Police Officers Suing Ford Over Alleged Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Interceptor SUVs [UPDATED]

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Two Austin-based police officers have filed lawsuits against Ford Motor Company after being incapacitated by carbon monoxide that leaked into the cabin of their Interceptor Utilities. Ford finds itself flooded with hundreds of complaints over unacceptable carbon monoxide levels in 2011-2017 Ford Explorers, receiving the most flack from police departments with problematic SUVs. Officers across America have complained of dizziness while driving, with some requiring hospitalization.

The issue had become so bad that Austin’s police department actually pulled about 400 Explorer-based squad cars from its motor pool. Scrambling for a solution, Ford has implemented a special task force to investigate the problem and develop a solution. The automaker also offered to fix 1.33 million Explorers to ensure there is no exhaust leak, but was quick to remind everyone this wasn’t a recall, as no U.S. government standard for in-vehicle carbon monoxide levels exists.

Unfortunately for Ford, an all-hands-on-deck response hasn’t stopped lawsuits. Operating under the assumption that Ford was aware of the leaks as early as 2012, officers in California, Texas, and Louisiana have also filed claims against the manufacturer.

Ford initially attributed the officers’ plight to aftermarket modifications necessary on some law enforcement vehicles that may have allowed exhaust gases to enter the rear of the vehicle. However, with consumer models suffering from similar gassing problems, those earlier modifications may have only exacerbated an already existing issue.

According to My Statesman, the most recent suit from Austin asks for unspecified damages to pay for medical bills, lost wages, future earnings, and to compensate Officer Ryan Hancock and his wife for pain and suffering.

“We’re suing Ford because they designed, manufactured and sold a defective product,” said Brian Chase, the attorney representing the Hancocks. “It’s important to get the word out that these Ford Explorers have a problem leaking carbon monoxide and Ford hasn’t been able to fix it.”

Chase said the Austin police cases are only two of the roughly 30 suits across the country resulting from the Explorer-linked carbon monoxide issue.

Ford has maintained that its SUVs are safe, despite offering repairs at no charge to the customer, and has said it is unable to comment further due to the nature of the pending lawsuits. Preliminary investigations from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration uncovered cracks in the exhaust manifolds of some Ford Explorers in July. It is continuing its research to assess how common this problem is and if it might have anything to do with the proposed leaks. As of now, it doesn’t have any evidence to indicate the incidents were a direct result of carbon monoxide poisoning.

However, in the Hancock case, the claim has already been made that Ford was well aware of a problem. It cites a company-issued 2012 bulletin to dealers that references an exhaust smell in the cabin of some SUVs and testimony from a Ford representative in a Florida case from 2015 who suggested the exhaust problems could be a design flaw. Although the representative was not referencing carbon monoxide specifically, Chase wants to make the case that a possible exhaust leak would have contained the odorless monoxide gas.

“In sum, Ford knew that its Ford Explorer vehicles and Police Interceptor Utility vehicles, (including Hancock’s APD cruiser), were defective in that the design of those vehicles allowed deadly exhaust fumes, including poisonous carbon monoxide, to enter the passenger compartment,” the lawsuit claims. “[The] suggested repairs failed to fix the problem.”

[Image: Ford Motor Co.]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Phila_DLJ Phila_DLJ on Oct 20, 2017

    But the tires are great. Just great!

  • PentastarPride PentastarPride on Oct 21, 2017

    I can't, for the life of me, understand why PDs use the Explorer. Why??? I could understand the CVPI, which was a solid, dependable vehicle that even non-Ford guys (like myself) would have to admit. The Explorer with the EcoBust doesn't seem like it will hold up long term. I wonder if they will be worth little more scrap value when they get surplused. There are lots of problems with EcoBoost, some of them catastrophic. I'll have to ask my cop friend about how often they hit the shop the next time I see him. I do know he liked the Chargers except for lack of room, but lack of room is better than rotating the fleet in and out of the shop. Now that there's now worries about CO poisoning, the answer is obvious: Charger (or Durango, if an SUV is necessary). Hemi V8 or Pentastar V6, take a pick.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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