Main frame rails cracking. Found by michigan state police inspector. Bus is red tagged and rendered unusuable.
The worst 2003 Blue Bird All American problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
- Body1
- Fuel system1
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Body1
- Fuel system1
Recalls 11
Electrical system: ignition
- What is wrong
- 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."
- Risk
- The vehicles can be started and driven even when an owner may think they cannot.
- Remedy
- 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.
Recall number 09V205000 · Recall details
Electrical system: 12v/24v/48v battery
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- Should the bus shut down while in operation, a vehicle crash could occur.
- Remedy
- 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.
Recall number 05V382000 · Recall details
Other: school bus stop arm assembly
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- 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.
- Remedy
- 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.
Recall number 05V239000 · Recall details
Other: school bus stop arm assembly
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- 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.
- Remedy
- 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.
Recall number 05V251000 · Recall details
Vehicle speed control
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- Unexpected engine surge could result in a vehicle crash, possibly resulting in personal injury.
- Remedy
- 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.
Recall number 05V152000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- Should the burner tube fail, the coolant heater could overheat, possibly resulting in a fire.
- Remedy
- 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.
Recall number 05V074000 · Recall details
Seat belts: front: anchorage
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- This installation may not adequately retain seat belts in the event of a severe crash.
- Remedy
- 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.
Recall number 03V362000 · Recall details
Structure: body
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- 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.
- Remedy
- 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.
Recall number 03V363000 · Recall details
Seats
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- 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.
- Remedy
- 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.
Recall number 03V364000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- If this occurs, vehicle braking could be affected, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- 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.
Recall number 02V302000 · Recall details
Electrical system: wiring
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- The harness can wear through causing an electrical short in the grid heater power supply, increasing the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- 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.
Recall number 02V217000 · Recall details
See all 11 recalls for the 2003 Blue Bird All American
Defect investigations
School bus stalls
This investigation was opened after odi received a complaint from a school bus fleet reporting that three separate buses had stalled unexpectedly while they were loaded with children.reportedly, each time the failure occurred the master battery shut-off switch was identified as being defective.odi opened this investigation to gather specific information and details into these allegations.as a result of odi?s investigation, blue bird has agreed to initate a safety recall to replace the standard nut on the 10/32 stud with a locking nut, check for proper wiring installation , and reposition the wires so that they do not stress the stud.a copy of the recall is attached.blue bird's action resolves the issues raised by this investigation and therefore, this investigation is closed.
PE05028
Technical service bulletins for the 2003 Blue Bird All American 6
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- SM1905
- New Blue Bird Support Center
- Blue Bird Troubleshooting Guides: Blue Bird announcement of the addition of troubleshooting guides for...
- Blue bird: information is being provided regarding maintenance for vehicles equipped with aluminum seat...
- Blue bird bus: re-issue service update engine coolants
- Blue bird: information on excessive cycling of engine cooling fan and shutter and how to install thermo...
What 2003 Blue Bird All American owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
We purchase 10 new blue bird all american school buses through our local authorized dealer, within a month of receiving the 10 unit they star presenting code 368 red failure, causing loss of power, white smoke and stalling, this was reporter to the distributor and they replaced fuel filters and suggested that there was humidity in the ECM. This same code failure has overcome all of our unit in the last past 3 years to the extent that now we are faced with the replacement of the vp44 injection pump a very costly investment for unit that have extremely low mileage (average of 35,000 kms). We have followed a very stick preventive maintenance schedule for all our unit according to the manuals supplied thus after suspecting that there could be a manufacture problem we started investigating over the internet and effectively we found that the cummins 225 isb motor have a history of this very same problem which related but there are non yet that cover our unit, so we consider it import that along with any others of the same malfunctioning units we can have a recall considered.
Compare the 2003 Blue Bird All American
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Questions about the 2003 Blue Bird All American
Is the 2003 Blue Bird All American reliable?
Owners have filed 2 complaints about the 2003 Blue Bird All American, close to a typical All American model year.
What is the most common problem with the 2003 Blue Bird All American?
Body and structure, with 1 complaint. Next is fuel system (1).
How many recalls does the 2003 Blue Bird All American have?
11 recalls, covering electrical system, other and vehicle speed control.
Was there a recall on the 2003 Blue Bird All American body?
Yes, 1 recall: 03V363000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
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