes and heavy injuries, U.S. safety investigators have determined.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles takes first sales crown in another record-setting year for Canadian auto sales

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles took the Canadian auto-sales crown the very first time in 2015, capitalizing on skyrocketing consumer demand for SUVs and pickup trucks in another record-setting year for that industry

Read more

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in documents posted during the weekend, has doubled the number of vehicles in an investigation of the problem, however it stopped short of seeking a recall. The company found more than 100 crashes and over twelve injuries, mostly in Jeep Grand Cherokees.

Agency tests discovered that operating the centre console shift lever “is not intuitive and offers poor tactile and visual feedback to the driver, enhancing the potential for unintended gear selection,” investigators wrote within the documents. They upgraded the probe to an engineering analysis, that is a step closer to a recall. NHTSA will continue to collect information and seek a recall if necessary, a spokesman said.

The investigation could determine just how much automakers can change the way cars operate when they introduce new technology, and how far they can stray from conventional ways of controlling vehicles that drivers are familiar with.

Jake Fisher, director of auto testing for Consumer Reports, expects more problems and investigations as automakers continue to roll out new electronic controls that are unfamiliar to drivers. “I think the manufacturers need to be much more responsible because they try these technology,” he said.

The government’s probe now covers more than 856,000 vehicles including the popular Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV in the 2014 and 2015 model many the 2012 through 2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans with 3.6-litre V6 engines.

In the vehicles, drivers pull the shift lever forward or backward to pick gears and also the shifter doesn’t move along a track as with most cars. A light shows which gear is chosen, but to get from Drive to fit, drivers must push the lever forward 3 times. The gearshift doesn’t have notches that complement with the apparatus you want to shift into, also it moves to a centred position after the driver picks a gear.

Related

Volkswagen purports to refit 11 million cars to stem worst business crisis in the 78-year historyVolkswagen to give diesel drivers $1,000 price of credit cards to create up for emissions lie

The vehicles sound a chime and issue a dashboard warning when the driver’s door is opened while they’re not in Park. But investigators discovered that the push-button start-stop feature doesn’t turn off the engine when the vehicles aren’t in Park, increasing the chance of the vehicles rolling away after drivers have exited.

“This function doesn’t protect drivers who intentionally leave the engine running or drivers who do not notice that the engine continues to pursue an attempted shut-off,” investigators wrote.



Thus far, your research finds 314 complaints, 121 crashes and 30 injuries in the problem. Three drivers reported fractured pelvic bones, while four others needed to be hospitalized having a ruptured bladder, fractured kneecap, or severe leg trauma.

Fiat Chrysler says it is co-operating in the probe. The company changed the shifters in the 2016 Grand Cherokee and 2015 Charger and 300 sedans so that they function a lot more like individuals are accustomed to. But FCA said it did so to increase client satisfaction and not for safety concerns.

One driver, in Atkinson, New Hampshire, complained that in November of last year, her 2014 Grand Cherokee began travelling in reverse without any driver inside. The SUV crossed a street, crashed into a mailbox and rolled away a driveway. The motive force wrote that they attempted to get back into the Jeep but was knocked to the ground also it rolled over her legs and injured her. The Jeep eventually stopped after hitting fencing. Drivers aren’t identified in the NHTSA complaint database.

“The shift knob is a real problem,” wrote another driver from Enumclaw, Washington, who reported two unintentional roll-away incidents inside a 2015 Grand Cherokee. “I am not a complainer, however this is a major safety issue. It terrifies me they are driving this vehicle.”

Fiat Chrysler isn’t alone using the tricky shifters. Fisher says BMW and Mercedes-Benz have similar gearshifts. He said the government has a little difference to walk between stifling innovation and keeping people safe.

“I think the best thing for consumers isn’t that legislation comes,” he explained. “The best thing is that automakers really don’t start adding features that are really confusing to individuals and cause accidents.”

The Associated Press