A JANUARY 2008 SERVICE BULLETIN SUGGESTS THAT CERTAIN MODEL BUSES SHOULD UPGRADE TO A HIGH TORQUE WIPER MOTOR.THE TSB ALSO ALLUDED TO WIPER MOTOR FAILURES. THEREFORE, ODI OPENED THIS INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE THE FAILURE MODE, FREQUENCY AND SAFETY SIGNIFICANCE SINCE THE WIPER SYSTEM IS CONSIDERED TO BE A CRITICAL ITEM OF SAFETY EQUIPMENT AND IS REQUIRED BY A FEDERAL STANDARD. VAN HOOL RE-EVALUATED THE ISSUE AND DECIDED TO CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL. VAN HOOL DETERMINED THAT THERE WAS AN ISSUE, BUT IT WAS AN ISSUE WITH IMPROPERLY FINISHED LINKAGE COMPONENTS THAT WERE CAUSING THE WIPER MOTOR TO FAIL. ALL WIPER MOTOR LINKAGES ON THE AFFECTED BUSES WILL BE REPLACED UNDER THE RECALL. THE RECALL ACTION RESOLVES THE ISSUES RAISED BY THIS INVESTIGATION. ACCORDINGLY, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.
Preliminary evaluation PE08023Closed
WINDSHIELD WIPER REPLACEMENT PROGRAM
An investigation is a step in NHTSA's review, not a finding that a defect exists. NHTSA links it to one recall campaign.
Components named
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER
Source: NHTSA ODI investigations file, action PE08023. Text as published by NHTSA.