Fiat Chrysler has been having some problems with its transmissions shifting out of Park and rolling away. Now the problem has ensnared some of its muscle cars.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an estimated 7,802 Dodge Challengers may indicate that they’re in Park when in fact they’re not. That could leave the vehicle rolling away unexpectedly, which (as you can imagine) could lead to a crash.
As the manufacturer points out, though, the situation can only occur with the engine still running and the parking brake is not applied. The vehicle includes a safety system that shifts the transmission into Park when the engine is shut off, and warn the driver if it isn’t.
As you might have guessed, this only applies to vehicles with automatic transmissions. It also only affects 2017 models – specifically those equipped with the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engine, not the smaller 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 or any of the other V8 options, like the larger 6.4, the supercharged Hellcat, or the bonkers Demon engine.
That apparently rather small confluence results in a number of vehicles: 7,802 in the United States, 390 in Canada, and 119 in other countries. Though the issue may seem similar to the 1.1 million Chrysler 300s, Dodge Chargers, and Jeep Grand Cherokees previously recalled for similar issues, FCA says the two problems are unrelated. Fortunately all that’ll be required to fix this problem is a simple software update, and no injuries or accidents are believed to have stemmed from this issue.
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