Recall · 26V388000
Daimler Trucks North America recalled the THOMAS BUILT BUSES SAF-T-Liner HDX2 over structure
2
Vehicles covered
1
Model
1
Model years
June 12, 2026
Filed with NHTSA
STRUCTURE:BODY
- The defect
- 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."
- What it can cause
- A school bus with insufficient joint strength may not adequately protect passengers in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
- What the dealer does
- 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.
The repair is free, whatever the age or mileage of the vehicle, and whether or not you are the original owner.
Which vehicles
A recall reaches a range of VINs inside these model years, not every car built in them. Yours may not be covered even if it is listed here, and the only way to find out is NHTSA's own VIN lookup .
| Vehicle | Model years | Safety record |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas Built BusesSAF-T-Liner HDX2 | 2027 | Not published here |
How this campaign compares
At 2 vehicles this is a small campaign: 98% of the 19,818 vehicle recalls filed since 1995 whose size NHTSA published are as large or larger. The middle campaign on file covers 472. It covers one model year, 2027, and the defect was reported to NHTSA in 2026, at or before the oldest model year it covers — as current as a recall gets.
Thomas Built Buses vehicles have been recalled over the structure 34 times before this, most recently in October 2025 as 25V694000. That is not evidence the earlier repair failed.
The vehicles on this campaign carry 5 other recalls published here, the newest being: 26V546000 (structure), 26V408000 (latches/locks/linkages), 26V407000 (electrical system), 26V251000 (seat belts).
Check your own car
A VIN check is the only answer for a specific vehicle, and it also shows every other open recall on it, which is usually the reason it is worth doing rather than reading one campaign.
Filed by Daimler Trucks North America, LLC with NHTSA on June 12, 2026 as campaign 26V388000. Every word of the defect, consequence and remedy above is NHTSA's published record of that filing, not a summary of it.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2026-06-12.
Independent developer and analyst