After due testing, according to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the electronic gear shifter was “not intuitive and provides poor tactile and visual feedback to the driver, increasing the potential for unintended gear selection.”
The timing of the class action suit is interesting since it comes in the wake of a recall and acknowledgement by the company that it faced such an issue.
Owners of Jeep Grand Cherokee have filed a lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler accusing the auto manufacturer of concealing a design defect linked to the driverless rollaway accidents. The defect has been linked to the death of actor Anton Yelchin, whose name to fame came about due to the role he played in “Star Trek”.
According to the class-action suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Riverside, California, the auto manufacturer tried to cover up the issue which caused hundreds of accidents resulting in injuries and damage to properties and has dragged its feet towards taking remedial measures.
The plaintiffs aim to get some form of restitution for the diminished resale value of their Grand Cherokees jeeps stemming from the “raft of negative publicity” surrounding the recent disclosure of the rollaway problem.
“In light of the stigma attached to those vehicles by (Fiat Chrysler’s) conduct, they are now worth significantly less than they otherwise would be,” states the lawsuit.
When requested to comment on it, Fiat Chrysler’s spokesman, Michael Palese, said since the company has yet to receive the lawsuit it would not be appropriate to comment on it.
Earlier this year in April, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV had issued a recall for 1.1 million cars and SUVs worldwide. Most of its vehicles are however located in the United States.
The reason for the April 2016 recalls was that its vehicles could roll away after its drivers exited them. It applied to 811,000 vehicles sold in the United States for its 2014-2015 models, including that of the Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicle and its 2012-2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans.
The lawsuit comes in the wake of the company announcing software upgrades for all of its 1.1 million recalled vehicles, which, incidentally would be made available by the end of this month.
Although the company has acknowledged the design flaw in its transmission gear selectors, Fiat Chrysler has however noted that the problems of roll-away occurred since typically the drivers would mistakenly believe the vehicles were in parking gear, whereas they were not.
According to Fiat Chrysler, the roll-away issue was linked to 700 incidents, which resulted in 212 crashes, 308 reports of property damage and 41 injuries.
According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the gear selector in question clearly had safety issues linked to it, especially since further testing of it revealed that the electronic shifter was “not intuitive and provides poor tactile and visual feedback to the driver, increasing the potential for unintended gear selection.”
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