Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE | ||||||||||||||||
| 06E008000 | RICON CORPORATION | from 06/12/2005 to 07/01/2005 | E (Equipment) | 588 | 03/17/2006 | ODI | RICON CORPORATION | 01/25/2006 | 01/27/2006 | 571 | 403 | |||||
| Defect Summary | Certain ricon s and k series platform style wheelchair lifts manufactured between june 12 and july 1, 2005, installed as original equipment on certain school and transit buses. the vertical support arms were improperly welded. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | In the event this condition occurs during passenger operations it may not be possible to close the lift door causing the vehicle interlocks to remain engaged preventing movement of the vehicle or the ability to load or unload passengers with disabilities from the vehicle. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Ricon will notify its customers and will replace the two lift arms free of charge. the recall began on march 17, 2006. owners may contact ricon at 1-818-267-3000. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Customers may contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty: 1-800-424-9153); or go to http://www.safercar.gov. | |||||||||||||||
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE | ||||||
| PE12015 | Ricon Corporation | 06/14/2012 | 01/09/2013 | Wheelchair restraint failure | ||
| This investigation was opened based upon allegations made by the new york city transit authority (nycta) regarding the operation of a subject lift installed on one of itsmci motorcoaches.on march 6, 2012, an occupied powered wheelchair rolled off an elevated subject lift, injuring the occupant.while looking into this incident, odi found that nycta personnel had failed to utilize the original equipment wheel chair restraint (an interlocked safety belt in this case).normally, failing to use the belt would mean the lift could not be raised.this is because, to comply with fmvss 403, s6.4.7.1 and s7.7.2.2, the lift manufacturer's (ricon) wheel chair retention device incorporates an interlocked belt.with the required interlock, if the belt is not latched, the lift will not operate.however, nyct failed to use the belt and intentionally disabled the interlock.odi is unaware of any other incidents of wheelchair roll-away involving the subject lifts. given these facts, a defect trend related to the subject lifts wheel chair retention system has not been identified and this pe is closed. | ||||||
| PE12015 | RICON CORPORATION | 06/14/2012 | Wheelchair lift roll stop failure | |||
| New york city transit system reports an injury incident occurred when a ricon mirage wheelchair lift malfunctioned while lifting an occupied 'chair.with the lift elevated about 3 feet, the wheel chair rolled back and through the rollstopcausing the chair and occupant to fall backward to the ground.the passenger sustained a broken arm and clavicle.subsequently, ricon found the roll stop mechanical lock did not always engage and is working on a remedy for the nyc transit fleet. | ||||||
| EA08013 | RICON CORPORATION | 07/29/2008 | 10/27/2009 | RICON S & K 5500 WHEELCHAIR LIFTS | ||
| The office of defects investigation received one fleet complaint identifying 33 alleged failures on the subject wheelchair lifts. the alleged failures occurred on school buses in two alaskan school districts.the allegations described cracks developing on the lifts' vertical support arms at a pinned joint where a horizontal arm interfaces with the vertical arm.the lifts are used to raise wheelchairs from the street level to allow entry into school buses and also to lower wheelchairs from the school bus back to ground level.when this ea was opened, odi was concerned that thebent arms wouldpresent two possible safety concerns.first, the bent arms may prevent an inboard bridge from laying flat and thus prevent a wheel chair from being quickly loaded on to the lift in an emergency.second, the bent arms may defeat an interlock that prevents the lift from moving while being loaded and possibly tipping over a wheel chair bound passenger.ricon has acknowledged that there is a design deficiency in the lifts that cause the vertical arms to bend but feels that the bent arms do not represent a safety concern because the operator will see that the lift is damaged before a passenger is loaded onto the bus.if the driver sees that the lift is damaged, they should not load a passenger who would then need to be unloaded in an emergency.after conducting a test program and a series of lift inspections, odi agrees with ricon that the failure of the vertical arms are progressive and noticeable in that both the inboard and the outboard barriers will not lie flat.these barriers progressively move further and further from lying flat and represent a warning to the operator that there is a problem with the lift and it should not be used.odi is not aware of any injuries related to the bent vertical arms.odi has also interviewed lift operators from multiple fleets and found that there has been no trouble loading or unloading the lifts.all of the fleets interviewed indicated that bent vertical arms were identified by lift operators reporting the failure or during routine periodic lift inspections.in light of the information gathered in this investigation and ricon's agreement to conduct a service campaign to remedy the design deficiency in the subject lifts, further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that no safety-related defect exists.the agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.for additional information, see the attached closing report. | ||||||
| PE08022 | RICON CORPORATION | 03/26/2008 | 07/29/2008 | WHEELCHAIR LIFT ARM FRACTURES | ||
| The office of defects investigation has received one fleet complaint identifying 33 alleged failures on the subject wheelchair lifts. the alleged failures have occurred on school buses in two alaskan school districts.these allegations describe cracks developing on the lifts' vertical support arms at a pinned joint where a horizontal arm interfaces with the vertical arm.the lifts are used to raise wheelchairs from the street level to allow entry into the school bus.these bent arms may cause three possible safety concerns.first, the bent arms may prevent an inboard bridge from laying flat and thus prevent a wheel chair from loading the lift in an emergency.second, bent arms may cause the anti-stow interlock switch to become out of adjustment possibly allowing the lift to start moving to the stowed position while a chair is still on the platform.third, the bent arms may also create a situation where the requirements of fmvss 403 - s6.10.2.3 are no longer met.ricon feels that the bent arms are not a safety concern because the operator will see that the lift is damaged before a passenger is loaded onto the bus.if the driver sees that the lift is damaged, they should not load a passenger that would then need to be unloaded in an emergency.this pe has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea) to determine what causes the arms to fail, if the arms can fail while the lift is in a stowed position, and if a passenger can be loaded while the lift is in a failed condition. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE | |||
| 07/13/2007 | |||
| Installation of my personal use wheelchair lift does not meet the requirements of fmvss 403. the lift was installed without an interlock system by the access options co. of san jose california. the unit was manufactured by ricon. they seemed quite unconcerned when i contacted them. | |||
| 07/18/2007 | 1 | ||
| Ricon r1208 six-way power seat swivll pin (4 long x 1 thick) dropped down into the shaft when weld broke, when seat was in the up position. making the entire seat fall off the pedestal and track. this leaves the seat unattached and loose. there where no events leading up to it except pushing the button to raise the seat. there are no replacement parts available.. this chair has been discontinued. *jb | |||