The defect
ON CERTAIN SCHOOL BUSES, MISALIGNMENT OF THE FAN DRIVE SYSTEM COMPONENTS CAN CAUSE PREMATURE BELT AND PULLEY BEARING WEAR.
The risk
IF THE SCHOOL BUS IS DISABLED BY A COOLING SYSTEM FAILURE AND IS STALLED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, AN INCREASED RISK OF A CRASH RESULTING IN INJURY TO A SCHOOL BUS OCCUPANT COULD OCCUR.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FAN BELT, IDLER PULLEY, AND BELT TENSIONER AND THE PULLEY'S LASER WILL BE ALIGNED. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN JUNE 10, 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 FREIGHTLINER AT 1-800-547-0712.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Thomas MVP ER | 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 |
| Thomas Built Buses MVP ER | 1995 |
Components: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:FAN
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas MVP ER | 1996 | 0 | 4 |
| Thomas MVP ER | 1997 | 0 | 6 |
| Thomas MVP ER | 1998 | 0 | 7 |
| Thomas MVP ER | 1999 | 0 | 9 |
| Thomas MVP ER | 2000 | 0 | 12 |
| Thomas MVP ER | 2001 | 1 | 12 |
| Thomas Built Buses MVP ER | 1995 | 0 | 1 |
Other engine and engine cooling recalls in 2002
11 of the 434 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2002 concerned the engine and engine cooling; FREIGHTLINER CORPORATION filed 151 campaigns in all.
| 02V342000 30 Dec 2002 | TRAVEL SUPREME, INC. |
| 02V325000 6 Dec 2002 | GILLIG CORPORATION |
| 02V287000 4 Nov 2002 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. |
| 02V211002 19 Sept 2002 | BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY |
| 02V240000 13 Sept 2002 | SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. |
| 02V226000 28 Aug 2002 | AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO. |
| 02V204000 26 Jul 2002 | INTERNATIONAL TRUCK AND ENGINE |
| 02V138000 16 May 2002 | BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2002