2003 BLUE BIRD ALL AMERICAN Recalls (11)

Campaign:
02V217000 on 08/13/2002
Component:
Electrical system:wiring
Manufactured:
06/04/2001 - 07/10/2002
Affected:
255
Defect:
On certain rear engine school and transit buses equipped with cummins isb engines, the wiring harness to the combustion air intake grid heater could chafe against engine components.
Consequence:
The harness can wear through causing an electrical short in the grid heater power supply, increasing the risk of a fire.
Correction:
Owners will be contacted and advised to add a bracket to support the harness away from the engine components. blue bird will provide a replacement harness for any harnesses found abraded and will reimburse the customer for the labor required to replace the harness. owner notification is expected to begin on or about september 29, 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 1-478-822-2242.
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:
02V302000 on 11/18/2002
Component:
Service brakes, hydraulic:foundation components:hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
Manufactured:
12/16/2001 - 10/27/2002
Affected:
485
Defect:
On certain front engine school and transit buses equipped with hydraulic brakes, the rear hydraulic brake hose could contact the frame rail and abrade, allowing brake fluid leakage.
Consequence:
If this occurs, vehicle braking could be affected, increasing the risk of a crash.
Correction:
Dealers will inspect the rear brake hose to frame rail clearance and reposition the brake hose clamps at the axle to ensure adequate clearance. any chafed brake hoses will be replaced. owner notification began december 12, 2002. owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer and 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:
03V362000 on 10/07/2003
Component:
Seat belts:front:anchorage
Manufactured:
09/30/2002 - 08/15/2003
Affected:
233
Defect:
On certain rear engine (a3re) school buses, the type and location of the fasteners used to retain the seat belt in the last row of seats does not conform to blue bird engineering specifications.
Consequence:
This installation may not adequately retain seat belts in the event of a severe crash.
Correction:
Blue bird will provide its distributors and owners the parts and instructions to install the correct fasteners free of charge. owner notification is expected to begin november 20, 2003. owners who do not receive the parts and installation instructions within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.
Notes:
Blue bird recall no. r03hc.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:
03V363000 on 10/22/2003
Component:
Structure:body
Manufactured:
10/01/1998 - 08/21/2003
Affected:
8,088
Defect:
Certain school buses fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 221, "school bus body joint strength." one or more of the bolts attaching the driver's platform to the floor structure was omitted.
Consequence:
The rear of the driver's platform may not be properly retained in the event of a crash which could increase the risk of injury or death to passengers.
Correction:
Blue bird will notify its customers and inspect and repair the affected units. owner notification began on november 20, 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 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:
05V074000 on 03/06/2005
Component:
Engine and engine cooling
Manufactured:
12/20/2002 - 02/24/2005
Affected:
416
Defect:
Certain 2002-2006 my blue bird all american school and transit buses, conventional school buses, and commercial series transit buses manufactured between december 21, 2002, and february 24, 2005. these buses are equipped with webasto coolant heaters, model dbw 2010, assembled with webasto burner tubes, p/n 303046/26533a manufactured between november 2002 and february 2005. the stainless steel burner tube is made out of a material that is not to specification and could fail prematurely.
Consequence:
Should the burner tube fail, the coolant heater could overheat, possibly resulting in a fire.
Correction:
Blue bird will notify its customers and replace the burner tubes free of charge. the recall began on march 31, 2005. owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.
Notes:
Free of charge.the recall began on march 7, 2005.owners may contact pro air at 574-970-0744.
Campaign:
05V152000 on 04/14/2005
Component:
Vehicle speed control
Affected:
486
Defect:
Certain 2001 through 2005 all american, commercial series, and q-bus school and transit buses equipped with john deere 8.1 cng engines. the subject buses equipped with the john deere engines may surge inappropriately due to erractic operation of the air throttle if the engine is taken from full to zero load.
Consequence:
Unexpected engine surge could result in a vehicle crash, possibly resulting in personal injury.
Correction:
John deere will notify blue bird's customers and repair the engines free of charge. customers are being instructed to contact john deere at 1-800-jd-engine.
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:
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:
05V382000 on 08/30/2005
Component:
Electrical system:battery
Manufactured:
01/08/2001 - 06/17/2005
Affected:
5,863
Defect:
Certain 2001 through 2006 my blue bird all american, tc2000, and vision transit school buses manufactured between january 5, 2001, and july 15, 2005. these buses are equipped with a battery disconnect switch that has connections that may be loose on the battery switch studs creating the potential for the bus to shut down while in operation.
Consequence:
Should the bus shut down while in operation, a vehicle crash could occur.
Correction:
Blue bird will notify its owners and instruct them on how to repair the switch. the recall began on october 19 , 2005. owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.
Notes:
Blue bird recall no. r05ka.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.
Campaign:
09V205000 on 06/08/2009
Component:
Electrical system:ignition
Manufactured:
07/15/2003 - 04/09/2009
Affected:
2,203
Defect:
Blue bird is recalling 2,203 model year 2003 through 2010 all american rear engine school buses equipped with optional plug style vandal locks manufactured from july 16, 2003 through april 10, 2009. the plug style vandal lock is not wired to inhibit the starter at the ignition switch when the vandal lock is in the locked position. these buses fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 217, "bus emergency exits and window retention and release."
Consequence:
The vehicles can be started and driven even when an owner may think they cannot.
Correction:
Blue bird will notify owners and repair the buses free of charge. the safety recall began on june 25, 2009. owner may contact blue bird at 1-478-422-2242.
Notes:
Blue bird's recall campaign no. r09pe.owners 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 <a href=http://www.safercar.gov>http://www.safercar.gov</a> .

2003 BLUE BIRD ALL AMERICAN TSBs (5)

Bulletin:
SB-S0701
Component:
061200 engine and engine cooling:engine:diesel
Summary:
Blue bird bus: re-issue service update engine coolants. the cooling system on the buses be properly maintained and monitored to insure proper operation of your cooling system. *pe
Bulletin:
SU-S-0706
Component:
220000 seats
Summary:
Blue bird: information is being provided regarding maintenance for vehicles equipped with aluminum seat floor tracks. *pe
Bulletin:
SB-S-70-LJ
Component:
062100 engine and engine cooling:cooling system:radiator assembly
Summary:
Blue bird: see document search button for owner letter. information on excessive cycling of engine cooling fan and shutter and how to install thermo switches for cooling system and charge air system. *pe
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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