The defect
North American Bus Industries Inc. (NABI) is recalling certain model year 2007-2009 Blue Bird L4RE transit buses manufactured July 1, 2007, through October 31, 2009. The buses may have a defective steering gear attachment. Cracks may develop in the bracket that secures the power steering gear to the bus frame or the bus frame may crack around the bolts that attach the steering gear bracket to the frame.
The risk
If left unchecked, the cracks may propagate and cause partial separation of the steering gear from the bus frame. This would cause a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
The remedy
NABI will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and repair the buses free of charge. The recall began during March 2013. Owners may contact NABI at 1-256-831-4296.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Blue Bird L4RE | 2007, 2008, 2009 |
Components: STEERING | STRUCTURE
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 L4RE | 2007 | 0 | 4 |
| Blue Bird L4RE | 2008 | 0 | 3 |
| Blue Bird L4RE | 2009 | 0 | 2 |
Other structure recalls in 2013
25 of the 627 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2013 concerned the structure; North American Bus Industries, Inc. filed 7 campaigns in all.
| 13V608000 4 Dec 2013 | Triumph Motorcycles America, LTD |
| 13V591000 22 Nov 2013 | Volvo Bus Corporation |
| 13V581000 20 Nov 2013 | Navistar, Inc. |
| 13V582000 20 Nov 2013 | Jet Company, Inc. |
| 13V559000 7 Nov 2013 | Starcraft RV, Inc. |
| 13V558000 7 Nov 2013 | Jayco, Inc. |
| 13V501000 17 Oct 2013 | Cheetah Chassis Corporation |
| 13V468000 18 Sept 2013 | Daimler Trucks North America |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2013