Gear shift indicator is misaligned since about September, 2003. There are other complaints about this problem indicating it is a common problem. There are probably many people who have experienced the problem but who have not filed a complaint. This is a potentially dangerous problem in emergencies that require you to immediately put the transmission into neutral or reverse. If you put the transmission into the position indicated by the N=neutral indicator, you are actually putting the car into reverse. This could cause death in certain situations where pedestrians are nearby, or death to occupants when an attempt is made to move the transmission of a moving vehicle to neutral. There may already have been deaths related to this defect. Moving a transmission to neutral is often a first attempt to disengage the engine and power to the wheels.

- Cary, NC, USA

Dashboard gear position indicator has misaligned. Should be: P, R, N, D,2,1 is: R(park),N(reverse),D(neutral),2(drive),1(low),----(low).

- Austin, TX, USA

Several times when vehicle was turned on there was a stream of smoke that came up from the gear shifter. Also, gear shift indicator was misaligned. When vehicle was in reverse it looked like it was in neutral, and when is in neutral it looked like it was in drive.

- Fisk, MO, USA