Blue Bird Service Brakes, Air: Quick Release Valve

Blue Bird is recalling about 32 vehicles over a problem with the service brakes, air. Malfunction of the air brake system could result in a vehicle crash.

Campaign
09V253000
Manufacturer
BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY
Reported
7 July 2009
Vehicles
32
Built between
Jul 2008 – Jan 2009
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
14 August 2009
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between July 2008 and January 2009. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2009 Blue Bird Blue BirdBuilt July 2008 to January 2009

What the defect is

Blue bird is recalling 32 model year 2009 buses manufactured between july 3, 2008 through january 7, 2009 and sold to the U.S. General services administration for overseas use. These buses were equipped with defective haldex quick release valves (qrv). The rubber diaphragm inside the qrv may experience delamination resulting in significant levels of air pressure leakage past and/or through the diaphragm, or the development of a bubble in the diaphragm which may trap air pressure in the valve and not allow the service brakes to release.

What could happen

Malfunction of the air brake system could result in a vehicle crash.

What gets fixed

BLUE BIRD WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPAIR THE AFFECTED VEHICLES FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR ABOUT AUGUST 13, 2009.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJuly 2008 to January 2009
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA7 July 2009
  3. Owners notified14 August 2009

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 7 July 2009.

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 can contact blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
R09PK
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's recall campaign no. R09PK.OWNERS 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 <a href=http://www.safercar.gov>http://www.safercar.gov</a> .

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