NHTSA Complaint #10703503 — 2014 DODGE DART

I PURCHASED MY VEHICLE IN JUNE 2014 WITH ONLY 4 MILES ON IT. THE ONLY MINOR PROBLEM I NOTICED AFTER A FEW DAYS' USE IS THAT SOMETIMES IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO SWITCH BETWEEN GEARS - IT'S ALMOST LIKE YOU HAVE TO JERK IT IN ORDER TO MOVE FROM ONE GEAR TO THE NEXT. I DIDN'T THINK THIS WAS A MAJOR ISSUE SO I DIDN'T THINK ANYTHING OF IT THOUGH THE PROBLEM PERSISTS FROM TIME TO TIME. THE MAJOR ISSUE IS THE FOLLOWING: AROUND MID-SEPTEMBER 2014, I WAS DRIVING TO WORK IN THE MORNING, AT APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH. AT ONE POINT, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED ITSELF. THERE WERE NO VEHICLES IN FRONT OF ME SO NOTHING HAPPENED. I IMMEDIATELY PRESSED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL UNTIL I CAME TO A FULL STOP PULLING OVER ON THE RIGHT. I TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE AND RESTARTED IT. I DROVE TO WORK AND THE VEHICLE WORKED FINE THIS TIME. IT WAS A VERY SCARY SITUATION BECAUSE I WAS AFRAID IT WOULD HAPPEN AGAIN. I HAVE NEVER HAD ANY ISSUES WITH VEHICLES AND THINKING THAT IT WAS PROBABLY A ONE-TIME INCIDENT, I NEVER CONTACTED THE RETAILER NOR THE MANUFACTURER OF THE VEHICLE. THE PROBLEM HAS SINCE THEN OCCURRED THREE OR FOUR TIMES AFTER THAT. THE LAST TIME IT OCCURRED WAS EARLY MARCH 2015. I WAS ON THE SAME ROAD I WAS WHEN IT FIRST HAPPENED, DRIVING APPROXIMATELY AT THE SAME SPEED, WHEN THE CAR ABRUPTLY ACCELERATED. I ALWAYS LEAVE ENOUGH SPACE BETWEEN ME AND THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME SO THANKFULLY I WAS ABLE TO BRAKE AND COME TO A FULL STOP. MY PASSENGER SAW WHAT HAD TRANSPIRED AND ADVISED ME TO IMMEDIATELY TAKE MY VEHICLE TO THE RETAILER SO THEY CAN HAVE IT LOOKED AT. MY VEHICLE HAS ROUGHLY 8,300 MILES ON IT BECAUSE I JUST DRIVE TO WORK AND BACK, SCHOOL AND BACK AND GROCERIES, AND ALL PLACES ARE WITHIN 5 AND 25 MINUTES FROM ME. I ALWAYS OBEY SPEED LIMITS AND EVADE HIGHWAYS BECAUSE I NEVER KNOW IF AND WHEN THE PROBLEM WILL HAPPEN AGAIN, SO I FEEL UNSAFE DRIVING THE VEHICLE. *TR