- Vehicles
- 302
- Built between
- Aug 2018 – Apr 2021
- Models
- 4
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 25 October 2021
- Repaired
- 65%
- Unrepaired
- 105
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between August 2018 and April 2021. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2018-2019 Blue Bird ALL AmericanBuilt August 2018 to April 2021
- 2020-2021 Blue Bird ALL American School BUSBuilt August 2018 to April 2021
- 2018-2019 Blue Bird VisionBuilt January 2019 to April 2021
- 2020-2021 Blue Bird Vision School BUSBuilt January 2019 to April 2021
Repair progress
105 of 302 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q4 2023.
65% repaired — 197 of 302 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
Blue Bird Body Company (Blue Bird) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Vision and All American school buses. The drivetrain may experience an electromagnetic noise on the Control Area Network (CAN) bus, which may cause a loss of electrical power to the power steering pump.
What could happen
A loss of assisted power steering increases the risk of a crash.
What gets fixed
Cummins will replace the High Voltage Low Power Inverter Harness, and install an overlay harness, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on May 22, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed on October 25, 2021.
Parts involved
- Harness, Wiring (Cummins)200164Thermal Management System Harness (Cummins)
- Harness, Wiring (Cummins)300179High Voltage Low Power Inverter Harness (Cummins)
Part numbers are as filed by the manufacturer and are listed for reference. Your dealer will confirm the correct part for your vehicle.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtAugust 2018 to April 2021
- Recall reported to NHTSA28 April 2021
- Owners notified25 October 2021
- Latest repair reportQ4 2023 — 65% 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 28 April 2021.
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 customer service at 1-478-822-2242.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- R21BG-SB
- Recalling manufacturer
- Blue Bird Body Company
- 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.