2014 Champion CHALLENGER: complaints, problems and recalls

DRIVING DOWN HIGHWAY ABOUT 45 TO 50 MPH SEEN A DOG, TRIED TO MISS THE DOG TURN THE WHEEL TRIED TO STRAIGHTEN UP, WERE HEADED IN A CURB ALSO TRIED TO HIT MY BRAKES AND THE WHEEL LOCKED UP AND I WERE SLIDEING IN THE DITCH COULD NOT STOP FLIP OVER AND TOTAL THE CAR. NO POLICE REPORT BECAUSE HE WAS RUSH TO THE HOSPITAL, THE POLICE CAME OUT TWO HOURS LATER... AND I HAVE PICTURES ON MY CELL PHONE

Owner-reported narrative. 56,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 11091093 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2014-11-19 (November 19, 2014)

Champion Bus, Inc. (Champion Bus) is recalling certain model year 2006-2014 American Coach, American Crusader, Challenger, Corporal, Crusader, CTS-FE, CTS-RE, Defender, HCAC, HC American, Platinum Shuttle, and Stacked Rail transit buses manufactured January 1, 2006, to July 31, 2014, equipped with certain model S2005, S2010, S5005, S5010, S5505, and S5510 wheelchair lifts manufactured by Ricon Corporation. The platform side plate of the affected wheelchair lifts may crack.

Consequence: If the platform side plates crack, the lift platform can separate from the lift and come to rest against the vehicle's lift door. When the doors are opened, the platform may fall out, increasing the risk of injury to the lift operator.

Remedy: Champion Bus will notify owners to take buses to a Ricon dealer or service center who will install supplemental platform support bumpers. Any platform that has already started cracking will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began in November 2014. Owners may contact Champion Bus customer service at 1-810-724-6474. Owners may contact Ricon customer service at 1-800-322-2884.

Reported: 2014-11-24 (November 24, 2014)

Champion Bus, Inc. (Champion) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 LF Transport, HCAC, Defender, Crusader, and Challenger transit buses manufactured September 2, 2014, to October 14, 2014. The spring nuts used to secure the passenger seats failed durability testing.

Consequence: Spring nuts that fail to secure the seat and allow seat movement could increase the risk of personal injury in the event of a vehicle crash.

Remedy: Champion will notify owners, and dealers will replace the defective seat nuts, free of charge. The recall began in December 2014. Owners may contact Champion at 1-810-724-6474.

Reported: 2014-12-29 (December 29, 2014)

Champion Bus, Inc. (Champion) is recalling certain model year 2012-2014 American Crusader, Challenger, Crusader, CTS-FE, CTS-RE, Defender, EZ-Street, HC American, HCAC, LF Transport, M1235, Platinum Shuttle, Stacked Rail, and Federal Coach Premier, and Spirit transit buses manufactured January 1, 2012, to October 1, 2014, equipped with certain triangle warning signs manufactured by Imperial Supplies, LLC. Test reports indicate that the triangle warning signs, labeled C&J, may reflect an inadequate amount of light. As such, these triangle warning kits fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 125, "Warning devices."

Consequence: Warning triangles that do not properly reflect light may fail to warn others that a vehicle is parked, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Champion will notify owners to inspect their triangles for production dates between April 2011, to April 2014, and the affected triangles will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on January 6, 2015. Owners may contact Champion customer service at 1-810-724-6474.

Reported: 2015-06-19 (June 19, 2015)

Champion Bus, Inc. (Champion) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 American Crusader, American Coach, Challenger, Crusader, CTS-FE, CTS-RE, Defender, EZ Trans, HCAC, HC, DFUC, LF Transport, Premier, and Spirit transit buses manufactured March 1, 2013, to June 12, 2015. In the affected vehicles, the passenger seat belts may rub against the metal seat frame and fray. As a result, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."

Consequence: A frayed seat belt fray may fail to properly restrain the seat occupant in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: Champion will notify owners, and dealers will install a plastic sleeve over the metal seat frame, and replace any seat belts that show evidence of fraying, free of charge. The recall began on September 16, 2015. Owners may contact Champion customer service at 1-810-724-1753 extension 562.

Reported: 2015-11-16 (November 16, 2015)

Champion Bus, Inc. (Champion) is recalling certain model year 2006-2015 Challenger, Defender, Crusader, American, American Coach, American Crusader, Corporal, CTS-FE, CTS-RE, HC American, Platinum Shuttle, and Stacked Rail transit buses manufactured January 1, 2006, to August 25, 2015, equipped with certain model S2005, S2010, S5005, S5010, S5505, and S5510 wheelchair lifts. The affected lifts are equipped with folding link arms that may have pivot holes that are too big, allowing the bearings to move out of position.

Consequence: If the bearings move out of position, the stowed platform may have excessive movement resulting in failure of the platform mounting. This failure could cause the wheel chair lift platform to fall out of the vehicle when the doors are opened, increasing the risk of injury for the lift operator.

Remedy: Champion will notify owners, and Ricon will inspect the link arms for damage or for displaced bearings. The platform will be inspected for cracks. Any damaged parts will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on December 21, 2015. Owners may contact Champion customer service at 1-810-724-1753 extension 415, or Ricon customer service at 1-800-322-2884. Champion's number for this recall is 15E-068. Note: These buses and wheelchair lifts were subject to a similar recall in 2014. All vehicles that received that recall remedy are still affected by this recall as well.

Reported: 2018-08-30 (August 30, 2018)

Champion Bus (Champion) is recalling certain 2012-2018 Champion American Coach, American Crusader, American S2, Challenger, Crusader, Defender, and Impulse vehicles, equipped with certain S-Series and K-Series Titanium Wheelchair Lifts, models K200, K201, K550, K551, S200, S2201, S550 and S551. The wheelchair lift positioning input cam may fail while the lift is in use, allowing the platform to travel higher than the vehicle's floor height.

Consequence: If the wheelchair lift platform stops above the vehicle floor, the wheelchair user can tip inwards toward the vehicle when exiting the lift, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the injection molded cam with an aluminum machined cam, free of charge. The recall began November 1, 2018. Owners may contact Champion customer service 1-810-724-1753 extension 415 or Ricon customer service at 1-800-322-2884 or by emailing Ricon at Admin18E044@wabtec.com.