RoadVitals

2000 Blue Bird School Bus

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
3
Latest Dec 6, 2001
Safety recallsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
0
InvestigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
1
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
1

Overview

Our database contains 3 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2000 Blue Bird School Bus, most frequently naming the visibility and fuel system categories. 1 NHTSA investigation names it; and 3 manufacturer communications are on file.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

What owners report

Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded

  • Visibility266.7%
  • Fuel system133.3%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Safety recalls

No recalls in our database for this model year

That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.

Safety investigations

NHTSA inquiries naming this vehicle. An investigation is not a finding of a defect.

PE00021ClosedPreliminary Evaluation

ELECTRICAL WIRE CHAFING

Opened May 2, 2000
Closed Aug 2, 2000

ON MAY 23, 2000, ODI WAS CONTACTED BY A SCHOOL BUS FLEET MANAGER WHO ALLEGED ONE OF THEIR BUSES HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN A MINOR ELECTRICAL FIRE AT THE DRIVER'S ACCESSORY CONTROL PANEL.WHILE UNLOADING CHILDREN, THE DRIVER NOTICED A LARGE VOLUME OF SMOKING POURING FROM BEHINE THE PANEL.EVENTUALLY THE SMOKE ABATED AND THE BUS WAS TOWED TO THE FLEET'S MAINTENANCE FACILITY WHERE THEY FOUND THE HEATER CONTROL CABLE HAD ABRADED ONE OF THE BODY SOLENOID WIRES AND A PORTION OF THE HEATER CONTROL CABLE SHEATH, IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE WIRE/CABLE CONTACT POINT, HAD BEEN MELTED AWAY.SUBSEQUENTLY, THEY INSPECTED ANOTHER SUBJECT BUS AND FOUND CABLE/WIRE CONTACT NEAR THE SOLENOID AS WELL.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

Visibility
Filed Dec 6, 2001

THERE WAS A CROSSOVER MIRROR BRACKET CHANGE IN 2000 FOR THE BUSBOY CROSSOVER MIRRORS ON THE FRONT FOR THE BLUEBIRD/GM KODIAC CHASSIS SCHOOL BUSES. AS A RESULT OF THIS BRACKET CHANGE THAT WAS DESIGNED AT THE REQUEST OF BLUEBIRD SO THE CROSSOVER MIRRORS WOULD MET THE INTENT OF FMVSS NO. 111. MIRROR LITE CO. LOWERED THE BRACKET HEIGHT BY APPROXIMATELY 8 TO 10 INCHES AND EXTENDED THE BRACKET 8 TO 10 INCHES FARTHER OUT IN FRONT OF THE BUS. WITH THE BUSBOY CROSSOVER MIRROR 8 TO 10 INCHES LOWER AND OUT FARTHER IN FRONT OF THE BUS THE HEADLIGHS ARE REFLECTED INTO THE MIRRORS AND THUS REFLECTING THE HEADLIGHTS LIGHT BACK INTO THE DRIVER'S EYES. THIS OCCURS EVEN WHEN THE MIRRORS ARE ADJUSTED IN ACCORDANCE TO FMVSS NO. 111 AND THE ROSCOE MIRROR GRID. ACCORDING TO BLUEBIRD AND MIRROR LITE THEY ARE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND MIRROR LITE CO. HAS MANUFACTURED A "HEADLIGHT HOOD" KIT THAT SHOULD KEEP THE HEADLIGHTS FROM REFLECTING INTO THE MIRROR AND BLINDING THE DRIVER AT NIGHT. NIETHER COMPANIES HAS OFFERED THOSE KITS TO OWNERS OF THE SCHOOL BUSES NOR HAVE THE OWNERS BEEN MADE AWARE OF A POTIENTIAL HAZARD OF THE LIGHTS REFLECTING BACK IN THE CROSSOVER MIRRORS BLINDING THE DRIVERS. THESE MIRRORS HAVE BEEN USED ON BLUEBIRD/GM KODIAC CHASSIS BUSES SINCE AT LEAST 1993. SHOULD THE OLDER SCHOOL BUSES BE RETROFITED AND SHOULD THE NEW BRACKET BE MODIFIED TO KEEP THE HEADLIGHTS FROM BEING REFLECTED INTO THE DRIVERS EYES. *AK

NHTSA ID
755349
Fuel system
Filed Jan 18, 2001

INTERNATIONAL BUS; WHILE DRIVING WITH CHILDREN BUS STALLED UNEXPECTEDLY WHICH ALMOST CAUSED A CRASH DUE TO FUEL LINE MADE OUT OF AIR LINES WHICH WAS USED FOR AIR BRAKES. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

NHTSA ID
878432
Incident
Dec 12, 2000
Visibility
Filed Mar 23, 2000
Fire reported

HEATER VENT CABLE NOT SECURED AND CHAFFED ON THE BODY SOLENOID WITH LIVE WIRES CAUSING SHORT CIRCUIT AND FIRE, OTHER VIN #[XXX] HAD THE SAME ROUTING OF CABLE AND WAS REPAIRED AND SECURED TO AVOID FIRE POTENTIAL. *MJS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ID
551530
Incident
Mar 22, 2000

Manufacturer communications

A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.

SM1608

EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL

New Blue Bird Support Center - Technical Bus Support: Dealer memo to announce the new on-line Blue Bird Support Center for technical bus support requests.

SM1601

EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL

Blue Bird Troubleshooting Guides: Blue Bird announcement of the addition of troubleshooting guides for assisting in the service of the Blue Bird products. These troubleshooting guides are available on the Vantage website.

SU-1209

BLUE BIRD: PROCEDURE UPDATE INFORMATION BEING PROVIDED REGARDING REPLACEMENT OF HEATER RESISTORS ON ALL MODELS. NO MODEL OR MODEL YEARS LISTED. *PE

Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

Blue Bird School Bus by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2009010—
2001200—
2000Viewing301—
1998300—
1997301—
1996702—
1995401—
1993401—
1992104—
1991103—
1990003—
1989004—
1988001—
1987111—
1986200—
1985100—
1984100—

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.