- Vehicles
- 8,088
- Built between
- Aug 1990 – Aug 2003
- Models
- 2
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 20 November 2003
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between August 1990 and August 2003. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1999-2004 Blue Bird ALL AmericanBuilt October 1998 to August 2003
- 1991-2000 Blue Bird TC2000Built August 1990 to July 1999
What the defect is
Certain school buses fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 221, "school bus body joint strength." one or more of the bolts attaching the driver's platform to the floor structure was omitted.
What could happen
The rear of the driver's platform may not be properly retained in the event of a crash which could increase the risk of injury or death to passengers.
What gets fixed
BLUE BIRD WILL NOTIFY ITS CUSTOMERS AND INSPECT AND REPAIR THE AFFECTED UNITS. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 20, 2003.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtAugust 1990 to August 2003
- Recall reported to NHTSA8 October 2003
- Owners notified20 November 2003
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 8 October 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 vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- R03GZ
- Recalling manufacturer
- BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY
- Safety standard
- FMVSS 221
- 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.