The 2002 Thomas Built Saf-T-Liner Hd has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 122 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 1 complaint with NHTSA, most often about the service brakes, hydraulic. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
SUSPENSION02V3200002002-12-02122 affected
Defect
ON CERTAIN SCHOOL AND TRANSIT BUSES EQUIPPED WITH REYCO REAR AXLE AIR SUSPENSIONS, DEFLATED SUSPENSION AIR BAGS COULD CREATE EXCESSIVE DRIVELINE ANGLES CAUSING U-JOINT DAMAGE.
Consequence
THE DRIVE SHAFT COULD FALL OFF OF THE BUS. FOLLOWING VEHICLES COULD THEN RUN OVER THIS OBSTACLE, INCREASING THE RISK OF DAMAGE TO THE FOLLOWING VEHICLE.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL AXLE STOPS TO LIMIT REAR SUSPENSION TRAVEL AND FASTENER TORQUE WILL BE CHECKED ON THE SUSPENSION HEIGHT CONTROL ROD. OWNER NOTIFICATION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING FEBRUARY 2003. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE…
Complaints by component
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:PEDALS AND LINKAGES
1
Total complaints1
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“2002 thomas freightliner school bus- bus was on activity trip at another school and noticed a hard pedal on brakes after unloading the kids. Told driver not to move bus. Brought over different bus and towed that one back. Mechanic noticed the clevis pedal rod had separated in the boot behind foot…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2002 Thomas Built Saf-T-Liner Hd as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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