Thomas Built Buses Recalling School Buses for Roof Hatch Handle Defect
Daimler Trucks North America is recalling 2019-2020 Thomas Built school buses because the roof escape hatch handle may break, hindering emergency egress.
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 an emergency egress component (roof hatch handle) that increases the risk of injury if it fails, but no injuries or fatalities have been reported in the source text.
Plain-English summary
Daimler Trucks North America LLC (DTNA) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Thomas Built Minotour, Saf-T Liner C2, Saf-T Liner EFX, and Saf-T Liner HDX school buses. These vehicles are equipped with Safe Fleet Prolo Roof Escape hatches. The recall affects 3,080 units.
Due to a manufacturing issue, the external handle on the roof hatch may unexpectedly break under reasonable use. If the handle breaks, the hatch cannot be easily opened from outside the vehicle during an emergency, which increases the risk of injury.
DTNA will notify owners, and dealers will install a new handle free of charge. Owners were issued an interim notification on September 13, 2019, and the recall began on November 15, 2019. Owners may contact DTNA customer service at 1-800-547-0712 or the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236.
The recalled product
- Product
- THOMAS BUILT BUSES SAF-T-LINER EFX, MINOTOUR, SAF-T-LINER HDX, SAF-T-LINER C2
- Brand
- THOMAS BUILT BUSES
- Manufacturer
- Daimler Trucks North America LLC
- Category
- Vehicle — School Bus
- Affected units
- 3,080
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 EFX
- MINOTOUR
- SAF-T-LINER HDX
- SAF-T-LINER C2
Distribution
Distributed nationwide across the United States.
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