The Recall Desk
Our severity:HighNHTSA·19V712000·Announced 2019-10-04

Thomas Built Buses Recall 2014-2020 Models for Seat Impact Absorption Defect

Daimler Trucks North America is recalling 2014-2020 Thomas Built school buses because specific seats may lack sufficient impact absorption, increasing injury risk in crashes.

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 school bus seating that fails to meet federal safety standards, creating a risk of injury in a crash, but the source text does not report any specific injuries or fatalities.

Plain-English summary

Daimler Trucks North America LLC (DTNA) is recalling certain 2014-2020 Thomas Built Saf-T-Liner EFX, Minotour, Saf-T-Liner C2, and Saf-T-Liner HDX school buses. The recall affects vehicles equipped with SynTec S3B or S3C seats. These seats may have been manufactured with styrene blocks that do not provide sufficient impact absorption in certain specific areas around the steel seat frame of the back support. As a result, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 222, "School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection."

The lack of impact absorption increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash. DTNA will notify owners, and dealers will install additional impact material between the re-bond back and the vinyl back cover to increase the amount of absorption, free of charge. DTNA issued owners an interim notification on November 29, 2019, and the recall began on June 22, 2020.

Owners may contact DTNA customer service at 1-800-547-0712. DTNA's number for this recall is FL-832. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

The recalled product

Product
THOMAS BUILT BUSES SAF-T-LINER EFX, SAF-T-LINER HDX, SAF-T-LINER C2, MINOTOUR
Brand
THOMAS BUILT BUSES
Manufacturer
Daimler Trucks North America LLC
Category
Vehicle — School Bus
Hazard
Affected units
53,528

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
  • SAF-T-LINER HDX
  • SAF-T-LINER C2
  • MINOTOUR

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

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