Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said today that it is cooperating with the U.S. auto safety agency investigation, which covers 2013 to 2016 models of the Ram 1500 pickups and 2014 to 2016 Dodge Durango SUVs. According to the government, the company has reports of 25 crashes and nine injuries from owners alleging that vehicles roll away after owners shift transmissions into park, a problem similar to the one being blamed on the death of Star Trek actor, 27-year-old Anton Yelchin in 2015.
According to CBC news, the rollaway complaints are similar to the ones that prompted the recall of 1.1 million Jeep Grand Cherokees and other vehicles of the same kind earlier this year, given that those vehicles have different shifters. In the recalled Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs, the problems amounted to at least 68 injuries, 266 crashes, and 308 reports of property damage, said the government.
The most high-profile case was the abovementioned, when a Grand Cherokee crushed Hollywood actor Anton Yelchin after the SUV pinned him against a gate in his driveway.
Also today, the country's top vehicle safety authority, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), opened an investigation of 39,000 units of 2012 to 2014 models of the Land Rover Evoque and 2013 Jaguar XF vehicles after reports of injuries and vehicles rolling away surfaced. They have rotary transmission switches to control driver gear selections just like the Fiat Chrysler vehicles under investigation, according to Automotive News. A spokesman for Jaguar Land Rover commented that the company is cooperating with the investigation.
Although some Fiat Chrysler Rams are sold in Australia via American Special Vehicles, there is a joint venture between Walkinshaw Automotive Group and Aleco Automotive. The purpose of the venture is to convert U.S. vehicles for use in Australia, the Ram 25oo Laramie and 3500 Laramie, which are currently not under investigation, according to Red Book.
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