Jeep That Crushed Anton Yelchin Had Been Recalled

[cloudythescribbler]

Source: NY Times

The 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee that rolled backward down a driveway and killed the actor Anton Yelchin early Sunday was a model that Fiat Chrysler has recalled for a gearshift issue that has confused drivers, leading them to accidentally leave the car in neutral when they think it is safely in park.

Los Angeles Police investigators and the carmaker said on Monday that it was too soon to determine the cause of the accident. But Mr. Yelchin was killed after he got out of his Jeep and it rolled down his steep driveway, crushing him against a concrete-reinforced mailbox, a police spokeswoman, Liliana Preciado, said.

Ms. Preciado said she did not know if the vehicle’s transmission was in neutral. But Mr. Yelchin’s Jeep was part of a recall by Fiat Chrysler in April of almost 812,000 vehicles including the 2014 and 2015 Grand Cherokee models. That recall was prompted by an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, after complaints by car owners and reports of dozens of related injuries.

Fiat Chrysler has been a prime target of the government’s efforts to penalize automakers for lax safety practices. Last year, federal regulators accused Fiat Chrysler of failing to conduct recalls and complete repairs in a timely fashion, and hit the company with $105 million in penalties.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/business/jeep-that-crushed-anton-yelchin-had-been-recalled.html

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If this is the cause of Yelchin's death it is truly shameful, and hopefully there would be more than the usual posturing in DC as a result

[tonyt53]

1. My daughter has a 2015 Grand Cherokee. It has an electronic shifter.

You might think it in park, but the electronic sensors say other wise. My daughter had hers fixed late last year when she had it in for a different recall. It makes me sick to think that she also has a driveway with some angle to it and her kids play there sometimes.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. Does the car have a parking brake?

It's only an annoyance until it becomes a good habit.

Yes, it should not be necessary, but ...

[Spider Jerusalem]

16. It's always necessary

if the car is parked on an incline you should set the parking brake (even if it's an automatic and you leave it in "Park&quot . An automatic transmission has a "parking pawl" that engages when the shift lever is placed in "Park"; the weight of a ton or more of car on a relatively smallish bit of metal causes stress, which can lead to failure even if there's not an underlying defect.

[bvar22]

15. Call me a Luddite when it comes to automobiles.

I don't want anything computer controlled or Fly by Wire".
I want direct, mechanical linkages to every controllable aspect of my vehicles.
I drive only Manual Transmissions (Thankfully, my wife prefers them too),
prefer direct cable inputs for A/C, heater, defrost, choke, and any other accessories, (no "climate controls" or automatic vent doors), manual linkages to 4WD activation, manual door locks and windows, and I disconnect or turn off the ABS system because I want NOTHING between me and my brakes.

I will admit that the Electronic Fuel Injection is an improvement (when it works), but at a high cost when sensors start to fail. If one doesn't know how to find and replace the sensors, might as well buy a new car or Bite the Bullet at the Dealer, more and more frequently.

I am saddened by the above "accident".
The more complex our vehicles become, the more unintended consequences and System Failures there will be.

[passiveporcupine]

18. I won't park on a hill unless I absolutely have to.

I've always been scared of the gears not holding, and the parking break not holding.

I read about Anton yesterday, and it's such a horrible thing to happen to anyone. He had such a bright future. He was loved by everyone who knew him.

[bvar22]

21. Unfortunately, my wife and I must park on a hill everyday.

Our cabin sits on a fairly steep ridge.
(both manual transmissions) We learned to either:
1) Nose into a tree going downhill
OR
2) Turn the steering wheel all the way and lock it so that if it does roll down hill, it will only roll for 1/2 circle. Of course, we have no traffic or other vehicles except our own to concern us.

In the old days with high compression V-8s, just leaving it in 1st or reverse was enough to keep it from rolling, but I found out that a low compression V-6 WILL roll against the engine compression on even a modest grade.

Of course, if you live in the city, turn your wheels so that the vehicle will hit the curb if it starts to roll.

It only takes one time to learn the hard way.

[snooper2]

2. I don't understand why they have to do a recall because of user error/confusion

Have they recalled the Prius because it has a button on the dash for (park) instead of a a gated shift lever?

If there is a defect that causes accidents/death is one thing. If it is confusing to a few people why is that on the manufacturer?

[Baclava]

3. Design flaw? The shift mechanism returns to same neutral position no matter what gear you use

Blame the engineers that came up with this gimmick



FCA’s Monostable shift lever acts unlike a traditional gear shifter. When it’s shifted into park, the lever returns to the middle position, regardless of whether it was placed in park or not.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/06/defective-jeep-kill-anton-yelchin/

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NHTSA: People Can't Figure Out How to Shift Fiat Chryslers Into Park

The National Highway Traffic Safety administration says a badly-designed automatic shifter is confusing drivers, causing them to exit a vehicle that's still in gear. 121 crashes and 30 injuries have been reported.

The agency has received reports of 314 roll-away incidents, involving 121 crashes and 30 injuries, caused when drivers exited a vehicle after they thought they'd shifted into Park. And while the initial investigation treated the issue as a mechanical defect, it's looking more and more like the problem has at least something to do with driver error due to a poorly-designed shifter.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...sler-shifters/

[snooper2]

4. no, it acts like a joystick not a traditional gated shifter- as designed

The recall just adds some chimes for people to realize, oh, better actually put it in park

[Baclava]

8. So now they'll plaster warning signs all over the car to remind you to double check your gear?

It's a gimmick

[ailsagirl]

5. I'm glad your daughter had that fixed, obviously

But, really-- that's scary

I don't understand how this kind of thing happens.

Take the Takata airbag recall, for instance. At least 5.5 million vehicles have been recalled by Honda alone.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/massive-takata-airbag-recall-everything-you-need-to-know-including-full-list-of-affected-vehicles/

Someone in QA had to have screwed up hugely.

[jakeXT]

7. A CBS report from March

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017387020

[frazzled]

9. I always engage the emergency brake after putting the car in park

I've been doing it since the late 1970s. First, you should use it fairly regularly, because it can freeze up and not work when you actually need it. (This happened to us once a long time ago.) Second ... because I never assume the vehicle is really in park.

We drive a Prius now, and we have the habit of doing the 3 Ps when parking the car: P for Park, P for Power off, P for parking brake (foot brake). 1,2,3 ... it's automatic actions now.

[seabeckind]

11. I don't understand those letters.

We have 3 vehicles in the family. When I took my grandson for a ride he asked what that other peddle is for.

[BlueStater]

10. "Crushed"? Really?

There was something wrong with simply using "killed"? What an odd headline.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

13. The word "crushed" shows up frequently in OSHA 170 reports.

Fatality and Catastrophe Investigation Summaries

Here's one example. Use "crushed" as a keyword.

Employee Crushed Between Boom Truck And Trailer

More tomorrow. I'm about to get logged off.

[BlueStater]

14. It still seems weird to me and kind of tasteless, especially for a NYT article.

If you want to use the word "crushed" to describe his death, use it within the article. Using it in the headline just seems tacky.

[AngryAmish]

12. I would like 1/3of that.

[proverbialwisdom]

17. More.

http://www.sgvtribune.com/arts-and-entertainment/20160620/anton-yelchins-death-prompts-government-to-caution-jeep-drivers

[bluedigger]

19. An example of under engineering to keep up with the Joneses.

Several high end makers use this type of shifter, but with arguably better safety cut offs to put it in Park. Fiat-Chrysler didn't field test it enough to see what was necessary. I don't see why they bought it from the Germans in the first place - it's more complicated and less intuitive than the standard shifter everyone has used for years. It couldn't have saved them money, with all the electronics it requires.

[300gools]

20. very tragic

sad.