Hagens Berman: Two Jeep Grand Cherokee Owners Run Over by Recalled Rollaway Vehicles Sue Fiat Chrysler for Shifter Defect

New lawsuits detail traumatic injuries from same model vehicle involved in death of actor Anton Yelchin

Following the unexpected death of actor Anton Yelchin, two Jeep Grand Cherokee owners have filed separate injury lawsuits in New Hampshire and Virginia against Fiat Chrysler after their rollaway vehicles caused them serious harm, rolling over their legs and leading to months of physical therapy and life-changing impairment, according to Hagens Berman. read more »

Recalled auto parts can be replaced, our lives cannot

One month after Anton Yelchin’s death on June 19, Star Trek producer J.J. Abrams announced that Yelchin’s character, Pavel Chekov, will not be recast in the next film in the series, calling him “irreplaceable.”

Anton Yelchin was killed at age 27 when his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled down his driveway, crushing him against his brick mailbox pillar. The Jeep had a transmission defect so dangerous the manufacturer, Fiat Chrysler, had issued a safety recall. Sadly, the repairs were not even available at the time of Yelchin’s death. While the exact cause is still being investigated, his tragic loss is a stark reminder why cars with unrepaired safety recalls have no place on our roads.

Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death and serious injury among America’s children, teenagers and young adults. In addition to the immeasurable grief and pain they cause, they also cost our nation over $277 billion annually. Despite the risks, some car dealers knowingly sell defective, recalled used cars. CarMax, for example, the largest retailer of used cars in the nation, routinely sells recalled cars without getting them repaired for free. CarMax simultaneously advertises all their cars passed a rigorous “125+ point inspection” and qualified to be sold as “CarMax Quality Certified” vehicles, creating the false impression they are safe.

In 2015, MASSPIRG Education Fund, the Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety Foundation, and The Safety Institute discovered that 17 percent of cars for sale at a CarMax in North Attleboro — 42 out of 243 — had unrepaired safety recalls. Similar investigations found between 9 and 19 percent of cars for sale on CarMax lots in Connecticut and California had unrepaired safety recalls. Several vehicles had faulty transmissions that could allow the vehicle to roll away and injure people exiting the car or injure bystanders — similar to the defect that killed Anton Yelchin. read more »

Hyundai recalls SUVs; software flaw may stop acceleration

Hyundai is recalling about 41,000 small SUVs in the U.S. because a software glitch can stop the vehicles from accelerating.

The recall came after pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It covers 2016 Tucson models with seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmissions.

Hyundai says it started getting reports in June that the engines would rev but the SUVs wouldn't move. Engineers traced the problem to the transmission control computer that monitors driving to refine gear shifting. If the gas pedal is repeatedly cycled, the Tucsons may not accelerate. read more »

Fiat Chrysler recalling 1.9 million cars for new air bag defect

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said on Thursday it is recalling 1.9 million vehicles worldwide for an air bag defect linked to three deaths and five injuries.

It is the latest in a series of large-scale air bag recalls, as the auto industry grapples with a widening array of problems from potentially unstable inflators to bad software.

The Fiat Chrysler recall involves non-deployment of air bags and seat-belt pretensioners in some crashes. It affects 1.4 million U.S. vehicles sold between 2010 and 2014, including the Chrysler Sebring, 200, Dodge Caliber, Avenger, Jeep Patriot and Compass SUVs.

"There is a hypersensitivity now in the industry to vehicle safety," said Scott Upham, of Valient Market Research. Automakers continue to tweak air bag software, he said, noting that there is "a fine line between telling the bag when to deploy or not" in some situations. read more »