1997 Thomas MVP EF: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 6 recall campaigns for the 1997 Thomas MVP EF. The newest campaign is 08V087000. NHTSA received the report on 26 Feb 2008. The NHTSA record gives the component Structure / Body / Door / Hinge and Attachments. NHTSA has 2 complaints 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, 08V087000, in the NHTSA record

Daimler trucks will notify owners and will replace the handles with a more robust handle free of charge. Repairs will be performed by thomas built buses dealerships. The recall began on august 18, 2008, and notification for the revised population is expected to begin on or about april 29, 2009. Owners may contact thomas built at 336-889-4871.

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 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 15 May 2019. Recall file through 29 Sep 2026.

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

6 campaigns, newest first. 301,442 units in total.

08V08700026 Feb 2008Structure / Body / Door / Hinge and Attachments
07V14200027 Mar 2007Seat Belts
01V37800012 Dec 2001Structure / Body
00V3620003 Nov 2000Seats
00V2320117 Aug 2000Service Brakes, Air / Antilock
00V2320027 Aug 2000Service Brakes, Air / Antilock

08V087000Received 26 Feb 2008. 243,435 units.
Structure / Body / Door / Hinge and Attachments
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Daimler trucks is recalling 243,435 my 1995-2008 thomas built school buses manufactured between january 1994, and march 10, 2008. (additional buses have been added to this recall campaign. Please see supplemental report no. 4) the emergency exit door handle begins corroding around the securing roll pin and square drive mechanism causing the protective finish to chip and flake. Continued corrosion and pitting weakens the handle. Handles weakened by corrosion may break while trying to open the door from the exterior.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
In the event of an emergency, a person on the outside of the bus may break the door handle trying to open the emergency exit potentially delaying evacuation and increasing the risk of personal injury to the vehicle's occupants.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Daimler trucks will notify owners and will replace the handles with a more robust handle free of charge. Repairs will be performed by thomas built buses dealerships. The recall began on august 18, 2008, and notification for the revised population is expected to begin on or about april 29, 2009. Owners may contact thomas built at 336-889-4871.
Report filed by DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA. Manufacturer campaign number FL-525. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 18 Aug 2008.
07V142000Received 27 Mar 2007. 11,265 units.
Seat Belts
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Certain my 1994 through 2002 thomas built minotour, fs-65, mvp-ef, er, and hdx-ef school buses manufactured between january 23, 1994, and april 15, 2002. The seat belt may chafe on the edge of a metal bracket and wear prematurely.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
In the event of a vehicle crash, the seat occupant may not be properly restrained, possibly resulting in personal injury.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Thomas built will notify owners and replace any chafed seat belts and replace or modify the retainer strip to prevent any further chafing. The recall began on february 8, 2008. Owners may contact thomas built at 336-889-4871 or contact freightliner at 800-547-0712.
Report filed by FREIGHTLINER LLC. Manufacturer campaign number FL-495. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 8 Feb 2008.
01V378000Received 12 Dec 2001. 57 units.
Structure / Body
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Vehicle description: certain school buses fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 217, "bus emergency exits and window retention and release." a third roof hatch must be added to meet the standard requirements. Only vehicles located in the state of washington are involved.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
In the event of a crash, the bus occupant may not be able to exit the bus quickly.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will install a third roof hatch. Owner notification began may 1, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact thomas built at 336-889-4871.
Report filed by FREIGHTLINER CORPORATION. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 1 May 2002.
00V362000Received 3 Nov 2000. 6,500 units.
Seats
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Vehicle description: certain school buses and transit buses equipped with national seating's series 93b-sb driver seat. A bracket attaching the gas spring shock to the height adjuster of the seat can deform and break. This bracket is located at the top of the height adjuster.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If the bracket is not replaced after deforming, and is allowed to break, its breaking will result in a sudden drop of the driver's seat, increasing the risk of loss of control of the vehicle and a crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace the seat base and add reinforcement to the seat assembly
Report filed by THOMAS BUILT BUSES, INC.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 9 Feb 2001.
00V232011Received 7 Aug 2000. 4,780 units.
Service Brakes, Air / Antilock
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Vehicle description: school bus chassis and emergency vehicles built with bendix air ABS with an ec-17 1030r electronic control unit (ECU), there have been reports of unwanted ABS activation at low speeds caused by 1) chafed ABS wheel speed sensor wires on rotating parts or 2) a damaged component at the wheel end that generates a certain type of erratic sensor signal.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
This condition could cause the ABS ECU to exhaust the air at the air brake modulators for one or more of the wheels. This could result in extended braking distances and a possible crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace the ABS ECU.
Report filed by THOMAS BUILT BUSES, INC.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 29 Aug 2000.
00V232002Received 7 Aug 2000. 35,405 units.
Service Brakes, Air / Antilock
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Vehicle description: heavy duty trucks and school bus chassis built with bendix air ABS with an ec-17 1030r electronic control unit (ECU), there have been reports of unwanted ABS activation at low speeds caused by 1) chafed ABS wheel speed sensor wires on rotating parts or 2) a damaged component at the wheel end that generates a certain type of erratic sensor signal.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
This condition could cause the ABS ECU to exhaust the air at the air brake modulators for one or more of the wheels. This could result in extended braking distances and a possible crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace the ABS ECU.
Report filed by FREIGHTLINER CORPORATION. Manufacturer campaign number FL-266. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 29 Aug 2000.

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

2 complaints, 4 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. This model year has fewer than 50 component mentions, so the table shows the number of mentions only.

1997 Thomas MVP EF: component mentions in complaints
Component		Mentions
Structure		2
Service Brakes, Hydraulic		2

Complaints that report a crash: 0
Complaints that report a fire: 0
Injuries in the complaints: 0
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 28 Apr 2000

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 1997 Thomas MVP EF, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2000, with 2 complaints.

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.

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

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 1997 Thomas MVP EFThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1997 Thomas MVP EF: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/thomas/mvp-ef/1997/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 29 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 29 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 15 May 2019
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA

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 1997 Thomas MVP EF?: 301,442 units in 6 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Thomas MVP EF have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 24 recall campaigns for the Thomas MVP EF, model years 1994 to 2008. 6 of them name the 1997 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1997 Thomas MVP EF name most often?: Structure: 2 of 4 component mentions.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1997 Thomas MVP EF open?: The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.