Seat Belt May Fail to Properly Restrain Driver/FMVSS 208

Affected vehicles (2)

Component / system

Defect

Nova Bus (US) Inc. (Nova Bus) is recalling certain 2016-2018, 2020, 2022-2023 LFS and 2019-2020 LFS Artic transit buses. The driver's seat belt tension-reliving device may fail to disengage without manual intervention. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Risk / consequence

Failure of the tension-reliving device may prevent the seat belt from properly restraining the driver, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.

Remedy

Nova Bus will remove the seat belt tension-reliving device, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 22, 2026. Owners may contact Nova Bus customer service at 1-450-472-6410. Nova Bus' number for this recall is CR5873. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 23, 2026.

Chronology of events

1. Jul 5, 2025

   July 5, 2025: Nova Bus internal audit requests the evaluation of the driver's seat belt tension-relieving device to validate compliance.

2. Jul 5, 2025

   July 5, 2025: Nova Bus Compliance team opens a Regulatory Interpretation case.

3. Sep 5, 2025

   September 5, 2025: Nova Bus Regulatory Interpretation Committee reaches a final interpretation of C/FMVSS 208 regarding the device’s minimal requirements.

4. Sep 5, 2025

   September 5, 2025: Nova Bus Product Safety Office raises the case as a Potential Safety Related Issue.

5. Feb 17, 2026

   February 17, 2026: Nova Bus completes information gathering, including information from the seat supplier and tension-relieving device supplier.

6. Mar 12, 2026

   March 12, 2026 : Product Safety Evaluation Committee evaluates and recommends issue to be escalated to Product Safety Committee.

7. Mar 17, 2026

   March 17, 2026 : Product Safety Committee makes the determination of a non-compliance.

8. Mar 24, 2026

   March 24, 2026 : Nova Bus files 573 with NHTSA that a voluntary recall will be released to address the non-compliance.

Notification schedule

Dealer notification

No Dealers

Owner notification

May 23, 2026 - May 23, 2026 Phased Recall

Documents (7)