NHTSA Complaint #10207155 — 2001 THOMAS MVP ER

2001 MVP-ER-140 HS SCHOOL BUS COMPLAINT DUE TO A DEFECT. CONSUMER STATES THAT SCHOOL BUS MODEL LISTED ABOVE CAUGHT FIRE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. *KB AN ACCIDENT INVESTIGATOR DETERMINED THAT THE FIRE STARTED WHEN PRESSURIZED TRANSMISSION FLUID SPRAYED FROM THE TRANSMISSION THROUGHOUT THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE TRANSMISSION VENT TUBE HAD BEEN CRUSHED BY THE WEIGHT OF THE CROSSOVER EXHAUST PIPE, WHICH WAS NORMALLY POSITIONED TWO INCHES ABOVE THE VENT. OVER TIME, THE BRACKETS THAT HOLD THE CROSSOVER PIPE BECAME LOOSE, ALLOWING THE PIPE TO FALL DOWN AND MAKE CONTACT WITH THE TRANSMISSION VENT. ONCE THE VENT WAS CLOSED, PRESSURE BUILT UP IN THE TRANSMISSION, AND ITS FLUID WAS EXPELLED FROM THE DIPSTICK TUBE. THE INVESTIGATOR'S FINDINGS CONCLUDED THE FIRE WAS THE RESULT OF THE NEGLIGENT DESIGN OF THE CROSSOVER EXHAUST PIPE, SPECIFICALLY THE NUMBER, LOCATION AND OR TYPE OF BRACKETS USED TO HOLD THE PIPE IN PLACE. GIVEN THE RISK PRESENTED BY CLOSURE OF THE TRANSMISSION VENT, IT WAS IMPERATIVE THAT THE PIPE BE INSTALLED SO THAT ITS POSITION RELATIVE TO THE TRANSMISSION VENT WOULD NOT SHIFT OVER TIME. *JB