- Vehicles
- 393
- Built between
- Oct 1997 – Apr 2001
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA compliance test
- Owners notified
- 27 September 2001
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between October 1997 and April 2001. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1998-2001 Girardin School BUSBuilt October 1997 to April 2001
What the defect is
Vehicle description: certain mini school buses fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 222, "school bus passenger seating and crash protection." the foam on the seats and barriers do not absorb enough impact energy to meet the standard.
What could happen
In the event of a crash, the seat occupant may not be properly protected.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL INSTALL AN ADDITIONAL PIECE OF FOAM BETWEEN THE STEEL BACK REST AND THE EXISTING FOAM. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN JANUARY 2002.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtOctober 1997 to April 2001
- Recall reported to NHTSA5 August 2001
- Owners notified27 September 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 5 August 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 girardin at 1-819-477-8222.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 01-003-SF
- Recalling manufacturer
- A. GIRARDIN INC.
- Safety standard
- FMVSS 222
- Recall initiated by
- OVSC
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
Girardin's recall number is 01-003-SF.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.