800,000-Plus Fiat Chrysler Recalled For Shifters

2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee shifter (Credit: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles )

If you drive a 2012-2014 Dodge Charger or Chrysler 300, or a 2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, or know someone who does, you’ll want to know about this recall. Over 800,000 vehicles have been recalled in the United States by the NHTSA. Several hundred thousand more have been recalled in Mexico, Canada and a few other countries.

Apparently people were confused about the “innovative” shifter design. Instead of the shifter moving to the different settings, like on traditional automatics, it always returns to the middle after the driver makes a selection. It’s kind of similar to the manual mode on a lot of modern automatic transmissions, where the lever always flops to the middle after shifting up or down.

Too many drivers don’t get how this works. Basically, people are getting out of their vehicle with the transmission in Drive or Reverse, like a Mr. Bean skit. Of course it then rolls away, until something stops it, like a building or another car.

The fix is all software. Instead of the vehicles rolling off in certain situations, the transmission is automatically shifted into Park. The sad truth is an over-the-air update would take care of the situation in no time. Instead, owners will have to visit a dealership service department and wait for the software to be installed by a tech.

Fortunately, nobody’s been killed by these runaway cars, yet. There have been 41 injuries blamed on them. In other words, this is a recall everyone should take seriously.