THANKS BERT FOR ALL YOUR HELP & ADVICE!
RICH

 

Hey all you guys out there, I thought you would be more user friendly but wow, some of you are really pounding me about this incident. I can take the heat as well as the negative responses but do you have to be so personal in your remarks? As I said before, I have been driving cars , trucks & other vehicles both standard & manual since 1961 which is probably before some of you were born and this was the first time I experienced this problem.

I was only looking to find out if others had the same problem, that's all. This was my first atempt at a forum discussion group of any sorts and it may be my last. I took my neighbor's advice in good faith and along with her help try to locate others who can relate to this problem.

I really enjoyed driving the Crossfire and I gave the sales rep & dealership high praise & didn't blame them in any way. I just want them to assume responsibility for the minor damage because it resulted from the gear shift coming off. THEY DIDN'T EVEN BLAME MY DRIVING ABILITY FOR THE DAMAGE! I would only contact a lawyer if I found out that the dealership or manufacture knew previousely about the gear shift problem and that it should have been fixed before I leased the car. LIGHTEN UP, IT'S ONLY ABOUT GATHERING INFORMATION ON THE CAR & NOT RAGGING ABOUT ME OVER THE INTERNET!
Thanks;
RICH

 

I reach down to pick up an object and drive into a mailbox.

I rubberneck an acident and hit the car in front of me.

My shifter **** falls off. I'm startled, and back into another car.

These are all cause and effect. The first two examples were my fault. The third was not. Rich, you should have all damages repaired at no charge by DC and they should be thankful it was only a vehicle you hit.

 

The ability of a driver to manuever his/her vehicle in an emergency like that is heresay. It doesn't matter if the truck he hit was 100 yards behind him! When that faulty shift lever came off in his hand, that defect, as well as all damage inccured by that defect is now the responsibility of the good people at Diamler Chrysler. Chrysler should be more than happy to repair the damage if the customer were persistant enough. Shift ***** coming off in a drivers hand is not the kind of attention Chrysler is looking to attract with the crossfire. Good luck man fight the power, lol!!

 

You're right TB... Maybe they should have a requirement that everyone who buys any car should take a proficiency test before purchasing... Or perhaps walking should become mandatory... Oh wait maybe if I had my shoe lace hanging off my shoe and I tripped on it, it would be the fault of the shoe manufacturer ???? It's a ****... not like the gas peddle stuck or the clutch engaged while the peddle was depressed, or the brake didn't stop the car...

I feel sorry for this girl who screwed-up her car and I admire rich and bert for sticking-up for her... But be realistic... OPERATOR ERROR...

Read the thread... and if you're looking to find fault to repair a loose shift **** then by all means, I agree DC should fix it... If you're looking to find fault for the resulting fender bender, HMMMM ????? Go figure...

This is the last time I will post to this thread, I think I have said all I could... Have fun with the car... Take it back to your dealer and make sure the floor mats are securly fastened, because for god's sakes if it slips off the hooks you may drive into an elephant...

 

Sorry you feel that way about the forum ,but ido see your point and i agree with you.

But ,you seem like you should have know the answer already!

A defective problem in the safe operation of any car should be the factorys' main concern and to be a prudent consumer you should make the complaint go all the way ,maybe you'll save someones' life!!I still think your insurance may help do that for you!

 

Thanks to all of you out there for your suggestions & support EXCEPT You HDDP! Your attitude sounds as if you are your mama's runt of the litter with all your petty sarcastic remarks about me & my driving. You either work for or have stock in D/C because your defense of this car is beyond reason. By the way, my other car is a 2003 Mercedes-Benz C-230 Kompressor and the gear shift on that one hasn't fallen off yet. In fact, the only problem I have with this one is now the air conditioner is blowing hot air (SOUNDS LIKE YOU HDDP) & a part has to be sent to the dealer from Germany.
I repeat, the only reason I signed on to this forum is to find out if the gear problem exists with other owners. Other then that reason, I am happy with the vehicle and I only want it repaired to safety standards or give me another new one. I don't race cars but I'm an experienced driver with the right knowledge to know what to do in an emergency. This one little mishap & startled reaction shouldn't be construde as a person lacking in driving ability or a person looking to sue someone because of a mistake. I JUST WANT THE CAR FIXED OR REPLACED! Are there anymore gear problems I should hear about so I can bring them to the attention of D/C and the dealership?
Rich

 

Good luck Rich,you should know that whatever is posted here doesn't mean anything to DC unless you were in a civil action!believe me they keep track of these type of safety issues!! They don't need lawsuits!!

 

There actually was one posted that could get you into an accident that would be no fault of your own, Someone posted that their 6spd was popping out of 1st gear while accelerating from a stop.

Now if you were taking off at a light and had someone do the same very closely behind you, and your car suddenly decelerated because it popped out of first. One would assume that a driver behind you could hit you if he/she didn't react in time.

Now if that happened, I surely would be supporting you wholeheartedly.

And no, I don't own DC stock and I'm not a defense atty. I agree with you that they are amiss for not securing the shifter properly and to be honest with you, had you been driving down the road in traffic and suddenly while shifting, the **** popped off, distracted you, made you miss a shift resulting in an accident, I would probably say you have a valid point.

But to me (in my humble opion) the facts surrounding your mishap seem to be 90% driver error... (I thought it was a woman driving the car, a neighbor and you were helping her get info from this forum, now if I read correctly, you were driving ?) Anyway, neither here, nor there.

It harkens back to the 80's when there was a rash of lawsuits against one of the major US automakers claiming both sudden acceleration and automatic transmissions suddenly popping into drive by themselves. Turned out that nearly all cases were determined to be driver error, ie. stepping on the gas instead of the brake and or not engaging the shift lever completely into park.

I will be honest with you, when I first took delivery of the Crossfire,, it took me a couple of weeks to get used to the sensitivity of the accellerator pedal when I was in 1st-2nd and reverse. This is a torquey little car and the slightest push on the accelerator in low gears wil make it jump like a rabbit !!!

So I can see where you could have gotten into trouble if the car was fully in gear and you accidently pushed the accelerator instead of the brake and clutch... It probably would have lunged backwards because the reverse gear is so low...

But the key point here is "Instead of pushing the clutch and break". I know I would be embarrassed to admit that too. And I would be pissed as hell if I were in your shoes, but I would lick my wounds, pay the $500 deductable on my insurance, *****-out the Chrysler Dealer for not prepping the car properly and let my insurance company fight with whomever they want, to recoup their losses...

Lastly, I have searched the TSB's and this sight as well, and the only gear shift **** issue I have run across was how to get it off, to change it... 2300 members loosely equates to 10% of the cars sold. And to compare your mercedes to the crossfire is good since they are both manufactured and assembled in Germany, incase you weren't aware...

I'm still confused as to who's car it is and who was driving, you, or your female neighbor ???

 

TO HDDP:
I can't take back what I said about you & won't, but at least the tone of your reply this time was much more professional and I appreciate it very much. I guess you just had to fully understand the situation I had with the gear shift. I figured you might have a change of heart about my driving abilities after I told you that my other car is a Mercedes Benz, C-230 Kompressor.

And by the way, you have been misinformed because the minor accident happened as I was backing out of my own driveway and not a city street. Again I emphasise that Iam not looking to sue anyone, I just want this new car's gear shift to be fixed and the body work done for free from the dealer. I assume that they would be reembersed by D/C anyway. The damage is estimated at about $1,200 which I believe is inflated to cover their costs. If it is a defect don't you believe I should receive a new car since mine has only 300 miles of running time? So once again I ask if anyone out there heard of or had a similar problem to please notify me. Any recalls noted by anyone?
Thanks
Rich

I was told that an investigator from D/C as well as an adjuster from my insurance company will look at my car & theywill fight it out for now.

 

To everyone including you non-belivers, I was just notified by a representative of D/C that they (the dealership) has authorization to fix both the gearshift & body work at manufactures expense. NOTHING out of my pocket or my insurance company. I should have vehicle by this Saturday. I just thought you would like to know---honesty & persistence does pay.
Rich

 

May all your luck be good !And enjoy your XF!

 

rich... way to go!!!

 

Hey Rich,

That's great news! I'm sure everyone here is happy to hear that the mfr of their car is standing behind it and has agreed to make all repairs at no charge to the purchaser (as they should).

Now you can get around to enjoying your car.

Bert

 

no suprise on their prompt willingness to fix the damage immediately. Hope the next 300 miles are better.

 

THANK YOU-ALL!

 

Congrats Rich! While I don't personally agree that D/C had to do this, I am happy for you that all is looking like it will work out in your favor.

You realize this means that this Sunday you MUST (there's a rule on this, right Connie? ) take a drive for at least a hundred smiles (err...miles) or so!

 

Thank You David & although I don't agree with your disagree I appreciate your comments. If I do get the crossfire back on Saturday, I will try to take that long drive on Sunday. I believe that if I wasn't right in that I pursued this problem practically all the way to the top, then why did they agree to fix both problems, FREE? I feel that they know about this situation could have the potential to be a more serious end result then mine with other vehicles already on the road.Besides, the "good will" they will create may be also a way to cover their behinds from lawsuits. NO, I am not suing! I'm just happy that I will have my new vehicle fixed & returned and hoping it doesn't happen to me again.
Rich

 

Yup - that's the rule!!!! If you get your car back and take that drive on Sunday - don't forget to post your fun (and maybe a few pictures) :wink:

 

GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS!
I didn't get my Crossfire on Saturday so I couldn't take THAT Sunday ride. However, I was called by dealer & they explained that the body work is complete but they ordered a new gear shift assembly kit and it won't be installed until Tuesday or Wednesday. Of course I told them to take all the time needed so it's properly installed & I don't have any more problems. At this point, I can only assume that this may be a known defect and hopefully my persistence may save others the same problems and maybe even a fatality. Rich