The defect
Turtle Top is recalling certain model year 2010 through 2012 commercial buses manufactured from April 1, 2011, through March 25, 2012, equipped with Specialty Manufacturing Inc. (SMI) Prolo roof hatches. Increased friction between the rear plate assemblies, p/no. 009327, and the nylon rear pop-up support, p/no. 008956, may result in an opening force of the Prolo roof hatches that exceeds federal standard requirements. Thus, these hatches fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 217, "Bus Emergency Exits and Window Retention and Release."
The risk
In the event of an emergency, passengers' exit from the bus may be hindered possibly resulting in injury to the vehicle occupants.
The remedy
Turtle Top will notify owners. SMI will provide service kits along with repair instructions to dealers and owners, free of charge. The safety recall began on August 16, 2012. Owners may contact Turtle Top at 1-574-831-4349 or SMI at 1-800-951-7867.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Turtle TOP Odyssey | 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Turtle TOP Odyssey LT | 2011 |
| Turtle TOP Odyssey XL | 2011, 2012 |
| Turtle TOP Terra Transport | 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Turtle TOP Vanterra | 2011, 2012 |
Components: STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turtle TOP Odyssey | 2010 | 0 | 4 |
| Turtle TOP Odyssey | 2011 | 0 | 4 |
| Turtle TOP Odyssey | 2012 | 0 | 4 |
| Turtle TOP Odyssey LT | 2011 | 0 | 4 |
| Turtle TOP Odyssey XL | 2011 | 0 | 4 |
| Turtle TOP Odyssey XL | 2012 | 0 | 3 |
| Turtle TOP Terra Transport | 2010 | 0 | 3 |
| Turtle TOP Terra Transport | 2011 | 0 | 2 |
| Turtle TOP Terra Transport | 2012 | 0 | 4 |
| Turtle TOP Vanterra | 2011 | 0 | 1 |
| Turtle TOP Vanterra | 2012 | 0 | 1 |
Other structure recalls in 2012
33 of the 583 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2012 concerned the structure; TURTLE TOP filed 14 campaigns in all.
| 12V591000 17 Dec 2012 | New Flyer Industries Ltd. |
| 12V585000 14 Dec 2012 | BMW of North America, LLC |
| 12V556000 3 Dec 2012 | BMW of North America, LLC |
| 12V535000 6 Nov 2012 | FLEETWOOD RV, INC. |
| 12V526000 31 Oct 2012 | Tiffin Motorhomes, Inc. |
| 12V463000 20 Sept 2012 | Vermeer Manufacturing Company |
| 12V380000 6 Aug 2012 | MERCEDES-BENZ USA, LLC. |
| 12V386000 6 Aug 2012 | COLLINS BUS CORPORATION |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2012