Equipment adaptive/mobility
- Component
- Equipment adaptive/mobility
- Manufacturer
- STARTRANS BUS CORPORATION
- Vehicles affected
- 183
- Reported to NHTSA
- 2010-05-10
- Owners notified
- 2010-07-12
Defect description
STARTRANS BUS IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2009 CANDIDATE, CANDIDATE II, SENATOR, SENATOR HD, PRESIDENT, TROLLEY, AND SENATOR II TRANSIT BUSES MANUFACTURED FROM SEPTEMBER 2007 THROUGH DECEMBER 18, 2009, AND FITTED WITH CERTAIN RICON S SERIES AND K SERIES L-MODEL WHEELCHAIR LIFTS. DUE TO A PROBLEM IN THE SOFTWARE THAT CONTROLS THE LIFT'S "UP" FUNCTION, SHOULD THE "UP" BUTTON BE RELEASED BEFORE THE FLOOR LEVEL LIMIT SWITCH IS ACTIVATED, THE LIFT MAY CONTINUE ITS UPWARD TRAVEL AND MAY OVERRUN THE FLOOR LEVEL CUT OFF POINT.
Safety risk
WHEN THE PLATFORM OVERRUNS THE VEHICLE FLOOR LEVEL AND STOPS AT AN ANGLE FROM 15-20 DEGREES, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR A PERSON IN A WHEELCHAIR TO TIP OVER AND FOR SOMEONE STANDING ON THE PLATFORM TO FALL, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN INJURIES.
Manufacturer remedy
STARTRANS BUS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND THE REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED BY AUTHORIZED RICON DEALERS FREE OF CHARGE. A SOFTWARE SOLUTION FOR THIS SAFETY DEFECT IS UNDER INVESTIGATION. UNTIL THE SOFTWARE SOLUTION IS AVAILABLE, RICON WILL PROVIDE OWNERS WITH A BULLETIN OUTLINING PROPER WHEELCHAIR LIFT OPERATION AND WILL SHIP OWNERS A DVD-BASED TRAINING AID TO PROMOTE PROPER LIFT OPERATION AT NO COST. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 12, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT RICON AT 1-818-267-3000 OR STARTRANS BUS AT 1-574-642-0811.