Blue Bird Electrical System: Alternator/Generator/Regulator

Blue Bird is recalling about 4,302 vehicles over a problem with the electrical system. In this event, the electrical wiring harness may be damaged and the possibility of fire may exist.

Campaign
03V085000
Manufacturer
BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY
Reported
28 March 2003
Vehicles
4,302
Built between
Mar 1998 – Jun 1999
Models
3
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
Not yet
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between March 1998 and June 1999. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1998-1999 Blue Bird ALL AmericanBuilt March 1998 to June 1999
  • 1998-1999 Blue Bird Commercial SeriesBuilt March 1998 to June 1999
  • 1998-1999 Blue Bird TC2000Built March 1998 to June 1999

What the defect is

On certain school and transit buses equipped with cummins isb 6 cylinder engines, the lower alternator support brace or mounting hardware can loosen or break which will allow the alternator to drop onto the engine.

What could happen

In this event, the electrical wiring harness may be damaged and the possibility of fire may exist.

What gets fixed

CUMMINS WILL NOTIFY CUSTOMERS AND REPLACE THE UPPER AND LOWER ALTERNATOR SUPPORT BRACKETS FREE OF CHARGE.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtMarch 1998 to June 1999
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA28 March 2003

No owner-notification date has been published yet. Manufacturers normally write to registered owners within 60 days of reporting a recall.

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 28 March 2003.

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 vehicle to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact cummins at 1-800-343-7357 or blue bird at 478-822-2242.

Official source

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.

Same component

Same brand