Was Star Trek actor fatality among 266 crashes related to confusing shifter?
A government investigation into confusing gear shifters in Fiat Chrysler vehicles found . The carmaker is speeding up a recall of 1.1 million vehicles following hundreds of consumer complaints about the electronic shifters and an accident with one recalled sport utility vehicle resulting in the death of Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Fiat Chrysler appeared to violate basic design guidelines for vehicle controls, making it difficult for drivers to tell if they had successfully moved the transmission to "park" before leaving the vehicle. Many drivers reported their vehicles rolled after they had exited.
Actor Anton Yelchin, best known for playing the young Russian starship navigator Chekov in the relaunched series of "Star Trek" movies, died on June 19 when his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee at his home, according to Los Angeles police who are continuing to investigate the crash.
The NHTSA called Mr. Yelchin's death 鈥� that may be related to this safety defect and vehicle recall.鈥�
The agency鈥檚 testing found that the electronic gear shifter is 鈥渘ot intuitive鈥� and offers 鈥�, increasing the potential for unintended gear selection.鈥� The gear shifter鈥檚 lever always move back into a central position after the driver selects a gear by toggling through the options, which are indicated by lights rather than notches along a track, as in more conventional shifters.
A class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of owners of 2012-2014 Dodge Charger, 2012-2014 Chrysler 300, and 2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee argues that the cars must have effective safety overrides to prevent unattended vehicles from rolling. The plaintiffs point to BMW as a model. BMWs are equipped with a comparable gear shifter, but they聽 if the driver鈥檚 door is opened and the brake pedal released.
Currently, if a driver opens the door of one of the recalled cars when the gearshift isn鈥檛 in park, a chime rings and message pops up to alert them, but dealers will be able to load a software update into vehicles that聽聽if the door opens while the engine is running.
Fiat Chrysler sent out , according to a memo to dealers, and owners started being alerted to bring their cars in for a software update June 24. Originally, the company had said the update would be ready in July or August, but the process has apparently been sped up. It's currently available for the bulk of the vehicles and Fiat Chrysler said availability was "imminent" for the rest.
