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Shifter confusion --- not just GC 14/15???

16K views 162 replies 58 participants last post by  gabbyg88 
#1 ·
Just read actor Anton Yeltsin died after exiting his car which was left in neutral and rolled pinning him between the car and his brick mailbox and gate. They keep referencing "car" so doubt was a GC 14/15 (but need clarification).

USAToday:

"On Sunday, June 19 at 1:10 in the morning, a fatal traffic collision occurred. It was the result of the victim's own car rolling backwards down his steep driveway, pinning him against a brick mailbox pillar and security fence."

"The victim was on his way to meet his friends for rehearsal. And when he didn’t show up, his friends went to his house, where they found him deceased by his car," Hauser said. "It appeared (Yelchin) had momentarily exited his car leaving it in the driveway."

Hauser said that Yelchin was pinned behind the car "causing the trauma which led to his death."


TMZ:

Law enforcement tells us the engine was running when his body was discovered, and the car was in neutral. The driveway was on a fairly steep incline. It's unclear why he got out of the car.
 
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#3 ·

noticed this on my new 2015 when the door is opened... what more does a person need? I like the shifter after only 2 days, short throw to put in in gear.
 
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#7 ·
I don't think this is so obvious. I think there is some huge bug here. This happened to me recently. I was 100% sure that I was in park. Maybe I missed it but the car when I opened the door started to roll backwards but I hit the break, i looked I was in N. There was no warning, no chime no nothing on the screen - maybe Jeep thought I was in park as well. I think there is some huge software bug here ... Given with all the shifting issues with tranny and horrible software they released initially I would not be surprised if they screwed up something on the tranny , car interface level. Wonder if those shifting snafus are isolated to V6 as diesel and V8 have original ZF tranies where V6 is build by Chrysler and just licensed by ZF.


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#4 ·
Oh man that's horrible. If Yeltsin was driving a JGC with the electric shifter I can definitely see this happening. I'm driving a 2015 and there has been a couple times I've missed park. I once pulled into a steep driveway threw it in park but it landed in reverse luckily I didn't jump out right away " could have been bad" the grade I was on must have been greater then 6%, hill hold kept me from rolling back further convincing me I was in park. Things worked out for the best that day and I've been very conscious of what gear I select ever since. After 40 years of driving vehicles with mechanical linkages muscle memory often takes over. I'm not a fan of this shifter but it's what I have so unless Chrysler comes up with a better system I'll keep looking at what gear I've selected.
 
#5 ·
new separate thread...TMZ reported it was a "5,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee".....bet it was a 14/15..eerily similar to the recall "issue"....I mean who intentionally leaves a car in N at the top of a hill when they intend to walk behind it? nobody...
 
#12 ·
Geez, that is very sad. Was thinking it wasn't a GC cuz reports all said "car" (who calls a Jeep SUV a car?)...... I'll need to review to confirm.
 
#6 ·
Yep...the UK Mirror says "Yechlin was struck by his own Jeep Grand Cherokee, it has been revealed." Cannot find where anyone has stated the model year of the vehicle.
 
#9 ·
I have had mine go into reverse instead of park. It seems if you let off the button a little too quickly as you push the shifter forward it doesn't go into park. If you look at the other electronic shifters on the market, like BMW, they have a button you push for park. My wife's mercedes has the column shifter which also has a button to put it into park, and it goes into park if you open the door or turn off the vehicle.
 
#14 ·
Well, let's see if it was a 14/15 --- if it was a 13 or earlier or a 16 then that would be really weird. So unfortunate regardless.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Never thought the GC tranny would kill someone. I know I have learned to pay close attention. Jeep is about to get sued big time. I wonder if this will affect resale value. I mean these vehicles plummet in value already. Mine is a '15 with a Hemi and it has lost almost $13K if I were to trade it in.
 
#16 ·
Yeah, when I first heard this news I thought 'oh no, bet its a GC'..... I'm surprised that leaving it in N on such a steep driveway he had time to get to the back of the car before it started rolling. As others have said, you notice straight away if it isn't in P, it will roll.
 
#20 ·
IF the cause of his accidental death is a result from this recall, I bet jeep rethinks just making it a software update and switches the hardware on the 2014/2015's.
 
#24 ·
Wait this isn't a 15 issue only , the MY14 Laredo I drive has the same issue, infact, this happened a few days ago when I thought I had put the car into park at a local supermarket, and I opened the door had to leave the aircon open for my infant son, the jeep was still in reverse if it weren't for the dip in the parking lot adjacent to the pavement my JGC would've begun crawling back. I have nearly clipped the rear as I reversed park the car into my garage and put it in park to find out she was stil crawling to the end wall. Now I visually confirm the uconnect, shifter led, and dashboard before taking my foot off the brake when parking
 
#26 ·
Had to come back and see what the discussion here was about this. I hated this shifter when I had my JGC (which I really miss BTW), my business partner just got a 16 which I note has a regular shifter.

As soon as I saw this story I thought of the shifter in my JGC, and as I was describing that to a coworker just now somebody else googled it and saw it was in fact the issue.

IMHO its a miracle more people haven't been killed. I put mine in neutral all the time thinking it was park.
 
#28 ·
google search 'forgot to put it in park' or any other iteration, there've been problems for years (all the way back to standard/manual trans and not putting the parking brake on). I recall an issue slamming crown vic's into park and jumping out of the car, sometimes they wouldn't go into park when doing that (resulting in DM's early retirement ;) )

while the 14/15 trans may not be a wildly successful innovation, neither do I believe it's a dangerous transmission beyond the inherent danger of operating a motor vehicle responsibly. Just like anything else involving driving, pay attention. If someone can't take the time to look at the screen to verify it's in park ... well goes back to the google search on other cars and normal PRNDL trans where the driver 'forgot' to put it in park.
 
#29 ·
There's a distinct difference between forgetting to put it in park and the shifter not being intuitive to put into park. That's the argument being made.

By forgetting to put it into park it's just stupidity and 100% user error. The issue with the shifter is it isn't intuitive to do so and even sometimes it doesn't respond to being put in park.
 
#54 ·
I would say it's worse knowingly shifting the trans to park, and then getting out with it not being in park v. forgetting completely

this is the first i've heard that people have put it in park, verified it's in park, and it wasn't in fact in park and the vehicle moved - all I've seen thus far is people not verifying and the trans was not actually in "P"

mine is obvious, push it forward and it goes into park. The indicator on the dash shows it's in Park. The shifter itself lights up "P". And as I already posted the photo of the dash display, if not in "park" when you open the door the vehicle even tells you - I'm not in park. Short of putting a trunk monkey in to slap you in the back of the head, not sure what else people want (other than to not be responsible for themselves ... someone else take care of me syndrome)

again, would I say it's the best innovation for a trans *shifter* designed? no, but neither do I think it's in of itself 'dangerous'

People need to stay engaged when operating a potentially deadly weapon until their finger is off the trigger and the weapon is holstered or rendered safe (my .02)

dunno, maybe I'm just too damn happy with my new jeep :D
 
#33 ·
I sometimes used to have to try 3-4 times to put it in park before I finally did.
 
#36 ·
Really, park has never been an issue for me at all. Press all the way forward and bam, in park every time. Have never even had to look. It makes me wonder if there is more than one version of this shifter with different tactile feels?
 
#34 ·
The driveway is quite steep. How you can get out and not know it was in neutral right away is a mystery. See photo and compare eh course of bricks in the brick wall. So steep that in other photos you can clearly see all the sand bags at the base of the garage door to keep water runoff out.

If the software fix has loud chimes and perhaps auto engage park if the driver's door opens, then that would be adequate for this particular risk.
 

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#41 ·
The driveway is quite steep. How you can get out and not know it was in neutral right away is a mystery. See photo and compare eh course of bricks in the brick wall. So steep that in other photos you can clearly see all the sand bags at the base of the garage door to keep water runoff out.
He could have had the parking brake slightly engaged, it might have been right at the crest of the hill where it took it a few seconds to start rolling backwards...

Really, park has never been an issue for me at all. Press all the way forward and bam, in park every time. Have never even had to look. It makes me wonder if there is more than one version of this shifter with different tactile feels?
It was never an issue for my wife either, and that was the same specific Jeep obviously. I think it has to do with each individual user and how they interface with that particular type of shifter.

In any event, the sad thing is its such a pointless setup in the first place. What does that shifter do for you vs the revised unit in the 2016? Its different for the sake of being different.
 
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