The defect
ON CERTAIN SCHOOL AND TRANSIT BUSES EQUIPPED WITH PASSENGER SEAT BELTS WITH RETRACTORS, THE COVER HALVES FOR THE RETRACTABLE PORTION OF THE BELT CAN SEPARATE COMPLETELY AND RELEASE THE SEAT BELT CONNECTOR. IF THIS OCCURS, ONE OF THE LOAD BEARING PINS IN THE CONNECTOR COULD SEPARATE FROM THE CONNECTOR AND RENDER THE SEAT BELT UNUSABLE. IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THE SEAT OCCUPANT WOULD NOT BE PROPERLY RESTRAINED RESULTING IN AN INJURY. THE SEAT BELT SUPPLIER, AM-SAFE, WILL PROVIDE A SNAP ON "OVER-COVER" TO OWNERS TO PREVENT THE SEAT BELT COVER FROM SEPARATING.
The risk
IF THIS OCCURS, ONE OF THE LOAD BEARING PINS IN THE CONNECTOR COULD SEPARATE FROM THE CONNECTOR AND RENDER THE SEAT BELT UNUSABLE. IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THE SEAT OCCUPANT WOULD NOT BE PROPERLY RESTRAINED RESULTING IN AN INJURY.
The remedy
OWNERS WILL BE PROVIDED A SNAP-ON "OVER-COVER" TO PREVENT THE SEAT BELT COVER FROM SEPARATING. OWNER NOTIFICATION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR ABOUT SEPTEMBER 27, 2002. OWNERS WHO DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT BLUE BIRD AT 1-478-822-2242.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2000, 2001, 2002 |
| Blue Bird Conventional | 2000, 2001, 2002 |
| Blue Bird Micro Bird | 2000, 2001, 2002 |
| Blue Bird TC2000 | 2000, 2001, 2002 |
Components: SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2000 | 0 | 16 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2001 | 1 | 14 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2002 | 1 | 14 |
| Blue Bird Conventional | 2000 | 0 | 2 |
| Blue Bird Conventional | 2001 | 0 | 6 |
| Blue Bird Conventional | 2002 | 0 | 7 |
| Blue Bird Micro Bird | 2000 | 0 | 2 |
| Blue Bird Micro Bird | 2001 | 0 | 3 |
| Blue Bird Micro Bird | 2002 | 0 | 5 |
| Blue Bird TC2000 | 2000 | 1 | 12 |
| Blue Bird TC2000 | 2001 | 0 | 12 |
| Blue Bird TC2000 | 2002 | 0 | 11 |
Other seat belts recalls in 2002
23 of the 434 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2002 concerned the seat belts; BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY filed 251 campaigns in all.
| 02V160008 21 Nov 2002 | XPLORER MTR HM/FRANK DIV. |
| 02V290000 5 Nov 2002 | HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY |
| 02V160009 31 Oct 2002 | FREIGHTLINER CORPORATION |
| 02V160006 29 Oct 2002 | CHAMPION BUS, INC. |
| 02V160005 22 Oct 2002 | DODGEN INDUSTRIES, INC. |
| 02V160007 21 Oct 2002 | NATIONAL VAN SALES, INC. |
| 02V160004 18 Oct 2002 | ELDORADO NATIONAL |
| 02V160003 16 Oct 2002 | COACH AND EQUIPMENT MFG CORP |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2002