Ford probes police SUVs with carbon monoxide fume issues
Modifications made after sale are likely to blame, automaker says
Ford has dispatched five teams of investigators across the country to help police departments deal with reports of exhaust fumes inside their SUVs.
Ford appears to be buckling down to grapple with troubling reports that could threaten its grip on the high-profile police car business.
Bill Gubing, chief engineer for the Ford Explorer SUV that is modified into the police version, said investigators have found police vehicles with holes and uncovered spaces near taillights or rear lift gates that can allow carbon monoxide, a colorless and poisonous gas, to seep inside the cabin. The Dearborn, Mich., automaker is blaming improperly installed or sealed aftermarket modifications, such as added emergency lights, for a rash of carbon monoxide complaints associated with police SUVs.
Those complaints included the police department in Austin, which pulled an estimated 400 police vehicles off the road in recent weeks. The police department in Portsmouth, N.H., also has raised the issue.
“We are all concerned from the front-line officers all the way up to the chief,” said Eric Benson, Portsmouth’s training officer. “We want to get this solved. We certainly don’t want to wait until something happens. We want to take all measures we can to ensure that not only all the officers are safe but the public as well.”
While Ford’s Explorer Police Interceptors are not part of a recall, or even an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the automaker is working quickly to address concerns that began to emerge last month.
Ford has a long history of dominating police vehicle sales. The company held more than a 70% market share of police vehicle sales for years until it discontinued the venerable Crown Victoria in 2011. And while police cars are only a small percentage of the automaker’s total sales, they give the company a high-profile vehicle that boosts brand recognition.
On Tuesday, Ford said its primary concern is to ensure the safety of police officers and get to the bottom of the issue.
“We’ve been working with our teams to methodically investigate these incidents with the police,” Gubing said. “Those teams are working to fix the vehicles and get them back on the road as quickly as possible.”
Ford has investigators in Austin working on the issue and has made repairs to police vehicles in Auburn, Mass., where police said an officer involved in a crash had been exposed to carbon monoxide and other officers were hospitalized. Ford said that it had worked with more than a dozen police agencies nationwide to repair more than 50 vehicles.
Ford, which is covering the cost of repairs regardless of the age or mileage of the vehicle, said the issue only affects police Explorers and other drivers do not need to be concerned.