The defect
Champion Bus, Inc. (Champion) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 American Crusader, American Coach, Challenger, Crusader, CTS-FE, CTS-RE, Defender, EZ Trans, HCAC, HC, DFUC, LF Transport, Premier, and Spirit transit buses manufactured March 1, 2013, to June 12, 2015. In the affected vehicles, the passenger seat belts may rub against the metal seat frame and fray. As a result, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."
The risk
A frayed seat belt fray may fail to properly restrain the seat occupant in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
Champion will notify owners, and dealers will install a plastic sleeve over the metal seat frame, and replace any seat belts that show evidence of fraying, free of charge. The recall began on September 16, 2015. Owners may contact Champion customer service at 1-810-724-1753 extension 562.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Champion American Coach | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Champion American Crusader | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Champion Challenger | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Champion Crusader | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Champion CTS-FE | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Champion CTS-RE | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Champion Defender | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Champion Dfuc | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Champion EZ-Trans | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Champion HC | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Champion Hcac | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Champion LF Transport | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Champion Premier | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Champion Spirit | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
Components: SEAT BELTS:FRONT:WEBBING
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Champion American Coach | 2013 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion American Coach | 2014 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion American Coach | 2015 | 0 | 3 |
| Champion American Crusader | 2013 | 0 | 5 |
| Champion American Crusader | 2014 | 0 | 5 |
| Champion American Crusader | 2015 | 0 | 3 |
| Champion CTS-FE | 2013 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion CTS-FE | 2014 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion CTS-FE | 2015 | 0 | 2 |
| Champion CTS-RE | 2013 | 0 | 5 |
| Champion CTS-RE | 2014 | 0 | 5 |
| Champion CTS-RE | 2015 | 0 | 3 |
| Champion Challenger | 2013 | 0 | 7 |
| Champion Challenger | 2014 | 1 | 6 |
| Champion Challenger | 2015 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion Crusader | 2013 | 0 | 6 |
| Champion Crusader | 2014 | 0 | 7 |
| Champion Crusader | 2015 | 0 | 5 |
| Champion Defender | 2013 | 0 | 5 |
| Champion Defender | 2014 | 0 | 6 |
| Champion Defender | 2015 | 0 | 4 |
| Champion Dfuc | 2013 | 0 | 1 |
| Champion Dfuc | 2014 | 0 | 1 |
| Champion Dfuc | 2015 | 0 | 1 |
| Champion EZ-Trans | 2013 | 0 | 1 |
| Champion EZ-Trans | 2014 | 0 | 1 |
| Champion EZ-Trans | 2015 | 0 | 1 |
| Champion HC | 2013 | 0 | 1 |
| Champion HC | 2014 | 0 | 1 |
| Champion HC | 2015 | 0 | 1 |
Other seat belts recalls in 2015
26 of the 863 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2015 concerned the seat belts; Champion Bus, Inc. filed 16 campaigns in all.
| 15V876000 23 Dec 2015 | General Motors LLC |
| 15V867000 22 Dec 2015 | Ford Motor Company |
| 15V848000 17 Dec 2015 | Jayco, Inc. |
| 15V820000 7 Dec 2015 | Polaris Industries, Inc. |
| 15V806000 30 Nov 2015 | Forest River, Inc. |
| 15V780000 23 Nov 2015 | Tesla Motors, Inc. |
| 15V694000 23 Oct 2015 | Halcore Group, Inc. |
| 15V657000 14 Oct 2015 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2015