--- description: The death of 27-year-old Anton Yelchin has prompted consumer advocates to call for a fresh look at how auto recalls are conducted title: Star Trek Actor Death Raises Concern Over Auto-Recall Rules image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5befcc3ebf3fb03c/698898e33c1639d0a645dbd1/ap_626034679159.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Star Trek Actor Anton Yelchin's Death Sparks Calls for New Auto-Recall Rules by [Casey Quackenbush](/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 22, 2016 8:09 AM CUT  Actor Anton Yelchin poses at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival LA Reception at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Monday, March 17, 2014 Actor Anton Yelchin poses at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival LA Reception at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Monday, March 17, 2014Chris Pizzello—Invision/AP by [Casey Quackenbush](/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 22, 2016 8:09 AM CUT The death of 27-year-old _Star Trek_ actor Anton Yelchin on Sunday has prompted consumer advocates to call for a fresh look at how auto recalls are conducted. Yelchin’s body was found crushed by his SUV against a brick wall and fence after his car reportedly rolled back on the steep driveway of his Los Angeles home. The vehicle, a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, had been recalled by Fiat Chrysler in April because of gear-shifting problems, [reports](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-yelchin-autosafety-idUSKCN0Z734Q?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm%5Fsource=twitter&utm%5Fmedium=Social "undefined") Reuters. While the cause of the accident, and its connection to the recall, if any, are still under investigation, those working in the area of consumer safety say there needs to be a new recall system. Presently, fixes can take month to arrive and recalled vehicles are still on the road in the meantime. “If there’s any silver lining in this, it will prompt more attention to recalls,” executive director of the Center for Auto Safety Clarence Ditlow [said](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-yelchin-autosafety-idUSKCN0Z734Q?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm%5Fsource=twitter&utm%5Fmedium=Social "undefined") to Reuters. “There was no sense of urgency on Chrysler’s part.” Forty-one injuries have so far been linked to the vehicles affected by Fiat Chrysler’s recall. Meanwhile, the actor’s death has officially been ruled an accident due to “blunt traumatic asphyxia,” assistant chief coroner Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office [confirmed](http://www.people.com/article/anton-yelchin-cause-death-ruled-accidental-blunt-traumatic-asphyxia "undefined") to _People_. As to whether the accident was caused by the vehicle’s gearshift design, an LAPD spokesperson [told](http://www.people.com/article/anton-yelchin-cause-death-ruled-accidental-blunt-traumatic-asphyxia "undefined") _People_: “At this time we’re not sure what caused it, but that’s something investigators are looking at.” The U.S. recall system has been flooded with a record of over 100 million recalled cars and trucks between 2014 and 2015 for varying defects, from exploding air-bag inflators to malfunctioning ignition switches “Many consumers may think: ‘If it could happen to Chekov, it could happen to me,’” said Ditlow, using the name of the character played by Yelchin on _Star Trek_. \[[_People_](http://www.people.com/article/anton-yelchin-cause-death-ruled-accidental-blunt-traumatic-asphyxia "undefined"), [_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-yelchin-autosafety-idUSKCN0Z734Q?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm%5Fsource=twitter&utm%5Fmedium=Social "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4377804/star-trek-jeep-death-recall-anton-yelchin/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4377804/star-trek-jeep-death-recall-anton-yelchin/"},"headline":"Star Trek Actor Anton Yelchin's Death Sparks Calls for New Auto-Recall Rules","datePublished":"2016-06-22T08:09:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:45:43.589Z","description":"Many recalled vehicles are on the road while owners wait weeks or even months for fixes","url":"https://time.com/4377804/star-trek-jeep-death-recall-anton-yelchin/","keywords":["celebrities","U.S.","Star Trek","Recall","Jeep"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5befcc3ebf3fb03c/698898e33c1639d0a645dbd1/ap_626034679159.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Casey Quackenbush","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5befcc3ebf3fb03c/698898e33c1639d0a645dbd1/ap_626034679159.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Anton Yelchin","caption":"Anton Yelchin","creditText":"Chris Pizzello—Invision/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4377804/star-trek-jeep-death-recall-anton-yelchin/","name":"Star Trek Actor Anton Yelchin's Death Sparks Calls for New Auto-Recall Rules"}}]}] ```