- Vehicles
- 4,819
- Built between
- Sep 2000 – Mar 2004
- Models
- 4
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 6 September 2005
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between September 2000 and March 2004. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2001-2003 Thomas HDBuilt September 2000 to March 2004
- 2001-2004 Thomas HDXBuilt September 2000 to March 2004
- 2001-2004 Thomas MVP EFBuilt September 2000 to March 2004
- 2001-2004 Thomas MVP ERBuilt September 2000 to March 2004
What the defect is
Certain 2001-2004 my thomas built mvp-ef, er transit, mvp-er, hd, and hdx school buses manufactured between september 24, 2000, and march 4, 2004. The tie rod assembly can fracture and fail, possibly resulting in complete separation.
What could happen
Tie rod failure can possibly result in complete wheel separation and a vehicle crash could occur.
What gets fixed
THOMAS BUILT WILL NOTIFY ITS CUSTOMERS AND WILL REPLACE THE TIE ROD ASSEMBLY FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN SEPTEMBER 6, 2005.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtSeptember 2000 to March 2004
- Recall reported to NHTSA1 April 2005
- Owners notified6 September 2005
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 1 April 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 thomas built at (we do not yet have a telephone number).
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- FL-441
- Recalling manufacturer
- FREIGHTLINER LLC
- 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
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.