The defect
Blue Bird Body Company is recalling certain model year 2007-2014 All American and Vision school buses manufactured March 10, 2006, through June 18, 2013; and equipped with optional transit sliding windows. Joint adhesive may not have been applied at the interior and exterior body window panel joints. Without the adhesive, these vehicles fail to conform to the standards of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 221, "School Bus Body Joint Strength."
The risk
In the event of a vehicle crash, there is an increased risk that the window panels may separate and fall onto occupants causing injury.
The remedy
Blue Bird will notify owners, and dealers will install additional rivets at the window panel joints, free of charge. The recall began on August 28, 2013. Owners may contact Blue Bird at 1-478-825-2021. Blue Bird's recall number is R13WM.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
Components: 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 ALL American | 2007 | 4 | 21 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2008 | 4 | 32 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2009 | 3 | 33 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2010 | 0 | 42 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2011 | 0 | 35 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2012 | 0 | 30 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2013 | 1 | 28 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2014 | 0 | 26 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2007 | 3 | 21 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2008 | 1 | 30 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2009 | 6 | 28 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2010 | 2 | 25 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2011 | 0 | 22 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2012 | 1 | 19 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2013 | 2 | 25 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2014 | 0 | 22 |
Other structure recalls in 2013
25 of the 627 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2013 concerned the structure; Blue Bird Body Company filed 162 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