The defect
BLUE BIRD IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2008 AND 2009 ALL AMERICAN, VISION, AND MICRO BIRD SCHOOL BUSES MANUFACTURED BETWEEN APRIL 18, 2008 AND FEBRUARY 11, 2009, EQUIPPED WITH SPECIALTY MANUFACTURING, INC. (SMI) 000290 LED LIGHT KITS. A CHANGE TO THE WIRE USED IN THE LED LIGHT KITS MAY REDUCE THE EFFECTIVE LIFE OF THE LIGHTS USED ON THE STOP ARMS. THE LIGHTS MAY STOP FUNCTIONING WITHOUT WARNING.
The risk
SHOULD THE LED LIGHTS STOP FUNCTIONING, VISIBILITY OF A STOPPED BUS WOULD BE DECREASED, POSSIBLY ENDANGERING A CHILD OR PEDESTRIAN TO INJURY BY PASSING VEHICLES.
The remedy
BLUE BIRD WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND THE BUSES WILL BE REPAIRED FREE OF CHARGE. REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED BY SMI. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SMI WARRANTY SERVICE AT 1-800-951-7867 OR BLUE BIRD AT 1-478-822-2242.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2008, 2009 |
| Blue Bird Micro Bird | 2008, 2009 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2008, 2009 |
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 | 2008 | 4 | 32 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2009 | 3 | 33 |
| Blue Bird Micro Bird | 2008 | 0 | 16 |
| Blue Bird Micro Bird | 2009 | 0 | 14 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2008 | 1 | 30 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2009 | 6 | 28 |
Other other recalls in 2009
4 of the 491 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2009 concerned the other; BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY filed 251 campaigns in all.
| 09V394000 2 Oct 2009 | DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA |
| 09V315000 4 Aug 2009 | GIRARDIN MINIBUS INC. |
| 09V293000 28 Jul 2009 | NAVISTAR, INC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2009