Two months after U.S. regulators expanded their investigation into Fiat Chrysler vehicles and the frankly odd electronic gearshift (see video) the company has recalled 811,000 model year 2012 to 2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans and model year 2014 to 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs in order to alleviate confusion about when the vehicle’s transmissions are in the “park” position. The video really tells the story but two things jump out. Confusing or not it seems like a huge amount of work to change gears. Call us lazy. Then there’s that unnerving little movement of the gearshift handle after each shift. It looks as if the vehicle has gone into neutral, but of course if hasn’t. Quite odd. FCA has received more than 100 complaints about crashes and injuries resulting from drivers inadvertently leaving their vehicles in gear with the motor running. The carmaker says the recall was initiated to “enhance” warnings and transmission shift strategy after an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Fiat Chrysler found some drivers have exited their vehicles without first selecting “PARK.”
