The defect
Blue Bird Body Company (Blue Bird) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 All American transit buses manufactured from November 13, 2014, through May 4, 2016, and 2016-2017 Vision transit buses manufactured from May 30, 2015, through February 2, 2016, equipped with Ricon S-Series (S2005 and S5510) wheelchair lifts. In the affected vehicles the platform side plate on the wheelchair lifts may crack. Additionally, the lifts are equipped with folding link arms that may have pivot holes that are too big, allowing the bearings to move out of position.
The risk
If the platform side plates crack or the platform mounting fails from out-of-position bearings, the lift platform can separate from the lift and come to rest against the vehicle's lift door. When the vehicle's doors are opened, the platform may fall onto the lift operator, increasing their risk of injury.
The remedy
Blue Bird will notify owners, and Ricon dealers will inspect the link arms for damage or for displaced bearings. The platform will be inspected for cracks. Any damaged parts will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on June 27, 2016. Owners may contact Blue Bird customer service at 1-478-822-2242 or Ricon Customer Service at 1-800-322-2884. The recall number for Blue Bird is R16YR-NSB.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2015, 2016, 2017 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2016, 2017 |
Components: EQUIPMENT
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 | 2015 | 3 | 27 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2016 | 1 | 20 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2017 | 0 | 10 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2016 | 2 | 27 |
| Blue Bird Vision | 2017 | 1 | 28 |
Other equipment recalls in 2016
158 of the 919 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2016 concerned the equipment; Blue Bird Body Company filed 162 campaigns in all.
| 16V954000 28 Dec 2016 | Keystone RV Company |
| 16V934000 27 Dec 2016 | HME, Inc. |
| 16V930000 23 Dec 2016 | Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp. |
| 16V909000 16 Dec 2016 | C & M Trailers Inc. |
| 16V904000 15 Dec 2016 | Halcore Group, Inc. |
| 16V894000 13 Dec 2016 | Gulf Stream Coach, Inc. |
| 16V887000 9 Dec 2016 | Smeal Fire Apparatus Co., Inc. |
| 16V882000 8 Dec 2016 | Starcraft RV |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2016