Police dodge Durango's

[cptbarkey]

All 3 of those are wear components, all 3 of those are under severe duty. I really doubt the sheriff has his mileage correct unless he is also the fleet manager which I also highly doubt.

All that said, again all 3 of those are wear components under severe duty. Have I said that enough? This whole story stinks of inherit bias, including my own words.

 

[PontiacHO]

I was talking to a local police officer and he said they station has 6 Durango's all with hemis. 5 out of 6 has needed a water pump, starter and fuel pump before 30k. I understand police cars get used harder than a civilian vehicle but why would this stuff fail so early on? It's a small town 5k people so it's not like they're constantly being used in pursuits. Seems crazy to me theyve had better luck with the explorer interceptor they said with the V6. I found that surprising. Can anyone make sense of this or share insight?

That 30k is tripled when the total engine hours are taken into consideration. These vehicles idle the whole shift and some jurisdictions “hot seat” the patrol vehicles. Not at all like civilians use vehicles. With that said we’ve have 5 in our fleet and none of that has happened yet…

 

[Audiman]

That would make sense for the alternator and the coolant pumps but why the starter motor? If it’s been running for 14 hours why would that affect the starter motor? Heat soak damage?

 

[97prizm]

I was talking to a local police officer and he said they station has 6 Durango's all with hemis. 5 out of 6 has needed a water pump, starter and fuel pump before 30k. I understand police cars get used harder than a civilian vehicle but why would this stuff fail so early on? It's a small town 5k people so it's not like they're constantly being used in pursuits. Seems crazy to me theyve had better luck with the explorer interceptor they said with the V6. I found that surprising. Can anyone make sense of this or share insight?

This is odd as most vehicles built for law enforcement beef up components especially cooling and electrical.

 

[97K15004WD]

Heat soak damage?

Probably, but hard to tell without taking one apart to determine the cause of failure. FCA should investigate this, if there are informed. At a minimum, a STAR case should be initiated by the dealer. My bet is that hasn't been done though. Lot's of paperwork and follow-up (as per my service writer: I have no first hand knowledge of what is required).

These kinds of problems are like someone passing gas in the dark - everyone knows it's there, but no one knows what or who did it.

 

[Torrid]

I know all the local vehicles now are the EcoBoost Explorers. They had Chargers a few years back and I slowly saw more Explorers make it into the fleet. I don't know any of the reasoning behind the switch, but I have watched it happen around here.

 

[bubbanik]

I know all the local vehicles now are the EcoBoost Explorers. They had Chargers a few years back and I slowly saw more Explorers make it into the fleet. I don't know any of the reasoning behind the switch, but I have watched it happen around here.

Same with my old department. There are still a few Chargers left but 90% Explorers.
My last patrol vehicle was a 2020 Explorer and it was a complete POS. Ran like a race car...when it ran...but it spent more time in the motor pool than on the road. Issued to me with 32 miles on the ODO. By 40K I have the water pump, radiator and fans, AC compressor, fuel pump and trans all replaced. Vehicle prior to that were 14 and 18 Explorers and never had an issue.

 

[OVERKILL]

I know all the local vehicles now are the EcoBoost Explorers. They had Chargers a few years back and I slowly saw more Explorers make it into the fleet. I don't know any of the reasoning behind the switch, but I have watched it happen around here.

Yeah, ours appears to have gone Charger -> Explorer -> Durango

I am seeing more Durangos, still see lots of Chargers, but have been seeing fewer and fewer Explorers.

 

[hrv]

I know a few Kentucky State Police and they drive the Dodge Charger.. They say they are in the shop more that on the road...very few troopers actually own a Dodge as there own car...

 

[Torrid]

Yeah, ours appears to have gone Charger -> Explorer -> Durango

I am seeing more Durangos, still see lots of Chargers, but have been seeing fewer and fewer Explorers.

I'm sure all it comes down to is the deals they make in the area. I've had friends that are officers in different areas I've lived. I don't really personally know any in my area now, but I knew a few in Las Vegas where I lived 7 years ago and I was there for 8 years. What they told me when they were considering new contracts for vehicle purchases is that they were allowed to have a few trial vehicles and get feedback from the officers on what they liked and didn't like about certain vehicles in how it affected their daily use. I don't know if all areas operate like this, but ingress and egress was something that they mentioned ranked high on vehicle choice. I'm sure different areas do different things to make their decisions. I think the easy choice on the Durango over the Explorer is space and that could be a big consideration for its use.

I've seen a couple Chargers still left here. I think I posted earlier that they were all gone, but I just saw 2 last week, so some are still around. I have not seen a Durango yet, but maybe they'll get some. I do think it would be really interesting to find out how and why certain vehicles get chosen.

 

[MParr]

“I do think it would be really interesting to find out how and why certain vehicles get chosen.”
The government purchasing agencies put together the specifications and bids are accepted or declined. The low bidder often wins.

 

[Torrid]

“I do think it would be really interesting to find out how and why certain vehicles get chosen.”
The government purchasing agencies put together the specifications and bids are accepted or declined. The low bidder often wins.

I definitely feel like this is the most likely correct answer. I'd just be curious in the rare situation that it manages to go for the more expensive option of why that choice was made.

 

[pbm]

The Police Force bought all 6 at the same time. 5 of them have had a starter, alternator and fuel pump all in under 30k miles. We service their Ford police interceptors because the FCA products are still under warranty......this isn't third hand knowledge it's straight from the chief and the local police as well. I had an in depth conversation today with an officer as he was picking up the interceptor after getting the a/c repaired and he brought it up and discussed it more in depth. I'm amazed that such a simple topic seems to cause such strife for you. I'm also surprised by what they're saying because we don't see these issues on civilian vehicles anymore common than anything else. That being said this wasn't posted to be a pissing match it was posted to ask why this could be. What are they possibly doing different in the police world that is lending to these failures. That's it nothing more nothing less.

I believe you. Chrysler hasn't made anything I'd buy since probably the 70's.

 

[joekingcorvette]

I bet if I owned one it would last to at least 75,000 miles.

 

[Torrid]

I bet if I owned one it would last to at least 75,000 miles.

If you're like me your 10 year old vehicles still look brand new, but I take a lot of pride in keeping my vehicles feel new no matter the mileage. I only give up when the repair costs get asinine after the warranty expires.

 

[MParr]

I definitely feel like this is the most likely correct answer. I'd just be curious in the rare situation that it manages to go for the more expensive option of why that choice was made.

Go to your state purchase and bid contracts. You can find the Patrol Car specifications. A lot of states are specifying AWD Patrol cars. That could be the reason that many state police cars are Explorers, Durangos, and Tahoes. Local agencies will piggyback off of the state specifications. Any legitimate auto dealership is welcome to bid. The low bidder usually wins out.

 

[4WD]

Our LEO’s ditched the Explorer over PTU’s - now split between Chargers and Tahoe PPV’s …

 

[Torrid]

Go to your state purchase and bid contracts. You can find the Patrol Car specifications. A lot of states are specifying AWD Patrol cars. That could be the reason that many state police cars are Explorers, Durangos, and Tahoes. Local agencies will piggyback off of the state specifications. Any legitimate auto dealership is welcome to bid. The low bidder usually wins out.

That definitely makes sense with my area. We can have pretty wicked winters at times.

 

[joekingcorvette]

If you're like me your 10 year old vehicles still look brand new, but I take a lot of pride in keeping my vehicles feel new no matter the mileage. I only give up when the repair costs get asinine after the warranty expires.

Yes I am like you. I try to keep my vehicles in great shape and enjoy the maintenance and detail process. My Civic sits outside and it's more of a driver however I still run it through the car wash almost daily.

 

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

My agency bought a few 2022 Ram 1500s. One had a catastrophic rack & pinion failure at 10K miles.

We also have a few 2019 Chevy Tahoes. 2 of them had catastrophic transmissions failures at 80K miles and the later one at 110K miles. I was told I could request any new patrol car in the next year, as long as it wasn't a new Tahoe.