Thomas Built Buses Recalling School Buses Due to Seat Defect
Daimler Trucks North America is recalling 2016-2017 Thomas Built Buses school buses because certain seats may tilt rearward in a severe rear-end collision.
What this means for you
Our assessment, not the agency’s: severity 4/5 (Severe).
The hazard poses a serious risk of illness, injury, or structural failure. Stop using the product immediately and contact the manufacturer for a refund or repair.
Our severity reasoning: The recall involves a structural vehicle defect (seat failure) that the source text explicitly states may result in injuries to passengers' knees and impede exiting the bus, meeting the criteria for a Severe rating.
Plain-English summary
Daimler Trucks North America, LLC (DTNA) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Thomas Built Buses Saf-T-Liner C2, Saf-T-Liner HDX, Minotour DRW, and Saf-T-Liner EFX school buses. The recall affects vehicles manufactured between August 19, 2014, and October 22, 2015, that are equipped with certain Syntec S3B Track Mounted Seats in 30", 36", 39", and 45" widths.
The defect involves the seats potentially tilting rearward in the event of a severe rear-end collision. This failure means the seats do not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 222, "School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection." If the seats tilt, it could result in injuries to the passenger's knees or impede the exiting of the bus.
DTNA will notify owners, and dealers will install a toe-clamp on the front feet of the S3B track mounted seats free of charge. The recall began on January 21, 2016. Owners may contact DTNA customer service at 1-800-745-8000 or Syntec customer service at 1-800-547-0712. DTNA's number for this recall is FL-698.
The recalled product
- Product
- THOMAS BUILT BUSES SAF-T-LINER C2, SAF-T-LINER HDX, MINOTOUR, SAF-T-LINER EFX
- Brand
- THOMAS BUILT BUSES
- Manufacturer
- Daimler Trucks North America LLC
- Category
- Vehicle — School Bus
- Hazard
- Affected units
- 508
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 (4)
- SAF-T-LINER C2
- SAF-T-LINER HDX
- MINOTOUR
- SAF-T-LINER EFX
Distribution
Distributed nationwide across the United States.
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