- Vehicles
- 143
- Built between
- Apr 2010 – Sep 2010
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 26 January 2011
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between April 2010 and September 2010. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2011 Blue Bird ALL AmericanBuilt April 2010 to September 2010
What the defect is
Blue bird is recalling certain model year 2011 all american D3 model school buses manufactured with 20 gauge outside side panels from april 23, 2010, through september 11, 2010. The side panel joint adhesive that is required to be used to adhere the panels may not have been used during production. Accordingly, these buses fail to comply with the joint strength requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 221, "school bus body joint strength."
What could happen
In the event of a crash, the side panel joints may not endure as intended and the panels may loosen or separate, increasing the risk of injury to passengers.
What gets fixed
BLUE BIRD WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS ADD ADDITIONAL RIVETS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 26, 2011.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtApril 2010 to September 2010
- Recall reported to NHTSA16 December 2010
- Owners notified26 January 2011
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 16 December 2010.
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 1-478-822-2242.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- R11SU
- Recalling manufacturer
- BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY
- Safety standard
- FMVSS 221
- 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
Blue bird's recall campaign number is R11SU.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.