Six problems related to automatic transmission park/neutral start switch have been reported for the 1998 Dodge Caravan. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Vehicle was parked with key in ignition. 2 year old child got into vehicle, turned the key one notch,and shifted to reverse and vehicle moved. Brake was not applied. Vehicle hit 2 parked vehicles, child was not injured. Damage to vehicle was $3800. 00.
Vehicle was in park and shifted on its own into reverse, vehicle moved and was stopped by the garage center pillar. No one was in the car. Dealer and manufacturer contacted, attempting an investigation (still pending).
Consumer states that while warming up the vehicle, nine year old daughter put the vehicle in reverse and crashed the vehicle into garage door causing property damage, consumers research found that the vehicle does not have a safety feature requiring the operator to depress the brake pedal in order to shift the car from park into drive/reverse.
Car is not equipped with with brake/shift lock and our 3. 5 year old son was able to sneak into the car, start it, and put in in drive, drove forward into a ditch. No one injured.
Transmission gears can be changed without applying brakes. Please give any further details.
Consumer was able to release vehicle out of park gear without placing foot on the brake pedal. Please provide any details.