SMI equipment query EQ12008
SMI Bus Roof Escape Hatches / FMVSS 217. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this equipment query about the roof and pillars. Opened Jun 27, 2012, closed Sep 28, 2012 after 3 months. It led to safety recall 12V330000, 12V348000, 12V362000, 12V384000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedIn a letter dated April 18, 2012, Specialty Manufacturing, Inc. (SMI) notified the NHTSA that certain ProLo bus roof escape hatches, installed as original equipment on various school buses and transit buses, may fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).These hatches, shipped between April 1, 2011, and March 25, 2012, experience increased friction between the rear plate assemblies and the nylon rear pop-up support, resulting in an opening force that exceeds FMVSS No. 217, Bus Emergency Exits and Window Retention and Release. In the event of an emergency, a noncompliant hatch may not provide a means of readily accessible egress, increasing the risk of injury to the vehicle occupants. NHTSA assigned recall number 12E-017 to this matter. On July 12, 2012, RMD mailed information request (IR) letters to five (5) manufacturers who had not yet conducted safety recalls for this issue. Collins Bus responded that they did not incorporate these escape hatches into any new buses but instead sold them to dealerships. Collins noted that they would notify the dealers of SMI's recall. The other four (4) manufacturers filed Part 573 Reports and conducted safety recalls for their affected vehicles. The following recalls were filed as a result of this EQ:Turtle Top:12V-330 Elkhart Coach:12V-348 Girardin Minibus, Inc:12V-362 Glaval Bus:12V-384As RMD received adequate responses from all the companies it contacted, this Equipment Query is closed.
A Equipment Query is a query about a piece of equipment — a component, a tire, a child seat — rather than a whole vehicle. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one became a recall. The campaign page carries the manufacturer’s filed defect, risk and remedy, the build window and every model year covered; whether one specific vehicle is included is settled by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themNHTSA filed this action against Specialty Manufacturing Co. without naming a model year — an equipment or manufacturer-level query.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs EQ12008 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 12V330000, 12V348000, 12V362000, 12V384000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is EQ12008 still open?
No. It closed on Sep 28, 2012 and led to recall 12V330000, 12V348000, 12V362000, 12V384000.
Which vehicles does EQ12008 cover?
NHTSA filed it against Specialty Manufacturing Co. without naming a model year.