I see that this incredibly stupid design flaw that killed Chekov is also in the 2012-2014 Chargers? I wasn't aware of this. Is this evidence of a much larger, systemic issue with Dodge/Chrysler? I think any first year/amateur engineering design student could see what a dumbass design this is to have the selector go back to a center position no matter what the gear. This is just asking for a lawsuit. I suspect this will cost Dodge a year or 2 worth of profits plus for sure be required to recall every single car they put this stupid feature in and replace it with a non-stupid, traditional design.
The electronic shifter is not specific to FCA. The flaw is that they didn't put in a safeguard of having the car automatically going into Park when the door is opened (as others have done). They forgot one important piece of information. That there are unattentive drivers who need to be protected from themselves.
I've had two vehicles with this shifter and have had no problem looking to see if it's in Park before exiting the car.
And the recall for this has been out for quite a while, even posted on this site. If you read the article again, it is only suspected in the death of... So even though it is likely, let's wait to see for sure.
The real issue is, as stated clearly by the NHTSA, that the design of this electronic shifter is "not intuitive," and that the device offers "poor tactile and visual feedback to the driver, increasing the potential for unintended gear selection." In Fiat Chrysler vehicles that use this shifter, opening the driver's door when the car is not in Park triggers a chime and an instrument cluster alert, and the engine cannot be turned off with the car in gear, but NHTSA says the function "does not protect drivers who intentionally leave the engine running or drivers who do not recognize that the engine continues to run after an attempted shut-off."
It's a fundamentally bad design and the NHTSA called it out as such forcing FCA to fix it. Further, FCA no longer uses the design in any of it's current models because of negative consumer feedback and their own realization that the design was poor.
There is nothing wrong with the god damned shifter. There IS however something wrong with anyone who forgot you need to look at your shift indicator and or apply the parking brake before exiting the damn car if the engine is running. I'm annoyed that people don't know the coffee is hot and now to pay closer attention to what you are doing before exiting the vehicle after parking.
I've said it before and I'll say it again until I'm blue in the face. There. Is. Nothing. Wrong. With. The. Shifter.
I got in my truck yesterday and realized why I think it's natural to expect someone to look to see if it's in Park before exiting the vehicle. My truck is an automatic with the gear selector on the steering column. My 1971 Charger was the same way. A shifter on the steering column can at times give ambiguous tactile feedback, just like the electronic shifter. So, from driving vehicles with column shifters, I am accustomed to looking at the indicator. I have no idea if that's the sole reason I look, or if I just take reasonable precautions with things in general. But, I do look at the indicator in the truck because you can't always tell by feel if it's in Park.
Also, one thing about the electronic shifters, If you press the button and move the shift all the way forward, or as Slidd said " slam it all the the way forward", it does go in Park. The cause of it not going into park is that drives do not move it all the way forward.
Again, I think FCA screwed up by not protecting less attentive drivers. These cars should go into Park automatically if you open the door while it's in neutral, like the Mercedes do. Also, they should ding constantly if you open the door and it is not in park. Just one ding ain't gonna cut it.
Again, I think FCA screwed up by not protecting less attentive drivers. These cars should go into Park automatically if you open the door while it's in neutral, like the Mercedes do. Also, they should ding constantly if you open the door and it is not in park. Just one ding ain't gonna cut it.
There's a couple of issues I see with this. Why should FCA (or any company) be responsible for inattentive drivers? There is no way you can expect them, or anyone, to account for every stupid thing an inattentive (or less attentive) person could come up with. Cover your base here, and someone finds a new base. Cover your base there, and so on. At some point, the driver has to take responsibility. In the old days, we used to call this Drivers Ed.
And if we start building these cars "like Mercedes does", we can also expect to start paying for it. I know we live in a world where everyone seems to expect someone else to take responsibility for their stupidity, but I still hold on to some glimmer of hope. Unfortunately, the glimmer is getting dimmer.
When simple things become hard, you know it's over designed. This is a prime example of such a feature. The police didn't want it and requested the old 5 speed to avoid such problems.
After 3 + years of ownership, I am (and had better be) completely used to the shifter by now, but there STILL are a few times that I hit the reverse
gear when putting it into park, or park when wanting reverse. It is a STUPID joystick type design and that is why they
went back to the tried and true normal design. If it ain't broke, quit trying to fix it. It was a dumbass design from the get-go. JMHO
If we had an electronic e-brake, it wouldn't be a huge issue. My lemon Cherokee actually was pretty good with this, it didn't have the stupid shifter but when you put it in park, it would automatically apply the parking brake. Even automatically took it off when you put it in drive and hit the gas. And the key one: if you opened the door while still in drive and took your foot off the brake, it would put the parking brake on and chime like crazy.
But again...they don't even use the goofy shifter anymore. I thought the electric parking brake was a great feature just because you didn't have to worry about pulling it too tight or too loose, but it would be perfect for inattentive folks. If they put the electronic parking brake in all their cars, problem solves itself. They can put whatever stupid, un-intuitive shifter they want in...
Personally, I'm glad I have a normal, conventional shifter
I disagree completely with this! My last car had an E-brake and while it was a strong brake, it was useless as an emergency brake because there was no way to modulate it. It was either all on or all off, although some of the adherents to that car claimed that if you engaged it while driving it would only move in quarter increments depending on which way you flipped the little lever. My favorite is the handle e-brake, the separate release foot e-brake is my second favorite, the integrated release is my third favorite. I prefer one you don't have to engage then release before you can start controlling how strong it comes on. Before anyone says it, I don't do drifting, but I've kept cars out of ditches on icy roads before by being able to only engage the emergency brake when someone else does something stupid in front of me. This is easiest to do with a hand brake.
Maybe it's time Chrysler resurrected the old push button transmission. It worked just fine in 1964 using mechanical linkages and it would be perfectly simple to do on a modern electronic shift tranny.
Just a row of buttons on the dash or console to select the gears and a separate one to select park. The electronic interface controls would be simple to design and link to door opening and/or vehicle speed.
I think there was a recent Aston Martin with individual buttons for gears. Not sure which model but it was recent. So to those that do not understand how to use the 8spd shifter would the rotary knob like on the RAM be a better alternative? You don't hear those owners complain.
Complete electronic shift is coming. Police dept's want a column mechanical shifter. It's difficult to create a specialty shifter just for police depts.
Back to the question on 8 vs 5 speed... are you only going to have a drive, or are you going to add some mechanical mechanism to downshift? It's not just the clutch packs, that's the easy part, the control module is where the complexity rears it's ugly head.
I get that the 8speed shifts faster, but in the real world it hasn't improved MPG according to fuelly and on the track it makes no difference in times. This is really one of those cool things that is nice, and feels good behind the wheel but has no material difference.
Why not just affix a sensor similar to the airbag sensor in the passenger seat. When it senses weight it allows shifting. When the weight is removed and the door is open it shifts into park.