After that the transmission will automatically shift to Park if the driver’s side door is opened, the driver’s seatbelt is unbuckled and the vehicle is stopped or moving slowly.

The lawsuit states that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV concealed both its shifter design defect and hundreds of related accidents that caused property damage and injuries.

Los Angeles police are investigating the cause of the crash, but the USA government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Yelchin’s death “is the first fatality we’re aware of that may be related to this safety defect and vehicle recall”.

The Problem: The monostable gear selector may mislead owners about which gear the vehicle is in and may not adequately warn the driver when the driver’s door is opened and the vehicle is not in Park.

Yelchin’s death occurred just as FCA was about to launch a joint marketing effort for the Jeep Grand Cherokee with the new blockbuster film Independence Day: Resurgence.

A 2015 Grand Cherokee was recently involved in the death of actor Anton Yelchin.

Los Angeles police detectives have as yet been unable to confirm whether the safety issue on Yelchin’s 2015 Grand Cherokee was directly to blame for his death, but 1.1 million vehicles were recalled in April this year over fears that they can roll away after drivers have exited.

Whereas most vehicles have a gearshift that causes a stationary auto to remain stationary unless a driver wants the auto to move, these vehicles use an electronic mechanism that never actually shifts into any gear, but stays in a central location after being engaged, the lawsuit says.

The recall has shone a spotlight on the design of the automatic gear levers used in the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chrysler 300 sedan, which are easy to not engage into “park” properly.

The plaintiffs are seeking restitution for the diminished resale value of their Grand Cherokees stemming from the “raft of negative publicity” surrounding the recent disclosure of the rollaway problem.

“I think FCA has taken the safety of its vehicles very, very seriously”.

The Maserati models, US safety officials said, were recalled because they may roll away after drivers mistakenly believe they have engaged the vehicles in park mode. In response, FCA has stepped up its fix efforts and expanded the recall to include the Maserati Quattoporte and Ghibli. Fiat Chrysler had always argued the shifters worked as intended and owners were aware the electronic shifters were completely different than any other shifters.