NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Recall Query RQ03-005: AUTO TRANS IGNITION-PARK INTERLOCK
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Recall Query RQ03-005 on April 8, 2003 and closed it on July 16, 2003. NHTSA's investigations file lists 4 models from 3 makes for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- RQ03-005 (also written RQ03005)
- Investigation type
- Recall Query An investigation into whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or whether its remedy works, run much like a Preliminary Evaluation.
- Status
- Closed July 16, 2003
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)
- Component
- Power Train — Automatic Transmission — Lever and Linkage — Floor Shift
- Vehicles and equipment
- 4 models from 3 makes, including the Chrysler Cirrus and Chrysler Sebring Convertible
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Recall Query RQ03-005.
THREE OF THE MANFACTURER COMPLAINTS AND TWO OF THE MANUFACTURER CRASHES REPORTED ABOVE WERE DUPLICATES OF ODI REPORTS.THE MAJORITY OF CRASHES OCCURRED AFTER OPERATORS PARKED THE VEHICLE WITHOUT ENGAGING PARK GEAR POSITION; A NON-FUNCTIONAL IGNITION-PARK INTERLOCK SYSTEM SUBSEQUENTLY FAILED TO PREVENT KEY REMOVAL BEFORE THE OPERATORS EXITED THE VEHICLE.MOST OF THE CRASHES WERE MINOR AND INVOLVED MINOR PROPERTY DAMAGE.FOUR OF THE INJURY INCIDENTS OCCURRED WHEN UNATTENDED CHILDREN MOVED THE GEARSHIFT FROM THE PARK POSITION CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO ROLL AWAY, ONE INJURY OCCURRED WHEN THE OPERATOR WAS STRUCK BY A ROLL-AWAY VEHICLE AFTER PARKING AND EXITING.ALL INJURIES WERE RELATIVELY MINOR.A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF INTERLOCK SYSTEM FAILURES APPEAR TO BE RELATED TO DISENGAGEMENT OF THE INTERLOCK PIN THAT RIDES IN THE INTERLOCK LEVER SLOT WITHIN THE SHIFT MECHANISM.AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS WILL BE OPENED TO FURTHER STUDY INTERLOCK SYSTEM FAILURES.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Recall Query RQ03-005. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Chrysler
All Chrysler recallsDodge
Dodge Stratus
Plymouth
Plymouth Breeze
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for RQ03-005
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.