Blue Bird Body Company: Other › School Bus Stop Arm Assembly
Blue Bird Body Company reported this defect to federal regulators on Aug 25, 2009 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 3,736. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
BLUE BIRD IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2008 AND 2009 ALL AMERICAN, VISION, AND MICRO BIRD SCHOOL BUSES MANUFACTURED BETWEEN APRIL 18, 2008 AND FEBRUARY 11, 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.
The 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.
The remedy
BLUE BIRD WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND THE BUSES WILL BE REPAIRED FREE OF CHARGE. REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED BY SMI. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SMI WARRANTY SERVICE AT 1-800-951-7867 OR BLUE BIRD AT 1-478-822-2242.
6 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 Blue Bird All American | 3 | 33 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Blue Bird Micro Bird | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Blue Bird Vision | 6 | 28 | 1 | 0 |
| 2008 Blue Bird All American | 4 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 Blue Bird Micro Bird | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 Blue Bird Vision | 1 | 30 | 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 09V335000.
Full record for the 2009 Blue Bird All American → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →