19E030 – Left, Rear Brake Caliper may Drag – Bendix ADB22X Air Disc Brake

April 18, 2019 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19E030000

Left, Rear Brake Caliper may Drag

The dragging brakes may lead to high temperatures at the wheel end, increasing the risk of fire.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 19E030

Manufacturer Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC

Components SERVICE BRAKES, AIR

Potential Number of Units Affected 17,050

 

Summary

Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC (Bendix) is recalling certain ADB22X Air Disc Brake Calipers sold for use on school buses. The driver side rear brakes may drag.

 

Remedy

Bendix will notify the school bus manufacturers that purchased the brake calipers. Dealers for those manufacturers will install a new caliper with an updated clearance adjustment mechanism, free of charge. The recall began May 21, 2019. Owners may contact Bendix customer service at 1-877-345-9526.

 

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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Action Required For Identifying the Recalled Bendix^®ADB22X^™ Air Disc Brake

How do I know if the air disc brake has been replaced on my vehicle?

To verify that the Bendix^® ADB22X^™ air disc brake has been repaired, per the recall campaign, look for the presence of a green identification dot in either of the locations shown here.

 

Identifying ADB22X brakes covered in this field action.

Brake Identification

The Bendix ADB22X air disc brakes covered by this campaign can be identified by the date of manufacture located on the identification label on the brake as indicated above. Verification is required to determine if the brake is a part of the campaign.  Air disc brakes covered by this campaign must meet the following criteria:

1. Installed on the left (driver’s side) rear axle of a school bus; and
2. The date of manufacture between January 1, 2009 and November 27, 2018, inclusive. To verify the serialized production code see Interpreting the Serialized Production Code

 

Interpreting the Serialized Production Code

The serialized production code is on the identification label that is located on the caliper casting in the fixed pin area.  See the image above.  Locate the Serialized Production Code – removing the paint coating, if necessary – to read the code. Disregard the Work Team Number, Shift of Manufacture, Manufacturing Plant, Production Line, and Shift Number codes shown in gray below.  The portion of the serialized production code that determines the date of manufacture is highligted and can be interpreted as follows:

• The first field is the month (A = January, B = February, etc. – excluding the letter I – so that J = September, and so on);
• The next two fields are the day of the month (e.g. 01 = 1^st); and • The next two fields are the year (e.g. 18 = 2018).

 

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May 21, 2019

IMPORTANT RECALL INFORMATION – RESPOND IMMEDIATELY

 

This is to inform you that Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC (Bendix) notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the start of a voluntary safety recall campaign involving the Bendix^® ADB22X^™ air disc brake, which is sold outright for school buses. The recall has been assigned number 19E030.

A copy of our April 18, 2019, Defect and Noncompliance Information Report submission to NHTSA can be found on the NHTSA website (www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov) under recall number 19E030. As required by law, Bendix provided NHTSA a list of all vehicle manufacturer customers to whom Bendix sold the affected products.  COMPANY is one of the customers who may be affected by this recall.

 

IMPACTED PRODUCT

This recall includes all Bendix ADB22X air disc brakes manufactured between January 1, 2009 and November 27, 2018, inclusive. This issue – unique to school bus applications – impacts the disc brake located on the left (driver’s side) rear axle’s wheel position on the bus. This action:

• Does not impact ADB22X air disc brakes manufactured prior to or after the stated dates
• Does not impact ADB22X air disc brakes installed on school bus wheel positions other than the left rear, nor does it impact any other vehicle applications of the ADB22X
• Also does not impact ADB22X^™-LT trailer air disc brakes, as they are not installed on school bus(es)

Please refer to the Bendix ADB22X Identification Guideline enclosed with this document for complete details.

 

PROBLEM DESCRIPTION

Within the U.S., regulations within some jurisdictions require that school buses apply the parking brake at every stop. This unique school bus duty cycle means a high number of park brake applications on the rear axle of the vehicle. Additionally, some states and municipalities also call for a Park Brake Interlock, which requires that a service brake application is made to release the parking brake. This may result in up to 40 additional highpressure service brake applications per day at full system pressure (e.g., 120 PSI).

The ADB22X on the left (driver’s side) rear corner of the bus may experience an unintended reduction in the gap between the brake pad and rotor (running clearance) during operation, which can lead to a dragging brake and/or a melted wheel speed sensor. In the context of this voluntary safety recall, dragging brake is defined as a brake that has zero gap between the pad and the rotor (running clearance) – with no pressure applied by the driver – until the pad wears and re-establishes the gap between the pad and the rotor.

This condition results from the brake product’s prior generation adjustment mechanism design. Due to the direction of wheel rotation, the left rear adjustment mechanism is more susceptible to unintended adjustment. Even though a school bus has air disc brakes on all four vehicle wheel-ends, the brake application on the rear axle is of longer duration and has a different pattern of apply and release. The rapid release of high brake forces may cause an unintended adjustment, which may decrease running clearance and can contribute to a dragging brake (as defined earlier) and/or could lead to a melted wheel speed sensor.

Note that there is no impact to stopping distance or parking performance of the bus if this issue arises.

 

WHAT WE WILL DO

The remedy is to replace the left rear brake caliper on impacted school buses with a new, next generation adjuster- equipped caliper and carrier assembly.

Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC (Bendix) will voluntarily remedy the defect of the impacted Bendix^® ADB22X^™ air disc brake(s), with a permanent, no-cost remedy repair kit.

The kit(s) – that enable you and your customer to complete the recall remedy – will be available after May 31, 2019, via your standard parts ordering process. As a reminder, the kit(s) will be provided to you free of charge and the installation labor charge to complete the remedy will be covered by Bendix. Please note, the remedy kit(s) will contain a Core charge reimbursable once the suspect caliper is returned to Bendix in accordance with the instructions contained within each remedy kit.

Finally, please note that we are directing impacted vehicle owners to work through their vehicle OEM to obtain this recall remedy.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

First, we are providing you with this information to enable your business to determine whether there is a safetyrelated defect on your school bus vehicles where the affected Bendix ADB22X air disc brake has been installed.

Based on your determination, you may need to file a Defect and Noncompliance Report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) with respect to new motor vehicles with an affected Bendix ADB22X air disc brake sold in the United States. A similar notification is required to Transport Canada for all impacted vehicles sold in Canada.

Our records indicate that COMPANY purchased the following suspect brakes from Bendix:

 

Bendix Part Number	Bendix® Air Disc Brake Model	Date Code	Quantity

 

 

Additionally, our records indicate COMPANY also purchased the following suspect aftermarket service brakes through your PDC operations. These parts are also affected by this recall only if purchased and installed on the left (driver’s side) rear axle wheel position on a school bus. Please check your inventory. Should you have any of the affected part numbers detailed below in stock, Bendix will work with you to arrange a return or exchange.

 

Bendix Part Number	Bendix® Air Disc Brake Model	Date Code

 

For your convenience, the following is provided to help you in this recall process:

• A list of the affected Bendix^® ADB22X^™ air disc brakes purchased by your company (by part number); and
• A Bendix ADB22X Identification Guideline to assist you in properly identifying impacted brakes 

We value our business relationship with you. We regret the inconvenience that may result from these circumstances, and we sincerely appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions or require more information, please do not hesitate to reach out to your Bendix Account Manager directly. You may also contact us via email at 22XSBcampaign@bendix.com, or by telephone – toll-free – at  1-800-AIR-BRAKE (1-800-247-2725), option 2. Bendix Tech Team representatives are ready to assist you Monday-Thursday, 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. ET, and Friday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. ET.

 

Sincerely,

Director – Product Safety, Warranty, and Advanced Quality

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1 Affected Product

Equipment

BRAND	PART NO.	PRODUCTION DATES
BENDIX	ADB22X	04/01/2012 – 11/27/2018

 

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5 Associated Documents

Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc)

RCMN-19E030-2379.pdf 435.4KB

 

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc)

RCMN-19E030-4936.pdf 68.474KB

 

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Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-19E030-5137.pdf 246.027KB

 

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Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-19E030-1152.PDF 213.81KB

 

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Recall 573 Report- Amendment 1

RCLRPT-19E030-8635.PDF 214.22KB

 

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Latest Recalls Documents

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=19E030&docType=RCL

 

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Last update on 2026-05-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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