Blue Bird Recalls 1,606 Electric Buses, Most of Them School Buses, Over Battery Mounting Bolts
The recall covers 2018 to 2026 buses with XALT batteries; Blue Bird says the installation torque was too low and is shortening the bolt service interval
Source: NHTSA ↗
Blue Bird Body Company is recalling 1,606 electric buses because the bolts that mount the high-voltage battery may be loose or missing. Of those, 1,590 are Vision and All American electric school buses from model years 2018 to 2024 and 2026, and 16 are All American electric transit buses from 2022 to 2024. NHTSA lists them as recalls 26V641 and 26V642.
“A high voltage battery with loose or missing mounting bolts can cause a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash,” NHTSA’s summary says. NHTSA’s records show no “do not drive” or “park outside” advisory for either campaign.
Blue Bird’s own recall report explains how it got here. The company says it received a field report of broken battery mounting bolts in September 2023 and responded by updating its service manuals to require servicing the bolts at 12 months or 20,000 miles. In December 2025 it received a report that a battery pack “dislodged from the vehicle,” which started a comprehensive investigation and durability retesting. NHTSA contacted Blue Bird about a vehicle owner questionnaire on that bus in June 2026. In September, the report says, Blue Bird “concluded that the torque specifications set for the mounting bolts during installation were insufficient” and its safety committee decided the issue was a safety recall. The report was filed Oct. 2 and amended Oct. 5.
Blue Bird says it knows of five field reports between September 2023 and May 2026 and “is not aware of any injury or death related to this issue.” It estimates 1% of the buses in the recall have the defect.
Only buses with XALT high-voltage batteries are included. The report says vehicles outside the recall “are not equipped with XALT HV batteries,” and that the XALT battery “is no longer being offered in production.” The school buses were built between July 11, 2018 and June 17, 2025: 833 are All American models and 757 are Vision models, with the 2023 model year the largest group at 552 buses. The transit buses were built between March 9, 2022 and May 22, 2023.
The fix is the same for both. A Blue Bird dealer “will remove and inspect the XALT HV battery mounting bolts for damage, further replacing if necessary,” then reinstall them with a new torque range and thread locker. Repairs are free. Blue Bird will also update its service manuals to recommend servicing the bolts every 6 months or 10,000 miles, down from the 12 months or 20,000 miles it set in 2023.
Dealer and owner notifications are due on or before Dec. 1, 2026. The recall report leaves blank the date when vehicle identification numbers become searchable on NHTSA’s site, and NHTSA’s summary points owners to Blue Bird customer service at 1-478-822-2242. Blue Bird’s number for the recall is R26AK. The full reports are on NHTSA’s site for the school bus campaign and the transit bus campaign.
