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NHTSA campaign 20V647000

2018–2020 Braun Ambulances Chief XL Type I and 6 other Braun Ambulances models: back over prevention recall

The vehicle operator may not be able to read the LCD screen or use the buttons or both. If the LCD display appears blank, emergency personnel may not have immediate access to the functions and controls operated by the LCD screen which coul

high 156 vehicles affected 100% reported repaired

What was reported

Source: manufacturer filing, 49 CFR Part 573
Problem Braun Ambulances (Braun) is recalling certain 2019 Chief XL Type I and 2019-2020 Chief XL Type III, 2018-2020 Express Plus Type I and 2019 Express Type III, Liberty Type I, Raider Type I and Super Chief ambulances. The lighting and HVAC display may lock up affecting functions like the back up camera, emergency warning lights, or patient care devices depending on the application. Risk The vehicle operator may not be able to read the LCD screen or use the buttons or both. If the LCD display appears blank, emergency personnel may not have immediate access to the functions and controls operated by the LCD screen which could delay emergency operations, increasing the risk of injury to a patient or increase the risk of a crash. Fix Braun will notify owners and dealers will remove the defective Vista IV and replace with a new Vista IV, free of charge. The recall began December 18, 2020. Owners may contact Braun Ambulance customer service at 1-877-344-9990.

Reported to NHTSA Oct 21, 2020 by Braun Ambulances, owners notified Dec 18, 2020.

Which vehicles are covered

Source: NHTSA campaign 20V647000
Model yearOn WhichTrim
2019 Braun Ambulances Chief XL Type I
2019 Braun Ambulances Chief XL Type III
2020 Braun Ambulances Chief XL Type III
2018 Braun Ambulances Express Plus Type I
2019 Braun Ambulances Express Plus Type I
2020 Braun Ambulances Express Plus Type I
2019 Braun Ambulances Express Type III
2019 Braun Ambulances Liberty Type I
2019 Braun Ambulances Raider Type I
2019 Braun Ambulances Super Chief

None of the vehicles this campaign names has a page on WhichTrim: the catalogue covers the cars, trucks and SUVs the EPA certifies from 2016 on, and these vehicles fall outside it — older model years, or motorhomes, trailers, buses, motorcycles and chassis cabs the EPA does not rate. The campaign record above is complete as filed, and whether one specific vehicle is included is settled by its VIN. Other campaigns on vehicles without a page here →

How much of it has been fixed

Source: manufacturer quarterly report, 49 CFR 573.7
Reported repaired 100%

of the campaign

The final figure: the six quarters of reporting that 49 cfr 573.7 requires have closed.

This is the manufacturer's own cumulative count of vehicles it has inspected and repaired, divided by the vehicles the campaign covers. It files that count with NHTSA every quarter for six consecutive quarters, starting from the quarter in which owners were told a remedy was ready, and then the obligation ends — so a figure on an older campaign is where the count stopped, not where it stands today.

It rarely reaches 100%, and not because the work was not done. The same report asks manufacturers to count vehicles they could not reach at all — exported, stolen, scrapped, or simply never located — and those stay in the denominator. A low number means a lot of these vehicles are still out there unrepaired; it does not tell you which ones.

The federal paperwork

Source: nhtsa.gov

Filed documents

Check one specific vehicle

A recall applies to a build range, so year, make and model cannot settle it. NHTSA checks a VIN against the manufacturer's own list and tells you whether the repair is still outstanding on that vehicle.

NHTSA VIN recall lookup →

Campaign 20V647000

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Common questions

Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR Part 573

Does this recall repair cost anything?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to remedy a safety defect or a compliance failure at no charge, for vehicles up to 15 years old measured from the date of first sale. A dealer that asks you to pay for a recall repair is in the wrong.

How do I know whether my vehicle is included?

By VIN, not by model year. The manufacturer files a build range with NHTSA and only vehicles inside it are covered, so two identical-looking cars from the same year can differ. NHTSA's own lookup checks a VIN against the manufacturer's list.

What if the repair is not available yet?

It happens, and often. Manufacturers must notify owners when a defect is found even if the parts or the software are not ready, then notify them a second time once the remedy exists. The remedy filed for this campaign is described above.

What did the manufacturer say was wrong?

The problem, risk and fix quoted on this page are the manufacturer's own words as filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR Part 573. WhichTrim does not paraphrase them.

Who started this recall?

NHTSA's record credits the manufacturer. A recall can begin with the manufacturer's own testing, with a defect investigation, or with a compliance test against a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.