The Used Car Index

2004 Thomas School BUS problems

NHTSA lists 1 complaints for the 2004 Thomas School BUS, 0 of them mention a crash and 1 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 THOMAS SCHOOL BUS.

At a glance

Complaints
1
With crash
0
With fire
1
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
1
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
634
Investigations
1
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
1

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
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1100.0%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints

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

Model-generated complaint tags: This model year has not been tagged.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

1 recalls.

05V284000

Date: 2005-06-14. Systems: SUSPENSION.

Defect: CERTAIN FREIGHTLINER TRUCKS AND THOMAS SCHOOL BUSES EQUIPPED WITH HOLLAND/NEWAY AIR SUSPENSION SYSTEMS, A TRANSVERSE BEAM CASTING MAY FRACTURE UNDER NORMAL LOADS. IF A CASTING BREAKS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS TRAVELING ON A ROADWAY THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR PIECES OF THE CASTING TO BECOME PROJECTILES AND THE SUSPENSION'S TRANSVERSE BEAM MAY DROP DOWN LOW ENOUGH TO CONTACT THE ROAD SURFACE.

Consequence: THIS WILL CAUSE SPARKS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY IGNITE AND CAUSE A FIRE.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE TRANSVERSE BEAM ASSEMBLIES. THE RECALL BEGAN FOR THOMAS BUILT OWNERS ON FEBRUARY 10, 2006; AND FOR FREIGHTLINER OWNERS ON APRIL 14, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FREIGHTLINER AT 1-800-547-0712.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

1 investigations; 0 open.

EA07002

Opened: 2007-01-30. Closed: 2007-07-12.

STEERING COLUMN WELD CRACKS

AS A RESULT OF THE ODI INVESTIGATION, FREIGHTLINER HAS AGREED TO RECALL (NUMBER 07V-289) ALL OF THE VEHICLES MANUFACTURED WITH STEERING COLUMNS POTENTIALLY MISSING WELDS.THE RECALL REMEDY WILL INVOLVE INSPECTING THE RECALLED VEHICLES FOR MISSING WELDS AND IF FOUND REPLACE THE STEERING COLUMN.EARLY WARNING AGGREGATE DATA SUBMITTED TO NHTSA BY FREIGHTLINER SUGGESTED THAT A STEERING PROBLEM (EWR CODE

Systems: STEERING.

Linked campaign numbers: 07V289000.

Manufacturer communications

1 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR1

10036588

Date: 2010-11-29. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES, AIR.

THOMAS BUILT BUS: ALL MODELS OF THOMAS BUSES USING AUTOMATIC SLACK ADJUSTERS. THE AUTOMATIC SLACK ADJUSTERS ARE ROUTINELY BEING ADJUSTED BY SOME OPERATORS AND SERVICE TECHNICIANS TO MAKE BRAKE PUSHROD STROKE APPEAR TO BE WITH LEGAL BRAKE ADJUSTMENT LIMITS, OR TO COMPENSATE FOR MIS-DIAGNOSED OUT OF

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
SCHOOL BUS1

Same model, other years

All model years | All Thomas models

Other Thomas models, 2004

Sources

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