False Park: A Deadly Transmission Defect

The Transmission Defect Explained

The "false park" or "park to reverse" defect is a flaw in a vehicle's transmission in which it is possible for the driver unknowingly to place the transmission shift selector into a position between park and reverse during normal vehicle operations.

When a vehicle is in false park, it appears to the driver that the vehicle is fully in park. However, the transmission is neither in park nor in hydraulic reverse. Instead, it is in an unstable position between the two gears.

Slight movements can cause the vehicle to self-shift into reverse. When the vehicle is running, this will cause the vehicle to move backwards unexpectedly under power. If the driver exit the vehicle with the engine running (to retrieve an item, lock a house door, etc.), a vehicle in false park can shift into powered reverse, running over the driver or a bystander.

Number of Vehicles with False Park Defect

The defect allegedly affects over a million vehicles on the road today, including:

Faulty Park Transmission Lawsuits Against Chrysler

Lieff Cabraser, with local co-counsel, has successfully litigated personal injury-based wrongful death cases on the false park transmission defect. The defendants have included Chrysler and Ford.

A National Tragedy

There have been hundreds of accidents where people suffered debilitating physical injuries when a vehicle suddenly moved into reverse. It is likely that at least 13 people have died as a result of the defect in Chrysler vehicles alone. Auto manufacturers have refused to accept legal responsibility for these injuries. Instead, they regularly blames the driver for the accident and denies its vehicle was defective. Learn more about false park lawsuits.

Contact Transmission Defect Attorneys | Lawyers

People who have been injured in accidents involving faulty transmissions, or family members of loved ones who have died, whether in Chrysler or Ford vehicles or ones made by other manufacturers, should click here to contact a lawyer at the national law firm of Lieff Cabraser.

Terminology

The park to reverse or false park defect is sometimes described in different terms such as unintentional rearward movement, unintended rearward movement, unintentional reverse, unintended reverse, unintentional acceleration, unintended acceleration, powered reverse, failure to hold in park, slipped gear, inadvertent movement, inadvertent rearward movement, jumped into reverse, kicked into reverse, slipped into reverse, change gear, changed gear, back over, backed over, roll backwards, lurched backwards, roll back, rolled back, rearward runaway, accidental shift, shift alone, shift into reverse, shift out of park, sudden shift, switch gears and went into reverse.