Certain 2005 thomas built fs-65 and c-2 school buses and 2005 freightliner argosy, columbia, century st, and m2 business class trucks manufactured between june 4 and july 8, 2005. The spindles in the rear axle housing were overheated during the heat...
2004-2005 · 2 model years
Thomas FS-65 Problems by year
Owners have filed 3 complaints about the Thomas FS-65 across 2 model years, and it has 3 recalls. The 2004 has the most complaints once its age is allowed for (1). The most reported problem area is the lights, followed by the electrical system.
- Complaints
- 3
- Recalls
- 3
- Crashes
- 0
- Fires
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Deaths
- 0
FS-65 complaints by model year
Highlighted: the year with the most complaints for its age. Older vehicles have had more time to collect complaints - the Safety Index grade allows for that.
Most common FS-65 problems
Thomas FS-65 recalls 3
Certain freightliner custom chassis fs-65 school bus chassis and fb-65 shuttle bus chassis equipped with caterpillar c7 engines and revised cooling packages and manufactured between january 24, 2004, and june 15, 2005. The front hydraulic line may rub...
Certain michelin xde commercial truck tires, size 10r22.5 Lrg and lrf for use on freightliner school and transit buses. These tires were manfactured between may 23 and october 24, 2004, can experience rapid air loss due to an irregularity of the inner liner.
Latest FS-65 complaints
Led light started smoking and burned up emitting smoke inside the bus. This was the second incident with this type of light. *Tr
After start-up when vehicle was idling for approximately 20 minutes started smoking from underneath the dash panel. It was approximately minutes 10 later when the fire was first noticed; time line is the best we can determine from video footage. Fire department arrived 10 minutes late and the bus was consumed by flames. The bus was destroyed beyond repair. *Tr
I writing in response to a service bulletin issued by freightliner custom chassis, sb 54-26. This service bulletin covers an issue with the turn signal cancellation ring on a 2005 model thomas school bus. The manufacturer has incorrectly installed the part which cancels the turn signal after a turn is completed. Due to the fact that this part was incorrectly installed, it is impossible at times to signal when making a turn, as is indicated in their service bulletin. I was not able to get any information on this...
Read the full complaint
defect until my 19 school buses were out of their warranty period. I believe this service bulletin should be upgraded to a recall due to the safety factor involved. No one has been injured as a result of this defect, but I feel this problem should be corrected and the manufacturer should take financial responsibility for their negligence before an accident results from it. *Nm
Questions about the Thomas FS-65
Which Thomas FS-65 years have the most problems?
What are the most common Thomas FS-65 problems?
Across every model year, owners report problems with the lights (2), electrical system (1) most often.
How many recalls does the Thomas FS-65 have?
NHTSA lists 3 recalls across all Thomas FS-65 model years. Each year's page lists the recalls for that year; check your own vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether the repair has been done.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data