Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep Recall Issued After Dozens Injured Due To Shifter Confusion

Fiat Chrysler has announced a recall that impacts more than 1.1 million mid-size SUV’s and mid-size sedans, following reports of more than 100 accidents and dozens of injuries that occurred after drivers thought their vehicle was in the “Park” position when selecting gears.

The Chrysler recall was announced on April 22, impacting certain Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300 and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles that may cause driver confusion due to a new transmission shifter design.

An investigation by the automaker and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) discovered at least 314 roll-away accidents and 41 injuries that may be related to a new design for the vehicle’s gear shifter. The design appears to confuse drivers, since the shifter returns to the same position after each gear selection.

Certain mid-size SUV’s and mid-size sedans sold in recent years have been equipped with automatic transmissions that have electric shift levers, which return to the center position after each gear selection is made. The vehicle’s gear position is then indicated by the illumination of the abbreviated gear selected on top of the shifter knob.

The shifters are not designed as the traditional “PRND” layouts, which many drivers are accustom to. It appears that this is causing drivers to make incorrect conclusions about the status of the vehicle.

Rather than physically moving the shifter next to the desired gear, drivers push the gear selector forward to put the vehicles in park, and pull the shifter backwards to put it in drive. However, the shifter returns to the center position after each selection, failing to blatantly indicate which gear has been selected.

The NHTSA and Chrysler opened their investigation in the summer of 2015, amid reports of problems. At least 121 of the incidents resulted in crashes.

The recall impacts an estimated 811,586 model year 2012 through 2014 Dodge Charger, 2012 through 2014 Chrysler 300 sedans, and model year 2014 through 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV’s sold in the U.S. . In addition, Chrysler will also be recalling an estimated 52,144 vehicles in Canada, 16,805 in Mexico, and 248,667 to countries outside of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), totaling roughly 1,129,202 vehicles.

The NHTSA also warned that the vehicles’ signal a chime and a cluster alert on the dash display when a door is opened while the vehicle is not in the “Park” position, however the agency stated this function does not protect drivers who intentionally leave the engine running or drivers who do not realize the engine is still running after an attempted shut-off, posing a rollaway hazard.

The NHTSA also noted several other concerns with the electronic shifters, including that there is no gate around the shifter, and that the entire range of motion the shifter is extremely short, being maybe two or three inches at most.

According to the NHTSA investigation, while testing the shifter the agency found the electronic gear shifter’s operation is “not intuitive, and offers “poor tactile and visual feedback to the driver, increasing the potential for unintended gear selection.”

The NHTSA and Chrysler have determined that the shifter design operates significantly different from the standard shifter and requires more concentration and awareness from the driver. The NHTSA called for enhanced warnings and transmission-shift strategies on the impacted vehicles.

During the recall repairs dealers will combine warnings with a transmission-shift strategy to automatically prevent a vehicle from moving, under certain circumstances , even when the driver fails to select the “Park” position.

Fiat Chrysler is currently working on a notification schedule that will include mailed notice to all registered owners with instructions on how to have the shifters repaired by local licensed dealers. Customers with further questions may contact Chrysler US Customer Care Center at 1-800-853-1403.