The 2009 Thomas Built Hdx has 6 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 28,241 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 2 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING11V4550002011-08-3143 affected
Defect
DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2005 THROUGH 2012 FREIGHTLINER M2, STERLING ACTERRA, 7500 & 8500, AND THOMAS BUILT HDX VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM JUNE 23, 2004, THROUGH MARCH 15, 2011, EQUIPPED WITH SPECIFIC MBE900 EPA04 AND EPA07 MODEL ENGINES. THE INTAKE AIR GRID HEATER MAY SHORT…
Consequence
A SHORT CIRCUITED GRID HEATER COULD RESULT IN A VEHICLE FIRE AND INJURY TO VEHICLE OCCUPANTS.
Remedy
DAIMLER TRUCKS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL REPAIR THE VEHICLES FREE OF CHARGE. REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED BY DETROIT DIESEL CORPORATION AUTHORIZED REPAIR FACILITIES. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DAIMLER TRUCKS TOLL-FREE AT 1-800-547-0712. THIS RECALL IS AN EXPANSION OF…
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING10V3400002010-07-275,445 affected
Defect
DAIMLER TRUCKS IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2007 THROUGH 2011 FCCC B2 106 CH AND THOMAS BUILT SAF-T-LINER C2 AND HDX SCHOOL BUSES MANUFACTURED FROM SEPTEMBER 5, 2006 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2010, EQUIPPED WITH SPECIFIC MBE900 EPA04 AND EPA07 MODEL ENGINES. THE INTAKE AIR GRID HEATER MAY SHORT CIRCUIT AND FAIL DUE TO…
Consequence
A SHORT CIRCUITED GRID HEATER COULD RESULT IN A VEHICLE FIRE AND INJURY TO VEHICLE OCCUPANTS.
Remedy
DAIMLER TRUCKS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REPAIR THE BUSES FREE OF CHARGE. REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED BY DETROIT DIESEL CORPORATION AUTHORIZED REPAIR FACILITIES. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR ABOUT JULY 29, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DAIMLER TRUCKS TOLL-FREE AT 1-800-547-0712.
DTNA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2009 AND 2010 HDX SCHOOL BUSES MANUFACTURED ON NOVEMBER 15, 2007 THROUGH JUNE 15, 2009. THE HEATER COOLANT FLOW VALVE ACTUATOR 0-RING MAY ALLOW COOLANT LEAKAGE INTO THE HEATER CORE COMPARTMENT AND THE ACTUATOR PC BOARD AREA POTENTIALLY CAUSING THE ACTUATOR TO OVERHEAT AND/OR MELT.
Consequence
AN OVERHEATED AND/OR MELTED ACTUATOR MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE FIRE.
Remedy
DTNA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED BY THOMAS BUILT DEALERSHIPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 6, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THOMAS BUILT AT 1-336-889-4871.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM10V1840002010-05-03118 affected
Defect
DTNA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2009 AND 2010 HDX NON SCHOOL BUSES MANUFACTURED BEGINNING NOVEMBER 20, 2007 THROUGH MAY 8, 2009. THE HEATER COOLANT FLOW VALVE ACTUATOR 0-RING MAY ALLOW COOLANT LEAKAGE INTO THE HEATER CORE COMPARTMENT AND THE ACTUATOR PC BOARD AREA POTENTIALLY CAUSING THE ACTUATOR TO OVERHEAT…
Consequence
AN OVERHEATED AND/OR MELTED ACTUATOR MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE FIRE.
Remedy
DTNA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED BY THOMAS BUILT DEALERSHIPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 6, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THOMAS BUILT AT 1-336-889-4871.
OTHER09V3940002009-10-022,922 affected
Defect
DAIMLER TRUCKS IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2009-2010 THOMAS BUILT SCHOOL BUSES MANUFACTURED BETWEEN MARCH 31, 2008 AND FEBRUARY 18, 2009, EQUIPPED WITH SPECIALTY MANUFACTURING, INC. (SMI) 000290 LED LIGHT KITS. A CHANGE TO THE WIRE USED IN THE LED LIGHT KITS MAY REDUCE THE EFFECTIVE LIFE OF THE LIGHTS USED ON…
Consequence
SHOULD THE LED LIGHTS STOP FUNCTIONING, VISIBILITY OF A STOPPED BUS WOULD BE DECREASED, POSSIBLY ENDANGERING A CHILD OR PEDESTRIAN TO INJURY BY PASSING VEHICLES.
Remedy
THOMAS BUILT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND LIGHT KITS WILL BE REPLACED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 3, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THOMAS BUILT AT 1-800-547-0712.
DAIMLER TRUCKS IS RECALLING 18,198 MY 2003-2009 THOMAS BUILT ER, MVP-ER, HDX, AND MVP-EF SCHOOL AND TRANSIT BUSES EQUIPPED WITH A DUAL POWER SWITCH AND MANUFACTURED FROM FEBRUARY 1, 2002 THROUGH OCTOBER 17, 2008. SOLID STATE CIRCUIT BREAKERS MAY TRIP UNNECESSARILY POTENTIALLY RESULTING IN A LOSS OF POWER TO THE BUS…
Consequence
UNEXPECTED LOSS OF ENGINE POWER AND EXTERIOR LIGHTING COULD RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy
THOMAS BUILT BUS DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE SOLID STATE DUAL POWER SWITCH WITH A MECHANICAL CIRCUIT PRODUCTION (MEGA FUSE). THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING APRIL 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THOMAS BUILT AT 1-336-889-4871.
Complaints by component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1
1fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
1
Total complaints2
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“I received a notice (nhtsa campaign id number : 10v177) yesterday regarding stoplamp failure on thomas c2 buses. Our school district has experienced a similar problem of intermittent stoplamp operation on one of our 2009 hdx thomas buses. A resistor (not shown on thomas wiring diagrams) was placed…”
“1. After driving the 2009 thomas hdx bus for a couple of hours, driver was bringing the bus to a stop, and before he activated the doors or any other electrical accessories, he saw smoke coming up from the dash in front of the steering wheel. He reported the smoke coming from the top of the dash…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationPE10011 Opened 2010-04-21 · closed 2010-05-26
Dash Fires
This investigation was opened after ODIlearned of two dash fires that occurred on model year 2008 rear engine school buses.This investigation was opened to further study these fires and assess the risk. On April 30, 2010, Daimler filed a defect report concerning this matter. School buses built between November 15,…
InvestigationPE10011 Opened 2010-04-21 · closed 2010-05-26
Dash Fires
This investigation was opened after ODIlearned of two dash fires that occurred on model year 2008 rear engine school buses.This investigation was opened to further study these fires and assess the risk. On April 30, 2010, Daimler filed a defect report concerning this matter. School buses built between November 15,…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2009 Thomas Built Hdx as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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