The defect
Corp. Micro Bird Inc. (Micro Bird) is recalling certain 2011-2018 Micro Bird G5, MB-II, and T-series school buses, equipped with CE White/HSM SB11-30" series, standard, unbelted, school bus seats, or SB11-30" series school bus seats with lap belts only. The foam in the knee impact area of the lower seat back may not absorb enough impact in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 222, "School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection."
The risk
If the seat foam does not absorb enough impact energy, it can increase the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
The remedy
Micro Bird will notify owners and dealers will insert an additional piece of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam into the seatback, free of charge. Micro Bird issued interim notifications to owners on September 12, 2018. The recall began December 7, 2018. Owners may contact Micro Bird customer service at 1-819-477-2012. Micro Bird's number for this recall is 18-074-SUS.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Micro Bird G5 School Bus | 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
| Micro Bird MB II School Bus | 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
| Micro Bird T-Series School Bus | 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
Components: SEATS
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro Bird G5 School Bus | 2011 | 0 | 19 |
| Micro Bird G5 School Bus | 2012 | 0 | 18 |
| Micro Bird G5 School Bus | 2013 | 0 | 17 |
| Micro Bird G5 School Bus | 2014 | 0 | 18 |
| Micro Bird G5 School Bus | 2015 | 0 | 20 |
| Micro Bird G5 School Bus | 2016 | 0 | 19 |
| Micro Bird G5 School Bus | 2017 | 0 | 17 |
| Micro Bird G5 School Bus | 2018 | 0 | 16 |
| Micro Bird MB II School Bus | 2011 | 0 | 13 |
| Micro Bird MB II School Bus | 2012 | 0 | 12 |
| Micro Bird MB II School Bus | 2013 | 0 | 12 |
| Micro Bird MB II School Bus | 2014 | 0 | 13 |
| Micro Bird MB II School Bus | 2015 | 0 | 13 |
| Micro Bird MB II School Bus | 2016 | 0 | 13 |
| Micro Bird MB II School Bus | 2017 | 0 | 11 |
| Micro Bird MB II School Bus | 2018 | 0 | 12 |
| Micro Bird T-Series School Bus | 2011 | 0 | 4 |
| Micro Bird T-Series School Bus | 2012 | 0 | 5 |
| Micro Bird T-Series School Bus | 2013 | 0 | 5 |
| Micro Bird T-Series School Bus | 2014 | 0 | 5 |
| Micro Bird T-Series School Bus | 2015 | 0 | 10 |
| Micro Bird T-Series School Bus | 2016 | 0 | 9 |
| Micro Bird T-Series School Bus | 2017 | 0 | 8 |
| Micro Bird T-Series School Bus | 2018 | 0 | 9 |
Other seats recalls in 2018
38 of the 912 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2018 concerned the seats; Corp. Micro Bird Inc. filed 32 campaigns in all.
| 18V939000 31 Dec 2018 | Arcimoto Inc |
| 18V924000 21 Dec 2018 | Collins Bus Corporation |
| 18V926000 18 Dec 2018 | Eldorado National- California, Inc. |
| 18V875000 7 Dec 2018 | Corp. Micro Bird Inc. |
| 18V846000 28 Nov 2018 | Blue Bird Body Company |
| 18V822000 20 Nov 2018 | Chrysler (FCA US LLC) |
| 18V813000 16 Nov 2018 | ARBOC Specialty Vehicles, LLC |
| 18V803000 14 Nov 2018 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2018