RoadVitals

2005 Mci D4500/102DL3

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Overview

Our database contains no NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2005 Mci D4500/102DL3. 3 NHTSA investigations name 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.

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.

EA12007ClosedEngineering Analysis

MCI Drive Shaft Safety Loop Failures

Opened Sep 13, 2012
Closed Dec 3, 2015

In the fall of 2011, network contacts made ODI aware of four (4) incidents of drive shaft failure on the subject buses involving a loss of vehicle control.Two of the incidents were relatively low speed non-crash events; and two resulted in motor coach rollovers.All four events showed signs of a common failure mode.The incidents and crashes studied during this investigation all resulted from a series of complex events that began with the the yoke journal ears on the drive shafts fracturing.Once the drive shaft failed. it was not adequately contained by a drive shaft safety loop or structure.The spinning and unrestrained drive shaft caused severe damage to components on the steerable tag axle at the rear of the vehicle and created a forced steering condition.Once the rear of the bus was being forcibly steered by the tag axle, the driver lost control of the vehicle.These conclusions are based on the forensics evidence and testing conducted by the Vehicle Research and Test Center (VRTC).The VRTC test report is attached to this closing resume that provides details on how the test center was able to conclusively identify the defective components on the buses and demonstrate the sequence of events that caused the buses to crash.Prior to the drive shaft failure events, there were no indications of improper maintenance or that maintenance was required that would have prevented the incidents.Additionally, the U-joints on the incident vehicles were found to be in good working condition at the time of the failure. Finally, records of driver interviews indicated a sudden onset of the failure with no warning.Following the VRTC testing, MCI issued recall 14V-335 involving certain model year 1993-1995 102DL3 motor coaches manufactured November 1992 to January 1995, and 2006 and 2008 D4505 motor coaches manufactured June 2005 to April 2008.The affected buses are equipped with a drive shaft with a compressed length of 30 inches or less (allowing it to escape containment if it fails), a steerable trailing tag axle equipped with a system that changes the axle caster when the vehicle is in reverse travel and no electronic stability control (ESC).Recall 14V-335 addresses the concerns of this investigation.The ODI report cited above can be viewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID: ODI Number 10447575.

POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINELed to recall 14V335000
PE12007ClosedPreliminary Evaluation

MCI Driveshaft Safety Loop Failures

Opened Mar 21, 2012
Closed Sep 20, 2012

ODI has identified certain MCI coaches with powertrain configurations that may allow a driveshaft separated at the rearward universal joint to escape the guardian structure of the steerable tag axle and damage steering and braking components.The damaged components may increase the risk of a loss of vehicle control. The subject coaches include 806 model year 1992 through 2012 MCI D and E series motor coaches with steerable tag axles.This Preliminary Evaluation is being upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA12-007) to further study the alleged defect and to determine if a safety defect exists. The ODI report cited above can be viewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID: ODI Number 10447575.

POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE
PE10001ClosedPreliminary Evaluation

Wheel Chair Lift Separates From Bus

Opened Jan 14, 2010
Closed Apr 9, 2010

ODI opened this investigation upon learning of two incidents where the wheel chair assembly broke through the side door while the motor coach was being operated. Both incidents resulted in property damage to parked vehicles.After further review, MCI decided to conduct a safety recall to resolve this issue. MCI will provide parts and labor to install a Ricon-designed retrofit kit that includes a spring-loaded lock mechanism. The additional lock mechanism will prevent unintended wheel chair lift deployment regardless of the cause. The population includes 1995 through 2009 D4000's, 1997 through 2010 D4500's, and 2005 through 2010 D4505 models. This resolves all issues concerning this investigation. This investigation is closed.

STRUCTURE:BODY:DOORLed to recall 10V087000

Recent owner complaints

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

No owner complaints recorded for this model year

Either none have been filed with NHTSA, or this vehicle is too new for reports to have accumulated.

Manufacturer communications

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

SB 3120

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

This Service Bulletin informs owners of the procedure to clean the batteries and reapply corrosion inhibitor every 6000 miles or 3 months, whichever first occurs.

SB-357

MOTOR COACH INDUDSTRIES: INFORMATION ON REPLACING THE COOLANT PUMP THAT MAY HAVE A PROBLEM. *RM

354

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION; POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM); POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION

MOTOR COACH INDUSTRIES SERVICE CAMPAIGN: SEE DOCUMENT SEARCH BUTTON FOR OWNER LETTER. THERE MAY BE A HARSH DOWNSHIFT, RPM FLARE, OR THE TRANSMISSION MAY LOCK. *RM

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

Mci D4500/102DL3 by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2006003—
2005Viewing003—
2004003—
2003003—
2002003—
2001103—
2000003—
1999003—
1998003—
1997003—
1996002—
1995002—
1994002—

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.