Known Recalls

Recall campaign · NHTSA 13V457000

Electrical system

North American Bus Industries, Inc. filed this campaign with NHTSA on 2013-09-19.

Recall campaignNHTSA 13V457000

Electrical system

Component
Electrical system
Manufacturer
North American Bus Industries, Inc.
Vehicles affected
4,061
Reported to NHTSA
2013-09-19

Defect description

North American Bus Industries (NABI) is recalling certain model year 2000-2011 LFW, CLFW, BRT, 2007-2009 Blue Bird L4RE, and 2000-2009 Optima Opus transit buses equipped with Sure Power battery equalizers containing a particular epoxy sealing, aka 'potting', compound. The specific potting compound used in the subject products for insulation was found to be capable of conducting electricity after being exposed to heat.

Safety risk

Once electrically conductive, the material is capable of melting and burning, increasing the risk of a fire.

Manufacturer remedy

NABI will notify owners, and dealers will replace the equalizers, free of charge. An interim letter was mailed to owners on January 27, 2014. Owners may contact NABI at 1-256-831-4296. NABI's recall number is 20136.

Notes

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.

Scope of coverage

49 model years across 5 models.

ModelYears on record
BLUE BIRD L4RE2009 2008 2007
NABI BRT2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000
NABI CLFW2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000
NABI LFW2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000
OPTIMA Opus2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

Safety recall repairs are provided free of charge by franchised dealers, regardless of vehicle age or mileage. This page displays aggregated data for the model year. To check recall status for a specific vehicle, search its VIN at nhtsa.gov.