Jeep That Crushed Anton Yelchin Had Been Recalled

[scottL 185]

Anton Yelchin, an actor known for his recent work on a remake of “Star Trek,” was killed when his Jeep rolled down a driveway, pinning him against a concrete-reinforced mailbox. The vehicle was part of a recall by Fiat Chrysler for gearshift issues.

 

"It was not yet known whether Mr. Yelchin had been aware of that recall or the issue, for which the company has not yet come up with a remedy. The affected vehicles, which also include 2012-14 Dodge Chargers and Chrysler 300s, use an unconventional lever to shift the automatic transmission. Instead of moving to a different position with each gear, the lever returns to a center position. The driver must look at the shifter to make sure the proper gear is selected.

“Drivers erroneously concluding that their vehicle transmission is in the park position may be struck by the vehicle and injured,” the automaker said in a May report to federal regulators about the problem."

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/business/jeep-that-crushed-anton-yelchin-had-been-recalled.html?emc=edit_th_20160621&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=30941719

[dzJeepChic 2,897]

Oh my gosh that's terrible!

[Lichen 215]

I watched an old episode of "Criminal Minds" yesterday where he played a young budding psychopath. It was eerie knowing that he had died just two days prior.

[Maddogjeeper 2]

Breaks my heart.

[Bradywgn71 1,008]

Sad situation for sure. Sarah and I actually rented a Chrysler 300, a few years back, when we went back to the East Coast to visit her parents. I have to tell you, if you've never used that gear shift, it's not very easy to operate on an intuitive basis. You DO have to look directly at it to see what gear it's in. Finding Park was sometimes difficult. Not a great design. You shouldn't have to stare at a gear shift to operate it. My 2015 Ram 1500 with the 8 speed transmission has the dial on the dashboard gear shift. Once you get used to "dialing" a gear, it's easy and it has obvious detents for the gears. I can feel it click each gear as I move it. It has P R N D. If you're in Drive, rotate counter-clockwise 3 clicks and you're in Park. No guessing or staring at it.

 

[91AzXJ 2]

FCA ditched the gear shift in question for the 2016 model year. Evidently we Americans unlike the Europeans do not regularly use the hand brake when we park our vehicles. If the hand brake would have been used, the accident would not have happened.

[matt@expaz 2]

Very sad. I had a similar (but a lot less severe issue happen to me). My friend and I were out at Chiva Falls at night. We both have 2010 Jeep Wranglers. He parked about 10 feet behind me on a slight grade. We both put our vehicles in Park, turned them off and got out. I went around back and opened up the tailgate. My daughter came up next to me to get something out of the back. All of a sudden, I hear yelling behind me and a loud clicking noise. My friend's Jeep was rolling toward me. He was trying to get back into the vehicle to see if he could stop it. My daughter jumped into the back of my Jeep. I tried to get out of the way. Unfortunately (and fortunately at the same time), I thought the closest way was the way I was facing which was toward the tailgate. It was only partially open and I began to push it open so I could get by it. I never got it all the way open. And that was very lucky. His Jeep "smashed" ( in quotes since he wasn't going very fast) into my tailgate. The tailgate was at a perfect 90 degrees to my Jeep and all that force went directly into the hinges and then into the frame. My Jeep rocked up and down, but it stopped his Jeep in its tracks. The edge of the tailgate road up his bumper and put a knife edged dent into his hood and grill. If the tailgate would have been open further or not as much, it would have broken it off its hinges and maybe have pinned me against the Jeep and broke a leg or two. The only damage to my Jeep was some paint missing from the edge of the tailgate where it knifed into his hood. My friend took his Jeep to the dealer (still under warranty) and I am not making this up, one of the service managers told him the transmission coming out of park when stopped was a "feature" put in by Jeep. After much arguing, he got a new transmission, though I think it's a design flaw, not a one off faulty construction. It doesn't happen all the time, but he could make it happen 1 out of 10 times given the right conditions. Super glad no one was hurt, but I did learn a big lesson. I ALWAYS use my parking brake now. ALWAYS. I used to use it only when I was on an incline I felt needed it. The incline we were on was very, very shallow and I wouldn't have thought twice about using it before this. So, now even on 100% flat surface, I use my parking brake. Should've known that earlier, but live and learn. I am sad Anton wasn't given this chance.

[scottL 185]

as quoted above, the 2014-15 Grand Cherokee comes with an unconventional lever to shift the automatic transmission. Instead of moving to a different position with each gear, the lever returns to a center position. They are equipped with foot operated parking brakes and do not have hand brakes.

 

 

"The death on Sunday of the actor Anton Yelchin, crushed when his Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled backward down his driveway, has lent a new sense of urgency to a recall announced in April. And it has prompted Fiat Chrysler to accelerate its plans to modify gearshifts in 1.1 million vehicles linked to hundreds of rollaway accidents and dozens of injuries.

On Wednesday, Fiat Chrysler said it would begin notifying vehicle owners later this week about scheduling software repairs aimed at preventing accidents caused by the misuse of a confusing gearshift mechanism."

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/23/business/fiat-chrysler-moves-up-repair-dates-for-gearshift-after-actors-death.html?emc=edit_th_20160623&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=30941719