Dec. 22, 2017—Gear shifters in 1.8 million Fiat Chrysler pickup trucks could accidentally switch out of park, triggering a major recall, USA Today reports.
The Italian-American automaker said Friday that it would recall the vehicles, covering a wide spectrum of Ram heavy-duty pickups dating back to the 2009 model year. It also includes some light-duty Ram pickups.
The company said it had identified seven injuries and "a small number" of crashes that were "potentially related" to the defect.
The recall covers about 1.5 million pickups in the U.S. and more than 300,000 elsewhere.
The issue arises when the brake pedal is pressed for a long stretch while the driver is idling in park mode, disabling the brake-transmission shift interlock and then allowing the shifter to move out of park mode.
Affected vehicles include certain versions of the 2010 to 2017 Ram 2500 and 3500; 2011 to 2017 Ram 3500, 4500 and 5500 chassis cabs; 2016 to 2017 Ram 3500 chassis cabs with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of fewer than 10,000 pounds; and some 2009 to 2017 Ram 1500 pickups.
The company said that all 2017 model-year trucks built after Dec. 31, 2016, are not included in the recall.
