- Vehicles
- 45
- Built between
- Feb 2004 – May 2005
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 18 October 2005
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between February 2004 and May 2005. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2003-2006 Blue Bird Ultra LFBuilt February 2004 to May 2005
What the defect is
On certain commercialtransit buses equipped with vapor door assemblies, the two piece curved connecting rods when used as an element of the door actuation linkage in conjunction with a vapor medium pneumatic differential engine, may be subject to fatigue failure resulting in bending or breaking of the connecting rod.
What could happen
A broken connecting rod can allow the door panel to move freely in an uncontrolled manner, leaving passengers inside the vehicle unprotected by the door panel and enabling a protruding door panel to strike persons or objects outside the vehicle.
What gets fixed
BLUE BIRD IS WORKING WITH VAPOR BUS INTERNATIONAL TO NOTIFY OWNERS AND HAVE THE REPAIR PERFORMED ON THEIR VEHICLES. THE REMEDY CONSISTS OF REPLACING THE TWO PIECE CONNECTING ROD WITH A ONE PIECE CONNECTING ROD. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 18, 2005.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtFebruary 2004 to May 2005
- Recall reported to NHTSA15 June 2005
- Owners notified18 October 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 15 June 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 blue bird at 478-822-2242 or vapor at 847-777-6400.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- R04JY
- Recalling manufacturer
- BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY
- 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
Blue bird recall no. R04JY.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.