Improperly Secured Ceiling Panels – 2019-2022 Starcraft Prodigy School Buses

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April 7, 2023 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 23V254000

Improperly Secured Ceiling Panels/FMVSS 221

Improperly secured ceiling panels may not adequately protect the passengers in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V254

Manufacturer Forest River Bus, LLC

Components STRUCTURE

Potential Number of Units Affected 29

 

Summary

Forest River Bus, LLC (Forest River Bus) is recalling certain 2019-2022 Starcraft Prodigy school buses. The interior panels on the ceiling may be improperly secured. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 221, “School bus body joint strength.”

 

Remedy

Dealers will inspect the panels and apply adhesive, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 25, 2023. Owners may contact Forest River Bus Customer Service at 1-800-348-7440. Forest River Bus number for this recall is 05-1621.

 

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.

 


RECALL 23V254 REMEDY INSTRUCTIONS

Make(s): STARCRAFT BUS
Model(s): PRODIGY
Model Year(s): 2019 – 2021

Concern:
A non-compliance to “FMVSS 221 Joint Strength” was found on two interior panel pieces removed from the ceiling of the bus.

Disconnect the vehicles’ battery Positive and Negative, disconnect any House battery(s) Positive and Negative, if equipped with a generator ensure it is off and lastly, ensure the vehicle is disconnected from shore power. Block any tires/wheels to prevent the vehicle from rolling. Failure to do so may result in electrocution, fire or other personal injury, property damage and/or death.

 

PARTS REQUIRED:

28 – #10-16 X 1” SD SQUARE #2
4 – WOOD SHIMS
1 – SIKA 3131 ADHESIVE

 

INSPECTION PROCESS:

STEP 1: REMOVE ALL SCREWS FROM INTERIOR CEILING PANEL SEAMS;

STEP 2: TRY TO SEPARATE THE PANELS, ENSURING NOT TO DAMAGE CEILING SURFACE;

STEP 3: IF THE PANEL IS ADHERED AND DOES NOT SEPARATE, THE INSPECTION IS COMPLETE AND THE UNIT IS NOT IN NEED OF THE REPAIR;

  • CLAIM THE REPAIR CODE
  • IF THE PANELS ARE ABLE TO BE SEPARATED PROCEED TO REPAIR PROCEDURE BELOW.

 

REPAIR PROCESS:

CONTACT STARCRAFT WARRANTY FOR AUTHORIZATION AND TO ALSO ORDER THE PARTS KIT AS NEEDED;

STEP 4: REMOVE THE SIDE ACCESS PANEL SCREWS AND REMOVE THE ACCESS PANELS;

STEP 5: PLACE MASKING TAPE ALONG FRONT EDGE OF SEAM TO MAKE IT EASIER TO CLEAN ACCESS ADHESIVE FROM STEP 8;

STEP 6: PLACE A SMALL SPACER OR WEDGE BETWEEN THE TWO PANELS TO CREATE ADEQUATE SPACE FOR ADHESIVE
APPLICATION;

STEP 7: PLACE A ¼” BEAD OF TWO PART SIKA 3131 PRODUCT ALONG THE ENTIRE UPPER SEAM; ½” FROM THE LEADING EDGE OF THE PANEL;

STEP 8: RE-SEAT THE ORIGINAL SCREWS BACK INTO THE PANEL(S), ADD THE ADDITIONAL SCREWS FROM THE KIT IN BETWEEN EACH OF THE EXISTING SCREWS AND PULL THE MASKING TAPE OFF OF CEILING;

STEP 9: RE-ATTACH THE SIDE ACCESS PANELS;

STEP 10: BE SURE TO WIPE ANY EXCESS ADHESIVE FROM THE SEAM IMMEDIATELY AS THE ADHESIVE WILL BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO REMOVE ONCE IT IS CURED;

STEP 11: CLAIM REPAIR CODE.

PHOTOS ON FOLLOWING PAGE FOR INSPECTION / REMEDY

 

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April 2023

This Notice applies to your vehicle VIN listed above.

Dear Forest River Customer:

This notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. This notice is also sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Forest River has decided that a noncompliance, which relates to the motor vehicle safety, exists in certain 2019-2022 Starcraft Prodigy School Buses and fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 221, “Joint Strength.” This is to inform you that your vehicle may be non-compliant with the requirements of the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations and that the non-compliance could affect the safety of a person.

 

WHAT IS THE DEFECT/NONCOMPLIANCE?

A non-compliance to “FMVSS 221 Joint Strength” was found on two interior panel pieces removed from the ceiling of the bus.

 

EVALUATION OF THE RISK TO THE VEHICLE AND OPERATOR(S) RELATED TO THE RECALL.

Improperly secured ceiling panels may not adequately protect the passengers in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

 

WHAT IS FOREST RIVER AND OUR DEALERSHIPS GOING TO DO?

The remedy for this recall is included with this notification. Forest River has notified dealerships of this recall and have provided them with remedy instructions to secure the ceiling panels. You may have the recall corrected at any Forest River dealership. However, it is preferable if you have your selling dealership perform the remedy. Forest River completely covers your cost for the remedy; you will not receive any bill of sale for anything covered under the above recall number.

 

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

Please contact your dealer immediately and request a service appointment to schedule the free remedy. The vehicle Owner is responsible for arranging to have the work completed. Please state you have been notified by Forest River of having a recall in process for your vehicle and provide the recall number for the dealership. It is also helpful to the dealership to have a copy of this letter when you take your vehicle in for the recall remedy.
You may also visit www.forestriverinc.com for dealer locations.

 

HOW LONG WILL THE REMEDY PROCESS TAKE?

The estimated time of repair is .67 hours. However, the dealership may need to keep your vehicle or schedule an appointment with you for a later date to fit into their regular service schedule.

 

WHAT IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY PAID FOR REPAIRS TO YOUR VEHICLE FOR THIS PARTICULAR CONDITION?

If you have already paid for a repair that is within the scope of this defect under recall, you still need to have this recall inspected and/or performed to ensure the correct parts and procedures were utilized. Additionally, you may be eligible for a refund of previously paid repairs. Refunds will only be provided for within the scope of this defect under recall.

Please send the service invoice to the following address:

Starcraft Bus
Forest River Bus, LLC
Attn: WARRANTY MANAGER
2367 Century Drive
Goshen, IN 46528

 


Chronology :

In 2019, NHTSA purchased a Starcraft school bus (Prodigy) single rear wheel unit to verify FMVSS compliance.
During this testing process in March, 2023, a non-compliance to “FMVSS 221 Joint Strength” was found on two interior panel pieces removed from the ceiling of the bus.

NHTSA engineer Daniel Lind informed Don Hasty of the non-compliance on March 22nd, 2023. The discussion over the results and reports sent led to further investigation on the application of the adhesive failure of the test component substrates. The adhesive on the test vehicle panels was improperly applied causing the failure to the FMVSS 221 test procedure.

On March 23rd, 2023, Don contacted Daniel to inform him that the data had been received and the review process had been started. Don found that the suspect bus and 28 others may not have had the adhesive in the appropriate location on the panels. Based on the line assembly process flow these units will be recalled and inspected to ensure the adhesive was properly applied on both previously built units and units built after the subject vehicle.

On April 6, 2023, Forest Rivers Office of Corporate Compliance was informed of the failed test results.

On April 7, 2023, Forest Rivers Corporate Recall Committee was informed of the test results and voted to recall.

On April 12, 2023, as per NHTSA’s acknowledgment letter, amended the safety risk to include the risk of injury.

 


4 Affected Products

Vehicle

MAKE MODEL YEAR
STARCRAFT BUS PRODIGY 2019-2022

 


9 Associated Documents

Recall 573 Report – 4/12/2023

RCLRPT-23V254-2865.PDF 214.604KB

 


Noncompliance Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-23V254-4800.PDF 214.542KB

 


Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-23V254-9136.pdf 651.723KB

 


Remedy Instructions and TSB

RCRIT-23V254-4620.pdf 190.56KB

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ISSUED Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RCONL-23V254-3991.pdf 182.105KB

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc)

RCMN-23V254-0475.pdf 204.918KB

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Recall Quarterly Report #2, 2023-3

RCLQRT-23V254-3309.PDF 211.371KB

 


Recall Quarterly Report #3, 2023-4

RCLQRT-23V254-6040.PDF 211.454KB

 


Recall Quarterly Report #4, 2024-1

RCLQRT-23V254-0422.PDF 211.548KB

 


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=23V254&docType=RCL

 


 

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