Turtle Top Recalls Buses with Stuck Roof Hatches
Turtle Top is recalling 361 commercial buses because roof hatches may be too hard to open in an emergency, potentially hindering passenger exit.
What this means for you
Real risk of harm even if no illness or injury has been reported yet. Stop using the product and follow the agency's guidance.
Our severity reasoning: The recall involves a structural vehicle defect where emergency exits may fail to open, posing a risk of injury to occupants, but no specific injuries or deaths are reported in the source text.
Plain-English summary
Turtle Top is recalling certain model year 2010 through 2012 commercial buses, including the Vanterra, Terra Transport, Odyssey XL, Odyssey LT, and Odyssey models. The recall covers 361 vehicles manufactured between April 1, 2011, and March 25, 2012, that are equipped with Specialty Manufacturing Inc. (SMI) Prolo roof hatches.
The defect involves increased friction between the rear plate assemblies and the nylon rear pop-up support. This friction may cause the opening force of the roof hatches to exceed federal standard requirements, meaning the hatches fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 217 regarding bus emergency exits. In an emergency, this issue may hinder passengers' ability to exit the bus, possibly resulting in injury to vehicle occupants.
Turtle Top will notify owners, and SMI will provide service kits and repair instructions to dealers and owners free of charge. The safety recall began on August 16, 2012. Owners may contact Turtle Top at 1-574-831-4349 or SMI at 1-800-951-7867 for more information.
The recalled product
- Product
- TURTLE TOP VANTERRA, TERRA TRANSPORT, ODYSSEY XL, ODYSSEY LT
- Brand
- TURTLE TOP
- Manufacturer
- TURTLE TOP
- Category
- Vehicle — Commercial Bus
- Affected units
- 361
Is your product affected?
Check your packaging against the codes below. If any of them match, the product is part of this recall.
Model numbers (5)
- VANTERRA
- TERRA TRANSPORT
- ODYSSEY XL
- ODYSSEY LT
- ODYSSEY
Distribution
Distributed nationwide across the United States.
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