Thomas Built Buses preliminary evaluation PE08068
IMPROPER HANDRAIL INSTALLATION. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the structure on 6 model years (2005–2010). Opened Dec 3, 2008, closed Jan 15, 2009 after 43 days. It led to safety recall 09V010000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedTHIS INVESTIGATION WAS OPENED AFTERA SCHOOL BUS DISTRICT INFORMED ODI THAT DURING A NEW BUSINSPECTION THE HANDRAILS WERE FOUND TO BE MOUNTED TOO CLOSE TO THE BOTTOM STEP OF THE BUS AND FAILED THE DRAWSTRING TEST.(THE DRAWSTRING TEST WAS DEVELOPED IN THE EARLY 90'S TO ENSURE THAT CHILDREN'S DRAWSTRINGS WOULD NOT GET CAUGHT IN THE HANDRAIL WHILE EXITING THE BUS.)SEVERAL OTHER NEW BUSES WERE INSPECTED AND THEY ALSO FAILED THE TEST. DAIMLER TOOK IMMEDIATE ACTION TO CONFIRM THE PROBLEM AND DETERMINE THE SCOPE. ODI HAS A PRIOR HISTORY WITH THIS TYPE OF FAILURE AND OPENED A PE TO FURTHER EVALUATE THE REPORT. OF PARTICULAR CONCERN WAS THE SCOPE OF THE IMPROPER HANDRAIL INSTALLATIONS. DURING THE INVESTIGATION, ODI VISITED SCHOOL BUS FLEETS ANDAREA DEALERS AND INSPECTED SUSPECT BUSES. ODI FOUND THAT THERE WERE INCONSISTENCIES WITH THE MOUNTING OF THE LOWER PORTION OF THE HANDRAILS. THIS RESULTED IN INADEQUATE CLEARANCES BETWEEN THE LAST STEP AND THE BULKHEAD (WALL OF THE BUS), CREATING A PLACE FOR A DRAWSTRING TO BECOME ENTANGLED. THESE FINDINGS WERE RELAYED BACK TO DAIMLER/THOMAS BUILT BUSES. AFTER DISCUSSIONS WITH ODI AND FURTHER REVIEW OF THE FIELD INCIDENTS, DAIMLER DECIDED TO CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL. THEY WILL ORDER THE INSPECTION OF SUSPECT BUSES AND REPAIRS, AS NECESSARY, TO ENSURE PROPER INSTALLATION OF THE HANDRAILS ON THE AFFECTED VEHICLES. THIS RECALL RESOLVES THE ISSUES RAISED BY THIS INVESTIGATION. THEREFORE, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.
A Preliminary Evaluation is the first formal stage: NHTSA has decided the complaints and other information it screened are worth a closer look, and asks the manufacturer for its own data on the condition. 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 themAlso named: 2005 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2; 2006 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2; 2007 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2; 2008 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2; 2009 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2; 2010 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2.
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 PE08068 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 09V010000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE08068 still open?
No. It closed on Jan 15, 2009 and led to recall 09V010000.
Which vehicles does PE08068 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 6 model years: 2005 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2, 2006 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2, 2007 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2, 2008 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2, 2009 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2, 2010 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.