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NHTSA campaign 24V555000 · manufacturer recall FL918

2019–2022 Thomas Built Buses Minotour DRW and 5 other Thomas Built Buses models: equipment recall

Emergency exit labels that are difficult to read can prevent or delay the use of the emergency exit, increasing the risk of injury.

moderate 27,494 vehicles affected FMVSS 217 58% reported repaired

What was reported

Source: manufacturer filing, 49 CFR Part 573
Problem Daimler Trucks North America, LLC (DTNA) is recalling certain Thomas Built Buses 2019-2022 Saf-T-Liner C2, Saf-T-Liner EFX, Saf-T-Liner HDX, Minotour DRW, 2020-2022 Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley, and Minotour SRW school buses. The Emergency Exit Label lettering is too small and may be difficult to read. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 217, "Bus Emergency Exits and Window Retention and Release." Risk Emergency exit labels that are difficult to read can prevent or delay the use of the emergency exit, increasing the risk of injury. Fix Dealers will correct the lettering, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 5, 2024. Owners may contact DTNA customer service at 1-800-547-0712. DTNA's number for this recall is FL918.

Reported to NHTSA Jul 24, 2024 by Daimler Trucks North America, LLC, owners notified Sep 5, 2024.

Which vehicles are covered

Source: NHTSA campaign 24V555000

Vehicles built Oct 2, 2018 to Feb 24, 2021 — a VIN outside that window is not part of this campaign even if the year, make and model match.

Model yearOn WhichTrim
2019 Thomas Built Buses Minotour DRW
2020 Thomas Built Buses Minotour DRW
2021 Thomas Built Buses Minotour DRW
2022 Thomas Built Buses Minotour DRW
2020 Thomas Built Buses Minotour SRW
2021 Thomas Built Buses Minotour SRW
2022 Thomas Built Buses Minotour SRW
2019 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2
2020 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2
2021 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2
2022 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2
2020 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2 Jouley
2021 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2 Jouley
2022 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2 Jouley
2019 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner EFX
2020 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner EFX
2021 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner EFX
2022 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner EFX
2019 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner HDX
2020 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner HDX
2021 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner HDX
2022 Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner HDX

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 58%

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

  • Defect report PDF — The manufacturer's own filing to NHTSA describing the defect, the risk and the affected build range.
  • Owner letter PDF — The letter mailed to registered owners, in full.
  • Chronology PDF — When the manufacturer learned of the problem, and what happened between then and the recall.

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 24V555000 · the manufacturer calls it FL918

Own one, or run a fleet? Recall Watch checks each VIN against every new NHTSA campaign and emails you when one lands, this one's expansions included. Or take a free one-line alert by model year.

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Common questions

Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR Part 573

Is FL918 the same recall as 24V555000?

Yes. FL918 is the number Daimler Trucks North America, LLC uses for this campaign in its own paperwork and in the letter it sends owners. 24V555000 is the number NHTSA files it under. One recall, two references — dealers and service departments generally quote the manufacturer's.

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. This campaign covers vehicles built Oct 2, 2018 to Feb 24, 2021. 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 NHTSA's Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. 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.