2002 Blue Bird ALL American Problems, Complaints & Recalls

Problem: Certain 2001 through 2006 my blue bird all american, tc2000, and vision transit school buses manufactured between january 5, 2001, and july 15, 2005. These buses are equipped with a battery disconnect switch that has connections that may be loose on the battery switch studs creating the potential for the bus to shut down while in operation.

Risk: Should the bus shut down while in operation, a vehicle crash could occur.

Fix: Blue bird will notify its owners and instruct them on how to repair the switch. The recall began on october 19 , 2005. Owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.

Problem: Certain school buses originally sold in or currently registered in the following states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, montana, nebraska, nevada, new hampshire, new jersey, new mexico, new york, north dakota, ohio, oregon, pennsylvania, rhode island, south dakota, tennessee, utah, vermont, virginia, washington, west virginia, wisconsin, wyoming, and the district of columbia. In extremely cold weather, the microswitches used internally to position the stop arm sign in the open and closed positions may malfunction, causing the sign to open or close in an improper position, or to not open at all.

Risk: Should the stop arm not perform properly, a child or pedestrian may be endangered by passing vehicles should the motorist not stop at the correct location.

Fix: Blue bird will notify its customers and replace the original switch with a switch pack that is not sensitive to extreme cold weather and will inspect to ensure the microswitch heater wiring is properly connected free of charge. The recall began on august 12, 2005. Owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.

Problem: Certain blue bird 2002 through 2006 my all american, conventional, minibird, microbird, vision, and tc2000 school buses originally sold in or currently registered in states other than the following states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, montana, nebraska, nevada, new hampshire, new jersey, new mexico, new york, north dakota, ohio, oregon, pennsylvania, rhode island, south dakota, tennessee, utah, vermont, virginia, washington, west virginia, wisconsin, wyoming, and the district of columbia. In extremely cold weather, the microswitches used internally to position the sign in the open and closed positions may malfunction, causing the sign to open or close in an improper position, or to not open at all.

Risk: Should the stop arm not perform properly, a child or pedestrian may be endangered by passing motorists should the motorist not stop at the correct location.

Fix: Blue bird will notify all its customers of this campaign. For those buses operated in or near any of the states listed above, blue bird is encouraging the bus owners to obtain the replacement switch. For those buses operated in the warmer states, blue bird will replace the switch upon owner request. For those customers who request the remedy, blue bird will replace the original switch with a switch pack that is not sensitive to extreme cold weather and will inspect to ensure the microswitch heater wiring is properly connected. The safety improvement campaign began on august 12, 2005. Owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.

Problem: Certain 2001 through 2005 all american, commercial series, and q-bus school and transit buses equipped with john deere 8.1 cng engines. The subject buses equipped with the john deere engines may surge inappropriately due to erractic operation of the air throttle if the engine is taken from full to zero load.

Risk: Unexpected engine surge could result in a vehicle crash, possibly resulting in personal injury.

Fix: John deere will notify blue bird's customers and repair the engines free of charge. Customers are being instructed to contact john deere at 1-800-jd-engine.

Problem: Certain 2002-2006 my blue bird all american school and transit buses, conventional school buses, and commercial series transit buses manufactured between december 21, 2002, and february 24, 2005. These buses are equipped with webasto coolant heaters, model dbw 2010, assembled with webasto burner tubes, p/n 303046/26533a manufactured between november 2002 and february 2005. The stainless steel burner tube is made out of a material that is not to specification and could fail prematurely.

Risk: Should the burner tube fail, the coolant heater could overheat, possibly resulting in a fire.

Fix: Blue bird will notify its customers and replace the burner tubes free of charge. The recall began on march 31, 2005. Owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.

Problem: Certain 1998 through 2002 blue bird all american, tc2000 school and transit buses, and commercial series buses equipped with cummins isb diesel engines. The fuel pump could fail to transfer fuel appropriately creating an engine stall condition.

Risk: Should the engine stall while the vehicle is in use, a possible vehicle crash could occur.

Fix: Customers will be notified by cummins to bring their vehicles to an authorized dealer to have the fuel lift pump replaced free of charge. For more information, customers may contact cummins at 1-800-diesels.

Problem: On certain rear engine (a3re) school buses, the type and location of the fasteners used to retain the seat belt in the last row of seats does not conform to blue bird engineering specifications.

Risk: This installation may not adequately retain seat belts in the event of a severe crash.

Fix: Blue bird will provide its distributors and owners the parts and instructions to install the correct fasteners free of charge. Owner notification is expected to begin november 20, 2003. Owners who do not receive the parts and installation instructions within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.

Problem: Certain school buses fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 221, "school bus body joint strength." one or more of the bolts attaching the driver's platform to the floor structure was omitted.

Risk: The rear of the driver's platform may not be properly retained in the event of a crash which could increase the risk of injury or death to passengers.

Fix: Blue bird will notify its customers and inspect and repair the affected units. Owner notification began on november 20, 2003. 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 blue bird at 478-822-2242.

Problem: On certain school buses equipped with optional seat belts or seat belt "ready" seats, some belts were installed with only two bolts rather than the required three (3) bolts.

Risk: These seats could detach from the wall side attachment points in the event of a vehicle crash, increasing the risk of injury to the seat occupant.

Fix: Blue bird will furnish to distributors and owners, parts and instructions necessary to install the missing bolt free of charge. Owner notification is expected to on november 3, 2003. 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 blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.

Problem: On certain school and transit buses equipped with passenger seat belts with retractors, the cover halves for the retractable portion of the belt can separate completely and release the seat belt connector. If this occurs, one of the load bearing pins in the connector could separate from the connector and render the seat belt unusable. In the event of a crash, the seat occupant would not be properly restrained resulting in an injury. The seat belt supplier, am-safe, will provide a snap on "over-cover" to owners to prevent the seat belt cover from separating.

Risk: If this occurs, one of the load bearing pins in the connector could separate from the connector and render the seat belt unusable. In the event of a crash, the seat occupant would not be properly restrained resulting in an injury.

Fix: Owners will be provided a snap-on "over-cover" to prevent the seat belt cover from separating. Owner notification is expected to begin on or about september 27, 2002. Owners who do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.

Problem: On certain rear engine school and transit buses equipped with cummins isb engines, the wiring harness to the combustion air intake grid heater could chafe against engine components.

Risk: The harness can wear through causing an electrical short in the grid heater power supply, increasing the risk of a fire.

Fix: Owners will be contacted and advised to add a bracket to support the harness away from the engine components. Blue bird will provide a replacement harness for any harnesses found abraded and will reimburse the customer for the labor required to replace the harness. Owner notification is expected to begin on or about september 29, 2002. 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 blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.

Problem: Certain transit buses fail to comply with requirements of federal motor vehicle standard no. 101, "controls and displays." this standard requires specific labeling for "engine start" and "engine stop." the wording of the labels on these vehicles do not meet the requirements of the standard.

Risk: The operator could place the engine switch in a position other than that intended, increasing the risk of a crash.

Fix: Owners will be provided with new decals and installation instructions. Owner notification began august 29, 2002. Owners who do not receive the free label and installation instructions within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.

Problem: On certain school and transit buses equipped with allison 2000 series transmissions, the "range inhibited" indicator light on the dash was improperly installed and does not function.

Risk: The operator will not be alerted that the transmission operation is being inhibited and that the range shifts being requested by the operator may not occur, increasing the risk of a crash.

Fix: Distributors and owners will be instructed to remove the dash and activate the indicator "range inhibited" light according to instructions provided. Owner notification began august 16, 2002. 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 blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.

Problem: Vehicle description: school and transit buses. Insufficient torque on the arvin-meritor air brake chamber mounting nuts can allow the nuts to loosen over time.

Risk: This condition could reduce braking of the vehicle, possibly resulting in a crash.

Fix: Dealers will inspect the torque values on each brake chamber nut and tighten to specifications. Owner notification began november 16, 2001. 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 blue bird at 1-912-822-2242.