2010 Blue Bird All American School Bus Recall

On certain school buses equipped with a Ricon wheelchair lift, the lift platform sides may crack, which could cause the lift to lean against the vehicle door(s) and potentially fall out of the vehicle when the doors are opened, putting the lift operator at risk of injury. Correction: Ricon Corporation repair facilities will inspect lift platforms, link arms and bearings for cracks, damage or misalignment and if found to be damaged, link arms and/or platform will be replaced. Note: This recall supersedes recall 2014-360. Vehicles repaired under the previous recall will require re-inspection and potential repair.

A failure of this component (accessories) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain school buses, the exhaust system hanger may fail, possibly causing damage to the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) housings. Should this occur, the housings could separate and become a road hazard, posing a risk to motorists and bystanders. Correction: Dealers will provide new bolted hanger assemblies and support cables.

A failure of this component (engine) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain school buses equipped with a Ricon wheelchair lift, the lift platform sides may crack, which could cause the lift to lean against the vehicle door(s) and potentially fall out of the vehicle when the doors are opened, putting the lift operator at risk of injury. Correction: Ricon Corporation repair facilities will inspect lift platforms for cracks and repair as necessary, and install a repair kit. Note: This recall is superseded by recall 2015522. Please see recall 2015522 for more information: Click here for more information

A failure of this component (other) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

Certain school buses may not comply with the requirements of Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 221 - School Bus Body Joint Strength. Adhesive required to meet the requirements of the standard may have been omitted from window body panel joints on vehicles equipped with optional transit-style sliding windows. This could increase the risk of injury to occupants in a crash. Correction: Dealers will install additional rivets to increase joint strength.

A failure of this component (structure) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

Certain school buses fail to comply with the requirements of Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 301 – Fuel System Integrity. Testing showed that the fuel return line could rupture following a vehicle crash, resulting in fuel spillage in excess of the allowable limit defined by the Standard. Fuel leakage, in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire causing property damage and/or personal injury. Correction: Dealers will install a protective loom onto the fuel lines.

A failure of this component (other) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain school buses equipped with a Cummins ISB-02, ISB-07 or ISB-10 engine, an incorrect combination of hardware was installed on the bolt that secures the starter cable retaining clamp to the bracket at the front of the engine above the cooling fan. Over time, the serrated nut may back off allowing the starter cable to fall and contact the fan hub while in operation. If the starter cable contacts the fan hub while the fan is in operation, the cable covering may abrade, which could result in a direct short and a vehicle fire. Correction: Dealers will replace the flat washer and serrated lock nut.

A failure of this component (electrical) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain buses, the driver's seat shock damper may break allowing the driver's seat to unexpectedly drop to the floor without warning. In the event this situation should occur while the bus is in operation, the driver may lose control of the vehicle, possibly resulting in a crash causing property damage or personal injury to occupants of passengers or pedestrians. Correction: Dealers will replace the seat shock if necessary.

A failure of this component (seats and restraints) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain school buses equipped with a Caterpillar C7 diesel engine, the number 5 and 6 fuel lines may crack at the fastening point to the common fuel rail, causing a high pressure fuel leak. Fuel leakage, in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire causing property damage and/or personal injury. Correction: Dealers will replace the affected fuel lines.

A failure of this component (fuel system) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain D3 All American school buses, the weld around the steering shaft tube, which joins the splined tube to the non-splined intermediate tube, may be mislocated. An improperly located weld bead may allow the splined tube and non-splined tube to rotate relative one another during a low speed, high torque turn, resulting in a possible separation of the tubes. This could cause a loss of steering control which could result in a crash causing property damage and/or personal injury. Correction: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the steering shaft.

A failure of this component (steering) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain D3 All American and Vision school buses, the cruise control system may not deactivate when the brake pedal is applied. This could result in a crash causing property damage, personal injury or death. Correction: Dealers will install a "failsafe" wiring circuit in the cruise control system.

A failure of this component (accessories) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain school buses equipped with a Ricon F9 series cassette wheelchair lift, an improperly manufactured switch in the wheelchair lift restraint buckle may allow operation of the lift with the safety belt not fully latched. If the belt is not properly fastened, a wheelchair may not be adequately protected against unwanted movement, resulting a fall risk, potentially causing serious injury or death. Correction: The manufacturer will provide instructional information and warning decals.

A failure of this component (other) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain school buses, the Ricon lift for public use "model-L" Series S K may be defective. These lifts are designed to rise and stop automatically at the vehicle floor level as the operator presses the "UP" button. However, if the operator releases the "UP" button before the lift has stopped by itself, the elevator may continue to rise and eventually store itself which can tilt the platform prematurely. This could cause personal injury to a person riding on the platform. Correction: New software will be provided and installed.

A failure of this component (other) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain school buses, the wiring harness for the rear tag light may be of insufficient length, resulting in the harness being routed improperly and exposing the connector to the environment. This situation could cause the connector to corrode and create a direct short in the tag light circuit. A short in the tag light wiring circuit, which includes the headlight low beam circuit, could cause sudden loss of headlights while the vehicle is in operation, and could impair the driver's vision resulting in a crash causing property damage, personal injury or death. Correction: Dealers will modify the tag light wiring connector to prevent corrosion at the connector.

A failure of this component (lights and instruments) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain school buses, adhesive was inadvertently omitted on the interior rear bulkhead panels. As a result, the bulkhead panels may not comply with CMVSS 221 - School Bus Body Joint Strength. In the event of crash, occupant safety may be affected. Correction: Panels will be removed, adhesive applied and reinstalled.

A failure of this component (structure) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain school buses, the battery cables may have been improperly routed and may get pinched between the front bottom of the battery compartment box and the exhaust muffler mounting bracket. This situation could cause an electrical short and result in a vehicle fire causing property damage or personal injury. Correction: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, reroute the battery cables.

A failure of this component (electrical) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain school buses, adhesive for the inside panels adjacent to the rear center emergency door was inadvertently omitted from the joints. Without the required adhesive, in the event of a crash there is an increased risk of personal injury or death to the bus occupants. Correction: Dealers will removed affected panels, adhesive will be applied and panels re-installed.

A failure of this component (other) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).

On certain school buses, incorrect offset leg barrier pads or a 2/3 seat back pads may have been installed during vehicle asembly. In case of a crash, the safety of the occupants may be affected and could result in personal injury. Correction: Owners will be notified to inspect vehicles to determine if incorrect pads were installed. Replacement pads will be provided for those equipped with incorrect pads.

A failure of this component (seats and restraints) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).