Recall · 26V702000
Daimler Trucks North America recalled 4 models over structure
13,593
Vehicles covered
4
Models
12
Model years
October 22, 2026
Filed with NHTSA
STRUCTURE:BODY
- The defect
- Daimler Trucks North America, LLC (DTNA) is recalling certain 2023-2027 Thomas Built SAF-T-LINER C2 Jouley, 2025-2027 Thomas Built SAF-T-LINER C2, 2026-2027 Thomas Built SAF-T-LINER HDX2, and Thomas Built SAF-T-LINER EFX2 school buses. The wheelhouse 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. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 21, 2026. Owners may contact DTNA customer service at 1-800-574-0712. DTNA's number for this recall is F1044.
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 Buses SAF-T-Liner C2 | 2025 to 2027 | Not published here |
| Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2 Jouley | 2023 to 2027 | Not published here |
| Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner EFX2 | 2026 to 2027 | Not published here |
| Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner HDX2 | 2026 to 2027 | Not published here |
How this campaign compares
At 13,593 vehicles this is a bigger campaign than 81% of the 19,925 vehicle recalls with a published size filed from 1995 up to this one. The middle campaign among them covers 472. It covers model years 2023 to 2027, so the oldest vehicles on it were 3 model years old when the defect was reported to NHTSA.
Thomas Built Buses vehicles have been recalled over the structure 36 times before this, most recently in August 2026 as 26V546000. That is not evidence the earlier repair failed.
The vehicles on this campaign carry 30 other recalls published here, the newest being: 26V697000 (engine), 26V632000 (exterior lighting), 26V546000 (structure), 26V523000 (fuel system, diesel).
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 October 22, 2026 as campaign 26V702000. 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 2026-10-22.
Independent developer and analyst