Safety recall Body and structure

Thomas Built Buses recall 26V-388: Insufficient Interior Joint Strength/FMVSS 221

Report received 5 months ago

A school bus with insufficient joint strength may not adequately protect passengers in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Campaign facts

NHTSA campaign
26V388000 (26V-388)
Manufacturer number
F1034
Filed by
Daimler Trucks North America, LLC
Report received
June 12, 2026
Component
Structure:body
Vehicles potentially affected
2
Model years
2027
Built between
March 20, 2026 and April 8, 2026
Owner letters
August 11, 2026
Recall initiated by
The manufacturer
Safety standard
FMVSS 221
Remedy completion rate
100.00% (latest quarterly report)

What is wrong

Daimler Trucks North America, LLC (DTNA) is recalling certain 2027 Thomas Built SAF-T-LINER HDX2 school buses. Front and mid-body interior joints may have been manufactured incorrectly, resulting in insufficient joint strength. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 221, "School Bus Body Joint Strength."

The risk

A school bus with insufficient joint strength may not adequately protect passengers in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Why structural defects matter: If structural parts separate, the vehicle may lose control or debris can strike other road users.

The remedy

Dealers will add fasteners to secure the joints, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, are expected to be mailed July 2, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated in August 2026. Owners may contact DTNA customer service at 1-800-574-0712. DTNA's number for this recall is F1034.

About the body and structure

Structure campaigns cover the frame, body, hood, doors and mounting points that hold major parts in place.

Vehicles covered by campaign 26V-388

  • Thomas Built Buses Saf-T-Liner HDX2 2027

What to do

  1. Enter your VIN in NHTSA’s lookup (below) to confirm that your vehicle is included and that the repair has not already been done.
  2. Call a dealer for the brand and book the repair. Quote NHTSA campaign 26V-388 and the manufacturer’s number F1034.
  3. Look for visible corrosion, cracks or loose panels, and point them out to the dealer.
  4. Safety recall repairs are carried out free of charge by the manufacturer’s dealers. If you already paid for this repair yourself, ask the manufacturer about reimbursement and keep your receipt.

Check by VIN

A campaign rarely covers every vehicle of a model year. Enter your 17-character VIN to find the recall campaigns filed for your make, model and model year. The VIN is on the driver’s side of the dashboard (visible through the windshield), on the door-jamb label, and on your registration and insurance documents.

Is a recall still open on your vehicle? Only NHTSA’s official VIN check can say whether a campaign applies to your exact vehicle and whether the repair has already been done.

Your VIN is decoded with NHTSA’s public vPIC service to identify the make, model and year. It is not stored and is not added to any page address.

The official record

This page reproduces the campaign as filed with NHTSA. The NHTSA record is authoritative — if anything here differs, follow the agency.

Open campaign 26V-388 on NHTSA.gov

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