Vehicle Recall

Champion Seat Belts: Webbing

Champion is recalling about 1,818 vehicles over a problem with the seat belts. A frayed seat belt fray may fail to properly restrain the seat occupant in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Campaign
15V391000
Manufacturer
Champion Bus, Inc.
Reported
19 June 2015
Vehicles
1,818
Built between
Mar 2013 – Jun 2015
Models
14
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
16 September 2015
Repaired
34%
Unrepaired
1,203

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between March 2013 and June 2015. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2013-2015 Champion American CoachBuilt March 2013 to June 2015
  • 2013-2015 Champion American CrusaderBuilt March 2013 to June 2015
  • 2013-2015 Champion ChallengerBuilt March 2013 to June 2015
  • 2013-2015 Champion CrusaderBuilt March 2013 to June 2015
  • 2013-2015 Champion CTS-FEBuilt March 2013 to June 2015
  • 2013-2015 Champion CTS-REBuilt March 2013 to June 2015
  • 2013-2015 Champion DefenderBuilt March 2013 to June 2015
  • 2013-2015 Champion DfucBuilt March 2013 to June 2015
  • 2013-2015 Champion EZ-TransBuilt March 2013 to June 2015
  • 2013-2015 Champion HCBuilt March 2013 to June 2015
  • 2013-2015 Champion HcacBuilt March 2013 to June 2015
  • 2013-2015 Champion LF TransportBuilt March 2013 to June 2015
  • 2013-2015 Champion PremierBuilt March 2013 to June 2015
  • 2013-2015 Champion SpiritBuilt March 2013 to June 2015

Repair progress

1,203 of 1,818 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q2 2018.

34% repaired — 615 of 1,818 reported

Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.

What the defect is

Champion Bus, Inc. (Champion) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 American Crusader, American Coach, Challenger, Crusader, CTS-FE, CTS-RE, Defender, EZ Trans, HCAC, HC, DFUC, LF Transport, Premier, and Spirit transit buses manufactured March 1, 2013, to June 12, 2015. In the affected vehicles, the passenger seat belts may rub against the metal seat frame and fray. As a result, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."

What could happen

A frayed seat belt fray may fail to properly restrain the seat occupant in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

What gets fixed

Champion will notify owners, and dealers will install a plastic sleeve over the metal seat frame, and replace any seat belts that show evidence of fraying, free of charge. The recall began on September 16, 2015.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtMarch 2013 to June 2015
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA19 June 2015
  3. Owners notified16 September 2015
  4. Latest repair reportQ2 2018 — 34% repaired

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 19 June 2015.

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 Champion customer service at 1-810-724-1753 extension 562.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
Champion Bus, Inc.
Safety standard
FMVSS 209
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

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

  1. Ford — Seat Belts: Webbing21V81100015 October 202147,683 vehicles
  2. Ford — Seat Belts: Webbing21V65300023 August 202116,430 vehicles
  3. Volkswagen — Seat Belts: Webbing20V72400020 November 202010,835 vehicles
  4. Mercedes-Benz — Seat Belts: Webbing20V22800021 April 20206 vehicles
  5. Isuzu — Seat Belts: Webbing20V02500017 January 20201,138 vehicles
  6. Ford — Seat Belts: Anchorage19V76600025 October 2019366 vehicles

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