Roof Hatch External Handle May Break/FMVSS 217 – 2017-2019 ARBOC Spirit of Freedom & Spirit of Mobility

December 9, 2019 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V870000

Roof Hatch External Handle May Break/FMVSS 217

If the roof hatch external handle breaks, in the event of an emergency, the hatch cannot be easily opened from outside the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V870

Manufacturer ARBOC Specialty Vehicles, LLC

Components STRUCTURE

Potential Number of Units Affected 38

 

Summary

ARBOC Specialty Vehicles, LLC (ARBOC) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Spirit of Freedom and Spirit of Mobility vehicles equipped with Specialty Prolo Roof Hatches. The roof hatch external handle may unexpectedly break under reasonable use. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 217, “Bus Emergency Exits and Window Retention and Release.”

 

Remedy

ARBOC will notify owners, and Specialty will replace the roof hatch handles free of charge. The recall began December 19, 2019. Owners may contact ARBOC customer service at 1-866-953-5555 or Specialty customer service at 1-800-951-7867.

 

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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IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL NOTICE

August 16, 2019

 

Arboc Specialty Vehicles
51165 Greenfield Parkway
Middlebury, IN 46540

Subject: Safety Recall 19E-042 – Prolo Hatches

 

Dear Customer:

This notice is being sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Specialty Manufacturing, Inc. (SMI) has decided that certain Prolo Hatches manufactured between August 1, 2018 and May 20, 2019 may contain a defect in the outside release handle that can result of failure of the handle.

 

Description of Defect

SMI has determined that some Prolo Hatches may contain defects (voids/porosity) in the outside release handle that have resulted from the casting process. Excess voids and porosity may create failure points in the handle that can lead to breakage under reasonable use. Failure of the external release handle will prevent the hatch release mechanism from being actuated from outside the vehicle. The hatch can still be opened from the outside by venting the hatch and actuating the inside release handle however this operation is not intuitive and not detailed in the required instructions located on the hatch. Failure of the external release handle does not prevent actuation of the release mechanism from inside the vehicle.

 

Identifying Suspect Parts

1. Check the label on the bottom of the Prolo Hatch p/n 92XX-XXXXX (circled below in blue) for dates between August 1, 2018 and May 20, 2019 (circled below in red). Units built within this date range are subject to the replacement campaign.

 

Remedy Program

Replacing the outside release handle will resolve the defect. The replacement kit will include (1) replacement handle, associated hardware, and replacement instruction information.

To help you comply with your obligation to issue a safety recall of the vehicles that contain any of the affected hatch assemblies on the attached list, please see the sample letter found in Appendix C of NHTSA Safety Recall Compendium: li tlp://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/retalls/documents /recompendfu m.pdf You must submit drafts of your version of these notices to NHTSA for approval at least 5 days prior to mailing such notification to dealers and owners of potentially affected hatch assemblies.

 

IMPORTANT: Dealer notification by Certified Mail is required by Federal law for all safety recalls. Responsible dealership personnel should be instructed to sign for this Certified mail without hesitation as it contains urgent safety recall information. Notifications to owners of potentially affected vehicles are by first class mail. Each envelope must be marked with a notation including the words “SAFETY,” “RECALL,” and “NOTICE,” in capital letters, in a type size larger than that used in the address sections, and in another manner distinguishable from the other type on the envelope (e.g., color or style). A sample of the envelope must be submitted to NHTSA for approval at least 5 business days before mailing to owners.

 

IMPORTANT: Some of the vehicles affected may still be in your inventory. Federal law requires you to complete the recall service on these vehicles before delivery. SMI will provide repair kits for these units or dispatch SMI personnel to your facility to repair these units prior to delivery to your customers.

 

Availability of Service Kits

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

• Web: Visit https://busandrail.safeflee net/resources/technical-supprot/ and click on the Safety Recall: 19E-042 – Prolo Hatch link under the Recall Forms section.
• E-mail: Send an e-mail to SMI at warranty@safefleet.net indicating the quantity.of Prolo Hatch handle service kits you need alon9 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
  • Body Number
  • Hatch Part Number (s)
  • Hatch Build Date
• Phone: Contact SMI Customer Service at 1..8’00–951-7867.

 

Prolo Hatch handle replacement kits will be sent to you upon request and will include complete instructions on the removal and reinstallation of the defective components. Removal and reinstallation of each Prolo Hatch handle can be accomplished in less than 15 minutes, for which SMI will reimburse installers $25.00 for each remedied hatch.

If after having attempted to take advantage of this recall you believe you have not been able to have your Prolo Hatch remedied without charge and within a reasonable amount of time, you may submit a complaint to the Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Washington, DC 20590, or call the toll-free Vehicle Safety Hotline 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); or go to https://www.safercar.gov .

 

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this issue, but safety is our first concern. Sincerely,

 

Corbin West
Manager – Warranty and Reliability
Safe Fleet Bus & Rail

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6 Affected Products

Vehicles

MAKE	MODEL	YEAR
ARBOC	SPIRIT OF FREEDOM	2017-2019
ARBOC	SPIRIT OF MOBILITY	2017-2019

 

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6 Associated Documents

Recall 573 Report- Amendment 1

RCLRPT-19V870-4871.PDF 213.577KB

 

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Recall 573 Report- Amendment 1

RCLRPT-19V870-9228.PDF 213.577KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #1, 2019-4

RCLQRT-19V870-9183.PDF 211.144KB

 

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Miscellaneous Document- Notification from Specialty Regarding the Recall

RMISC-19V870-6250.pdf 153.016KB

 

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Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-19V870-6577.PDF 213.577KB

 

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Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-19V870-3630.pdf 244.215KB

 

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Latest Recalls Documents

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=19V870&docType=RCL

 

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Last update on 2025-04-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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