Dodge recalls over 20,000 Charger and Magnum cop cars
Click above for high-res gallery of the Dodge Charger Cop Car
Demonstrating that good cop cars can also go bad, Chrysler has announced a recall of Dodge Chargers and Magnums equipped with the police package and column shifter. While the cars aren't exactly taking sides with the villainous, they are having difficulty displaying the proper transmission gearshift position on the dash. This error is leading to more than a few headaches for men and women in uniform, and can be downright dangerous if they're not in the gear they think they are. The recalled cruisers are 2006-2009 models, and they number more than 20,000 strong (including the 150 sold to Kuwait). Dealers will reportedly add a locking mechanism to the gearshift cable to keep the displays honest.
[Source: Good Car Bad Car]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
TJ 2:05PM (11/07/2008)
Minor glitch/annoyance compared to failing/cracking brakes (looking at you Intrepid), severe brake fade (ahem, tahoe), fires in rear-end collisions (Vic, guilty as charged), and other past cruiser issues....
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MemphisNET 2:12PM (11/07/2008)
Agreed. Glad to see the LX cars have turned out to be fairly reliable overall.
Benfolio 2:17PM (11/07/2008)
@MemphisNET
Uh, just because you read of ONE recall on Autoblog? They aren't all that reliable, ask any LEO that has driven one. They have had their share of brake and transmission problems, among other things.
TJ 2:22PM (11/07/2008)
@Benfolio...
My bro-in-law is a cop, as-is his brother. Both have only state forward vertical vision impairment due to the low roof line and a larger than needed C-pillar blind spot as problems. The LX's in their fleets (two different counties) have been more reliable than the newer panthers in the fleets.
MemphisNET 2:48PM (11/07/2008)
@Benfolio
I own two LX vehicles, and have no problems of any kind -- both are over 100,000miles. Also, Autoblog typically spells out any/all problems when this type of story pops up.
Liquid 3:25PM (11/07/2008)
Vic is just as susceptible to fatal rear-end collisions as any other cruiser. Check your data. BOF has a significant durability advantage over the competition.
That One Person 6:00PM (11/07/2008)
Dumb. You do realize those fires were caused by high speed rear end crashes right? Let's see what a Camry or Accord would do if they were smashed in the rear end at 100+mph by another vehicle.
Look up some data on the Crown Vics. The death rates in those things is extremely low compared to the number out there and the number of cops who have survived high speed accidents in them. There are reports of cops walking away after being hit at over 100mph.
Just typical ignorant BS.
tekd 3:08AM (11/08/2008)
100+mph? Give me a break. And I don't know why you picked the Camry and Accord (they're not cop cars and not even the same size as the Crown Vic) but they would be MUCH less likely to catch on fire since the fuel tank isn't placed in what's basically the crumple zone of the rear.
Of course you picked the Camry and Accord because you just wanted to import bash for no reason, but here's a study comparing the Vic to Ford's own Taurus and the Chevy Impala (the older one which was more Crown Vic-like than the newer ones).
http://www.safetyforum.com/cvpi/chart1a.gif
Quit making up stupid excuses for a lousy fuel tank placement and design. And you don't have to be hit at 100 mph for the thing to start leaking gasoline, a much lower speed impact will start it leaking, but higher speed impacts are really problematic since the crashes trap you inside the Crown Vic and burns you alive. Which is probably about the worst way to die.
bob 4:37AM (11/10/2008)
Fords never been found liable for the rear tank fires since most of the time the leak was caused by departments drilling holes in the trunk to install their equipment and in some cases drilling into the tank. Even if they didn't drill into the tank, the bolts that their equipment used were found to gouge the tank in high speed rear collisions.
RxMadness 2:09PM (11/07/2008)
If only the blacked out Charger that got me had this problem. :o
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CarbonBlack 2:14PM (11/07/2008)
Repair all the cars on the exact same day, at the exact same time!
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Chris 2:25PM (11/07/2008)
Now see....if these were stick cars this wouldn't be a problem!! LOL
But since we are talking about cars for cops...I guess the girly transmissions fit the bill!
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TwoSixMike 2:33PM (11/07/2008)
Wow, between this and the PDK discussion, you're really on an anti-automatic warpath today.
Give it a rest. It's a cop car, I think they have enough to keep their hands full without rowing a gearbox.
Kitko 3:07PM (11/07/2008)
Chris, most of the sports cars, road legal or pure racers (F1, Le Mans cars), do not have a clutch pedal. IRL moved to flappy-pedal gearboxes too. Finally.
At one point, F1 cars could upshift automatically.
In your world, no-clutch means automatic.
You are wrong. PDK boxes or the box in the GT-R are not automatics. They can be use in an automatic mode, but these boxes are not your standard autos.
Any racer will be more than happy to use any technology that will make them change gears faster. PDK and similar boxes do just that.
Stick with your stick if you love it so much.
Smegley 2:27PM (11/07/2008)
If they's equip these things properly with sticks the cops would not have this problem.
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Acefighter 8:41PM (11/07/2008)
Do you really think the officer behind the wheel has time to shift with all the other things he has to do?
inteller 2:31PM (11/07/2008)
GOOD! Anything to get these menacing POS off the road. Any car that screams "angry a-hole" should not be used as a vehicle for those sworn to keep the peace.
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That One Person 5:59PM (11/07/2008)
A good friend of mine is a cop. We got onto the discussion of the Charger cop cars and how he didn't like them. The biggest complaint? World's worst vision out of the side windows. He also said blinds spots were pretty bad, too. He has talked to local state and county troopers and they have all of the same complaints. It may be quicker than a CV but after my experiences with the Charger (nice car but the side windows blow) and hearing my buddy's experiences, I can tell you if I was a cop, I would flat out refuse to use one of these things. Plus, how can you beat a proven machine (CV)?
Also, no one can outrun a Motorola...
Chris 2:57PM (11/07/2008)
I'm still tryting to think of what kind of problem they are having. The few automatics that I did own would just stop in the D position. You couldn't possibly get into the low gear positions unless you really tried. Just pull forward and put pressure on it until it stops, no?
Who cares what the "display" says...just drive the car and go catch some criminals will ya?
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mikemaj82 6:11PM (11/07/2008)
how the hell can you not know what gear you're in with an automatic? And why would you care? That's the whole point! You're either in P, R, N, or D, and if you can't tell you shouldn't be driving!
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