Thomas Structure: Body

Thomas is recalling about 57 vehicles over a problem with the structure. In the event of a crash, the bus occupant may not be able to exit the bus quickly.

Campaign
01V378000
Manufacturer
FREIGHTLINER CORPORATION
Reported
12 December 2001
Vehicles
57
Built between
Nov 1996 – Nov 2001
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
1 May 2002
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between November 1996 and November 2001. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1996-2001 Thomas MVP EFBuilt November 1996 to November 2001

What the defect is

Vehicle description: certain school buses fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 217, "bus emergency exits and window retention and release." a third roof hatch must be added to meet the standard requirements. Only vehicles located in the state of washington are involved.

What could happen

In the event of a crash, the bus occupant may not be able to exit the bus quickly.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL INSTALL A THIRD ROOF HATCH. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN MAY 1, 2002.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtNovember 1996 to November 2001
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA12 December 2001
  3. Owners notified1 May 2002

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 12 December 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 thomas built at 336-889-4871.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
FREIGHTLINER CORPORATION
Safety standard
FMVSS 217
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.

Same component

Same brand