- Vehicles
- 11,944
- Built between
- Jan 1995 – May 2001
- Models
- 2
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 15 December 2001
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between January 1995 and May 2001. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1999-2001 Amtran FEBuilt January 1999 to May 2001
- 1996-2001 Amtran REBuilt January 1995 to May 2001
What the defect is
Vehicle description: certain school and transit buses were built with a poor quality heater/defroster blower switch. In some cases this has caused the melting of the heater harness connector at the switch terminals or the high-speed wire insulation at the connector. Also, some of the units had improper circuit protection size installed in the heater defroster circuit.
What could happen
If an operator detects smoke or the smell of melting wire insulation from the blower control panel, the operation of the heater/defroster at high speed should be discontinued until the repair is made.
What gets fixed
OWNERS WILL BE PROVIDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS AND PARTS TO REPLACE THE SWITCH AND SWITCH HARNESS WITH A NEW SWITCH, SWITCH HARNESS, RELAY AND RELAY HARNESS. FOR THE RE UNITS BUILT PRIOR TO JANUARY 1, 1999, THE KIT WILL ALSO INCLUDE A 20-AMPERE MANUAL CIRCUIT BREAKER. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN DECEMBER 15, 2001.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJanuary 1995 to May 2001
- Recall reported to NHTSA20 November 2001
- Owners notified15 December 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 20 November 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 do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact amtran at 800-843-5615.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- AMERICAN TRANSPORTATION CORP.
- 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.