Fiat Chrysler adds Maseratis to transmission recall

Maserati is recalling about 13,000 sedans that have the same sort of gear shifter that was used in the Jeep that killed actor Anton Yelchin.

“Star Trek” actor Anton Yelchin had minimal suffering after he was crushed to death by a defective Jeep Grand Cherokee, according to his death certificate.

It’s common practice for automakers to wait until it ships parts or distributes software to fix a recall problem before notifying owners.

More than 100 crashes have been reported due to a gear selector problem that caused driver confusion about whether the vehicle was in park.

The agency said it is monitoring investigations into Yelchin’s death by Los Angeles police and Fiat Chrysler.

The suit will seek class action status for the auto owners, looking to force Fiat Chrysler to compensate them for the diminished value of their vehicles following the “raft of negative publicity” brought on by Yelchin’s death, according to the complaint. The driver moves it forward or back to select a gear, but it then returns to its original upright position.

The gear shift’s design makes it hard to tell what gear the vehicle is in.

The software is available for the vehicles equipped with 3.6 liter and 5.7 liter engines, which account for a majority of the recalled vehicles. FCA said software availability for the rest of the vehicles is “imminent”.

Software for vehicles with other engines will be available at a later date. Fiat Chrysler said “advance planning is critical to efficient customer care and represents an acceleration – by several months – of the originally anticipated service launch”. But owners had only received a warning and not an official recall notice at the time of Yelchin’s death.

The software update being put into the Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep vehicles will automatically put the transmission into Park if the driver’s side door is opened and the driver’s seatbelt is unbuckled while the vehicle is stopped or at very low speed.

The company said that later versions of these vehicles have gear selectors that are easier to use.

Fiat Chrysler in April recalled more than 1.1 million cars and SUVs worldwide because vehicles may roll away after drivers exit, an issue linked to 41 injuries, 212 crashes and 308 reports of property damage.

Owners with questions can call the Fiat Chrysler recall line at 800-853-1403 or contact their dealer.