Steering Shaft May Stick Causing Loss of Control – 2022 Gillig Low Floor Transit Buses

October 24, 2022 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 22V801000

Steering Shaft May Stick Causing Loss of Control

Contact between the steering shaft grease fitting and shroud can result in a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V801

Manufacturer Gillig, LLC

Components STEERING

Potential Number of Units Affected 352

 

Summary

Gillig, LLC (Gillig) is recalling certain 2022 Low Floor transit buses. The steering shaft grease fitting may contact and damage the protective shroud.

 

Remedy

Gillig will install a low-profile grease fitting and spacer shim, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 1, 2022. Owners may contact Gillig customer service at 1-510-264-5073 or 1-800-735-1500.

 

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.

 

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What The Issue Is:

Interference between the grease fitting and the protecting shroud of the shaft may cause an increase in steering drag to be felt on the steering wheel. Over time, the fitting may cut a hole through the shroud with the risk of remaining stuck, undermining the steerability of the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash. As a result of this condition, Gillig has decided to voluntarily initiate a safety recall campaign for the vehicle population that may be affected by the issue.

 

What We Are Asking You To Do:

1. Gillig is asking you to retrofit the affected vehicles with a new grease fitting and a modified bracket for the steering miter box. This action will remove the interference issue.

2. After the retrofit has been completed, return the VIN sheet stating that the recall service has been completed.

3. If you have already performed this repair, you are eligible to receive reimbursement for the cost of performing the pre-notification repair of the issue that is subject of this recall

 

What Gillig Will Do For You:

1. Gillig will provide the retrofit parts along with clear instructions on how to perform the repair

2. Gillig will pay a reasonable warranty claim for performing this function. Gillig estimates a maximum time of 1 hour per vehicle required to perform this function.

Any questions regarding the information should be directed to Gillig Service at field-service@gillig.com .
If after having attempted to take advantage of this recall you believe you have not been able to have your bus remedied without charge and within a reasonable amount of time, you may submit a complaint to the Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C., 20590; or call the toll-free Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

Federal regulations require that any vehicle lessor receiving the recall notice must forward a copy of this notice to the vehicle lessee within ten days.

 

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Chronology :

07/27/2022: Gillig received the first notification about a steering issue affecting a customer bus.

09/20/2022: Gillig received a new report describing the same issue on a different fleet. The following inspection found all suspect units were affected by the issue and prompted an internal investigation.

09/23/2022: all vehicles inspected to date reported an issue with the grease fitting rubbing against the steering shaft shroud. Further inspection revealed the steering column was off-center to the hole cutout. The inspection was extended to the manufacturing side to determine if all components were installed properly and to the engineering side to investigate potential root causes related to the design.

09/28/2022: the root cause was identified and consisted of a previous design change of the steering system that resulted in a shift of the steering column that caused interference between the grease fitting and the shroud.

09/30/2022: an initial test fit confirmed that a modified grease fitting with a low-profile nipple would resolve the interference issue

10/13/2022: Gillig completed the development of a permanent corrective action consisting in a combination between a low-profile grease fitting and a spacer shim for the miter box bracket to further increase the clearance between grease fitting and shroud.

10/14/2022: Gillig completed analysis of the vehicle population to be recalled

10/17/2022 the Gillig Safety Committee decided to file a voluntary safety recall to address the issue in the field.

 

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1 Affected Product

Vehicle

MAKE	MODEL	YEAR
GILLIG	LOW FLOOR	2022

 

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7 Associated Documents

Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-22V801-9814.PDF 215.87KB

 

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Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-22V801-9239.pdf 645.112KB

 

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Recall 573 Report- 11/30/2022

RCLRPT-22V801-9976.PDF 215.937KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #1, 2022-4

RCLQRT-22V801-2675.PDF 211.123KB

 

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Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RCONL-22V801-4053.pdf 72.178KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #2, 2023-1

RCLQRT-22V801-3940.PDF 211.222KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #3, 2023-2

RCLQRT-22V801-5219.PDF 211.311KB

 

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Latest Recalls Documents

For the Latest and Most Recent Recalls Information Visit the link below…

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=22V801&docType=RCL

 

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