— The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a Dodge Dart shift cable recall failed to repair the cars the first time around, but a second recall has accomplished the task.
In June, NHTSA opened a federal probe into an August 2019 recall for shift cable bushing problems in 2013-2016 Dodge Darts.
The Dart shift cable bushings were falling apart and detaching from the automatic transmissions.
A detached cable can cause failure of the gear selection indicator to match the intended gear selection made by the Dodge Dart driver.
This can allow the car to roll away even though the Dart driver believes the transmission is in PARK.
According to Fiat Chrysler, the shift cable bushings were damaged by oil, solvents and other chemicals that deteriorated the bushings.
However, NHTSA received 63 complaints about shift cable problems or detachments on cars that had supposedly been repaired during the shift cable recall. This made safety regulators question the recall repairs and convinced them to open the investigation into the Dart shift cable bushing recall of more than 300,000 cars.
Chrysler then announced another Dart shift cable bushing recall in October for more than 300,000 model year 2013-2016 Dodge Darts. The automaker is working on an improved design, but Chrysler dealers will replace the Dart shift cable assemblies once the new designs are approved.
NHTSA says it will continue to monitor any complaints about Dodge Dart shift cable problems, but for now the latest recall convinced regulators to close the investigation.