Mount Dora police gets carbon monoxide testing on Ford Explorers

MOUNT DORA, Fla. — A local police department is taking action following reports of dangerous carbon monoxide leaking inside Ford Explorer police SUVs.

Last month, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office began installing carbon monoxide detectors in its Ford Explorers after an officer in Austin reported feeling lightheaded and lost control of the vehicle.

Channel 9 viewers who saw the report said they thought they were experiencing the symptoms in their civilian models.

Reporter Field Sutton took a Ford Explorer to a mechanic to explain the warning signs and the repairs that would keep drivers safe.

Sutton found out that the Mount Dora Police Department is sending its Explorers to a shop in Tampa--one at a time--to be inspected.

The inspections began after an officer raised a red flag serious enough to convince the city to take the SUV off the streets for testing.

City leaders have not yet said whether the officer with concerns got sick in a patrol car, and whether he or she believes carbon monoxide was to blame.

If so, it would be the first case in Central Florida.

Emails obtained by 9 Investigates show the confusion as officers grappled with whether to sideline the SUVs briefly by sending them to a dealership which would have been able to do the testing, or to a so-called industrial hygienist.

In the end, every Explorer took a trip to Temple Terrace and will soon be back on the streets of Mount Dora.

With complaints about civilian and police Explorers with exhaust in the cabin now topping 3,000 nationwide, the city may have had no choice.

The city said says its SUVs got a clean bill of health.

Read: More come forward with claims Ford Explorers leak carbon monoxide in vehicle

Cox Media Group