NHTSA Complaint #11011399 — 2013 CHRYSLER 300

HAD ENTERED A SIDE-STREET OFF BEDFORD ST IN LEXINGTON MA (MA 4/225) AT ABOUT 10 A.M. AND WAS STOPPED, WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING AND IN DRIVE, BY A LINE OF TRAFFIC AHEAD OF ME. WHILE IDLING, THERE WAS A LOUD SOUND AND A JOLT FELT IN THE CAR, BUT THE ENGINE WAS STILL IDLING. THE DASHBOARD DISPLAY HAD "AWD SERVICE" AND THEN ANOTHER WORD WHICH I DON'T RECALL. WHEN I WENT TO PUT THE TRANSMISSION IN PARK, I FOUND THE HANDLE SHIFTER ALREADY SHOWED "P" AND SO DID THE DASHBOARD DISPLAY. WHEN I TRIED TO CHANGE THE SETTING WITH THE HANDLE SHIFTER, PULLING TOWARD "D" DID NOTHING (STILL SHOWED "P") AND PUSHING FORWARD PRODUCED A MESSAGE ON THE DASHBOARD DISPLAY ABOUT THE TRANSMISSION ALREADY BEING IN THE SELECTED POSITION. TURNING OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTARTING IT (WHICH PROCEEDED NORMALLY) AND RETRYING TO CHANGE THE SHIFT POSITION RESULTED IN THE SAME BEHAVIOR (I.E., NO CHANGE TRYING TO MOVE TO "D" AND THE MESSAGE IN THE DISPLAY ABOUT ALREADY BEING IN THE SELECTED POSITION). HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TAKEN ON THE BED OF A TOW TRUCK TO MY LOCAL CHRYSLER DEALER. (AS THE TRANSMISSION APPEARED TO BE IN PARK, THAT ENTAILED DRAGGING THE CAR ONTO THE BED OF THE TOW TRUCK AND THEN "BOUNCING" IT OFF THE BED AT THE DEALER. LAST ADVICE I HAVE BEEN PROVIDED BY THE DEALER (WAS TODAY) IS THAT THEY ARE AWAITING ADVICE BACK FROM CHRYSLER ABOUT A NEW TRANSMISSION. NOTE: EXTRAORDINARILY LUCKY THAT I WAS STOPPED ON A SIDE STREET IN THE RIGHT-MOST OF THE TWO LANES WHEN THIS CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OCCURRED. HARD TO IMAGINE JUST HOW HORRIFIC IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IF IT HAD OCCURRED WHEN TRAVELING ON THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY--WHICH I HAD BEEN DOING JUST A FEW MINUTES BEFORE I HAD TURNED OFF TO TRAVEL ON BEDFORD ST.....UPDATED 11/03/17 *BF *TR