An Indiana State Police Dodge Durango on a lift at a dealership.
Provided photo
A serious oil cooler defect has sidelined more than three dozen Indiana State Police patrol sport utility vehicles.
ISP has been transitioning from police-packaged Dodge Chargers, which they have used since 2010, to Dodge Durangos since May 2023. The agency ordered a total of 516 Durangos for about $25.8 million — 219 of which have been issued into the field for patrol duties, according to a news release.
But about 18% of the 219 Durangos in use have experienced a mechanical failure due to a defective oil cooler. This has affected 39 SUVS so far, and ISP anticipates another 40 Durangos would experience the same failure for a total of 79 failures, officials say.
If this number turns out to be correct, approximately $3.9 million worth of taxpayer-funded equipment may not be available for their intended use by the agency. A fully-equipped ISP Dodge Durango costs about $50,000, according to the news release.
State troopers have had 15 Dodge Durangos experience this oil cooler failure last month alone, they said.
More locally, the Indianapolis district has been issued 14 Durangos so far. But none of them have had the catastrophic failure, said Sgt. John Perrine, a spokesperson for the Indianapolis district.
Fixing the issue requires engine replacements or repairs. The average downtime for this work is 4-to-8 weeks, which creates a huge burden on fleet operations, a significant loss of confidence in the vehicle by ISP personnel and an ineffective loss of public service while the troopers cycles in and out of a pool car to perform their daily duties, the news release says.
ISP Superintendent Doug Carter has spoken with a Chrysler representative about the issue but was not given a timeline on its resolution.
“ISP has used Dodge as our primary police vehicle provider for the last decade-and-a-half, it is unfortunate that we have found ourselves in this precarious position,” Carter said in the news release. “We’re having to sideline brand new vehicles, losing out on their value and functionality … the citizens and taxpayers of Indiana are being shortchanged and deserve better.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 10:53 a.m. June 18 with information about how the issue is impacting the Indianapolis district.
