Optima Fuel System, Diesel

Optima is recalling about 417 vehicles over a problem with the fuel system, diesel. If the fuel lift pump pumping element stops spinning and the fuel pumping vanes stop in a location which blocks fuel flow through the lift pump, the engine will be starved of fuel.

Campaign
05V110000
Manufacturer
OPTIMA BUS CORP
Reported
24 March 2005
Vehicles
417
Built between
May 1998 – Feb 2003
Models
4
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
Not yet
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between May 1998 and February 2003. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1998-2003 Optima AH-28Built May 1998 to February 2003
  • 1998-2003 Optima Opus 29Built May 1998 to February 2003
  • 1998-2003 Optima Opus 34Built May 1998 to February 2003
  • 1998-2003 Optima RT-52Built May 1998 to February 2003

What the defect is

On trolleys and transit coaches equipped with cummins isb diesel engines, the fuel lift pump could fail in a manner which results in engine fuel starvation, which could result in a stall condition. Potential lift pump failure modes include: brush wear out, bushing failure, rotor tab insert failure, or any other failure mode that would cause the fuel pumping element to stop spinning.

What could happen

If the fuel lift pump pumping element stops spinning and the fuel pumping vanes stop in a location which blocks fuel flow through the lift pump, the engine will be starved of fuel. Fuel starvation could cause low engine power, engine misfire, or engine stall. Prior to the engine stalling, the operator could experience low engine power, engine misfire, and/or dash-mounted fault lamp illumination.

What gets fixed

CUMMINS IS CONDUCTING THE OWNER NOTIFICATION AND REMEDY FOR THIS CAMPAIGN.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtMay 1998 to February 2003
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA24 March 2005

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 24 March 2005.

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 may contact cummins at 1-800-343-7357 or optima at 316-779-7700.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
OPTIMA BUS CORP
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

Customers may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

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