The Used Car Index

2014 Champion Challenger problems

NHTSA lists 1 complaints for the 2014 Champion Challenger, 1 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 0 complaints mention an injury, with 0 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-08.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as CHAMPION CHALLENGER.

At a glance

Complaints
1
With crash
1
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
6
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
1,818
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
2

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
SERVICE BRAKES1100.0%
STEERING1100.0%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
loss of control1100.0%0.98
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
high1100.0%0.86

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 1 tagged complaints of 1 complaints (100.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

6 recalls.

18V573000

Date: 2018-08-30. Systems: EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY.

Defect: Champion Bus (Champion) is recalling certain 2012-2018 Champion American Coach, American Crusader, American S2, Challenger, Crusader, Defender, and Impulse vehicles, equipped with certain S-Series and K-Series Titanium Wheelchair Lifts, models K200, K201, K550, K551, S200, S2201, S550 and S551. The wheelchair lift positioning input cam may fail while the lift is in use, allowing the platform to t (excerpt)

Consequence: If the wheelchair lift platform stops above the vehicle floor, the wheelchair user can tip inwards toward the vehicle when exiting the lift, increasing their risk of injury. (excerpt)

Remedy: Dealers will replace the injection molded cam with an aluminum machined cam, free of charge. The recall began November 1, 2018. Owners may contact Champion customer service 1-810-724-1753 extension 415 or Ricon customer service at 1-800-322-2884 or by emailing Ricon at Admin18E044@wabtec.com. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

15V757000

Date: 2015-11-16. Systems: EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY.

Defect: Champion Bus, Inc. (Champion) is recalling certain model year 2006-2015 Challenger, Defender, Crusader, American, American Coach, American Crusader, Corporal, CTS-FE, CTS-RE, HC American, Platinum Shuttle, and Stacked Rail transit buses manufactured January 1, 2006, to August 25, 2015, equipped with certain model S2005, S2010, S5005, S5010, S5505, and S5510 wheelchair lifts. The affected lifts ar (excerpt)

Consequence: If the bearings move out of position, the stowed platform may have excessive movement resulting in failure of the platform mounting. This failure could cause the wheel chair lift platform to fall out of the vehicle when the doors are opened, increasing the risk of injury for the lift operator. (excerpt)

Remedy: Champion will notify owners, and Ricon will inspect the link arms for damage or for displaced bearings. The platform will be inspected for cracks. Any damaged parts will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on December 21, 2015. Owners may contact Champion customer service at 1-810-724-1753 extension 415, or Ricon customer service at 1-800-322-2884. Champion's number for this recall (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

15V391000

Date: 2015-06-19. Systems: SEAT BELTS.

Defect: Champion Bus, Inc. (Champion) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 American Crusader, American Coach, Challenger, Crusader, CTS-FE, CTS-RE, Defender, EZ Trans, HCAC, HC, DFUC, LF Transport, Premier, and Spirit transit buses manufactured March 1, 2013, to June 12, 2015. In the affected vehicles, the passenger seat belts may rub against the metal seat frame and fray. As a result, these vehicl (excerpt)

Consequence: A frayed seat belt fray may fail to properly restrain the seat occupant in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury. (excerpt)

Remedy: Champion will notify owners, and dealers will install a plastic sleeve over the metal seat frame, and replace any seat belts that show evidence of fraying, free of charge. The recall began on September 16, 2015. Owners may contact Champion customer service at 1-810-724-1753 extension 562. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

14V821000

Date: 2014-12-29. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

Defect: Champion Bus, Inc. (Champion) is recalling certain model year 2012-2014 American Crusader, Challenger, Crusader, CTS-FE, CTS-RE, Defender, EZ-Street, HC American, HCAC, LF Transport, M1235, Platinum Shuttle, Stacked Rail, and Federal Coach Premier, and Spirit transit buses manufactured January 1, 2012, to October 1, 2014, equipped with certain triangle warning signs manufactured by Imperial Suppli (excerpt)

Consequence: Warning triangles that do not properly reflect light may fail to warn others that a vehicle is parked, increasing the risk of a crash. (excerpt)

Remedy: Champion will notify owners to inspect their triangles for production dates between April 2011, to April 2014, and the affected triangles will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on January 6, 2015. Owners may contact Champion customer service at 1-810-724-6474. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

14V748000

Date: 2014-11-24. Systems: SEATS.

Defect: Champion Bus, Inc. (Champion) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 LF Transport, HCAC, Defender, Crusader, and Challenger transit buses manufactured September 2, 2014, to October 14, 2014. The spring nuts used to secure the passenger seats failed durability testing.

Consequence: Spring nuts that fail to secure the seat and allow seat movement could increase the risk of personal injury in the event of a vehicle crash.

Remedy: Champion will notify owners, and dealers will replace the defective seat nuts, free of charge. The recall began in December 2014. Owners may contact Champion at 1-810-724-6474.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

14V742000

Date: 2014-11-19. Systems: EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY.

Defect: Champion Bus, Inc. (Champion Bus) is recalling certain model year 2006-2014 American Coach, American Crusader, Challenger, Corporal, Crusader, CTS-FE, CTS-RE, Defender, HCAC, HC American, Platinum Shuttle, and Stacked Rail transit buses manufactured January 1, 2006, to July 31, 2014, equipped with certain model S2005, S2010, S5005, S5010, S5505, and S5510 wheelchair lifts manufactured by Ricon Cor (excerpt)

Consequence: If the platform side plates crack, the lift platform can separate from the lift and come to rest against the vehicle's lift door. When the doors are opened, the platform may fall out, increasing the risk of injury to the lift operator. (excerpt)

Remedy: Champion Bus will notify owners to take buses to a Ricon dealer or service center who will install supplemental platform support bumpers. Any platform that has already started cracking will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began in November 2014. Owners may contact Champion Bus customer service at 1-810-724-6474. Owners may contact Ricon customer service at 1-800-322-2884. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

2 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT1
SEATS1

10153609

Date: 2018-12-28. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SEATS.

The mounting bolt to install the Freedman driver?s seat to the Ford OEM seat track may not have been sufficiently tightened during installation.

10079683

Date: 2014-12-11. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

HEATER VALVES MUST BE OPENED WHILE REAR HEATERS ARE RUNNING. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN FAILURE OF THE HEAT PUMP, VOIDING THE WARRANTY ON THE COMPONENTS. THIS PROCEDURE IS NOT NECESSARY IF YOU VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH ELECTRIC OR VACUUM DRIVEN SHUT OFF VALVES.

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.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
CHALLENGER1

Same model, other years

All model years | All Champion models

Other Champion models, 2014

Sources

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