The Recall Desk
Our severity:HighNHTSA·15V565000·Announced 2015-09-04

Thomas Built Buses Recall Wheelchair Lifts with Potential Bearing Failure

Daimler Trucks North America is recalling 4,334 Thomas Built Buses equipped with specific Ricon wheelchair lifts due to a defect that could cause the platform to fall.

What this means for you

Our assessment, not the agency’s: severity 3/5 (High).

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 defect in a wheelchair lift that could cause the platform to fall, posing a risk of injury to the operator, but no injuries or deaths are reported in the source text.

Plain-English summary

Daimler Trucks North America LLC (DTNA) is recalling certain model year 2006-2015 Thomas Built Buses, including the FS-65, Saf-T-Liner C2, Saf-T-Liner EF, Saf-T-Liner EFX, Saf-T-Liner HDX, and Minotour DRW models. These vehicles were manufactured between January 3, 2006, and August 1, 2014, and are equipped with certain Ricon model S2005, S2010, S5005, S5010, S5505, or S5510 wheelchair lifts.

The affected lifts are equipped with folding link arms that may have pivot holes that are too big, allowing the bearings to move out of position. If the bearings move out of position, the stowed platform may have excessive movement resulting in failure of the platform mounting. This failure could cause the wheelchair lift platform to fall out of the vehicle when the doors are opened, increasing the risk of injury for the lift operator.

DTNA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the link arms for damage or for displaced bearings. The platform will be inspected for cracks. Any damaged parts will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on November 2, 2015. Owners may contact DTNA customer service at 1-800-745-8000. DTNA's number for this recall is FL-686.

The recalled product

Product
THOMAS BUILT BUSES SAF-T-LINER C2, SAF-T-LINER FS65, SAF-T-LINER HDX, MINOTOUR
Brand
THOMAS BUILT BUSES
Manufacturer
Daimler Trucks North America LLC
Category
Vehicle — School Buses
Hazard
Affected units
4,334

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 (6)

  • SAF-T-LINER C2
  • SAF-T-LINER FS65
  • SAF-T-LINER HDX
  • MINOTOUR
  • SAF-T-LINER EFX
  • SAF-T-LINER EF

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

Related recalls

Same brand · THOMAS BUILT BUSES

Same manufacturer · Daimler Trucks North America LLC

See all →

Same hazard · structural failure

See all →

Similar recalls