2002 BLUE BIRD CONVENTIONAL Recalls (7)

Campaign:
02V155000 on 06/12/2002
Component:
Seats
Manufactured:
07/24/2001 - 03/28/2002
Affected:
39
Defect:
Certain school buses equipped with optional high back seats with 9" split sash, pushout windows fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 217, "bus emergency exits and window retention and release." the affected units have seats located incorrectly with respect to the pushout window openings.
Consequence:
In the event of an emergency, an occupant may not be able to properly exit the vehicle.
Correction:
Dealers will relocate the seats and pushout windows. owner notification began july 24, 2002. owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-478-825-2021.
Notes:
Customers can also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-dash-2-dot (1-888-327-4236).
Campaign:
02V160002 on 09/04/2002
Component:
Seat belts:front:retractor
Manufactured:
05/12/2000 - 06/24/2002
Affected:
58
Defect:
On certain school and transit buses equipped with passenger seat belts with retractors, the cover halves for the retractable portion of the belt can separate completely and release the seat belt connector. if this occurs, one of the load bearing pins in the connector could separate from the connector and render the seat belt unusable. in the event of a crash, the seat occupant would not be properly restrained resulting in an injury. the seat belt supplier, am-safe, will provide a snap on "over-cover" to owners to prevent the seat belt cover from separating.
Consequence:
if this occurs, one of the load bearing pins in the connector could separate from the connector and render the seat belt unusable. in the event of a crash, the seat occupant would not be properly restrained resulting in an injury.
Correction:
Owners will be provided a snap-on "over-cover" to prevent the seat belt cover from separating. owner notification is expected to begin on or about september 27, 2002. owners who do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.
Notes:
Also, customers can contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-dash-2-dot (1-888-327-4236).
Campaign:
03V364000 on 10/09/2003
Component:
Seats
Manufactured:
08/02/2000 - 08/25/2003
Affected:
3,825
Defect:
On certain school buses equipped with optional seat belts or seat belt "ready" seats, some belts were installed with only two bolts rather than the required three (3) bolts.
Consequence:
These seats could detach from the wall side attachment points in the event of a vehicle crash, increasing the risk of injury to the seat occupant.
Correction:
Blue bird will furnish to distributors and owners, parts and instructions necessary to install the missing bolt free of charge. owner notification is expected to on november 3, 2003. owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.
Notes:
Blue bird recall no. r03hb.also, customers can contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-dash-2-dot (1-888-327-4236).
Campaign:
04V426000 on 08/30/2004
Component:
Equipment adaptive
Manufactured:
03/27/2001 - 08/12/2004
Affected:
372
Defect:
Certain blue bird 1999-2005 all american, tc/2000, micro bird, vision, conventional, and commercial series school buses equipped with sure-loc wheelchair securement systems and manufactured between february 17, 1999, and august 13, 2004. certain sure-lok wheelchair tie-down securement assemblies p/n 8625-13. the sprocket teeth of the retractor assembly may be out of alignment causing the load pawl not to fully seat in the sprocket teeth.
Consequence:
In the event of a vehicle crash, the wheelchair may not be adequately secured possibly resulting in injuries.
Correction:
Blue bird will notify its customers and replace the defective part free of charge. the recall began september 21, 2004. owners who take their buses to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact at blue bird at 478-822-2242.
Notes:
Also, customers can contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-dash-2-dot (1-888-327-4236).
Campaign:
05V239000 on 05/25/2005
Component:
Other:school bus stop arm assembly
Affected:
8,894
Defect:
Certain school buses originally sold in or currently registered in the following states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, montana, nebraska, nevada, new hampshire, new jersey, new mexico, new york, north dakota, ohio, oregon, pennsylvania, rhode island, south dakota, tennessee, utah, vermont, virginia, washington, west virginia, wisconsin, wyoming, and the district of columbia. in extremely cold weather, the microswitches used internally to position the stop arm sign in the open and closed positions may malfunction, causing the sign to open or close in an improper position, or to not open at all.
Consequence:
Should the stop arm not perform properly, a child or pedestrian may be endangered by passing vehicles should the motorist not stop at the correct location.
Correction:
Blue bird will notify its customers and replace the original switch with a switch pack that is not sensitive to extreme cold weather and will inspect to ensure the microswitch heater wiring is properly connected free of charge. the recall began on august 12, 2005. owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.
Notes:
Customers may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.
Campaign:
05V251000 on 06/05/2005
Component:
Other:school bus stop arm assembly
Affected:
3,121
Defect:
Certain blue bird 2002 through 2006 my all american, conventional, minibird, microbird, vision, and tc2000 school buses originally sold in or currently registered in states other than the following states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, montana, nebraska, nevada, new hampshire, new jersey, new mexico, new york, north dakota, ohio, oregon, pennsylvania, rhode island, south dakota, tennessee, utah, vermont, virginia, washington, west virginia, wisconsin, wyoming, and the district of columbia. in extremely cold weather, the microswitches used internally to position the sign in the open and closed positions may malfunction, causing the sign to open or close in an improper position, or to not open at all.
Consequence:
Should the stop arm not perform properly, a child or pedestrian may be endangered by passing motorists should the motorist not stop at the correct location.
Correction:
Blue bird will notify all its customers of this campaign. for those buses operated in or near any of the states listed above, blue bird is encouraging the bus owners to obtain the replacement switch. for those buses operated in the warmer states, blue bird will replace the switch upon owner request. for those customers who request the remedy, blue bird will replace the original switch with a switch pack that is not sensitive to extreme cold weather and will inspect to ensure the microswitch heater wiring is properly connected. the safety improvement campaign began on august 12, 2005. owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.
Notes:
Blue bird campaign no. r05jw.this action is deemed a safety improvement campaign and is not being conducted under the safety act.customers can contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236.
Campaign:
08V287000 on 06/30/2008
Component:
Seats
Manufactured:
04/18/2001 - 10/21/2001
Affected:
126
Defect:
Blue bird is recalling 126 my 2001 and 2002 conventional school buses manufactured between april 19 and october 21, 2001, equipped with optional flip-up seat bottom cushions. the seat bottom cushion rear retaining clips may have been omitted which fails to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 222, "seat cushion retention."
Consequence:
In the event of a crash, the seat cushion may flip up exposing the occupants to increased risk of injury.
Correction:
Blue bird will notify owners and provide a remedy free of charge. the recall began on july 10, 2008. owners may contact blue bird at 478-422-2242.
Notes:
Blue bird recall no. r08ne.customers may contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty: 1-800-424-9153); or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

2002 BLUE BIRD CONVENTIONAL TSBs (2)

Bulletin:
SM1601
Component:
355200 equipment:other:owners/service/other manual
Summary:
Blue bird troubleshooting guides: blue bird announcement of the addition of troubleshooting guides for assisting in the service of the blue bird products. these troubleshooting guides are available on the vantage website.
Bulletin:
SM1608
Component:
355200 equipment:other:owners/service/other manual
Summary:
New blue bird support center - technical bus support: dealer memo to announce the new on-line blue bird support center for technical bus support requests.

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