Are shifters getting too complicated?

[Ausjeepoffroad]

The death of 27-year-old Star Trek actor who was pinned to his death by his own Jeep Grand Cherokee has brought scrutiny to a driving function that has changed with the advance of electronic controls.


It has also brought scrutiny to a once-simple function that has grown more complicated in recent years: shifting a vehicle with an automatic transmission into drive or reverse and back to park or neutral.

As the illustration below shows, vehicles ranging from the Honda Pilot to the Mercedes-Benz S class have evolved from mechanical control to electronic. "Shifting" is typically directed by fingertip touches on dials, stalks, levers and buttons.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' 2014 and 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokees were built with what's known as a monostable shifter. The shifter typically rests in the middle of three positions. The driver directs the shifter fore and aft to cycle electronically through park, reverse, neutral, drive and low.

FCA and California investigators are studying what caused Yelchin's 2015 Grand Cherokee to roll backward on his sloped driveway. He was found by friends outside his vehicle with the engine running at 1 a.m. on June 19, fatally pinned against a gatepost.

In April, FCA recalled more than 811,000 Grand Cherokees from the 2014-15 model years and 2012-14 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans in the United States equipped with monostable shifters. On Thursday, June 23, FCA added 13,092 2014 Maserati Quattroporte and Ghibli sedans to the recall list.

By the end of last week, FCA had sent its dealers a software upgrade designed to ensure that Grand Cherokees in a gear other than park would not move if the driver's-side door was open. FCA also would install additional warnings to alert drivers that their vehicles were not in park.

Earlier, FCA told owners to read their manuals to familiarize themselves more fully with how the shift mechanism is intended to work.

Familiarity hasn't always been a challenge in shifting an automobile into drive or park. But style, electronics and the battle for space on the dash and center console have changed the shifter's shape and the way it is operated.


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Last edited by Jimmyb; 28-06-2016 at 02:02 PM.

[layback40]

FFS !
Should be asking ~ 'Are jeep drivers getting more stupid?'
Some people should only be permitted in driver-less cars.
Just because he is an actor in Star Wars doesnt mean he has any mechanical aptitude.
If he was stupid enough to get out with it on a hill & no hand brake on, ....

No cure for stupidity.
Car makers should stop trying to make cars stupid proof.
Every safety feature or interlock is just a challenge for stupid people to work out a way around it.

[Redemptioner]

oh so true layback.

So he did not have the hand break on, did not have it in park and had the car turned on all while parked on a slope. Then somehow managed to take his foot off the brake and did not notice it rolling, opened the door and put his foot down and still did not notice it moving and then managed to somehow get in between the car and a post.

Sounds more like suicide to me, how could anyone manage that without actively trying to do it?? That or it was a good assassination as it has the government looking to punish the car makers, the only up side is one less moron out of the gene pool...

[chris0375]

Sure he was probably a bit stupid but there's no reason for Jeep to have messed with a simple and universally understood system.

The nature of cars is that anyone expects to be able to hop in and easily understand basic functions. Jeep in their wisdom decided to change this.

Systems like this should be designed to be absolutely bulletproof.

Most newer BMWs will put the car in park if you open the door.

[Redemptioner]

Originally Posted by chris0375

Sure he was probably a bit stupid but there's no reason for Jeep to have messed with a simple and universally understood system.

The nature of cars is that anyone expects to be able to hop in and easily understand basic functions. Jeep in their wisdom decided to change this.

Systems like this should be designed to be absolutely bulletproof.

Most newer BMWs will put the car in park if you open the door.

Why should they pander to the lowest common denominator, the fact of the matter is a car is a dangerous tool to use and requires some intelligence in order to operate it so dumbing it down so morons can drive is just plain stupid, look what happen at long island when they tried to do the same thing to a nuclear power plant...

Also not sure it is too hard to understand the car is rolling when you went to get out and certainly no excuse for not putting the handbrake on. Driving test every 5 years should be brought in to weed out the morons at regular intervals, will reduce traffic congestion as well as the numbers of accidents all while generating plenty of tax dollars.

They should also make it a requirement for all cyclists to be licensed, registered and insured if they want to ride on the road as well as stopping them from riding on roads 60km/hr and over. Putting aside the fact cyclists are simply a nuisance on the road and cause major delays and congestion during peak periods, 34 cyclist died last year on Aussie roads. All deaths occurred in areas 60km/hr and above, in other words 100% of cyclists deaths could be prevented by simply restricting them to roads under 60km/hr. A couple of people get attacked by sharks and suddenly we are spending millions on preventative measure that make little to no difference and yet 34 people die with an easy and clear path to stopping all of them yet what we do instead is bring in some moronic rule about giving them more room......

No cure for stupid!

[lujabe]

Yes, a car can be a dangerous tool to use. All the more reason to stick with universally understood, intuitive controls.

The shifter in the GC is more complex, less intuitive and more prone to operator error - as is backed up by the volume of accident reports. We can all make mistakes - through rushing, tiredness or being distracted - or for that matter when operating something unfamiliar - like a wanky gearshift. How many times have you hopped between cars and instinctively hit the wipers when going to indicate? This is no different, except nobody died from accidentally activating the wipers. The shifter in the GC offers no advantage over a conventional one, yet is more complex and easier to make a mistake with. It's bad design, plain and simple.