Confusing gear shifters on some Fiat Chrysler cars causing accidents

NHTSA says it has reports of 314 complaints, including 121 crashes and 30 injuries after vehicles rolled away, some striking buildings, drivers or other cars.

856,000 vehicles are now being examined by the NHTSA probe, which has expanded from the original 408,000 Grand Cherokees that were originally included in the investigation when it began in August of 2015. It doesn’t allow normal engine shutoff if the vehicle isn’t shifted to 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.

The government’s probe now covers more than 856,000 vehicles including the popular Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV from the 2014 and 2015 model years and the 2012 through 2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans with 3.6-liter V6 engines. The gearshift does not have notches that match up with the gear you want to shift into, and it moves back to a centered position after the driver picks a gear. The Monostable gear selection is shown on the dash along with illuminated letters on the shifter. Even worse was the discovery by the NHTSA that the push button start / stop feature wouldn’t kill the ignition if the vehicle was in gear, which meant some of those who were injured not only thought they were in Park, but also thought their automobile had shut down, too.

Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) fell 7.6% to a 52-week low after the NHTSA released documents over the weekend that suggested a broader examination of claims that some of its vehicles can roll away when a driver thanks the transmission has been set to park. Folks who’ve been driving for years, who are used to the way a mechanical PRNDL shifter operates, probably don’t think consciously about the act of shifting-it’s the kind of act we’ve committed to muscle memory years ago.

Officials say they have upgraded the investigation to an ‘engineering analysis, ‘ which could lead to a possible recall. The automaker told The New York Times it is cooperating fully with the investigation.