Roof Hatch Glass may Shatter – 2019 MCI J3500 & D4505, & 2018-2019 J4500 Buses

May 3, 2019 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V344000

Roof Hatch Glass may Shatter

If the tempered glass roof hatch shatters, glass fragments may fall onto passengers, increasing the risk of an injury.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V344

Manufacturer Motor Coach Industries

Components VISIBILITY

Potential Number of Units Affected 75

 

Summary

Motor Coach Industries (MCI) is recalling certain 2019 J3500 and D4505 buses, and 2018-2019 J4500 buses equipped with Transpec T287x Series glass roof hatches. Temperature and vibration stresses may cause the tempered glass roof hatch to shatter.

 

Remedy

MCI will notify owners, instructing them to contact the hatch manufacturer for a replacement roof hatch, free of charge. The recall began June 20, 2019. Owners may contact MCI customer service at 1-800-241-2947. MCI’s number for this recall is SB 471.

 

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

 

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Service Bulletin No. 471

Glass Roof Hatch Replacement

 

MODEL:	TYPE:	SECTION/GROUP:	DATE:
J & D Series	Field Change Program	03- Body	June 18, 2019

 

Ref.  MCI NHTSA Recall No.: 19V-344

Specialty Manufacturing, Inc. NHTSA Recall No.:  19E-017

 

Ref.  MCI Transport Canada Recall No.: 2019-214

 

Customer Complaint:

Specialty Manufacturing, Inc. (“SMI”) has notified Motor Coach Industries (“MCI”) that SMI is conducting a recall of certain of its Transpec glass hatches manufactured between August 1, 2018 and February 22, 2019.  SMI advises that the affected glass roof hatches may contain a defect in the edge of the glass that can result in the failure of the tempered glass.  If the tempered glass roof hatches shatters, glass fragments may fall onto passengers or the driver, increasing the risk of an injury.  MCI has filed a recall with respect to the MCI coaches that have the recalled SMI glass roof hatches.

 

Cause:

SMI has determined that some glass hatches may contain edge defects (chips) in the glass panels that have resulted from the manufacturing process. Hot/cold stress and vibration/shock can create stress concentrations at these edge defects that may result in fracture and failure of the tempered glass if edge damage is present.

 

Corrective Action:

MCI urges owners of the affected coaches to contact SMI as per instructions outlined in this bulletin to have their coaches remedied as soon as possible.

 

Read this entire procedure before beginning work. 

Use Safe Shop Practices At All Times.

To avoid personal injury:

1. Turn the main battery disconnect switch to the OFF position.
2. Ensure that both the front and the rear wheels are chocked.
3. Positioning the ENGINE RUN and ENGINE START switches on the engine compartment remote control box to the OFF
4. Allow enough time for components to cool down prior to working in the engine compartment.

 

Identifying Suspect Parts

Check the label on the bottom of the Transpec Glass Hatch p/n T28XX-XXX-XXX (circled below in blue) for dates between August 1, 2018 and February 22, 2019 (circled below in red). Units built within this date range are subject to the replacement campaign.

 

Availability of Service Kits

Service kits will be expedited and may be obtained from SMI by one of three methods outlined below:

• Web: Visit https://busandrail.safefleet.net/resources/technical-support/ and click on the Safety Recall: 19E-017 – Glass Hatch link under the Recall Forms section.
• E-mail: Send an e-mail to SMI at warranty@safefleet.net indicating the quantity of Transpec glass hatch service kits you need along with the following information for each vehicle:
  • Company Name
  • Contact Name
  • Contact Phone
  • Contact E-mail Address
  • Mailing Address
  • Shipping Address (if different than mailing address)
  • Vehicle Manufacturer
  • VIN o Body Number
  • Hatch Part Number (s)
  • Hatch Build Date
• Phone: Contact SMI Customer Service at 1-800-951-7867.

Transpec glass hatch replacement kits will be sent to you by SMI upon request and will include complete instructions on the removal and reinstallation of the defective components. SMI advises that removal and reinstallation of each Transpec glass hatch lid can be accomplished in 15 minutes, for which SMI will reimburse installers $30.00 for each remedied hatch.

 

Field Change Program Conditions:

The parts required for this change will be supplied by SMI without charge.

Motor Coach apologizes for any inconvenience resulting from this campaign but urges you to implement this change as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

 

Motor Coach Industries

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June 20, 2019

IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL

This notice applies to your vehicle(s) [«UNIT»]

 

«CUST_NAME»
ATTENTION:  TECH SERVICE DEPT/MAINT
«ADDRESS_1»
«CITY», «STATE» «ZIP»

 

SUBJECT:  SAFETY RECALL:  SAFE FLEET GLASS HATCHES

Ref.:
NHTSA # 19V-344
NHTSA # (Specialty Manufacturing, Inc. Recall 19E-017)
Transport Canada # 2019-214
MCI Service Bulletin 471

 

Attention Owner:

This notice is sent to you in accordance with the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act and the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

Motor Coach Industries, Inc. (“MCI”) has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists on certain MCI model year 2019 D series coaches and model year 2018 – 2019 J series coaches equipped with a Transpec glass roof hatch.  The supplier of the affected roof hatches (Specialty Manufacturing, Inc. (“SMI”)) has notified that SMI is conducting a recall of certain of its Transpec glass hatches manufactured between August 1, 2018 and February 22, 2019.  SMI advises that the affected glass roof hatches may contain a defect in the edge of the glass that can result in the failure of the tempered glass.  If the tempered glass roof hatches shatters, glass fragments may fall onto passengers or the driver, increasing the risk of an injury.   Please see the enclosed MCI Service Bulletin 471 for further information.

MCI is conducting a recall of the affected vehicles to repair the defect condition.  Please see the enclosed MCI Service Bulletin 471 for further information.  SMI is providing a service kit with replacement parts and labor reimbursement, and estimates that it will take 15 minutes to remove and replace each affected glass hatch.

MCI records indicate that you are the owner or operator of the following vehicle(s) included in this recall:

«Unit_Numbers»

 

MCI strongly urges you to have the recall work performed on your vehicle(s) as quickly as possible.

You may contact the MCI Customer Service Line at 1-800-241-2947 if you have any questions about this recall campaign or wish to make arrangements to have your vehicle(s) repaired at an authorized MCI service center.  Submittal of MCI Warranty Claim Forms may be completed on MCI’s website at https://fleetsupportiw.mcicoach.com/iwarranty/signon (click on Customer Care System), or a photocopy of the Warranty Claim Form found in the Warranty Manual can be mailed / faxed to the MCI Warranty Department.  Please refer to Service Bulletin 471, and your OWNER LIMITED WARRANTY MANUAL, for more detailed information.

After contacting MCI Customer Service, if you are still unable to have the safety defect remedied without charge and within a reasonable time, you may submit a complaint:

 

For US customers:

You may submit a written complaint to the Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590, or call 888 327-4236 (TTY: 800-424-9153), or go to https://www.safercar.gov if remedy difficulties exist.

 

For Canadian customers:

Please contact our customer service at 1-800-241-2947, or for additional information about the recall, you can contact Transport Canada at 1-800-333-0510.

If you are the lessor of the vehicle(s) identified above, Federal law requires that you forward this notice by first class mail to the most recent lessee(s) known to you, within ten days of your receipt of this notice.

If you have sold or otherwise transferred the vehicle(s) identified above, please contact the MCI Customer Service Line at 1-800-241-2947 with all of the information you have regarding the current owner/operator of the vehicle(s).

If you had your vehicle repaired for this condition prior to receipt of this notice and incurred any costs, you may be eligible for reimbursement.  Please contact the MCI Customer Service Line at 1-800-241-2947 for further information in that regard.

We regret the inconvenience this may cause you, but urge you to implement the recall procedures with respect to your vehicle(s) as soon as possible for your added safety and satisfaction.

 

 

Sincerely,

Motor Coach Industries

Warranty Department

 

 

Enclosure:       MCI Service Bulletin 471

 

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4 Affected Products

Vehicles

MCI	D4505	2019
MCI	J3500	2019
MCI	J4500	2018-2019

 

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8 Associated Documents

Remedy Instructions and TSB

RCRIT-19V344-5934.pdf 193.684KB

 

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Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RCONL-19V344-6777.pdf 152.475KB

 

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Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-19V344-1639.PDF 214.979KB

 

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Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-19V344-3416.pdf 244.783KB

 

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Remedy Instructions and TSB

RCRIT-19V344-3037.pdf 290.73KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #3, 2019-4

RCLQRT-19V344-3932.PDF 211.306KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #1, 2019-2

RCLQRT-19V344-1261.PDF 211.119KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #2, 2019-3

RCLQRT-19V344-9175.PDF 211.22KB

 

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Latest Recalls Documents

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=19V344&docType=RCL

 

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