Thomas Built Buses Electrical System: Cables

Thomas Built Buses is recalling about 90 vehicles over a problem with the electrical system. The battery cable rubbing may cause the cable to short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.

Campaign
18V250000
Manufacturer
Daimler Trucks North America LLC
Reported
19 April 2018
Vehicles
90
Built between
Mar 2017 – Mar 2018
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
3 October 2018
Repaired
78%
Unrepaired
20

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between March 2017 and March 2018. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2018-2019 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2Built March 2017 to March 2018

Repair progress

20 of 90 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q2 2020.

78% repaired — 70 of 90 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

Daimler Trucks North America LLC (DTNA) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Thomas Built Buses Saf-T-Liner C2 transit buses equipped with 2 8D batteries. The battery power cable may have inadequate clearance between the cable and the battery hold down bracket when the battery tray is pulled out for service, causing the cable to rub against the bracket.

What could happen

The battery cable rubbing may cause the cable to short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.

What gets fixed

DTNA will notify owners, and dealers will be inspect the battery cables and reroute them for proper clearance, as required, free of charge. Daimler issued an interim notification to owners on June 18, 2018. The recall began October 3, 2018.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtMarch 2017 to March 2018
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA19 April 2018
  3. Owners notified3 October 2018
  4. Latest repair reportQ2 2020 — 78% 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 April 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 DTNA customer service at 1-800-547-0712. DTNA's number for this recall is FL768.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
FL768
Recalling manufacturer
Daimler Trucks North America LLC
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

Same brand