The defect
Blue Bird Body Company (Blue Bird) is recalling certain 2014-2024 All American school buses equipped with 39" High Back seat restraining barriers. The bolts securing the restraining barriers to the floor may separate when fully loaded. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 222, "School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection."
The risk
An unsecured seat restraining barrier may not properly restrain an occupant during a crash, increasing their risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will install a longer bolt with rectangular washer and nut, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed January 16, 2024. Owners may contact Blue Bird customer service at 1-478-822-2242. Blue Bird's number for this recall is R23CU-SB. This recall is an expansion of recall number 23V-777.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by OVSC
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| Blue Bird ALL American School Bus | 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
Components: STRUCTURE
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 | 2014 | 0 | 26 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2015 | 3 | 27 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2016 | 1 | 20 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2017 | 0 | 10 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2018 | 0 | 19 |
| Blue Bird ALL American | 2019 | 2 | 26 |
| Blue Bird ALL American School Bus | 2020 | 4 | 20 |
| Blue Bird ALL American School Bus | 2021 | 0 | 18 |
| Blue Bird ALL American School Bus | 2022 | 2 | 10 |
| Blue Bird ALL American School Bus | 2023 | 2 | 6 |
| Blue Bird ALL American School Bus | 2024 | 0 | 4 |
Other structure recalls in 2023
80 of the 894 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2023 concerned the structure; Blue Bird Body Company filed 162 campaigns in all.
| 23V891000 22 Dec 2023 | Winnebago Towable |
| 23V874000 21 Dec 2023 | Daimler Vans USA, LLC |
| 23V869000 21 Dec 2023 | General Motors, LLC |
| 23V875000 21 Dec 2023 | Daimler Vans USA, LLC |
| 23V876000 21 Dec 2023 | Daimler Vans USA, LLC |
| 23V872000 21 Dec 2023 | Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC |
| 23V860000 19 Dec 2023 | Airstream, Inc. |
| 23V854000 15 Dec 2023 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2023