2009 Thomas Built Buses HDX Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other HDX years
- Not enough data 1st of 14 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 6 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 2 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Thomas Built Buses HDX. That is the most of any HDX model year in the database (14 years). The most reported problem area is electrical system (1 complaints, 50%), typically at around 20,351 miles. Complaints mention 1 fire. There are 6 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 1 defect investigation involving it.
- 2owner complaints
- 6safety recalls
- 1NHTSA investigations
- 0complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2009 Thomas Built Buses HDX problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 1 | 50% | 20,351 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 1 | 50% | 26,000 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
2009 Thomas Built Buses HDX recalls (6)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Engine and engine cooling:engine
Problem: Daimler trucks north america is recalling certain model year 2005 through 2012 freightliner m2, sterling acterra, 7500 & 8500, and thomas built hdx vehicles manufactured from june 23, 2004, through march 15, 2011, equipped with specific mbe900 epa04 and epa07 model engines. The intake air grid heater may short circuit and fail due to excessive internal temperatures.
Risk: A short circuited grid heater could result in a vehicle fire and injury to vehicle occupants.
Fix: Daimler trucks will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles free of charge. Repairs will be performed by detroit diesel corporation authorized repair facilities. The safety recall began on september 12, 2011. Owners may contact daimler trucks toll-free at 1-800-547-0712. This recall is an expansion of a previous recall, campaign number 10v-341.
Engine and engine cooling
Problem: Daimler trucks is recalling certain model year 2007 through 2011 fccc b2 106 ch and thomas built saf-t-liner c2 and hdx school buses manufactured from september 5, 2006 through june 30, 2010, equipped with specific mbe900 epa04 and epa07 model engines. The intake air grid heater may short circuit and fail due to excessive internal temperatures.
Risk: A short circuited grid heater could result in a vehicle fire and injury to vehicle occupants.
Fix: Daimler trucks will notify owners and dealers will repair the buses free of charge. Repairs will be performed by detroit diesel corporation authorized repair facilities. The safety recall is expected to begin on or about july 29, 2011. Owners may contact daimler trucks toll-free at 1-800-547-0712.
Electrical system:wiring
Problem: Dtna is recalling certain model year 2009 and 2010 hdx school buses manufactured on november 15, 2007 through june 15, 2009. The heater coolant flow valve actuator 0-ring may allow coolant leakage into the heater core compartment and the actuator pc board area potentially causing the actuator to overheat and/or melt.
Risk: An overheated and/or melted actuator may result in a vehicle fire.
Fix: Dtna will notify owners and repairs will be performed by thomas built dealerships free of charge. The safety recall began on july 6, 2010. Owners may contact thomas built at 1-336-889-4871.
Electrical system:wiring
Problem: Dtna is recalling certain model year 2009 and 2010 hdx non school buses manufactured beginning november 20, 2007 through may 8, 2009. The heater coolant flow valve actuator 0-ring may allow coolant leakage into the heater core compartment and the actuator pc board area potentially causing the actuator to overheat and/or melt.
Risk: An overheated and/or melted actuator may result in a vehicle fire.
Fix: Dtna will notify owners and repairs will be performed by thomas built dealerships free of charge. The safety recall began on july 6, 2010. Owners may contact thomas built at 1-336-889-4871.
Other:school bus stop arm assembly
Problem: Daimler trucks is recalling certain model year 2009-2010 thomas built school buses manufactured between march 31, 2008 and february 18, 2009, equipped with specialty manufacturing, inc. (smi) 000290 led light kits. A change to the wire used in the led light kits may reduce the effective life of the lights used on the stop arms. The lights may stop functioning without warning.
Risk: Should the led lights stop functioning, visibility of a stopped bus would be decreased, possibly endangering a child or pedestrian to injury by passing vehicles.
Fix: Thomas built will notify owners and light kits will be replaced free of charge. The safety recall began on february 3, 2010. Owners may contact thomas built at 1-800-547-0712.
Electrical system:wiring:fuses and circuit breakers
Problem: Daimler trucks is recalling 18,198 my 2003-2009 thomas built er, mvp-er, hdx, and mvp-ef school and transit buses equipped with a dual power switch and manufactured from february 1, 2002 through october 17, 2008. Solid state circuit breakers may trip unnecessarily potentially resulting in a loss of power to the bus chassis and body electrical circuits causing an unexpected loss of engine power and exterior lighting.
Risk: Unexpected loss of engine power and exterior lighting could result in a vehicle crash.
Fix: Thomas built bus dealers will replace the solid state dual power switch with a mechanical circuit production (mega fuse). The recall is expected to begin during april 2009. Owners may contact thomas built at 1-336-889-4871.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Dash Fires (PE10011) — opened Apr 21, 2010, closed May 26, 2010, led to recall 10V183000.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
I received a notice (nhtsa campaign id number : 10v177) yesterday regarding stoplamp failure on thomas c2 buses. Our school district has experienced a similar problem of intermittent stoplamp operation on one of our 2009 hdx thomas buses. A resistor (not shown on thomas wiring diagrams) was placed…
1. After driving the 2009 thomas hdx bus for a couple of hours, driver was bringing the bus to a stop, and before he activated the doors or any other electrical accessories, he saw smoke coming up from the dash in front of the steering wheel. He reported the smoke coming from the top of the dash…
Other Thomas Built Buses HDX years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 HDX | 0 | 1 |
| 2015 HDX | 0 | 1 |
| 2012 HDX | 0 | 1 |
| 2011 HDX | 0 | 6 |
| 2010 HDX | 0 | 8 |
| 2009 | 2 | 6 |
| 2008 HDX | 0 | 8 |
| 2007 HDX | 0 | 12 |
| 2006 HDX | 0 | 12 |
| 2005 HDX | 0 | 8 |
| 2004 HDX | 0 | 7 |
| 2003 HDX | 0 | 4 |
| 2002 HDX | 0 | 2 |
| 2001 HDX | 0 | 2 |
See all Thomas Built Buses HDX problems by year, every Thomas Built Buses model, or the VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2009 Thomas Built Buses HDX?
Owners most often report electrical system, exterior lighting problems. The top one, electrical system, accounts for 1 complaint.
Was there a recall on the 2009 Thomas Built Buses HDX?
Yes, 6 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2009 Thomas Built Buses HDX a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other HDX model years, the 2009 has too little data to compare. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.