- Vehicles
- 46
- Built between
- Aug 2003 – Sep 2003
- Models
- 2
- 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 August 2003 and September 2003. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2003 Girardin MbiiBuilt August 2003 to September 2003
- 2003 Girardin MbivBuilt August 2003 to September 2003
What the defect is
My 2003 mbii & mbiv school buses built on ford E-350 & E-450, GM 3500 chassis, and manufactured between august 25 and september 17, 2003. These buses are equipped with beam's industries seat belts. The metal frame of the seat belt buckle may fracture due to possible embrittlement of the steel, resulting in a potential release of the engaged tongue during use. These seat belt assemblies do not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 209, "seat belt assemblies."
What could happen
In the event of a vehicle crash, the buckle may unlatch, and possible injury or death could occur to the seat occupant.
What gets fixed
BEAM'S INDUSTRIES WILL NOTIFY THE CUSTOMERS OF GIRARDIN DIRECTLY AND WILL PROVIDE THEM WITH THE REMEDY AND INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS FREE OF CHARGE.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtAugust 2003 to September 2003
- Recall reported to NHTSA3 October 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 3 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 should contact beam's at 1-888-343-9266 or girardin at 1-819-477-8222.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 03-005-SB
- Recalling manufacturer
- GIRARDIN MINIBUS INC.
- Safety standard
- FMVSS 209
- 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
Girardin recall no. 03-005-SB.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.