- Vehicles
- 65
- Built between
- Jan 2026 – Jun 2026
- Models
- 2
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- Not yet
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between January 2026 and June 2026. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2027 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner EFX2Built January 2026 to June 2026
- 2027 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner HDX2Built January 2026 to June 2026
What the defect is
Daimler Trucks North America, LLC (DTNA) is recalling certain 2027 Thomas Built SAF-T-LINER HDX2 and Thomas Built SAF-T-LINER EFX2 school buses. The connector plates for the driver's seat belt anchor and an interior body joint seam may be missing, resulting in insufficient structural reinforcements. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages," and 221, "School Bus Body Joint Strength."
What could happen
A seat belt anchor with a missing connector plate may fail to properly restrain the driver and insufficient joint strength may not adequately protect passengers, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
What gets fixed
The remedy is currently under development. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 23, 2026.
Parts involved
- Header Window Interior ConnectorTBB 243177HEADER WINDOW INTERIOR CONNECTOR
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 builtJanuary 2026 to June 2026
- Recall reported to NHTSA24 August 2026
No owner-notification date has been published yet. Manufacturers normally write to registered owners within 60 days of reporting a recall.
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 24 August 2026.
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 1-800-574-0712. DTNA's number for this recall is F1038.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- F1038
- Recalling manufacturer
- Daimler Trucks North America, LLC
- Safety standard
- FMVSS 210
- 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.
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.