- Vehicles
- 2
- Built between
- Sep 2008 – Oct 2009
- Models
- 2
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 20 August 2009
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between September 2008 and October 2009. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2008 Girardin G5Built September 2008 to October 2008
- 2008 Micro Bird MB II School BUSBuilt September 2008 to October 2009
What the defect is
Girardin is recalling certain model year 2008 G5 and mb ii school buses manufactured between september 1, 2008, and october 31, 2008, equipped with specialty manufacturing, inc. (smi) 000290 LED light kits. A change to the wire used in the LED light kits may reduce the effective life of the lights used on the stop arms and, as a result, the lights may stop functioning without warning.
What could happen
Should the LED lights stop functioning, visibility of a stopped bus and the stop arm would be decreased, thereby increasing the risk of a passing vehicle striking a child or other person entering or leaving the bus.
What gets fixed
GIRARDIN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND THE BUSES WILL BE REPAIRED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 20, 2009.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtSeptember 2008 to October 2009
- Recall reported to NHTSA4 August 2009
- Owners notified20 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 4 August 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 may contact smi warranty service at 1-800-951-7867 or girardin at 1-819-477-2012.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 09-029-SAU
- Recalling manufacturer
- GIRARDIN MINIBUS INC.
- 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
Girardin's recall campaign no. 09-029-SAU.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.