The defect
A SUDDEN HYDRAULIC PRESSURE LOSS DURING HARD TURNS RESULTS IN A MOMENTARY LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST. THE PRESSURE LOSS OCCURS WHEN THE HYDRAULICALLY DRIVEN ENGINE COOLING FAN TURNS OFF IN THE TURN.
The risk
THE DRIVER REACTS TO THE LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST BY OVERSTEERING, WHICH COULD RESULT IN A VEHICLE ACCIDENT.
The remedy
THE HYDRAULIC CONTROL VALVES WILL BE REPLACED WITH VALVES OF A NEW DESIGN. UNTIL SUCH TIME AS PARTS ARE AVAILABLE, OWNERS WILL BE INSTRUCTED TO DISCONNECT THE FAN CUTOFF SWITCH SO THAT HYDRAULICALLY DRIVEN FANS WILL RUN FULL TIME, ELIMINATING THE PRESSURE SPIKE.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Thomas SAF-T-Liner | 1992, 1993, 1994 |
| Thomas Transit Liner | 1992, 1993, 1994 |
Components: STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST 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 SAF-T-Liner | 1992 | 0 | 7 |
| Thomas SAF-T-Liner | 1993 | 0 | 10 |
| Thomas SAF-T-Liner | 1994 | 0 | 13 |
| Thomas Transit Liner | 1992 | 0 | 1 |
| Thomas Transit Liner | 1993 | 0 | 1 |
| Thomas Transit Liner | 1994 | 0 | 1 |
Other steering recalls in 1994
23 of the 244 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 1994 concerned the steering; THOMAS BUILT BUSES, INC. filed 100 campaigns in all.
| 94V249000 30 Dec 1994 | JAGUAR CARS |
| 94V244000 12 Dec 1994 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY |
| 94V233001 22 Nov 1994 | BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE |
| 94V206000 21 Oct 1994 | MACK TRUCKS, INCORPORATED |
| 94V192000 9 Oct 1994 | MACK TRUCKS, INCORPORATED |
| 94V001000 5 Oct 1994 | PREVOST CAR, INCORPORATED |
| 94V189000 4 Oct 1994 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. |
| 94V170000 14 Sept 1994 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 1994