The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Chevrolet Caprice vehicles manufactured March 24, 2011, to December 6, 2013. The affected vehicles are Police Patrol Vehicles (PPV), equipped with a specific transmission selector lever that contains two pins that can become displaced. If the pins get displaced, the driver may be able to shift the vehicle from "Park" without depressing the brake pedal or remove the ignition key without the transmission being in "Park." As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards No. 102, "Transmission Shift Position Sequence, Starter Interlock, And Transmission Braking Effect", and No. 114, "Theft Protection And Rollaway Prevention."
The risk
If the transmission can be moved from "Park" without depressing the brake pedal, unintended motion may occur increasing the risk of a crash. Additionally, if the ignition key can be removed without the transmission being in "Park," the vehicle may roll away, increasing the risk of injury to exiting occupants and bystanders.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the shift lever roll pin, replace the base pivot pin and attach a Brake Transmission Shift Interlock retention enhancement clip, free of charge. The recall began on October 27, 2014. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14549.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Chevrolet Caprice | 2011, 2012, 2013 |
Components: POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL) | POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:COLUMN SHIFT
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet Caprice | 2011 | 1 | 3 |
| Chevrolet Caprice | 2012 | 0 | 3 |
| Chevrolet Caprice | 2013 | 6 | 4 |
Other power train recalls in 2014
49 of the 770 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2014 concerned the power train; General Motors LLC filed 272 campaigns in all.
| 14V819000 24 Dec 2014 | General Motors LLC |
| 14V811000 22 Dec 2014 | Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. |
| 14V803000 19 Dec 2014 | Nissan North America, Inc. |
| 14V796000 16 Dec 2014 | Chrysler Group LLC |
| 14V789000 15 Dec 2014 | BMW of North America, LLC |
| 14V784000 9 Dec 2014 | Hyundai Motor America |
| 14V779000 8 Dec 2014 | Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) |
| 14V739000 18 Nov 2014 | Volvo Trucks North America |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2014