The defect
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.
The 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.
The 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.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 |
| Blue Bird Conventional | 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 |
| Blue Bird Micro Bird | 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 |
| Blue Bird Mini Bird | 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 |
| Blue Bird TC2000 | 2002, 2003, 2004 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2004, 2005, 2006 |
Components: OTHER:SCHOOL BUS STOP ARM ASSEMBLY
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 | 2002 | 1 | 14 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2003 | 2 | 11 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2004 | 10 | 15 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2005 | 1 | 13 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2006 | 2 | 15 |
| Blue Bird Conventional | 2002 | 0 | 7 |
| Blue Bird Conventional | 2003 | 1 | 6 |
| Blue Bird Conventional | 2004 | 0 | 7 |
| Blue Bird Conventional | 2005 | 0 | 5 |
| Blue Bird Conventional | 2006 | 0 | 8 |
| Blue Bird Micro Bird | 2002 | 0 | 5 |
| Blue Bird Micro Bird | 2003 | 0 | 5 |
| Blue Bird Micro Bird | 2004 | 0 | 5 |
| Blue Bird Micro Bird | 2005 | 0 | 4 |
| Blue Bird Micro Bird | 2006 | 0 | 10 |
| Blue Bird Mini Bird | 2002 | 0 | 2 |
| Blue Bird Mini Bird | 2003 | 0 | 2 |
| Blue Bird Mini Bird | 2004 | 1 | 2 |
| Blue Bird Mini Bird | 2005 | 0 | 2 |
| Blue Bird Mini Bird | 2006 | 1 | 2 |
| Blue Bird TC2000 | 2002 | 0 | 11 |
| Blue Bird TC2000 | 2003 | 8 | 6 |
| Blue Bird TC2000 | 2004 | 0 | 5 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2004 | 0 | 17 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2005 | 1 | 15 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2006 | 0 | 17 |
Other other recalls in 2005
14 of the 562 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2005 concerned the other; BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY filed 251 campaigns in all.
| 05V490000 21 Oct 2005 | MID BUS CORPORATION |
| 05V429000 26 Sept 2005 | LES ENTREPRISES M.CORBEIL |
| 05V352000 4 Aug 2005 | GIRARDIN MINIBUS INC. |
| 05V347000 3 Aug 2005 | FREIGHTLINER LLC |
| 05V343000 1 Aug 2005 | COLLINS BUS CORPORATION |
| 05V345000 1 Aug 2005 | COLLINS BUS CORPORATION |
| 05V336000 26 Jul 2005 | U.S. BUS CORPORATION |
| 05V337000 26 Jul 2005 | INTERNATIONAL TRUCK & ENGINE CORPORATION |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2005