THOMAS BUILT BUSES Complaints

Lost all forward gear. As show in the picture attached of the valve body the number 1 valve body check ball pointed at with the yellow arrow is significantly smaller the the rest of the check balls. This causes the vehical to lose all forward gears and potentialy putting you harms way. This come whithout warning and no check engine light. I run a fleet of about 60 of these vans and it has happened with at least 5 of my vans in the couple of years two of which have been repaired by the dealer. It is just a matter of time a van gets stuck in the middle of an intersection or on a railroad crossing.

It appears the battery cables were rubbing the transmission cooler lines and after an extended period caused a thermal event. it burned wiring harnesses, the DEF pump and lines and a good portion of battery cable. Had there been children on the bus at the time of the thermal event it could have been catastrophic. This vehicle has been inspected by the Manufacturer and they are covering repairs. There has been an interim/info only recall issued. FL928-A.

Please see pics, attached. Im sure this situation is common in millions of school buses.

snow and ice buildup on windshield and wiper blades reducing visibility. defrost was set on high, also used overhead fans to direct warm air onto windshield and still does not melt off until stopped.

This is a preventative complaint. In my opinion, all the Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 school buses have a serious blind spot due to the location of the driver's side mirrors. When pulling up to an intersection, or stop sign, the driver has to bend forward and backward to see past the mirror for oncoming traffic. I brought this issue up earlier with the manufacturer representative, and he said they would look into it, but no changes have been made or any retro-fit kits to move mirrors.

WINDOW FRAMES CRACK AND BREAK LEAVING EXPOSED SHARP METAL EDGES AND HOLES EXPOSED FOR STUDENTS TO PLACE FINGERS IN, CAUSING INJURY. THE WINDOW FRAME MATERIAL IS A PLASTIC/VINYL PRODUCT THAT CRACKS AND/OR BREAKS UNDER EXTREME COLD OR HOT CONDITIONS. THERE ARE 14 CRACKED OR BROKEN WINDOW FRAMES IN THIS BUS AS OF 4/11/2019. *DT*JB *AS CONSUMER STATED MY BUS MECHANIC HAS HAD CONTACT WITH SIOUX CITY SCHOOLS, ALGONA SCHOOLS, ESTHERVILLE SCHOOLS AND STORM LAKE SCHOOLS. ALL HAVE AND ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE THOMAS BUS WINDOWS, ALSO.*JB

WINDOW FRAMES CRACK AND BREAK LEAVING EXPOSED SHARP METAL EDGES AND HOLES FOR STUDENT RIDERS TO PLACE FINGERS IN, CAUSING INJURY. THE WINDOW FRAME MATERIAL IS A PLASTIC/VINYL PRODUCT THAT CRACKS AND/OR BREAKS UNDER EXTREME COLD OR HOT CONDITIONS. THERE ARE 10 CRACKED OR BROKEN WINDOWS IN THIS BUS AS OF 4/11/2019. *AS CONSUMER STATED AS OF 6/24/19 ALL BUSES ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE THOMAS BUS WINDOWS, ALSO.*JB

THIS SCHOOL BUS USES A PLASTIC ELBOW TO CONNECT A COOLANT LINE TO THE REAR HEATER INSIDE THE BUS. THE ELBOW IS CRACKING AND OR FAILING WHICH ALLOWS HOT COOLANT IN THE BUS BODY INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY TO THE PASSENGERS. THE BUS IS GENERALLY IN MOTION AND THE HEADER ON WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURS.*DT

THIS SCHOOL BUS USES A PLASTIC ELBOW TO CONNECT A COOLANT LINE TO THE REAR HEATER INSIDE THE BUS. THE ELBOW IS CRACKING AND OR FAILING WHICH ALLOWS HOT COOLANT IN THE BUS BODY INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY TO THE PASSENGERS.. THE BUS IS GENERALLY IN MOTION AND THE HEADER ON WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURS. *DT*JB

THIS SCHOOL BUS USES A PLASTIC ELBOW TO CONNECT A COOLANT LINE TO THE REAR HEATER INSIDE THE BUS. THE ELBOW IS CRACKING AND OR FAILING WHICH ALLOWS HOT COOLANT INSIDE THE BUS BODY INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY TO THE PASSENGERS. THE BUS IS GENERALLY IN MOTION AND HEATER ON WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURS. *DT*JB