What’s New for the 2017 Ford Police Interceptor Program
Written by Brad Brewer
The best-selling police vehicle in America is the
Ford Police Interceptor Utility. Ford is also the number-one make of police vehicles. When both the PI Utility and the PI Sedan are taken together, Ford has 60 percent of the police vehicle market.
Armor Piercing Rifle Protection
The Ford Police Program Team continues to make the Police Interceptor platform even better. While maintaining continuous dialogue from its law enforcement customers along with the expertise of Ford’s own Police Advisory Board, the Police Interceptor Utility and Sedan are again leaders with advancements in ballistic protection.
Recent events have shown that law enforcement is faced with a continued and increasing rifle threat that Ford is taking very seriously. Along with this threat is the increased frequency of Armor Piercing rounds being encountered by all levels of law enforcement. Specifically, Armor Piercing rounds have been found during police raids.
New for 2017 is the option of an OE-installed ballistic protection rated at Threat Level IV. TL-III is rifle-rated, i.e., softpoints and FMJ bullets. TL-IV is Armor Piercing rifle-rated, i.e., steel core bullets. This is available now for installation through the Chicago Modification Center (CMC). The installation includes one additional bracket more than TL-III armor to handle the additional panel weight.
The threat level rating is labelled as Threat Level IV+. The “+” means it meets NIJ standards for TL-IV (7.62 NATO AP) ‘plus’ it meets other international standards for rifle AP ammo that are more stringent than U.S. standards.
Ford realized that many agencies have large fleets with older Police Interceptors still in the field, so this new protection is retrofitable to all 2013 and newer Police Interceptor Sedans and Utilities. The service life of the new ballistic protection panels is six years, so even if the older vehicle is taken out of service, the panels can be removed and installed in newer vehicle.
Ballistic protection used to be something that was nice to have but today’s front-line officers are faced increasingly with greater threats, which in turn has increased the order/take rate on ballistic panels to 10 percent, for both driver and passenger doors on the Police Interceptor Sedan and Utility.
PI Sedan Slimline B-pillar
The Police Interceptor Sedan entry/exit has been greatly improved with a new B-pillar trim update. Completed Job 1 on 2016MY the PI Sedan B-pillar trim, on both passenger and driver side, has been reduced in size with some very clever ‘scalloping’ of the plastic trim.
Again, another update directly from front-line officer feedback, this improvement will make it easier to enter and exit for larger officers. It will also make more shoulder room for taller officers. To ensure agencies with the older Police Interceptor Sedans are not left out this update is retrofitable back to the 2013 Police Interceptor Sedan. Parts for both passenger and driver B-pillar are available now through Ford Service/Parts.
PI Utility Headliner Lights
Only a block from the Chicago Assembly Plant, Ford has its own upfit engineering and installation center called ‘Chicago Modification Center’ (CMC). The CMC, run by Troy Design and Manufacturing (TDM), continues the development of a one-stop, turnkey Interceptor Utility and Sedan. For 2017 Job1 Ford is offering through its TDM factory a new Front Visor/Headliner Lights on PI Utility.
This new emergency lighting solution is fully integrated into headliner at the windshield and the headliner is not modified in any way. One of the advantages of this OE light over the aftermarket lights is its extreme low-profile, at just 1.7 inches thick. Where it is mounted, this headliner light does not obstruct any more of the windshield than the non-deployed sun visors. This is a huge difference for taller officers where thicker aftermarket headliner lights may cause visibility issues.
The OEM installation allows for ease of removal during decommissioning, and is also retrofitable back to the 2013 Utility. The front electrical connection for the front visor lighttake-out is located on a shared bracket as the passenger-side spot lamp takeout, above the glove box. Serviceability is also improved as either the right or left side can be replaced should one burn out, the entire unit doesn’t need replacement for quicker turnaround and less downtime. The installation of this new lighting solution will be included in the Police Interceptor Modifier’s Guide.
This new lighting package is California Title 13 compliant and can be ordered in red, blue, amber, take-down white, and scene white. The lighting can be auto-dimmed from 5 percent to 90 percent and is fully programmable. This new OE solution gives agencies a cost-effective option to use the Utility as a slick top or as supplemental lighting to rooftop lightbar. The MSRP for this factory-installed, factory-warrantied front headliner light is $1,115.
PI Utility Power Distribution
Several new technology and electrical updates will also make the upfitter’s job much easier on the 2017 Police Interceptor Utility. Of the most importance is the relocated Power Distribution Lug on PI Utility. Implemented on PI Utility in December 2015, the power block has been moved ‘from’ the old location at the rear passenger-side cargo panel ‘to’ behind the second-row passenger side floorboard, under the flip board. This benefits the upfitters since now prisoner partitions and second-row seat K9 inserts do not intrude on this new, more central location.
Police Engine Idle
One of the most anticipated factory installed updates for 2017 is the new Police Engine Idle feature. This feature was only previously available with an aftermarket solution such as the InterMotive Police Interface Module (PIM).
Now that functionality comes with the OE warranty and OE integration. Anyone who has upfitted a police vehicle in the last few years can appreciate the level of sophistication involved when adding aftermarket electrical components to a modern vehicle. Now having the Police Engine Idle feature factory-installed takes away that extra complexity.
The OE Police Engine Idle feature enables secure engine idle mode after the key is removed. With the vehicle running and the transmission in PARK (P), the operator just presses the button on the instrument panel, and a telltale on the cluster will illuminate to confirm the system is active. Switch the ignition key to the OFF position and remove the key. Just like the previous aftermarket system, the vehicle shuts down if unauthorized use is detected.
This feature also takes into account when the power windows are disabled and windows will remain in their last known state prior to activating the feature. The Utility liftgate or Sedan keyed luggage compartment (trunk) does not open, but may be opened via key blade or deck lid button on FOB or 45-second liftgate button on Utility FOB.
If the vehicle is set up for ‘Hot at All Times’ and the PI Sedan luggage compartment release feature is ordered, the luggage compartment may still be opened via interior switch on instrument panel or overhead console switch when Police Engine Idle is active.
The Police Engine Idle feature may be disabled by either inserting the key and rotating the ignition to the run position, or pressing the button on the instrument panel, which turns the engine. The development and execution was approved by Michigan State Police as meeting their bid requirement. The PI Sedan and PI Utility both follow exact same design execution for agencies with mixed fleets. The MSRP for the Police Idle is $260, again factory warranty and factory installed.
Global Lock/Unlock
After the introduction of the 45-second timeout liftgate unlock feature in 2016, Ford engineers received feedback from the front lines that fine tuning of this feature was still required. Working with its Police Advisory Board, Ford Police Program Engineers introduced the retail feature called Global Lock/Unlock. This is essentially the re-introduction of previous liftgate locking software, without the 45-second lock time-out feature.
With the newly optional Global Lock/Unlock liftgate, the unlock membrane is tied to the trim panel lock/unlock switch and lock/unlock FOB buttons and modified to offer more flexibility especially for Fire/Rescue agencies who do not require the 45-second liftgate unlock. It should be noted that when tied to remote keyless entry, PANIC FOBs will be provided and any pre-16MY and Sedan FOBs cannot be used on 16MY+ Police Interceptor Utilities. Only four FOBs can be associated to each 16MY+ Police Interceptor Utility; and the Police Interceptor Sedan FOBs cannot be used on the Police Interceptor Utility.
Dark Car–Silent Mode
Anyone running a 2016 Police Interceptor with daytime running lights (DRL) can relate to the issues with shutting those DRLs off. Changes to the electrical architecture of the 2016 model year didn’t allow for the DRLs to be shut off, causing operational policing issues. Ford heard the concerns of the front-line officers and for 2017 have implemented a very slick solution.
Now called Dark Car and Silent Mode, this new setup takes into account the unique federal regulatory differences between Canada and the U.S. Dark Car is a part of Silent Mode, allowing for the DRLs to be shut off.
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Published in Police Fleet Manager, Jul/Aug 2016
