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.
Remedy & full details
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.
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.
Serious09V355000
Steering:Column
MISLOCATED WELDS MAY RESULT IN TORSIONAL AND AXIAL STRENGTH FALLING BELOW ACCEPTABLE LEVELS.
Remedy & full details
DAIMLER TRUCKS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND THE VEHICLES WILL BE REPAIRED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 6, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DAIMLER TRUCKS TOLL-FREE AT 1-800-547-0712.
DAIMLER TRUCKS IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010 THOMAS BUILT SCHOOL BUSES AND FREIGHTLINER BUSINESS CLASS M2 MEDIUM DUTY TRUCKS AND FREIGHTLINER CUSTOM CHASSIS S2 VEHICLES MANUFACTURED BETWEEN APRIL 21 AND JULY 2, 2009, EQUIPPED WITH TRW IGEN 3 INTERMEDIATE STEERING COLUMNS. THE WELD AROUND THE STEERING SHAFT TUBE THAT SECURES THE SPLINE TUBE TO THE INTERMEDIATE TUBE MAY BE MISLOCATED (I.E., NOT FULLY OVER THE SEAM CREATED WHEN THE TUBES ARE PRESSED TOGETHER.)
Complaint volume
Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.
What owners reported happened
0Crashes
1Fires
0Injuries
0Deaths
Across 1 complaints. Severity Index 3.00.
Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.
What owners report most
Unknown Or Other — 1 reports
What to do
Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.
Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.
Questions
Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?
Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.
Do I pay for recall repairs?
No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.
Why are there complaints but no recalls?
Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.
From the same data desk
Independent sites, same maintainer, same open-data standards.