Indiana police added custom Dodge Durangos to their fleet, but there’s a problem
- Indiana State Police replaced 14-year-old Chargers with Durangos
- In total, the police department ordered 519 Durangos for $25.8 million
- The problem is the new Durangos don’t work
Published on Jul 12, 2024 at 12:12 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Jul 26, 2024 at 7:33 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
Indiana police officers have added Dodge Durangos to their fleet, but things aren’t going smoothly.
Indiana State Troopers have been using Dodge vehicles for a while, mostly Chargers.
But the Chargers were getting on a bit, and so that’s why they decided to replace them with Durangos.
It’s probably a decision they’re regretting now.
Indiana State Police spent $25.8 million, not exactly pocket change, to order 519 Durango Pursuit models from Dodge.
But this was necessary, because most of their Chargers were now 14 years old.
The reason why Durangos are giving Indiana police officers a headache
These Durangos are giving Indiana police officers a massive collective headache.
This is because so many are breaking down.
The problem is these vehicles are suffering from defective oil coolers that are allowing engine oil to mix with coolant.
And it gets worse because nearly 20 percent of the new Durangos are experiencing this issue.
Interestingly, Indiana police didn’t specify whether this issue is affecting V6 or V8 Durangos, but they did say it is affecting vehicles costing around $50,000 each.
So that’d be the V8 one.
In an attempt to diffuse the situation, Dodge’s parent company Stellantis said that it will pay for the repairs, even if the vehicles are beyond the warranty period.
They added that the Durango ‘meets or exceeds all applicable federal motors vehicle safety standards and is subject to severe operating conditions to which the standard, retail version of the Durango is immune.’
That statement also noted that the damage is not easily spotted, and can cause other problems before it is correctly diagnosed.
Police vehicles around the world
The most famous and Instagram-friendly police vehicles around the world are in the UAE.
Among others, Dubai police officers have access to Mansory G-Wagens, McLarens and Lambos.
Indiana State Troopers won’t be buying Lambos anytime soon, but they might turn to Tesla.
Several police departments across the U.S. are using Teslas now, and there are companies that specialize in police-spec Cybertrucks.
Indiana police officers aren’t happy because these Durangos aren’t working, and even though Stellantis did release a statement to address the issue, it seems they haven’t fixed it yet.
We’ll know soon enough what Indiana intends to do about that.
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