2004 Blue Bird All American Recalls, Complaints & Specs

15 safety recalls list the 2004 Blue Bird All American, and owners have filed 10 complaints with NHTSA. Check your own VIN below.

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15 safety recalls for the 2004 Blue Bird All American

Most recent first. Recall repairs are free at any authorised dealer. Click a recall for the full defect, consequence and remedy text.

1. Seats

   NHTSA 09V328000 Reported August 13, 2009 37,095 vehicles potentially affected BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY

   Blue bird is recalling certain model year 2004 through 2010 all american, vision, micro bird, and conventional school buses manufactured between january 30, 2003 and may 7, 2009. Incorrect offset leg barrier pads or 2/3 seat back pads may have been installed. Buses with incorrect pads installed fail to conform to the requirements of…

   Remedy: Blue bird will notify owners and the buses will be repaired free of charge. The safety recall began on september 18, 2009. Owners may contact blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.

2. Ignition (electrical system)

   NHTSA 09V205000 Reported June 9, 2009 2,203 vehicles potentially affected BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY

   Blue bird is recalling 2,203 model year 2003 through 2010 all american rear engine school buses equipped with optional plug style vandal locks manufactured from july 16, 2003 through april 10, 2009. The plug style vandal lock is not wired to inhibit the starter at the ignition switch when the vandal lock is in the locked position. These…

   Remedy: Blue bird will notify owners and repair the buses free of charge. The safety recall began on june 25, 2009. Owner may contact blue bird at 1-478-422-2242.

3. Roof and pillars (structure)

   NHTSA 08V229000 Reported May 20, 2008 23,464 vehicles potentially affected BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY

   Blue bird is recalling 23,464 my 2005 through 2009 all american and vision school and transit model buses manufactured from january 22, 2004, and march 28, 2008, and my 2004 through 2007 all american school buses and conventional model school buses manufactured from march 6, 2003, through june 16, 2006. The rivet pattern may be…

   Remedy: Blue bird will notify owners and inspect and repair the buses by adding additional rivets. The recall began on september 18, 2008. Owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.

4. Diesel (engine and engine cooling)

   NHTSA 08V077000 Reported February 21, 2008 607 vehicles potentially affected BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY

   Blue bird is recalling 607 my 2004-2007 all american rear engine school buses and my 2006-2007 xcel 102 commercial series transit buses equipped with cummins isc engines. The high pressure fuel line may crack, allowing high pressure diesel fuel into the engine compartment.

   Remedy: Owners will be advised to contact their cummins dealers to have the repair work performed as soon as possible. The recall began on february 28, 2008. Owners may contact blue bird at 1-478-822-2242.

5. 12v/24v/48v battery (electrical system)

   NHTSA 05V382000 Reported August 31, 2005 5,863 vehicles potentially affected BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY

   Certain 2001 through 2006 my blue bird all american, tc2000, and vision transit school buses manufactured between january 5, 2001, and july 15, 2005. These buses are equipped with a battery disconnect switch that has connections that may be loose on the battery switch studs creating the potential for the bus to shut down while in…

   Remedy: Blue bird will notify its owners and instruct them on how to repair the switch. The recall began on october 19 , 2005. Owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.

6. School bus stop arm assembly (other)

   NHTSA 05V239000 Reported May 20, 2005 8,894 vehicles potentially affected BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY

   Certain school buses originally sold in or currently registered in the following states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, montana, nebraska, nevada, new hampshire, new jersey, new mexico, new york, north dakota, ohio,…

   Remedy: Blue bird will notify its customers and replace the original switch with a switch pack that is not sensitive to extreme cold weather and will inspect to ensure the microswitch heater wiring is properly connected free…

7. School bus stop arm assembly (other)

   NHTSA 05V251000 Reported May 20, 2005 3,121 vehicles potentially affected BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY

   Certain blue bird 2002 through 2006 my all american, conventional, minibird, microbird, vision, and tc2000 school buses originally sold in or currently registered in states other than the following states: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan,…

   Remedy: Blue bird will notify all its customers of this campaign. For those buses operated in or near any of the states listed above, blue bird is encouraging the bus owners to obtain the replacement switch. For those buses…

8. Vehicle speed control

   NHTSA 05V152000 Reported April 7, 2005 486 vehicles potentially affected BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY

   Certain 2001 through 2005 all american, commercial series, and q-bus school and transit buses equipped with john deere 8.1 cng engines. The subject buses equipped with the john deere engines may surge inappropriately due to erractic operation of the air throttle if the engine is taken from full to zero load.

   Remedy: John deere will notify blue bird's customers and repair the engines free of charge. Customers are being instructed to contact john deere at 1-800-jd-engine.

9. Engine and engine cooling

   NHTSA 05V074000 Reported March 1, 2005 416 vehicles potentially affected BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY

   Certain 2002-2006 my blue bird all american school and transit buses, conventional school buses, and commercial series transit buses manufactured between december 21, 2002, and february 24, 2005. These buses are equipped with webasto coolant heaters, model dbw 2010, assembled with webasto burner tubes, p/n 303046/26533a manufactured…

   Remedy: Blue bird will notify its customers and replace the burner tubes free of charge. The recall began on march 31, 2005. Owners may contact blue bird at 478-822-2242.

10. Equipment adaptive/mobility

    NHTSA 04V426000 Reported August 30, 2004 372 vehicles potentially affected BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY

    Certain blue bird 1999-2005 all american, tc/2000, micro bird, vision, conventional, and commercial series school buses equipped with sure-loc wheelchair securement systems and manufactured between february 17, 1999, and august 13, 2004. Certain sure-lok wheelchair tie-down securement assemblies p/n 8625-13. The sprocket teeth of the…

    Remedy: Blue bird will notify its customers and replace the defective part free of charge. The recall began september 21, 2004. Owners who take their buses to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not…

11. Seat belts

    NHTSA 04V222000 Reported May 7, 2004 291 vehicles potentially affected BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY

    School and transit buses equipped with driver's 3-point seat belts with incorrect fasteners.

    Remedy: Blue bird will notify its customers to make an appointment with their blue bird distributor to have the driver's 3-point seat belt upper attaching fasteners replaced free of charge. Owner notification is expected to…

12. Anchorage (seat belts)

    NHTSA 03V362000 Reported October 8, 2003 233 vehicles potentially affected BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY

    On certain rear engine (a3re) school buses, the type and location of the fasteners used to retain the seat belt in the last row of seats does not conform to blue bird engineering specifications.

    Remedy: Blue bird will provide its distributors and owners the parts and instructions to install the correct fasteners free of charge. Owner notification is expected to begin november 20, 2003. Owners who do not receive the…

13. Body (structure)

    NHTSA 03V363000 Reported October 8, 2003 8,088 vehicles potentially affected BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY

    Certain school buses fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 221, "school bus body joint strength." one or more of the bolts attaching the driver's platform to the floor structure was omitted.

    Remedy: Blue bird will notify its customers and inspect and repair the affected units. Owner notification began on november 20, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do…

14. Seats

    NHTSA 03V364000 Reported October 8, 2003 3,825 vehicles potentially affected BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY

    On certain school buses equipped with optional seat belts or seat belt "ready" seats, some belts were installed with only two bolts rather than the required three (3) bolts.

    Remedy: Blue bird will furnish to distributors and owners, parts and instructions necessary to install the missing bolt free of charge. Owner notification is expected to on november 3, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to…

15. Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings (service brakes)

    NHTSA 02V302000 Reported November 13, 2002 485 vehicles potentially affected BLUE BIRD BODY COMPANY

    On certain front engine school and transit buses equipped with hydraulic brakes, the rear hydraulic brake hose could contact the frame rail and abrade, allowing brake fluid leakage.

    Remedy: Dealers will inspect the rear brake hose to frame rail clearance and reposition the brake hose clamps at the axle to ensure adequate clearance. Any chafed brake hoses will be replaced. Owner notification began december…

10 owner complaints filed with NHTSA

Owners of the 2004 Blue Bird All American have filed 10 complaints with NHTSA. The average mileage at failure in those reports is 8,100 miles. Complaints peaked in 2006 with 9 filed that year.

Most-reported components

• Fuel system, diesel9
• Power train: driveline1

What owners are reporting

“Tl*the school bus is a 2004 bluebird a3fe. The bus was taken to the caterpillar dealer because of a warranty issue on the engine. They stated that when the driveline on the transmission was not welded”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, April 18, 2007 · Power train

“We purchase 10 new blue bird all american school buses through our local authorized dealer, within a month of receiving the 10 unit they star presenting code 368 red failure, causing loss of power, wh”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, October 19, 2006 · Fuel system, diesel

Compare Blue Bird All American model years

Recall and complaint counts for every Blue Bird All American model year in NHTSA's database.

Checking a specific 2004 Blue Bird All American

Other Blue Bird models

• TC200038 complaints
• School Bus33 complaints
• Vision23 complaints
• Conventional14 complaints
• Blue Bird13 complaints
• Wanderlodge M450 Lxi9 complaints
• All American School Bus8 complaints
• Buses8 complaints

Source: NHTSA recall and complaint databases and EPA fuel economy data, October 2026. Complaint counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. Recall counts are safety campaigns that list this model year; whether a particular car was already repaired depends on its VIN. How this data is compiled.