Feds find Fiat Chrysler gear shifters can confuse drivers

DETROIT (AP) — Electronic gear shifters on some newer Fiat Chrysler SUVs and cars are so confusing that drivers have exited the vehicles with the engines running and while they are still in gear, causing crashes and some serious injuries, U.S. safety investigators have determined.

Agency tests found that operating the center console shift lever "is not intuitive and provides poor tactile and visual feedback to the driver, increasing the potential for unintended gear selection," investigators wrote in the documents.

Cars rolling off unintentionally can injure the driver or pedestrians in the path of the vehicles, the agency said.

[...] far, the investigation has found 314 complaints, 121 crashes and 30 injuries.

The company changed the shifters so they function more like people are used to in the 2016 Grand Cherokee and 2015 Chargers and 300 sedans, but FCA said it did so to increase customer satisfaction and not because of safety concerns.