Unit maintenance.....rant

[shooter1201]

....is one of my pet peeves. Unfortunately, as a part-timer, I don't rate much 'attention'.

Examples:

* The unit assigned to me has needed a front end allignment for a YEAR. It didn't get one when it got new tires last Spring, and now the department has had to buy 2 new tires. Tire rotation? What's THAT?!

* The PA has NEVER worked on my unit...NEVER. After 9/11, this officer asked the Chief how I was spposed to notify citizens of a need to evacuate their neighborhoods....'yell out the window?' No comment by the Chief.

* The light bar control panel doesn't light up...I have to FEEL for the correct toggle, but I *DO* have the best light bar on ANY unit.

* NO First Aid kit OR fire extinguisher in my unit..until *I* bought them out of MY pocket.

* The wipers are screwed up...won't retract when turned OFF and don't give correct 'wipe stroke'...misses 1/3 of driver-side.

* 'Check Engine' light has been ON for 8 months, and has been reported by this officer NUMEROUS times. It's STILL 'on'.

Rant mode off...

:mad:

[Don]

don't it **** you off? :mad:

[KenM]

Ahhh!!! The joys of driving a pool car! :D

[DMS 525]

At least you haven't found a moldy, half-eaten cheap burrito under the seat, have you? :eek:

[Don]

Or grabbed the steering wheel and not been able to let go because the guy on the last shift had to eat at KFC and didn't know how to wipe his hands on anything OTHER than the steering wheel! :D

[SpecOpsWarrior]

You think you guys got it rough...........let me tell you about rough!!!

I am currently driving a 1996 CV, you wouldnt believe the work I have to do on this thing cause our maintenance shop is so damn picky!

I had to tint my own windows, I had to custom cut the box for the trunk that holds my 20 inch woofers, which I paid for on my own. I had to install the hydraulics kit for the three wheel motion all on my own to, and lowering that bastard was no picnic either, I got no help from the shop what so ever!

The neon light kit on the undercarriage was a real pain in the ***** to, but the purple lights really look good reflecting off of the pavement at night! Not to mention going with the lime green to purple fade I did on the paint job, man that took days!

I was lucky when the department decided to pop for the siren, I wired it up and now when I hit it it says "heyyyyyyy yoooooooooo, It's da po-lice" and I wired the horn up to say "Yo what up mother f****r" whenever I hit it!

The low profile tires cost me an arm and a leg but it was worth it, I got the sharpest looking unit in town!!! :D :D

[ 11-29-2001: Message edited by: SpecOpsWarrior ]

[SGT Dave]

SpecOps:

I used to think you were joking about all the TATTs. Now I wonder...

LOL!

[RCSO-7S05]

SpecOpsWarrior, what can I say.....LOL :cool:

[Press Hard]

I love having my own car. I treat my 2001 impala better than my jeep, seeing as how it is my office for at least 40 hours a week. I wash and wax it, vaccum it, keep the wipers up, air the tires up, check the fluids, etc. It only has 5,241 miles on it, and I want it to last to 100,000

[Plaso]

You know we got 4 people who work on fixing units. I mean they take them to the county garage and so forth. It's like the only job they do and they still can't get it done right! :rolleyes:

[Lt Dan]

How about putting someone in jail (on 14 warrants, no less), and then a month later picking up your unit from the shop and seeing his smiling face coming out from underneath your hood. Makes you feel safe, huh? In our shop, one deputy supervises about 6 inmates working on our units. I make sure that when I bring my car in, if at all possible, I stay there and watch the work. We've had guys bring in their cars for an oil change, and leave with no lights or siren. Scary.

[SGT Dave]

Lt Dan (okay...don't be mad...I can't resist...Loooooootannnnnnant Daaaaaaaon! <Forrest Gump accent> )

BTDT! I didn't think about it till you said that!

Here we contract with a local shop for all repairs. It's a father and son thing. The father is well known and well liked in town. The son was in some trouble a few years ago but got straightened out. We find out a few months ago (from a citizen) he was Permanently Revoked. I had seen him driving every day for months, and indeed, HAD EVEN GAVE HIM KEYS FOR PATROL CARS WHICH HE DROVE FOR MAINTENANCE AND WASHING! I just assumed he had OL!

I told his father about it, and he ASSURED me he wouldn't drive again, as he was close to getting his OL back, and off probation.

I cited him a month later for DWLR while he was out going to the parts store, getting lunch, and whatever. His father has tried everything to get me to drop it, had a local politico come by twice talking to the chief, the father and the political buddy have talked to the town manager, and the District Attorney has even called me about it. Not an ADA, but THE DA! I'll give him credit-I told him my feelings and why I wouldn't/couldn't "drop it" and he's okay with it. My chief and Town Manager are 100% behind me (as they should be, obviously.)

I have stood my ground since he did it so long under our noses, and even warned them he would be cited, but I guess they thought that either we wouldn't REALLY write his son a ticket since we're a small town, or they had the political pull to fix it. Wrong X 2, but, they still work on our cars!

[shooter1201]

Our 'city garage' changes the oil, etc on our units, but they ALWAYS leave mine 2 quarts LOW....ALWAYS.

We have NO preventative maintenance policy for our units....'drive 'em 'til they break' seems to cover it.

[PeteBroccolo]

RCMP policy is every 8000 kms (5000 miles) change oil and perform regular maintenance. We would get defecated upon from great heights if a vehicle went out of service due to poor maintenance. We use the local dealer of the particular vehicle we have been issued for routine service, but each Province (Division to us) has its own Post Garage in its Divisional H.Q. to perform such work, and if you are close, or coming in on duty, your vehicle can be serviced there.

Body work of a minor nature is a whole different matter in this world of tight budgets. I made deer sausage last March 1st with the Crown Vic, which just prettied up the front end smack-up the Corporal did when he took the ditch during a snow storm. Post Garage parted out a condemned CV for its hood, grille/bumper moulding and right front door (the striping even lined up!) but they left some crinkles in the right rear door and roof to save costs.

[DesertRat]

It is completely hit or miss around here depending onif the guy using the unit is too lazy to write it up or not. When I've grabbed a cage I've gotten everythign from some very sweet, well maintained rides, to the classic: A 1998 Ford Crown Victoria, with fading brakes, the driver's door panel held on with duct tape, one wheel cover still in place, no covers over the interior lights, and uncleaned vomit in the back seat. Needless to say I red lined it, but whoever was using the thing prior must have felt it was suitable? :confused: :confused:

[Press Hard]

our mechanics have just enough sense to say that they can't fix it, and take it into the chevy or ford dealer.

[Zamboni]

Originally posted by Lt Dan:
<STRONG>How about putting someone in jail (on 14 warrants, no less), and then a month later picking up your unit from the shop and seeing his smiling face coming out from underneath your hood.</STRONG>

For a sec I thought we worked for the same dept. The guy who does our oil changes and tires got thrown in jail and stayed there for two weeks at which point he came back and continued doing them. He's scary enough without the revenge factor. He changed the oil in one cruiser and forgot to put new oil in. Another time he forgot to tighten the bolt for the oil so it drained out within twenty minutes of leaving. Another time he forgot to tighten the lug nuts and a guys tire came off.

[JKT]

Originally posted by Lt Dan:
<STRONG>How about putting someone in jail </STRONG>

Ok, glad to see we're no the only ones that use Working Inmates (Trust'ys) in our garage.

We do have a full-time mechanic that oversees them, but isn't there all the time. ANd the other non-LE employee that is there isn't the brightest bulb in the string :rolleyes: . So we do have the occasional problem.

Fortunately, the Working Inmate Supervisor keeps pretty good tabs on who is working where.

As far as maintenance goes, we do get SOME preventative maintenance; oil changes, tires, etc.

But for anything major, the "drive it until it breaks" rule sums it up nicely.

Like the Detention transport unit I picked up today. Driving straight down the road, the steering wheel looks like you are turning right :eek:

HHHHmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[ICE35]

500 daily miles of interstate means:
set of tires each month,
set brakes every other month,
radiator flushed every four months,
transmission quarterly serviced.
oil changed twice each month...

We each have personal unit. They are
perfect in every way. Nothing goes un-checked. They all look like they came off the floor right now.

Except for the hoods where numerous excited suspects "fell..."

We are responsible for all service on our time. Go figure the time and it is depressing at best. But, to get in unit that is totally perfect that you KNOW is strong is very comforting. We basically wreck the car 100 times a day diving through medians and sliding through ditches.

Personal sacrifice yes, but from the moment I sit down and punch it, to the last call, my car is great!

SGT. Dave, I'm a ticket man and I don't EVER write those that tighten lugs on my car...You are the man!!!!

ICE35

[SpecOpsWarrior]

Our maintenance shop isnt to bad to deal with, they do good work when they actually do the work! It takes a while to get a car serviced but they usually try to work with us.

As far as the inmates go, they only have one inmate working out there and he mainly does the "manual labor" like clean up and stuff like that. For awhile they had one inmate out there that was an ASE certified mechanic and he was knocking out oil changes left and right, he was only in for non payment of child support so he was pretty well trusted.

[PartTimer]

Dang, I gotta post on this one!
Our "fleet" of cars consists of nothing newer than a 97, but the road dept just replaced their 3 yr old truck w/ a new $40k one. Every car has the following lites on the dashboard: service engine, check engine, abs and air bag. Our interior lites do work, the overheads short out every shift or so, and we drive on recycled slicks! I have yet to find a burrito, but the 30 bottles of Mountain Dew shoved under the seats has to make up for something! I don't think we change the oil in our cars, it eats about a quart a shift, so basically, everyday it gets a change!

[SGT Dave]

I’ve got it good here, I’ll admit. I was even cocky about it on the other thread, in a humorous way. But I’ve had it worse. At my 2nd department, (1996) I was given a 1988 Caprice with 160,000 miles on it, and it stunk, it overheated every shift, and had huge gaping holes in the carpet. The door handles almost didn’t work, and it was filthy (and not the kind of filth a bucket washed off.) One of the BIG rocker switches for the blue lights had went out, and they’d replaced it with a small one, that didn’t even come close to fitting the hole, and just laid there, hanging outside the switch box! At night (which coincidentally, was the shift I worked) you had to feel for it, hold it firmly with all the fingers and press it hard to get it to trip. I complained about it, and the cheesed**k chief blew up at me! “Oh, I guess you have to have the BEST!”

And this was the HIGH point of working for this now, NON-LE guy.

They finally fixed it, and OFTEN (3 times I can recall just off the top of my head) I would have someone in the car (writing a citation) and the engine would start “Ka-chunk…ka-chunk…ka-chunk….PLUNK!” And it would die. Several of the violators actually said “Dude-you need a new car!” That’s pretty embarrassing…

[PeteBroccolo]

You know, ladies, every time I come onto this forum, no matter what thread it is, I just have to shake my head and Thank God that I have it so good.

I was just telling the guys I work with, and the City Police members, last night about the kind of working conditions, equipment, pay and personnel problems you guys post on here and you know, we just can't believe it.

Vehicle maintenance horror stories are just ridiculous. This is DEFINITELY an area where any LEA would be dollars WAY, WAY ahead to spend money on regular, thorough maintenance on the rolling stock - increased longevity of service of the vehicle, higher resale value on disposal, greater safety for the public and the Peace Officers driving the units, lowering of liability regarding potential Police-vs-civilian crashes, improved morale for the working stiffs.

Talk about penny-wise and pound-foolish!

[JKT]

Pete, here's one for you:

A couple of months ago, one of my Sgts was involved in an accident. A young man ran a stop sign and Sarge broadsided him.

No injuries for either driver, but it destroyed the other car.

Air bag did NOT deploy.

The car had been wrecked previously and it was either not replaced at that time, or was not replaced properly. We can't seem to find out for sure which.

Talk about scary........

[shooter1201]

Interesting night....

First, when starting shift, checking the oil and such, I had to ADD 2 quarts of oil.

Then....my unit blew a head gasket....and there are NO spare units.

[slolightbar]

LOL... sounds like my truck... blew a headgasket the other day.. and it sucks. Anyway, I was downtown a couple of nights ago doing some shopping at like 2030 or so, and an officer drove by that I know and ride with every so often. He had been at the station looking for a unit and finally found one that wasnt deadlined. Since this was night shift, he had his headlights on, (or so he thought) I came up to him and gave him a hard time about doing surveillence... and he had no clue about what I was talking about - he had no headlights on. I told him and he had me look inside the car. The switch was on!!! :eek: :eek: He went out of service and drove back to the station with his alleys, takedowns, and front and rear flashers on so he wouldnt get hit :D Anyway, they had no more units that were deadlined and so he had to FIX THE DANG HEADLIGHTS HIMSELF AT THE YARD!!!!! - thats pretty sad.
Another one went a little like this: ( transmission over radio)

"42-10"
"42-10, go ahead"
"42-10, is unit 4207 availible?"
"Negative... deadlined for video"
"10, how about 4211?"
"Negative, deadlined for electrical"
"Hmmmm, how about 4215?"
"Uhhh... negative, deadlined for lightbar"
This went on with about 5 cars, until he said
"ok, last chance... how bout 4225?"
"(laughter) Negative - deadlined for radio... I saw those new 2 wheeled scooters being advertised on TV, I dont think we have any in yet.... sorry!" He was not too pleased. Just another day in the life of the PD!

[Don]

Good Grief Matt,

Considering the department you are talking about I am flatly amazed! I always thought they pretty much had their stuff together! And to think that at one time I almost tried to get on there! :eek:

I've seen departments go from good to bad, and from absolutely horrible to excellent equipment. My last agency, when I first started bought some of their vehicles from Hertz or Avis (yes, I am serious) The idea of one man/one car was so far out of line it was pitiful. ALL the special units (read that 4X4, ID vehicles etc) came from drug seizures! At one point, we had a narc driving a pink Caddy convertible and this in a small town. . .

By the time I retired, it was one man one car, except in residence posts where there was often an extra unit in case one broke down. And the units were ones that were purchased new through state purchasing.

Maintenance on the other hand could be a nightmare. We contracted out to local garages. Many times, I had to take a unit into a Las Vegas dealership to get work done on it.

One time I was out in the desert and got crossways of some grease wood. Punctured two tires. Had to get a tow to take the car to the local county road department yard. Then some bright boy at the county seat decided that they should send tires out from there, a distance of 180 miles. Then I had to take the bad tires and wheels off the car, take them and the new tires on a sixty mile round trip to be mounted. Then had to put the new tires on the car.

By the time they were done paying the overtime on all this fooling around, they could have just had the tow truck take the car to the tire shop and buy the damn tires there. Oh well, you don't have to be smart to be an administrator. . .

[ 12-06-2001: Message edited by: Don ]

[slolightbar]

Don, I didnt know you tried to get on here? Thats cool... how long ago was that? Oh wait... nevermind, probably cant count that high anyway :D :D Anyway, this is defineatly not the norm for here. The officers are awesome, the brass is great, the city council is fairly pro-police, and the chief is a great guy too. They have a large fleet of well maintained cars (well - mostly ;) ) and all are newer than 1998 I beleive, with some 2002 UC and marked units... they are doing well. We have a fire guy that does a lot of the radio stuff and works on the engines and marked units. the PD also has a couple of FST/CSI guys that work on units.

Last nite was a busy one though. A 10851 vehicle pursuit (never got em :mad: :mad: ) and straight from there a hoime envasion in progress. Turns out the BG handcuffed the victims with some weird handcuffs and then zapped em with a stun gun 20 times. Had to call out fire to cut off the cuffs :rolleyes: Two Code 3 calls in a night! That is unheard of for this PD. Catcha later.

[JKT]

Originally posted by Don:
<STRONG>.... The idea of one man/one car was so far out of line it was pitiful. ALL the special units (read that 4X4, ID vehicles etc) came from drug seizures! At one point, we had a narc driving a pink Caddy convertible and this in a small town......</STRONG>

I feel your PAIN, Don. At one point in time, our Detention Medical Transport vehicle (to take inmate to doctors appointments) was a seized vehicle. A 1978 Mercury Marquis to be exact. The "brown boat", as we called it, was either in the shop or in the act of breaking down 90% of the time.

On a GOOD day, we would get about 1/3 of the way to the clinic and it would break down. Usually something in the electrical system, and usually in the middle of a major intersection.

We used that car for 4 years.

Currently, we have a 96 CV (with 193K) and a 98 CV (with 120K) and a 1983 Chevy Van (with 135K and worn out).

Still doesn't sound too good, but it's a lot better than is used to be.

[DMS 525]

More often than not, the quickest way I could get something fixed or replaced on a patrol unit was to fix the (deleted expletives) thing myself! I've replaced more blown fuses, burned out lights, belts, hoses, bad tires, and you name it, as well as repaired broken doors, seats, rearview mirrors, etc.
Sometimes I had to spend a few bucks out of my own pocket, but for the sake of my own safety and peace of mind, it was well worth it.

Patrol cars would last much longer if they were regularly maintained, not needlessly abused, and drivers checked them religiously.

It only takes a few minutes to check those fluids and tires, and make the needed corrections.

[shooter1201]

IF the mayor ALLOWED me to take my unit home(I live outside the county...by 1/4 mile), it WOULD stay in better shape, but.....

My department has ALSO screwed up, in that we USED to have 3 spare cars, but NOW, we only have 1, what with hiring 3 new guys and selling one BAD unit at auction.

I STILL don't know where 'all the oil is going'.....it's gone through 7 quarts in the past 2 weeks.

[Press Hard]

I found out today I may loose my Impala and get a new CV, along with a new car partner. Doesn't matter either way, both are 2001.

[Summer Rain]

Originally posted by PartTimer:
<STRONG>Dang, I gotta post on this one!
Our "fleet" of cars consists of nothing newer than a 97, but the road dept just replaced their 3 yr old truck w/ a new $40k one. Every car has the following lites on the dashboard: service engine, check engine, abs and air bag. Our interior lites do work, the overheads short out every shift or so, and we drive on recycled slicks! I have yet to find a burrito, but the 30 bottles of Mountain Dew shoved under the seats has to make up for something! I don't think we change the oil in our cars, it eats about a quart a shift, so basically, everyday it gets a change!</STRONG>

PartTimer... You sure we don't work for the same dept.??! This is the exact same scenario as the PD I work for - from putting 2 quarts of oil in the car every day down to the road crew getting a brand spanking new truck to replace a young one. It kills me everytime I take the Crown Vic out and write my mileage "150,000+" dang! A couple of nights I had to patrol with a headlight out! :rolleyes: We don't have spare bulbs so I couldn't replace it. We're getting a 2002 Impala in January though, I just hope the cheif mandates "No Smoking" I have a headache the entire shift when I take the Crown Vic from the leftover cig. smell! And our Jeep is so cramped I don't usually drive that. My chief drives an OLD Chevy caprice,1987!! (not exaggerating) I had the pleasure of using his car one night when 3 of us were on and I was on park patrol for a Halloween party. It was funny as heck, the seat was broken so I couldn't adjust it. It was all the way back (keep in mind I'm 5'1") so I had to sit up and put my hand behind my back to keep from sliding too far back in the seat to reach the pedals. :D It was hilarious!

[ 12-10-2001: Message edited by: Summer Rain ]

[Summer Rain]

(I goofed!)

[ 12-10-2001: Message edited by: Summer Rain ]

[jpa]

My "assigned car" is a 95 crown vic with 180k on the odometer, last oil change sticker in the windshield is from about 10k miles ago, armrest is separated from the door, the radio cuts in and out, the spring on the key is stuck so it will just key up randomly when it falls and the siren is so old it doesn't have an air horn. I start it up at the start of the shift and LET IT RUN for about 20 mins with the AC/heat on full and windows down to blow all the crap out of the air system. Then I have to go back to the industrial park and give it some gas to blow out some carbons since it sits so long. Horrible piece of machinery, would be much nicer if they gave me the keys for one of the former full-time guys cars. That car only has about 70K on it.

[Press Hard]

Well, found out today that I'm going to lose my Impala. We are starting a Highway Interdiction Unit, and I'm getting a 2001 unmarked CV. Can't wait...

[PartTimer]

I like it when the seats are stuck in one position. So you were riding in the "homie" position?