- Vehicles
- 168
- Built between
- Jan 1979 – Sep 1980
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 13 April 1981
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between January 1979 and September 1980. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1979-1980 Blue Bird Blue BirdBuilt January 1979 to September 1980
What the defect is
There are an insufficient number of fasteners in the first and last headlining joints. Therefore, the vehicle does not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 221, "school bus body joint strength".
What gets fixed
MANUFACTURER WILL CORRECT THE DEFICIENCY BY ADDING THE REQUIRED FASTENERS TO THE HEADLINING JOINTS.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJanuary 1979 to September 1980
- Recall reported to NHTSA15 October 1980
- Owners notified13 April 1981
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 15 October 1980.
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.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY
- Safety standard
- FMVSS 221
- 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
Vehicle description: school buses.system: structure; body, joint fasteners.consequences of defect: in the event of an accident, the body joint strengthmay not be adequate to prevent severe damage to the vehicle, and the chances ofpassenger injury would be increased.
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.