- Vehicles
- 31,990
- Built between
- Apr 2011 – Jul 2018
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Equipment
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 11 September 2018
- Repaired
- 28%
- Unrepaired
- 23,151
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between April 2011 and July 2018. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- Ce White School BUS SeatBuilt April 2011 to July 2018
Repair progress
23,151 of 31,990 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q4 2019.
28% repaired — 8,834 of 31,990 reported
- Owners not reachable
- 5
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
Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company (HSM) is recalling certain CE White SB11-30" series, standard, unbelted, school bus seats, and SB11-30" series school bus seats with lap belts only. The foam in the knee impact area of the lower seat back may not absorb enough impact in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 222, "School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection."
What could happen
If the seat foam does not absorb enough impact energy, it can increase the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
What gets fixed
HSM will notify the bus manufacturers that purchased the seats, and dealers for those manufacturers will insert an additional piece of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam into the seatback, free of charge. The recall began September 11, 2018.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtApril 2011 to July 2018
- Recall reported to NHTSA17 July 2018
- Owners notified11 September 2018
- Latest repair reportQ4 2019 — 28% 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 17 July 2018.
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 HSM customer service at 1-419-492-2157 extension 243.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company
- Safety standard
- FMVSS 222
- 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.