- Vehicles
- 5,954
- Built between
- Jan 2002 – Mar 2005
- Models
- 7
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 14 September 2005
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between January 2002 and March 2005. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2002-2004 Thomas ConventionalBuilt January 2002 to March 2005
- 2002-2005 Thomas ERBuilt January 2002 to March 2005
- 2002-2005 Thomas HDXBuilt January 2002 to March 2005
- 2002-2005 Thomas MinotourBuilt January 2002 to March 2005
- 2002-2005 Thomas MVP EFBuilt January 2002 to March 2005
- 2002-2005 Thomas MVP ERBuilt January 2002 to March 2005
- 2001 Thomas SAF-T-Liner ConventionalBuilt January 2002 to March 2005
What the defect is
Certain 2002-2005 my thomas built minotour, conventional, mvp-er, er, hdx, and mvp-ef model school buses manufactured between january 8, 2002, and march 8, 2005, equipped with specialty mfg "5" series stop arms originally sold in or currently registered in states other than the following states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, montana, nebraska, nevada, new hampshire, new jersey, new mexico, new york, north dakota, ohio, oregon, pennsylvania, rhode island, south dakota, tennessee, utah, vermont, virginia, washington, west virginia, wisconsin, wyoming, and the district of columbia. In extremely cold weather, the microswitches used internally to position the stop arm sign in the open and closed positions may malfunction, causing the sign to open or close in an improper position, or to not open at all.
What could happen
Should the stop arm not perform properly, a child or pedestrian may be endangered by passing vehicles should the motorist not stop at the correct location.
What gets fixed
FOR THOSE BUSES OPERATED IN OR NEAR ANY OF THE STATES LISTED ABOVE, THOMAS BUILT IS ENCOURAGING THE BUS OWNERS TO OBTAIN THE REPLACEMENT SWITCH. FOR THOSE BUSES OPERATED IN THE WARMER STATES, DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE SWITCH UPON OWNER REQUEST. FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS WHO REQUEST THE REMEDY, THOMAS BUILT WILL REPLACE THE ORIGINAL SWITCH WITH A SWITCH PACK THAT IS NOT SENSITIVE TO EXTREME COLD WEATHER AND WILL INSPECT TO ENSURE THE MICROSWITCH HEATER WIRING IS PROPERLY CONNECTED. THE RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2005.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJanuary 2002 to March 2005
- Recall reported to NHTSA3 August 2005
- Owners notified14 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 3 August 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's customer support office at 336-889-4871.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- FL-454
- Recalling manufacturer
- FREIGHTLINER LLC
- 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
This action is deemed a safety improvement campaign and is not being conducted under the safety act.freightliner/thomas built recall no. FL-454.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.