- Vehicles
- 842
- Built between
- Aug 1999 – Jan 2000
- Models
- 5
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 30 March 2001
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between August 1999 and January 2000. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1999 Blue Bird ALL AmericanBuilt August 1999 to January 2000
- 1999 Blue Bird Commercial SeriesBuilt August 1999 to January 2000
- 1999 Blue Bird LTC 40Built August 1999 to January 2000
- 1999 Blue Bird TC2000Built August 1999 to January 2000
- 1999 Blue Bird WanderlodgeBuilt August 1999 to January 2000
What the defect is
Vehicle description: school and transit buses and motor home chassis equipped with tie rod assemblies manufactured by trw. The suspect tie rods contain 24-DL model ball sockets. Certain of the tie rod ball-socket bearings have a below-specification case depth and/or hardness, which can lead to premature wear of the socket.
What could happen
If this condition occurs, the driver can lose partial control of the right front wheel, possibly resulting in a crash.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE BALL SOCKETS AND/OR DRAG LINKS. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN MARCH 30, 2001.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtAugust 1999 to January 2000
- Recall reported to NHTSA23 February 2001
- Owners notified30 March 2001
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 23 February 2001.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Manufacturer contact
Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-912-822-2242 or trw customer service at 1-866-280-3287.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- R01ET
- Recalling manufacturer
- BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY
- Recall initiated by
- MFR
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.