Blue Bird Body Company: Vehicle Speed Control
Blue Bird Body Company reported this defect to federal regulators on Apr 7, 2005 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 486. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
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.
The risk
UNEXPECTED ENGINE SURGE COULD RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN PERSONAL INJURY.
The remedy
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.
12 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 Blue Bird All American | 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 Blue Bird All American | 10 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 Blue Bird Commercial Series | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 Blue Bird All American | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 Blue Bird Commercial Series | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 Blue Bird Q-Bus | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 Blue Bird All American | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 Blue Bird Commercial Series | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 Blue Bird Q-Bus | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 Blue Bird All American | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 Blue Bird Commercial Series | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 Blue Bird Q-Bus | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 05V152000.
Full record for the 2005 Blue Bird All American → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →