The defect
Daimler Trucks North America LLC (DTNA) is recalling certain model year 2014-2017 Thomas Built Buses Saf-T-Liner HDX school buses manufactured November 29, 2012, to February 4, 2016. These vehicles use a rubber elbow to connect a coolant line to a heater inside the bus. This elbow may restrict coolant flow and possibly fail as a result of the increased stress on the elbow.
The risk
If the rubber elbow fails, hot coolant may leak inside the bus body increasing risk of injury to the passengers.
The remedy
DTNA will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rubber elbow with a nylon fitting, free of charge. An interim notice was sent out to owners on July 6, 2016. The recall began on September 20, 2016. Owners may contact DTNA customer service at 1-800-547-0712. DTNA's number for this recall is FL-708.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner HDX | 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 |
Components: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner HDX | 2014 | 0 | 30 |
| Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner HDX | 2015 | 0 | 31 |
| Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner HDX | 2016 | 0 | 29 |
| Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner HDX | 2017 | 0 | 32 |
Other engine and engine cooling recalls in 2016
26 of the 919 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2016 concerned the engine and engine cooling; Daimler Trucks North America LLC filed 213 campaigns in all.
| 16V925000 22 Dec 2016 | Ford Motor Company |
| 16V907000 16 Dec 2016 | Chrysler (FCA US LLC) |
| 16V868000 2 Dec 2016 | General Motors LLC |
| 16V838000 18 Nov 2016 | Navistar, Inc. |
| 16V837000 18 Nov 2016 | Navistar, Inc. |
| 16V795000 1 Nov 2016 | Spartan Motors USA |
| 16V779000 26 Oct 2016 | Ford Motor Company |
| 16V619000 24 Aug 2016 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2016