Blue Bird Seats

Blue Bird is recalling about 441 vehicles over a problem with the seats. When a Flip Seat is installed in front of another passenger seat, it is possible for the occupant of the rearward passenger seat to insert their toes and/or foot into the lower frame area of the Flip Seat.

Campaign
13V200000
Manufacturer
Blue Bird Body Company
Reported
15 May 2013
Vehicles
441
Built between
Aug 2009 – Mar 2013
Models
2
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
14 June 2013
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between August 2009 and March 2013. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2010-2014 Blue Bird ALL AmericanBuilt August 2009 to March 2013
  • 2010-2014 Blue Bird VisionBuilt August 2009 to March 2013

What the defect is

Blue Bird is recalling certain model year 2010 through 2014 All American and Vision model school buses manufactured from August 25, 2009, through March 19, 2013, and equipped with C. E. White Inc. Flip Seats models Quasi Static "QSJ11" (30", 36", 39" and 45"), Student Safety Seat "SSSJ" (30", 36", 39" and 45"), or School Bus Seat "SBJ" (30", 36", 39" and 45").

What could happen

When a Flip Seat is installed in front of another passenger seat, it is possible for the occupant of the rearward passenger seat to insert their toes and/or foot into the lower frame area of the Flip Seat. When a vehicle passenger occupies the Flip Seat, pushing the seat bottom downward to the horizontal position to sit in the seat, the occupant of the rearward seat could suffer a pinch point injury to their toes and/or foot.

What gets fixed

Blue Bird will notify owners, and dealers will install a safety guard to prevent passengers from placing their toes or feet in the opening on the back of the subject Flip Seats, free of charge. The recall began on June 14, 2013.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtAugust 2009 to March 2013
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA15 May 2013
  3. Owners notified14 June 2013

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 May 2013.

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 for more information. Blue Bird's number for this campaign is R13WF.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
R13WF
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

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to 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.

Same component

Same brand