So this is sad. But also could have been prevented. We all know about the shift knob and how it works, but accidents still happen. It appears he was getting out of his vehicle and it was not actually in park. It then pinned him to his mail box and killed him. Here is the link
It just occurred to me for the folks who like to go on trails and the like...the door probably opens all the time to check for obstacles and occasionally must un hook seatbelt to lean out of vehicle. Argh!
in that scenario, that's why you click the seat belt THEN get in and sit with it behind your back....of course, only for light off-roading with no roll chance but this is a JGC forum not a Wrangler forum...:thumbsup:
Be nice if they put a temp override in uconnect for backing. Check a box which disables auto park until the next vehicle startup cycle. Not likely but it would have helped, the seat belt thing will work for many and does inject some sense into the auto park.
Along the lines of "nanny state" and stupid prevention: watching the news last night, a story of GMC putting a " check your back seat" alarm when you put your car in park. This is to prevent idiots from leaving their child in the car.
If you buy a Bugati, they could get away with a 'bad" shifter. A mass production car has to conform to the entire spectrum of consumers.
Al
P.s. I like the shifter on my '14 Limited and am 100% a parking brake guy.
Or you can reject that the shifter is bad as a concept. Nothing is proof against the latest version of the idiot driver and its a combination of arrogance and tragically low expectations that makes us think we should solve for that.
Unfortunately, we're trolling ourselves when we invent things like Forward Collision Warning alert and advanced cruise control - systems that by their very nature are going to fail us tragically at some point. Ditto the 'check the back seat' warning mentioned above.
RIP trekkie dude and all the rest but unless that Jeep got uppity and magically shifted into gear and defeated the e-brake to kill him...let's entertain the notion that this was driver error and the tragic downside of a remnant of the notion of personal responsibility.
I've been driving for over 50 years and I won't bore you with all the different vehicles I've got my hands on. Our Kia gearchange is different than our Jeep but I don't have an issue with jumping in either and setting off. I was trained to set the parking brake when parked (manual trans) and also, more importantly, on a slope (both manual and auto), which virtually every manufacturer puts in their Owners manual.
So, once again, the lamestream media get it all wrong and are not in the least bit helpful. Sensationalism rules folks......!
Perhaps the media should inform the sheeple to get some good driver training, RTFM and take time to PROPERLY learn their vehicle before setting out.
It appears to be nothing else than a case of "pilot error" and nothing to do with the gearchange mechanism or "fly by wire" software. Just another case of nanny state b.s. - not my fault, everyone else is to blame!
My wife has a MY13 Cadillac SRX which has a shifter similar to the GC MY12 version. She rarely drives my MY14, but when she does, she never has an issue with the shifter. The only issue she's ever had is accidentally engaging the paddle shifters when turning a corner.
As others have mentioned, bypassing may be a real requirement for those off road, not just some random reason. I have the seatbelt alarm disabled simply because I don’t have the seatbelt on frequently. Our driveway is 150m long, so to and from the front gate, no belt, and the alarms is annoying as hell.
The shifter on MY14 one of the best ive had ever. Every thing else is boring!
Now i do see how u can easily forget to put it in park and leaving it in N instead. Has happened to me and each time i do i notice it because i cant turn off engine since im in N but i normally have park break.