Starcraft Bus announced two separate recalls for its Prodigy and Quest school buses and Multi-function School Activity Buses (MFSAB) to repair different components.
One NHTSA recall affects 1,792 model-year 2008-2011 Prodigy and Quest school buses, and MFSABs manufactured from Dec. 8, 2009 through Sept. 16, 2011 equipped with a Challenger Door rear emergency exit doors. Starcraft said the rear-door handle latch mechanism may bind due to insufficient lubrication, requiring a great force to open the rear door. This could result in occupants being unable to open the rear door in the event of an emergency, possibly resulting in injury to vehicle occupants.
Accordingly, these buses fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 217, “Bus Emergency Exits and Window Retention and Release.”
Another NHTSA recall affects 517 model-year 2010-2011 Prodigy and Quest school buses, and MFSABs manufactured from April 12, 2011 through June 6, 2011 that fail to comply with FMVSS 222, “School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection.” These vehicles are equipped with C.E. White seat cushions with a self-latching mechanism that, according to Starcraft, may not activate. This could result in possible injury to vehicle occupants in the event of a vehicle crash should the seat cushion flip up out of place.
For both recalls, Starcraft is expected to notify owners beginning this month that dealers will repair all of the buses free of charge.
