Defect: ARBOC Specialty Vehicles, LLC (ARBOC) is recalling certain 2016-2020 Spirit of America and 2014-2019 Spirit of Liberty buses built on a Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation (FCCC) chassis. The power cables on the driver's side may have been routed incorrectly, allowing them to rub against the frame or make contact with the ground cable.
Consequence: The misrouted power cables may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: ARBOC will notify owners, and dealers will re-route, inspect, and repair power cable wiring as needed, free of charge. The recall began June 24, 2020. Owners may contact ARBOC customer service at 1-866-953-5555. ARBOC's number for this recall is RC059801.
Defect: ARBOC Specialty Vehicles, LLC (ARBOC) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Spirit of Liberty transit buses manufactured November 7, 2014, to July 29, 2016. On the affected vehicles, the parking brake can engage if the entry door is opened at any speed.
Consequence: If the parking brake engages unexpectedly while the vehicle is in motion, it can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: ARBOC has notified owners, and dealers will update the vehicle's programming, free of charge. The recall began on January 13, 2017. Owners may contact ARBOC customer service at 1-866-953-5555.
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Investigations
1 investigations; 0 open.
PE21002
Opened: 2021-01-15. Closed: 2022-07-22.
Trolley bus circuit breaker fires
In a July 7, 2020 letter, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of three separate fire incidents resulting in the total loss of eight of its Spirit of America trolley buses. These buses were manufactured by ARBOC Specialty Vehicles, LLC (Arboc) on incomplete chassis from Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation. Considering the safety
Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
Linked campaign numbers: None listed.
Manufacturer communications
4 manufacturer communications.
Communications by system
System
Count
SUSPENSION
2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL
1
10176735
Date: 2020-06-09. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
Complaint: 30A Recessed Breaker not secured with top & bottom bolt through firewall Cause: Hole is cut too large Correction: R/R Circuit Breaker with a Mounting Plate
10148853
Date: 2018-10-15. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL.
AR862-Skid Plate Installation-Vehicles Affected-All Spirit of Liberty (SOL) units. Complaint-Skid plate not installed. Cause-Option not selected on Sales Order. Correction-Add skid plate, part # 1309080.
10115842
Date: 2017-05-05. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SUSPENSION.
AR837-FCCC Front Suspension Increase-Complaint-Customer complaint about front end contact with road. Cause-Design. Correction-Add plate under front air springs and change ride height linkage to increase front air spring height. Affects buses 2599 and 2578 2853.
10110857
Date: 2017-02-02. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SUSPENSION.
Weight Assembly For 29' Liberty-Complaint-Unit porpoises and sways under driving conditions. Cause-Not enough weight in front of axle to balance weight distribution. Correction-Add weight per AR832 repair instruction. Affects one bus, SO# 2599.
Notes on this record
Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.
NHTSA's complaints API and bulk file list no complaint for this make, model and model year in this data build.