2005 Thomas Built Buses FS-65 problems

What is wrong

Daimler Trucks North America LLC (DTNA) is recalling certain 2002-2017 Thomas Built Buses Saf-T-Liner C2, Saf-T-Liner HDX, FS65, and Minotour school buses, equipped with Kidde Plastic-Handle or Push Button 'Pindicator' Fire Extinguishers. These extinguishers may become clogged, preventing the extinguisher from discharging as expected or requiring excessive force to activate the extinguisher. Additionally, in certain models, the nozzle may detach from the valve assembly with enough force that it could cause injury and also render the product inoperable. For a full list of the affected fire extinguisher models visit:

Risk

In the event of a fire, if the fire extinguisher does not function properly, it can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy

DTNA will notify owners instructing them to contact Kidde for a replacement fire extinguisher, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin March 30, 2018. Owners may contact DTNA customer service at 1‑800‑547‑0712 or Kidde customer service at 1‑855‑262‑3540 or online at www.kidde.com and click on "Product Safety Recall" for more information. DTNA's number for this recall is FL-759.

Recall number 18V083000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Certain model year 2000 through 2009 thomas built school buses manufactured from april 17, 2000, through december 21, 2009, were equipped with an incorrect tire load certification label. The certification labels list "d" load range tires with a recommended cold tire inflation pressure greater than 65 psi. The buses are equipped with load range "e" tires that require a higher minimum tire pressure. Accordingly, these buses fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 120, "tire selection and rims for motor vehicles other than passenger cars."

Risk

Incorrect tire information may lead to vehicle overloading that can result in a tire failure which may lead to a vehicle crash.

Remedy

Dtna will notify owners and dealers will replace the incorrect label with a correct label free of charge or, if the owner wishes, they may replace the label themselves. Owners should contact dtna at 1‑800‑547‑0712 or thomas built at 1‑336‑889‑4871 to obtain the label if they wish to affix it themselves. The safety recall is expected to begin on or about may 28, 2011.

Recall number 11V201000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Rifled air conditioning (rac) is recalling 6 my 2001 chevrolet express private transport, my 2005 thomas built fs65, my 2006-2007 monitour bus, and my 2007 c-2 school bus vehicles built on freightliner, and gm chassis and equipped with ricon platform style wheelchair lifts. These lifts fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 403,"platform lift system accessible for motor vehicles." the anti-stow interlock may not detect the presence of a wheelchair or mobility aid user. The pressure sensing switch that detects the presence of weight on the platform was not adjusted to the necessary sensitivity level. The lift could stow even though someone or something is still on the lift.

Risk

A lift occupant can be injured should the lift begin to stow unintentionally.

Remedy

Rac is working with ricon to correct the wheelchair lifts free of charge (please see 07e097). Owners may contact ricon at 1‑818‑267‑3000 or rac at 1‑800‑627‑1707.

Recall number 08V649000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Daimler trucks is recalling 243,435 my 1995-2008 thomas built school buses manufactured between january 1994, and march 10, 2008. (additional buses have been added to this recall campaign. Please see supplemental report no. 4) the emergency exit door handle begins corroding around the securing roll pin and square drive mechanism causing the protective finish to chip and flake. Continued corrosion and pitting weakens the handle. Handles weakened by corrosion may break while trying to open the door from the exterior.

Risk

In the event of an emergency, a person on the outside of the bus may break the door handle trying to open the emergency exit potentially delaying evacuation and increasing the risk of personal injury to the vehicle's occupants.

Remedy

Daimler trucks will notify owners and will replace the handles with a more robust handle free of charge. Repairs will be performed by thomas built buses dealerships. The recall began on august 18, 2008, and notification for the revised population is expected to begin on or about april 29, 2009. Owners may contact thomas built at 336‑889‑4871.

Recall number 08V087000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Daimler trucks is recalling 760 my 2003-2007 thomas built school buses manufactured between july 6, 2005 and july 19, 2006, equipped with braun wheelchair lifts, models nl, ncl, or nvl. The threshold warning systems of the subject model wheelchair lifts fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 403, platform lift systems for motor vehicles.

Risk

Should the threshold warning system fail to operate, the lift user can fall from the vehicle and be seriously injured.

Remedy

Daimler trucks will notify owners and provide a free remedy which will be performed by thomas built dealerships. The recall began on august 8, 2008. Owners may contact thomas built at 336‑889‑4871.

Recall number 08V088000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Certain 2001 through 2008 thomas built fs-56, er, mvp er, hdx, and mvp ef school buses manufactured from october 23, 2000, through january 24, 2006, equipped with tyco pc board and type ii auto reset circuit breakers. Type ii auto reset circuit breaker temperatures may exceed the rating of the tyco pc board causing the boards to melt potentially resulting in a vehicle fire.

Risk

A vehicle fire can occur possibly resulting in a crash.

Remedy

Thomas built will notify owners and repair the buses by replacing the type ii auto reset circuit breakers with manual circuit breakers, and the jumper cable. The recall began on march 28, 2008. Owners may contact thomas built customer support office at 336‑889‑4871.

Recall number 07V544000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Certain freightliner school buses and trucks manufactured from october 23, 2004, to march 21, 2006. During the steering column manufacturing process two welds may have been missing.

Risk

Columns with two welds missing may fatigue and fracture and allow the steering wheel to progressively be moved out of its normal position which may cause the steering to respond differently than expected. If this condition is ignored, a crash may occur.

Remedy

Freightliner will notify owners and inspect and repair the affected vehicle free of charge. The recall began on august 30, 2007. Owners can contact freightliner at 1‑800‑547‑0712.

Recall number 07V289000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Certain my 2005 and 2006 thomas built fs65 and fs65 school bus chassis manufactured between january 3, 2005, and september 21, 2006. The battery cable may chafe on a bracket adjacent to the starter.

Risk

Chafing of the battery cable on the bracket may lead to a short circuit, resulting in a vehicle fire and possible injury to the occupants.

Remedy

Freightliner will notify owners and reposition the battery cable free of charge. The recall began on february 16, 2007. Owners may contact freightliner at 800‑547‑0712.

Recall number 06V421000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Certain my 2004-2007 thomas built minotour, fs65, mvp-ef, and hdx model school buses, manufactured between june 16 and july 1, 2005, equipped with ricon wheelchair lifts. Cracks in the lift arms may allow the mechanism to twist during stowage, preventing closure of the safety interlock switches.

Risk

In the event this condition occurs during passenger operations it may not be possible to close the lift door causing the vehicle interlocks to remain engaged preventing movement of the vehicle or the ability to load or unload passengers with disabilities from the vehicle.

Remedy

Ricon is conducting this recall (please see 06e008000) and will replace the two vertical arms even if only one arm is cracked free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on may 30, 2006. Owners may contact ricon customer support dept. At 800‑322‑2884 or owners may contact thomas bus customer support office at 336‑889‑4871.

Recall number 06V150000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Certain my 2004 through 2006 thomas built hdx, ef, and fs-65 school buses manufactured between october 4, 2004, and february 14, 2006. The body power distribution module (pdm) was manufactured with copper circuits that are too thin for the electrical loads encountered, possibly causing the board to overheat.

Risk

If the pdm overheats it may generate smoke and could result in a fire.

Remedy

Thomas built will notify owners and will replace the pdm's thin copper circuits with thicker copper circuits. The recall began on june 30, 2006. Owners may contact thomas built at 1‑877‑660‑4938.

Recall number 06V136000 · Recall details

This investigation was opened after odi received a complaint from a fleet indicating that the brake hoses were rubbing against the transmission dipstick tube.on april 2, 2009, daimler trucks north america llc filed a safety recall to inspected and reroute the affected brake hoses and anydamaged hoses will be replaced. The recall number assigned is 09v‑114.this recall action resolves the issues raised by this investigation. Accordingly, this investigation is closed.

PE09004

The office of defects investigation opened this preliminary evaluationafterbecoming aware that fleets were having handle failures on the rear emergency door exit.the failure resulted in the door handle separating from thedoor latch mechanism.when the handle fails, the rear emergency exit door can not be opened from outside the bus.the failure results from corrosion of the exterior door handle around the securing roll pin and square drive latch mechanism, causing the protective finish to chip and flake.continued corrosion weakens the handle and eventually the handle may break while trying to open the exit door.odi was concerned that during an emergency, a person outside of the bus would break the door handle while trying to open the emergency exit door,potentially delaying evacuation of the bus.under the safety recall, the aluminum handles will be replaced with a more robust handle.the recall action resolves the issues raised by this investigation. Accordingly, this investigation is closed.

PE07054

The office of defects investigation (odi) opened this investigation after becoming aware of two school bus fires that started in the side mounted electrical fuse panel on a pair of thomas built school buses.thefleet owner had reported the bus interiors filled with smoke, certain electrical devices became inoperative, and the buses stalled. The two buses involved in the fire incidents have consecutive VIN numbers and the fires were similar, but not identical to a previous recall (06v‑136) conducted by thomas built.these buses were not included in the prior recall, which involved a defective power distribution module (pdm).after further technical evaluation, freightliner decided they would conduct a safety recall to correct deficiencies in theprevious recall and also expand the population to capture all affected buses.the corrective action freightliner plans to take will be forwarded to odi when available. Accordingly, this investigation is closed.

PE07029

As a result of the odi investigation, freightliner has agreed to recall (number 07v‑289) all of the vehicles manufactured with steering columns potentially missing welds.the recall remedy will involve inspecting the recalled vehicles for missing welds and if found replace the steering column.early warning aggregate data submitted to the federal safety agency by freightliner suggested that a steering problem (ewr code 01) existed for the 2004 and 2005 century and columbia class vehicles.the count of field reports submitted for the first quarter of 2006 was higher than the average of the previous 6 quarters for the aggregate steering data.odi's further review of the ewr data foundfield reports that described steering column failures as a result of steering column welds cracking or breaking.information received from freightliner detailed failures of the steering columns on the subject vehicles.these failures were the result of missing and cracked welds on the steering column assembly.during testing of vehicles containing defective steering columns, odi determined that weld failures in the steering column create a situation where the vehicle becomes difficult to steer or may startle the driver upon failing, thus presenting a safety risk.a copy of the recall is attached.freightliner's action resolves the issues raised by this investigation and, therefore, this investigation is closed.

EA07002

This investigation was opened based on four allegations of school bus fires in the power distribution module (pdm) area of the subject buses.during the investigation, odi learned thatbuses built between october 4, 2004 and february 14, 2006 were equipped with pdm?s manufactured with copper circuits that were too thin for the electrical loads encountered, creatingoverheating and thermal events.also, it was determined that multiple thermal breakers, clustered together on the pdm, together with heat generated from the pdm can generate enough heat to melt the pdm.on april 21, 2006, freightliner filed a safety recall to address this issue.freightliner's remedy is to replace all the original (thin copper circuit) pdm?s with new improved pdm?s having thicker copper circuits.also, freightliner will replace the thermal breakers with non-thermal breaker or fuses. The recall action taken by freightliner resolves the issues raised by this investigation.this investigation is closed.

PE06012