- Vehicles
- 3,080
- Built between
- Sep 2018 – Jun 2019
- Models
- 4
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 15 November 2019
- Repaired
- 77%
- Unrepaired
- 714
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between September 2018 and June 2019. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2019-2020 Thomas Built Buses MinotourBuilt September 2018 to May 2019
- 2019-2020 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2Built September 2018 to June 2019
- 2019-2020 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner EFXBuilt September 2018 to April 2019
- 2019-2020 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner HDXBuilt September 2018 to April 2019
Repair progress
714 of 3,080 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q3 2021.
77% repaired — 2,366 of 3,080 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 2019-2020 Thomas Built Minotour, Saf-T Liner C2, Saf-T Liner EFX, and Saf-T Liner HDX school buses equipped with Safe Fleet Prolo Roof Escape hatches. Due to a manufacturing issue, the roof hatch external handle may unexpectedly break under reasonable use.
What could happen
If the roof hatch external handle breaks, in the event of an emergency, the hatch cannot be easily opened from outside the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury.
What gets fixed
DTNA will notify owners, and dealers will install a new handle, free of charge. Owners were issued an interim notification on September 13, 2019. The recall began November 15, 2019.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtSeptember 2018 to June 2019
- Recall reported to NHTSA25 July 2019
- Owners notified15 November 2019
- Latest repair reportQ3 2021 — 77% 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 25 July 2019.
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 FL-819.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- FL-819
- 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.