2001 Blue Bird All American
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › Blue Bird › All American › 2001
These records cover every 2001 Blue Bird All American. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
14 recalls name the 2001 Blue Bird All American. Newest first.
Certain 2001 through 2006 my blue bird all american, tc2000, and vision transit school buses manufactured between january 5, 2001, and july 15, 2005. these buses are equipped with a battery disconnect switch that has connections that may be loose on the battery switch studs creating the potential for the bus to shut down while in operation.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Should the bus shut down while in operation, a vehicle crash could occur.
Remedy
Blue bird will notify its owners and instruct them on how to repair the switch. the recall began on october 19 , 2005. owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.
Certain 2001 through 2005 all american, commercial series, and q-bus school and transit buses equipped with john deere 8.1 CNG engines. the subject buses equipped with the john deere engines may surge inappropriately due to erractic operation of the air throttle if the engine IS taken from full to zero load.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Unexpected engine surge could result in a vehicle crash, possibly resulting in personal injury.
Remedy
John deere will notify blue bird's customers and repair the engines free of charge. customers are being instructed to contact john deere at 1-800-jd-engine.
Certain 1998 through 2002 blue bird all american, tc2000 school and transit buses, and commercial series buses equipped with cummins isb diesel engines. the fuel pump could fail to transfer fuel appropriately creating an engine stall condition.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Should the engine stall while the vehicle IS in use, a possible vehicle crash could occur.
Remedy
Customers will be notified by cummins to bring their vehicles to an authorized dealer to have the fuel lift pump replaced free of charge. for more information, customers may contact cummins at 1-800-diesels.
On certain rear engine (A3RE) school buses, the type and location of the fasteners used to retain the seat belt in the last row of seats does not conform to blue bird engineering specifications.
Risk and remedy
Risk
This installation may not adequately retain seat belts in the event of a severe crash.
Remedy
Blue bird will provide its distributors and owners the parts and instructions to install the correct fasteners free of charge. owner notification IS expected to begin november 20, 2003. owners who do not receive the parts and installation instructions within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.
Certain school buses fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 221, "school bus body joint strength." one or more of the bolts attaching the driver's platform to the floor structure was omitted.
Risk and remedy
Risk
The rear of the driver's platform may not be properly retained in the event of a crash which could increase the risk of injury or death to passengers.
Remedy
Blue bird will notify its customers and inspect and repair the affected units. owner notification began on november 20, 2003. owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.
On certain school buses equipped with optional seat belts or seat belt "ready" seats, some belts were installed with only two bolts rather than the required three (3) bolts.
Risk and remedy
Risk
These seats could detach from the wall side attachment points in the event of a vehicle crash, increasing the risk of injury to the seat occupant.
Remedy
Blue bird will furnish to distributors and owners, parts and instructions necessary to install the missing bolt free of charge. owner notification IS expected to on november 3, 2003. owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.
On certain school and transit buses equipped with passenger seat belts with retractors, the cover halves for the retractable portion of the belt can separate completely and release the seat belt connector. if this occurs, one of the load bearing pins in the connector could separate from the connector and render the seat belt unusable. in the event of a…
Risk and remedy
Risk
If this occurs, one of the load bearing pins in the connector could separate from the connector and render the seat belt unusable. in the event of a crash, the seat occupant would not be properly restrained resulting in an injury.
Remedy
Owners will be provided a snap-on "over-cover" to prevent the seat belt cover from separating. owner notification IS expected to begin on or about september 27, 2002. owners who do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.
Certain transit buses fail to comply with requirements of federal motor vehicle standard no. 101, "controls and displays." this standard requires specific labeling for "engine start" and "engine stop." the wording of the labels on these vehicles do not meet the requirements of the standard.
Risk and remedy
Risk
The operator could place the engine switch in a position other than that intended, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Owners will be provided with new decals and installation instructions. owner notification began august 29, 2002. owners who do not receive the free label and installation instructions within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.
Vehicle description: school buses equipped with hendrickson rear air suspension. inadequate tightening of the 5/8" bolts on the rear air suspension hanger bolts and on rear axle torque arm axle seat studs.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Insufficient tightening permits movement between the components that could result in bolts and studs breaking, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the 5/8" grade 8-hanger bolts. in addition, axle spring seat fasteners will be checked for proper tightness and, if needed, tightened to specifications. owner notification began january 18, 2002. owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.
Vehicle description: school and transit buses. insufficient torque on the arvin-meritor air brake chamber mounting nuts can allow the nuts to loosen over time.
Risk and remedy
Risk
This condition could reduce braking of the vehicle, possibly resulting in a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect the torque values on each brake chamber nut and tighten to specifications. owner notification began november 16, 2001. owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-912-822-2242.
Vehicle description: school and transit buses equipped with rear mounted engines. the 12-volt power supply cable(s) may be chaffed by hoses, harnesses, frame components, or clamps.
Risk and remedy
Risk
This condition can result in power failure and/or risk of fire in the engine compartment.
Remedy
Dealers will remove and inspect the 12-volt power cable(s) from the battery to the starter and, if necessary, will replace the cables. owner notification began july 30, 2001. owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-912-822-2242.
Vehicle description: school and transit buses equipped with a combination spicer J230 rear axle, spring suspension, and crewson brunner automatic slack adjusters. the crewson brunner slack adjuster contacts a u-bolt mounting bracket when a combination of the listed components are installed. the combination does not allow for full extension of the slack…
Risk and remedy
Risk
This can cause a potential for reduced braking effort, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will install modified u-bolt brackets that will provide the needed clearance. owner notification began march 15, 2001. owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact blue bird at 1-912-825-2021.
Vehicle description: transit and school buses equipped with meritor wabco phase 1, d-version antilock brake system (ABS), fail to comply to the requirements of fmvss no. 105, "hydraulic and electric brake systems." an internal diagnostic system in the ABS may not detect an extreme wheel speed sensor air gap. such a condition could possibly occur during…
Risk and remedy
Risk
Failure of the electronic control unit to detect an extreme wheel speed sensor air gap can result in the loss of antilock braking function on the wheel(s) where the air gap exists, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
The ABS ecu will be removed and replaced or the ecu will be reprogrammed.
Vehicle description: school and transit buses. these buses could have improperly installed or missing pinch bolts in the steering shaft assemblies.
Risk and remedy
Risk
This can result in disengagement of the steering slip shaft assembly and loss of steering.
Remedy
Owners will be provided with installation instructions and new replacement bolts and locking nuts for the steering shaft assemblies.
Owner complaints
1 complaints
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Fuel system, gasoline › Delivery › Fuel pump · Fuel system, other
Dt: the caller received recall on cummins isb engine that involved engine stalling and fuel supply to the engine. but could not get the work done. This could result in loss of power. The recalls involved fuel pump and fuel pressure switch replacement. The caller had a total of 6 recalls…
Dt: the caller received recall on cummins isb engine that involved engine stalling and fuel supply to the engine. but could not get the work done. This could result in loss of power. The recalls involved fuel pump and fuel pressure switch replacement. The caller had a total of 6 recalls, and first took one of the busses to the frieghtliner dealership, and they repaired one, but instructed the contact not to bring anymore back. Also, the contact contacted cummins, who referred him to the peterbuilt dealer, but they advised the caller that they won't do the work because cummins was not paying for the repairs. They stated that cummins was only paying for 3 hours of labor and it took about 8 hours of labor to repair the problem. The contact had one bus at an authorized cummins dealer in another city, and they didn't know when they will be able to repair it, and won't be able to repair anymore. Owner IS concerned they won't be repaired and will have to be used even though they were recalled. There were six buses, and the contact did not wish to file a complaint on each individual vehicle. *ak
Defect investigations
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened these reviews into vehicles including this one.
- School bus stalls
This investigation was opened after odi received a complaint from a school bus fleet reporting that three separate buses had stalled unexpectedly while they were loaded with children.reportedly, each time the failure occurred the master battery shut-off switch was identified as being defective.odi opened this…
This investigation was opened after odi received a complaint from a school bus fleet reporting that three separate buses had stalled unexpectedly while they were loaded with children.reportedly, each time the failure occurred the master battery shut-off switch was identified as being defective.odi opened this investigation to gather specific information and details into these allegations.as a result of odi?s investigation, blue bird has agreed to initate a safety recall to replace the standard nut on the 10/32 stud with a locking nut, check for proper wiring installation , and reposition the wires so that they do not stress the stud.a copy of the recall IS attached.blue bird's action resolves the issues raised by this investigation and therefore, this investigation IS closed.
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 10128907New Blue Bird Support Center - Technical Bus Support: Dealer memo to announce the new on-line Blue Bird Support Center for technical bus support requests.
- 10128588Blue Bird Troubleshooting Guides: Blue Bird announcement of the addition of troubleshooting guides for assisting in the service of the Blue Bird products. These troubleshooting guides are available on the Vantage website.
- 10043209Blue bird: see document search button for owner letter. Information on excessive cycling of engine cooling fan and shutter and how to install thermo switches for cooling system and charge air system.
- 10043190Blue bird: information IS being provided regarding maintenance for vehicles equipped with aluminum seat floor tracks.
- 10032764Blue bird bus: re-issue service update engine coolants. The cooling system on the buses be properly maintained and monitored to insure proper operation of your cooling system.
Every Blue Bird All American model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.