The defect
Blue Bird Body Company (Blue Bird) is recalling certain model year 2009-2016 All American rear engine school buses manufactured December 7, 2008, to May 11, 2015, and equipped with certain Cummins Westport ISL G engines. Excessive engine crankcase pressures may cause the 90-degree elbow of the vent tube assembly to detach from the crankcase ventilation breather, possibly allowing engine oil to come into contact with hot surfaces.
The risk
If engine oil comes into contact with a hot surface, there is an increased risk of a fire.
The remedy
Cummins will notify owners on behalf of Blue Bird, and Cummins service centers will administer the repairs which include securing the ends of the 90-degree elbow and reprogramming the electronic control module (ECM) with software that can adjust the engine output under misfire conditions to limit crankcase pressures. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on June 12, 2015. Owners may contact Blue Bird customer service at 1-478-822-2242 or Cummins Inc. at 1-800-343-7357. Blue Bird's number for this recall is R15YE-SB.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 |
Components: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
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 | 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 ALL American | 2015 | 3 | 27 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2016 | 1 | 20 |
Other engine and engine cooling recalls in 2015
53 of the 863 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2015 concerned the engine and engine cooling; Blue Bird Body Company filed 162 campaigns in all.
| 15V852000 18 Dec 2015 | Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. |
| 15V816000 7 Dec 2015 | Daimler Trucks North America LLC |
| 15V755000 16 Nov 2015 | Navistar, Inc. |
| 15V752000 13 Nov 2015 | Newmar Corporation |
| 15V705000 26 Oct 2015 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| 15V701000 26 Oct 2015 | General Motors LLC |
| 15V702000 26 Oct 2015 | Mack Trucks, Inc. |
| 15V676000 19 Oct 2015 | Chrysler (FCA US LLC) |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2015