Thomas Seats

Thomas is recalling about 38 vehicles over a problem with the seats. If these welds were not to specification, back rest loads could cause the welds to fail.

Campaign
96V178008
Manufacturer
THOMAS BUILT BUSES, INC.
Reported
13 January 1997
Vehicles
38
Built between
Jan 1996 – Sep 1996
Models
3
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 1996 and September 1996. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1996 Thomas ConventionalBuilt January 1996 to September 1996
  • 1996 Thomas MVPBuilt January 1996 to September 1996
  • 1996 Thomas SAF-T-LinerBuilt January 1996 to September 1996

What the defect is

Vehicle description: transit buses equipped with isringhausen seats in the driver position. Two welds located on the back rest adjustment side of the seat frame did not meet the manufacturer's specifications.

What could happen

If these welds were not to specification, back rest loads could cause the welds to fail. The back rest would disengage from the seat frame allowing loss of support to the driver's torso and possibly causing loss of control of the vehicle.

What gets fixed

ISRINGHAUSEN IS CONDUCTING THE OWNER NOTIFICATION AND REMEDY CAMPAIGN FOR THIS RECALL. DEALERS WILL INSPECT THESE SEATS AND REPLACE THE SEAT FRAME ASSEMBLY.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJanuary 1996 to September 1996
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA13 January 1997

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 13 January 1997.

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

Owner notification:owner notification is being conducted by isringhausen and will begin during february 1997.NOTE:OWNERS who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact thomas built at 1-910-889-4871 or isringhausen at 616-968-5333, ext. 301. Also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-800-424-9393.

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.

Same component

Same brand