By year
Owner complaints about Thomas vehicles peaked at 8 in 1999
Owner complaints filed with NHTSA, 1996 to 2026. 2026 runs through October.
Source: NHTSA ODI complaints and recalls files. Complaints are not verified by NHTSA.
Make
Thomas
The complete NHTSA record for Thomas vehicles: owner complaints, recall campaigns, defect investigations and manufacturer communications, for every model and model year on file.
Most Thomas recalls are filed by Thomas Built Buses, part of Daimler Truck.
Owner complaints in the last five years070 on file in all, across 37 models
Recall campaigns1560 in five years
Severity index20.0Crash, fire, injury or death per 100 complaints
Investigations27196 service bulletins
Components
Brakes draws the most owner complaints about Thomas vehicles, 13% of them
Share of all owner complaints on file, by component.
Source: NHTSA ODI.
Models
The School BUS has the most complaints of any Thomas model
Every Thomas model with complaints or recalls on file, by complaints. Counts are not rates: NHTSA publishes no sales volumes.
| Model | Model years | Complaints | Severity index | Recalls | Investigations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School BUS | 1980 to 2011 | 21 | 28.6 | 101 | 16 |
| Thomas | 1980 to 2001 | 11 | 9.1 | 49 | 5 |
| MVP EF | 1994 to 2008 | 7 | 0.0 | 95 | 21 |
| BUS | 1980 to 2002 | 7 | 14.3 | 43 | 9 |
| Saf-T-Liner | 1980 to 2002 | 5 | 20.0 | 98 | 14 |
| C2 | 2004 to 2008 | 3 | 0.0 | 6 | 2 |
| FS-65 | 2004 to 2005 | 3 | 33.3 | 4 | 2 |
| Conventional | 1980 to 2004 | 2 | 50.0 | 107 | 3 |
| Saf-T-Liner ER | 2002 to 2005 | 2 | 100.0 | 4 | 3 |
| CL100 | 2000 to 2001 | 2 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 |
| MVP ER | 1996 to 2008 | 1 | 100.0 | 87 | 33 |
| Vista | 1980 to 2000 | 1 | 0.0 | 60 | 0 |
| ER | 2001 to 2008 | 1 | 0.0 | 34 | 8 |
| ER Model | 1994 to 2001 | 1 | 0.0 | 5 | 2 |
| Saf-T-Liner HD | 2000 to 2001 | 1 | 0.0 | 5 | 2 |
| Transit BUS | 1990 to 2007 | 1 | 0.0 | 4 | 0 |
| Minotour | 1980 to 2005 | 0 | None | 92 | 0 |
| MVP | 1980 to 2003 | 0 | None | 84 | 12 |
| ER Transit | 1994 to 2002 | 0 | None | 39 | 3 |
| ALL Star | 1980 to 1996 | 0 | None | 33 | 0 |
| Mighty Mite | 1980 to 1996 | 0 | None | 21 | 0 |
| Saf-T-Liner Conventional | 1998 to 2005 | 0 | None | 21 | 0 |
| Transit Liner | 1980 to 1994 | 0 | None | 18 | 0 |
| Citiliner | 1989 to 1997 | 0 | None | 17 | 0 |
| HDX | 2000 to 2005 | 0 | None | 16 | 13 |
| TL960 | 1996 to 2000 | 0 | None | 10 | 0 |
| Chartour | 1989 to 1997 | 0 | None | 9 | 0 |
| CL960 | 1996 to 2000 | 0 | None | 8 | 0 |
| Saf-T-Liner C2 | 2004 to 2005 | 0 | None | 8 | 0 |
| Transit Liner ER | 2000 to 2001 | 0 | None | 6 | 0 |
| MVP Saf-T-Liner | 1987 to 1990 | 0 | None | 4 | 0 |
| Transit Liner HD | 2000 to 2001 | 0 | None | 4 | 0 |
| Type D | 1990 to 1993 | 0 | None | 4 | 0 |
| HD | 2001 to 2003 | 0 | None | 3 | 0 |
| Pusher | 1980 to 1983 | 0 | None | 3 | 0 |
| MPV ER | 1995 to 1996 | 0 | None | 2 | 0 |
| Mybus | 2014 | 0 | None | 1 | 0 |
Source: NHTSA ODI. Recall counts add campaigns across model years, so a campaign covering three years counts three times.
Latest recalls
Recent campaigns listing a Thomas product
- 16V-407 Jun 7, 2016
In the affected vehicles, the stem that connects the outside emergency door handle to the emergency door opening mechanism may corrode
Structure · 717 vehicles - 16V-395 Jun 2, 2016
In the affected vehicles, the stem that connects the outside emergency door handle to the emergency door opening mechanism may corrode
Structure · 25k vehicles - 15V-432 Jul 7, 2015
In the affected vehicles, the stem that connects the outside emergency door handle to the emergency door opening mechanism may corrode
Structure · 103k vehicles - 15V-425 Jul 6, 2015
In the affected vehicles, the stem that connects the outside emergency door handle to the emergency door opening mechanism may corrode
Structure · 3,013 vehicles - 14V-423 Jul 10, 2014
When the button is pressed to release the seat belt, the latch plate can become partially engaged with the buckle, making the seat belt difficult…
Seat belts · 4 vehicles - 08V-622 Nov 26, 2008
Solid state circuit breakers may trip unnecessarily potentially resulting in a loss of power to the bus chassis and body electrical circuits…
Electrical system · 18k vehicles - 08V-432 Aug 25, 2008
Anti-stow interlock may not detect the presence of a wheelchair or mobility aid user
Adaptive equipment · 1,046 vehicles - 08V-430 Aug 25, 2008
These buses fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 404, "platform lift installations in motor…
Adaptive equipment · 1,419 vehicles - 08V-356 Jul 30, 2008
Un-fused power cables were tie-wrapped to a wire braid engine fuel return hose
Engine and cooling · 3,773 vehicles - 08V-087 Feb 26, 2008
(additional buses have been added to this recall campaign
Structure · 243k vehicles
Source: NHTSA ODI recalls file.