- Vehicles
- 388
- Built between
- Sep 1978 – Aug 1981
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 15 December 1981
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between September 1978 and August 1981. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1978-1981 Thomas PusherBuilt September 1978 to August 1981
What the defect is
An insufficient weld may exist in the reinforcing gusset plate on front, right and/or left spring hanger, or the weld may be missing entirely. The spring-hangers are brackets located on either side of the axle. Defective or missing welds can cause cracks to form in the spring-hanger.
What gets fixed
IF THE HANGER IS CRACKED, THE GUSSET AND THE CRACK WILL BE WELDED. A REPLACEMENT HANGER WILL THEN BE ORDERED AND INSTALLED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, WITHOUT CHARGE TO OWNER.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtSeptember 1978 to August 1981
- Recall reported to NHTSA8 December 1981
- Owners notified15 December 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 8 December 1981.
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
- THOMAS BUILT BUSES, INC.
- 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: suspension; front spring-hangers.consequences of defect: cracks may lead to complete failure of the springhangers, which could cause loss of vehicle control and an accident.
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.