Blue Bird equipment query EQ15003
Engine Thermostat Heater Hose Failure. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this equipment query about the cooling system on 6 model years (2008–2013). Opened Mar 16, 2015, closed Jun 24, 2015 after 3 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedSee the attached closing report.
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 closed without a recall. That means NHTSA found no defect trend it chose to act on at the time, or the manufacturer addressed the condition another way (a service campaign or a bulletin, which have their own pages). A closed file can be reopened if new reports arrive.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2008 Blue Bird ALL American; 2009 Blue Bird ALL American; 2010 Blue Bird ALL American; 2011 Blue Bird ALL American; 2012 Blue Bird ALL American; 2013 Blue Bird ALL American.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs EQ15003 a recall?
No. A equipment query is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is EQ15003 still open?
No. It closed on Jun 24, 2015 without a recall.
Which vehicles does EQ15003 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 6 model years: 2008 Blue Bird ALL American, 2009 Blue Bird ALL American, 2010 Blue Bird ALL American, 2011 Blue Bird ALL American, 2012 Blue Bird ALL American, 2013 Blue Bird ALL American. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.