Champion Structure: Underbody Shields

Champion is recalling about 61 vehicles over a problem with the structure. Driving the bus on some road conditions could cause the sub-floor crossmember frame to crack.

Campaign
03V458000
Manufacturer
CHAMPION BUS, INC.
Reported
24 October 2003
Vehicles
61
Built between
Not published
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
12 May 2004
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

The manufacturer did not publish a build-date range for this recall, so the model and year list below is the only way to tell whether your vehicle is covered.

  • 2002 Champion Challenger

What the defect is

On certain transit buses, a light gauge steel was used for the floor frame crossmember located in the floor sub-frame.

What could happen

Driving the bus on some road conditions could cause the sub-floor crossmember frame to crack. This condition can increase the risk of a crash.

What gets fixed

OWNERS WILL INSPECT FOR CRACKS AND IF CRACKS ARE PRESENT OWNERS ARE TO CONTACT CHAMPION FOR REPAIR INSTRUCTIONS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 12, 2004.

Timeline

  1. Recall reported to NHTSA24 October 2003
  2. Owners notified12 May 2004

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 24 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 champion at 1-800-788-1976.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
CHAMPION BUS, INC.
Recall initiated by
ODI

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