The Indiana police are facing a technical problem involving 39 Dodge Durango vehicles in their fleet. The issue concerns the oil cooler and affects about 18% of their vehicles. According to the Indiana State Patrol, nearly one in five vehicles has been compromised by this serious malfunction.
Dodge Durango: 39 units of the Indiana Police have experienced the same failure
Indiana replaced the Dodge Charger with the Durango for its police fleet. They ordered 519 specially equipped Durango SUVs, for a total cost of about $25.8 million, or $50,000 each. So far, 219 have been delivered. Of these, at least 39 are already out of service due to an identical oil cooler failure. The department expects that another 40 vehicles could manifest the same problem, potentially bringing the total number of damaged vehicles to 79.
Repairing the fault takes an average of four to eight weeks. The origin of the problem has not yet been identified with certainty. However, it bears similarities to a defect found in several versions of the Pentastar V6 engine. There are also reports of similar issues in Hemi engines.
In Pentastar engines, the oil cooler is positioned deep in the V valley. In case of failure, oil leaks out, filling the valley. The first symptoms only manifest when the leak is substantial enough for oil to flow from the rear of the engine. It’s worth noting that neither the Indiana State Police nor Stellantis have specified which engine powers these problematic Durango models.
“The Dodge Durango Pursuit meets or exceeds all applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards and is subject to severe operating conditions to which the standard, commercial version of the Durango is immune. Additionally, some oil cooler issues are difficult to detect, which can lead to collateral damage and very complex remedies,” Stellantis said in a statement to Fox News.
“We sincerely regret any inconvenience caused to the Indiana State Police and are working to expedite service for these vehicles. Since the model was launched in 2018, it has been deployed to thousands of police agencies across North America and overall feedback has been exemplary,” Stellantis added in its statement.