Star Trek Actor Anton Yelchin Dies In Accident

  • Thread starter Robin
  • 81 comments
  • 5,758 views
No American sets the parking brake any more. The thinking is, "Why should you? It's in PARK!!!"

If they did set the parking brake, they would drive around for miles complaining about the car's sudden poor performance, like my mom did years and years ago one of the first times she took Dad's MG Midget out on her own. (True story!!!)

Parking brakes are seriously un-American, as are manual transmissions. I mean, seriously. You can't be expected to operate a phone if you have to use both hands to drive!!!!!!
 
In the UK where the vast majority of cars are manual we have to use the parking brake because the car will either roll away if left in neutral or stall if left in gear when the engine is on. I guess it's a good way of making sure the car is secured because we don't have the 'Park' selection to rely on.
 
I see the problem here with the shifter.

Park
2014-jeep-grand-cherokee-srt-shifter.jpg


Drive, and yes I realize the photo is from a different angle. And from a compressed youtube shot.
maxresdefault.jpg


Looks like the shifter stays in the same, or relatively same place, so without consciously looking down at indicator for the gear, it's impossible to tell what gear it's in based on feel alone.
 
The shifter on those is always straight up. It sorta works like a tap shift for the entire gear range. Pretty terrible idea, and everyone hates driving anything with it.
 
The best design has always been the Button+brake for engaging and disengaging park; Button for R; Slam it down for D arrangement. That or the Lexus gate. This didn't really need improvement or variation at all.
 
I think dash mounted buttons are the best for auto boxes, there really is no way of getting it wrong as you press it and it lights up at eye level.

PJ-BN761_EYESRO_P_20130416195205.jpg


Jaguar's system is as stupid as Jeep's because the rotary dial looks the same whatever you select therefore the only indication is the light.

ximm
 
Last edited:
You don't need to use your eyes at all to operate the buttoned gearstick. There is literally no way to **** it up.
 
When you know you have pressed Park it's in Park... no one would be stupid enough to think "hmmm... I want Park so I'm going to press R!" :lol: Whereas with anything that rotates, toggles and looks the same whatever you do there is always going to be doubt that you have actually selected what you want.

As per usual the auto industry redesigned something that no one had a problem with (a gaitered auto shifter with wide separation between selections) and made it worse for no reason! Buttons are a better modern option and the fact that buses and trucks use buttons should be a clue to it being the more reliable design.
 
Last edited:
Buttons are stupid because you have to stop what you're doing to look at a stupid button. You can press the wrong button if you're in a rush. There is no way to screw up the gear stick. One button to push once, then up for reverse and slam down for drive. Dead stupid simple.
 
The problem is that the spacing between that dreaded little Chrysler lever has vaguely 1-3 mm of space between ranges. The detent between each range makes almost no noise, and there's a quite limited feeling of tactile feedback (the spring mechanism has no recoil). It's not a natural feeling.

Very easy to screw up if you don't visually double-check it. Other than parking a car, you're supposed to be focused on other things (mirrors, distractions, other vehicles, traffic laws) except re-inspecting whether you're in reverse or neutral or drive or still in park.
 
For some reason I don't see a full-blown lawsuit but more likely a settlement given the fact a recall was long made on this model. Still though what a cruel way to die..
 
This really is a tragedy. Such a good actor, and so young.

Honest mistake or not, that shift arrangement needs to go away. I have driven everything from a D6 bulldozer, 3 years over the road commercial with several different trucks and transmissions . I can shift well will or without the clutch, rev matching is second nature to me. The best auto arrangement is PRND... Floor or column, doesn't matter. It took years and many accidents to get that standardized. iirc. The Mercedes ML500 I drove a few years ago had a similarly silly shift setup on the column. I figured it out quickly, but it still made little sense with it's always return to center no matter the detent.
 
The return-to-center started out as mimicking the action of a sequential shifter, like a tiptronic. That just morphed into other kinds of electronic or pushbutton controls, just for the sake of doing it differently from everybody else. In this instance, there's a certain amount of mechanical compactness, too.

Doing it without any mechanical feedback is just stupid, though. You should never have to actually look at an indicator to know exactly what gear or range is selected. For automatics, it simply doesn't get any better than the classic PRND. Step on the brake, one tick back, back out of the garage. Stop. pull until it stops. Drive. Stop. Push forward until it stops. Neutral. Press button, move sideways, whatever overrides the lockout, and one more click for reverse or all the way for park. there simply is no, "Oooh, i thought it was in Park!"
 
Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin's parents to sue Fiat Chrysler over his 'wrongful death' due to his Jeep's 'significant defects' after it rolled down driveway and killed him
  • The 27-year-old actor was found dead at his home in Studio City in June
  • He was pinned between SUV and against a brick mailbox pillar and fence
  • His death was ruled an accident by the medical examiner after an autopsy
  • It later emerged that his Jeep Grand Cherokee was involved in a recall
  • Now, his parents are suing Fiat Chrysler as well as manufacturer ZF North America and AutoNation car retailer for punitive damages
Click to expand...

It has still not been revealed whether he had been notified about the recall. I don't see how you can sue if Jeep sent him a letter stating that it needs to be brought it for repair.
 
Robin.
It has still not been revealed whether he had been notified about the recall. I don't see how you can sue if Jeep sent him a letter stating that it needs to be brought it for repair.
Click to expand...

What repair could they do?

It is a badly designed gear selector the only way to fix it is change it to a more traditional type.

An easy way to fix it which can be done using existing technology in the car is to use the Seat pressure sensor, seat belt sensor, and current gear sensor.
The transmission computer could be programmed to automatically go into park if the seatbelt is removed or the user gets out of the seat.

This is assuming you can gain access to the sensors which I assume you can as you get warned about not wearing a seatbelt or the passenger not wearing one and assuming the transmission can automatically change gear from Drive/Reverse/Neutral to Park by itself.
 
Grayfox
What repair could they do?

It is a badly designed gear selector the only way to fix it is change it to a more traditional type.
Click to expand...

Jeep were recalling these and repairing them, I don't know exactly what Jeep did but this process was already underway and cars had been corrected to what they deemed an acceptable fix. It has been stated Anton's car was one of the models affected but it has never been revealed if he had known about the recall.

Usually once a manufacturer sends a recall letter they are safe from any lawsuits. If you know there is somethings wrong and do nothing then it's your fault.

I agree there needs to be a better fail safe to ensure cars don't roll away.
 
Robin.
Jeep were recalling these and repairing them, I don't know exactly what Jeep did but this process was already underway and cars had been corrected to what they deemed an acceptable fix. It has been stated Anton's car was one of the models affected but it has never been revealed if he had known about the recall.

Usually once a manufacturer sends a recall letter they are safe from any lawsuits. If you know there is somethings wrong and do nothing then it's your fault.

I agree there needs to be a better fail safe to ensure cars don't roll away.
Click to expand...
According to this, The fix was only sent to dealers a few days before his death.
Grayfox
An easy way to fix it which can be done using existing technology in the car is to use the Seat pressure sensor, seat belt sensor, and current gear sensor.
Click to expand...
See above link, the fix is to automatically shift the vehicle into park once the door is opened.
 
R1600Turbo
According to this, The fix was only sent to dealers a few days before his death.

See above link, the fix is to automatically shift the vehicle into park once the door is opened.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a half-arsed fix, to be honest. There will still be some people who step from the car in a hurry with Park failing to engage because the vehicle has already begun a slight roll. I guess the detail depends on whether or not "stopped" means literally zero speed or almost-zero.
 
TenEightyOne
That sounds like a half-arsed fix, to be honest. There will still be some people who step from the car in a hurry with Park failing to engage because the vehicle has already begun a slight roll. I guess the detail depends on whether or not "stopped" means literally zero speed or almost-zero.
Click to expand...
I agree, especially when you consider that most vehicles today self-lock their doors when the car is in any form of motion. The crash would have still happened with or without the fix.
 
Sanji Himura
I agree, especially when you consider that most vehicles today self-lock their doors when the car is in any form of motion.
Click to expand...
Depends on the car/manufacture, some are when the car is put into drive, others at certain speeds. You can also turn that feature off.
 
I think that evidence may emerge that Yelchin may not have known about the recall. Facts and/or opinions will follow:

- About one year ago, on the 25th of August, 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the electronic gear shifter in the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. That investigation was expanded on the 8th of February to include that model year's version of the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger.

- April 22nd, 2016: Fiat Chrysler started recalls on 1.1 million of the above named cars and the 2012-2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 and the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee after more than 100 crashes and at least 41 injuries was directly attributed to the faulty shifter. I think it was on or shortly after that time that Anton Yelchin bought one of the recalled Grand Cherokees seemingly without knowing of the recall.

- June 21st, 2016: Anton Yelchin passes, and the investigation into his death begins.

- June 28th, 2016: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that the Chrysler shifters "appear to violate basic design guidelines for vehicle controls." The recall that was conducted on 22/4/2016 was only done to update software, however, the NHTSA report says that it found problems with the electronic gear shifters that use monostable electronic (shift-by-wire) gearshift assemblies. The updated stats on the number of complaints reached 700 complaints, 266 crashes and 68 injuries, and may have directly contributed to the death of Yelchin, but the investigation was ongoing.

Source: http://www.jeepproblems.com/trends/electronic-gear-shifter/
 
If he never knew or was made aware of the recall by Jeep then in straight to lawsuit city for them.

I fail to see how they couldn't have sent him a letter or something. Celebrities usually have PA's who handle this stuff and they would have made sure it was taken in or not used, they don't want their boss to end up dead because of their negligence.
 
Robin.
If he never knew or was made aware of the recall by Jeep then in straight to lawsuit city for them.

I fail to see how they couldn't have sent him a letter or something. Celebrities usually have PA's who handle this stuff and they would have made sure it was taken in or not used, they don't want their boss to end up dead because of their negligence.
Click to expand...
That, and I'm sure that some people who hear recall immediately sell their vehicles. It could be entirely possible that before the Grand Cherokee entered into Yelchin's possession, it was a one owner car. Or it's possible that Yelchin took it in, got the recall issue sorted, and it still failed him because that particular Grand Cherokee was a "shift-by-wire" system. We won't know until all the details come out.
 

Latest Posts

Back