2003 Blue Bird Conventional
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › Blue Bird › Conventional › 2003
These records cover every 2003 Blue Bird Conventional. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
6 recalls name the 2003 Blue Bird Conventional. Newest first.
Certain school buses originally sold in or currently registered in the following states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, montana, nebraska, nevada, new hampshire, new jersey, new mexico, new york, north dakota, ohio, oregon…
Risk and remedy
Risk
Should the stop arm not perform properly, a child or pedestrian may be endangered by passing vehicles should the motorist not stop at the correct location.
Remedy
Blue bird will notify its customers and replace the original switch with a switch pack that IS not sensitive to extreme cold weather and will inspect to ensure the microswitch heater wiring IS properly connected free of charge. the recall began on august 12, 2005. owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.
Certain blue bird 2002 through 2006 my all american, conventional, minibird, microbird, vision, and tc2000 school buses originally sold in or currently registered in states other than the following states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota…
Risk and remedy
Risk
Should the stop arm not perform properly, a child or pedestrian may be endangered by passing motorists should the motorist not stop at the correct location.
Remedy
Blue bird will notify all its customers of this campaign. for those buses operated in or near any of the states listed above, blue bird IS encouraging the bus owners to obtain the replacement switch. for those buses operated in the warmer states, blue bird will replace the switch upon owner request. for those customers who request the remedy, blue bird will replace the original switch with a switch pack that IS not sensitive to extreme cold weather and will inspect to ensure the microswitch heater wiring IS properly connected. the safety improvement campaign began on august 12, 2005. owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.
Certain 2002-2006 my blue bird all american school and transit buses, conventional school buses, and commercial series transit buses manufactured between december 21, 2002, and february 24, 2005. these buses are equipped with webasto coolant heaters, model dbw 2010, assembled with webasto burner tubes, p/n 303046/26533a manufactured between november 2002…
Risk and remedy
Risk
Should the burner tube fail, the coolant heater could overheat, possibly resulting in a fire.
Remedy
Blue bird will notify its customers and replace the burner tubes free of charge. the recall began on march 31, 2005. owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.
Certain my 2003 thru 2005 blue bird micro bird and conventional school buses. these buses do not have the tire load range on both the tire information label and certification decal as required by federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 120, tire selection and rims for motor vehicles other than passenger cars.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Omission of the tire load range may lead to the installation of tires with load ranges not appropriate for vehicle use. a failure occurring in tires due to inappropriate load range may result in loss of control of the vehicle and a crash can occur.
Remedy
Blue bird will mail to final stage manufacturers, certification decals with the tire load rating indicated to its customers. the recall began on may 6, 2005. owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.
Certain blue bird 1999-2005 all american, tc/2000, micro bird, vision, conventional, and commercial series school buses equipped with sure-loc wheelchair securement systems and manufactured between february 17, 1999, and august 13, 2004. certain sure-lok wheelchair tie-down securement assemblies p/n 8625-13. the sprocket teeth of the retractor assembly…
Risk and remedy
Risk
In the event of a vehicle crash, the wheelchair may not be adequately secured possibly resulting in injuries.
Remedy
Blue bird will notify its customers and replace the defective part free of charge. the recall began september 21, 2004. owners who take their buses to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact at 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.
Owner complaints
1 complaints1 involved a crash3 injuries
Latest complaints
- Structure · Structure › Body · Structure › Frame and members
The purpose of this complaint IS to call attention to a design defect of the 2003 blue bird conventional/cv200 school bus that has resulted in both major injuries and death. The design defect IS that during rear end collisions, passenger compartment intrusion IS more likely due to the relatively…
The purpose of this complaint IS to call attention to a design defect of the 2003 blue bird conventional/cv200 school bus that has resulted in both major injuries and death. The design defect IS that during rear end collisions, passenger compartment intrusion IS more likely due to the relatively high bumper height of 24.5 inches. This means that if a vehicle collides with the rear of the bus, serious injury IS likely to occur when the incoming vehicle wedges underneath the bus. In general, school buses make frequent stops along the flow of traffic so the conditions for this defect as well as potential serious injury and death are alarmingly favorable. To my knowledge, nothing has been done to correct this 'failure' in design. *Dt
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.
Every Blue Bird Conventional model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.