Recall Register

2004 Blue Bird Express 4500: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for the 2004 Blue Bird Express 4500. The newest campaign is 13V480000. NHTSA received the report on 17 Oct 2013. The NHTSA record gives the component Electrical System. NHTSA has no complaint on file for this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 13V480000, in the NHTSA record

Blue Bird will notify owners, and dealers will replace the equalizers, free of charge. The recall began on December 17, 2013. Owners may contact Blue Bird at 1-478-825-2021. Blue Bird's recall number is R13WN.
NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.

NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on . Complaint file through . Recall file through .

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

4 campaigns, newest first. 695 units in total.

  • 13V480000Electrical System
  • 04V388000Service Brakes, Air / Disc
  • 04V341000Service Brakes, Air / Supply / Check Valve
  • 04V153000Steering / Linkages

  1. 13V480000Received . 393 units.

    Electrical System

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Blue Bird Body Company (Blue Bird) is recalling certain model year 2004 Ultra LMB, 2003-2006 Ultra LF and 2004-2007 Express commercial buses equipped with Sure Power-brand battery equalizers containing a particular epoxy sealing, aka 'potting', compound. The specific potting compound used in the subject products for insulation was found to be capable of conducting electricity after being exposed to heat.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    Once electrically conductive, the material is capable of melting and burning, increasing the risk of a fire.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Blue Bird will notify owners, and dealers will replace the equalizers, free of charge. The recall began on December 17, 2013. Owners may contact Blue Bird at 1-478-825-2021. Blue Bird's recall number is R13WN.

    Report filed by Blue Bird Body Company. Manufacturer campaign number R13WN. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  2. 04V388000Received . 156 units.

    Service Brakes, Air / Disc

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Certain motor coaches, motor homes, commuter coaches, and transit buses equipped with arvin-meritor dx 225 air disc brakes, are experiencing excessive smoke in the wheel area due to overheating of the air disc brake pads.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    A potential fire in the wheel may occur which may result in property damage or personal injury.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Arvin-meritor will inspect the brake assemblies to ensure proper set-up and operation. This recall began august 10, 2004. Owners should contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.

    Report filed by BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number R04HW. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  3. 04V341000Received . 48 units.

    Service Brakes, Air / Supply / Check Valve

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Certain motor coaches fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 121, "air brake systems." these buses were manufactured without the check valve, which protects the front service brake reservoir.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    Loss of air pressure could result in longer stopping distances which could result in a crash.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will add the required check valve to the front air brake service reservoir to insure compliance with FMVSS no. 121. The recall began on july 30, 2004. Owners should contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.

    Report filed by BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number R04HU. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  4. 04V153000Received . 98 units.

    Steering / Linkages

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    On certain motor homes and transit coaches, incorrect torque application could have been applied to the clamp bolts and the drag link.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    This could lead to the clamps becoming loose, causing misalignment of the steering axles, which could result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Dealers will replace the clamp bolts and and tighten to the required torque. Owner notification began on april 7, 2004. Owners should contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.

    Report filed by BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number R04HR. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

The NHTSA complaint file has no complaint for this model year.

Investigations

The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

  1. 20044
  2. 20051
  3. 20063
  4. 20072

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

Official channels

Cite this page

Recall Register. 2004 Blue Bird Express 4500: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/blue-bird/express-4500/2004/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .

Sources

Source
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence
US government work, public domain
Recall file through
30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through
29 Mar 2018
First complaint in the file
1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file
Blue Bird Body Company

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2004 Blue Bird Express 4500?
695 units in 4 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Blue Bird Express 4500 have for all model years?
NHTSA lists 6 recall campaigns for the Blue Bird Express 4500, model years 2004 to 2007. 4 of them name the 2004 model year.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2004 Blue Bird Express 4500 open?
The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.