- Vehicles
- 58
- Built between
- May 2000 – Jun 2002
- Models
- 4
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 27 September 2002
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between May 2000 and June 2002. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2000-2002 Blue Bird ALL AmericanBuilt May 2000 to June 2002
- 2000-2002 Blue Bird ConventionalBuilt May 2000 to June 2002
- 2000-2002 Blue Bird Micro BirdBuilt May 2000 to June 2002
- 2000-2002 Blue Bird TC2000Built May 2000 to June 2002
What the defect is
On certain school and transit buses equipped with passenger seat belts with retractors, the cover halves for the retractable portion of the belt can separate completely and release the seat belt connector. If this occurs, one of the load bearing pins in the connector could separate from the connector and render the seat belt unusable. In the event of a crash, the seat occupant would not be properly restrained resulting in an injury. The seat belt supplier, am-safe, will provide a snap on "over-cover" to owners to prevent the seat belt cover from separating.
What could happen
If this occurs, one of the load bearing pins in the connector could separate from the connector and render the seat belt unusable. In the event of a crash, the seat occupant would not be properly restrained resulting in an injury.
What gets fixed
OWNERS WILL BE PROVIDED A SNAP-ON "OVER-COVER" TO PREVENT THE SEAT BELT COVER FROM SEPARATING. OWNER NOTIFICATION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR ABOUT SEPTEMBER 27, 2002.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtMay 2000 to June 2002
- Recall reported to NHTSA5 September 2002
- Owners notified27 September 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 5 September 2002.
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 blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- R02GG
- 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, customers can 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.