MCPS electric school buses have a Proterra engine. IF Montgomery County had a public school system with an open and transparent Board of Education and Superintendent, parents and school bus drivers would immediately know if any of the MCPS electric school buses are impacted by this safety recall.
But this is Montgomery County, so don't hold your breath.
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Background: On September 5, 2024, Phoenix informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of a safety defect affecting Proterra 800V Catalyst (Model Year 2019-2021) and Proterra ZX5 (Model Year 2020-2022) transit buses with a certain electrical and software architecture and of their intent to recall the affected vehicles (NHTSA Recall No.: 24V-655). These buses were produced between December 14, 2019 - November 8, 2021, and July 21, 2020 - January 31, 2023, respectively.
According to the information provided by Phoenix to NHTSA, the electrical connectors and terminals at one rooftop passthrough at issue in this recall are toward the maximum current limit that the terminals are rated for, with radiator fans running at 100 percent speed. Over time and with higher ambient temperatures, this circuit design can result in excessive heat at the terminals and, eventually, the melting of “wedge locks,” which could result in a thermal event, increasing the risk of a fire. Software updates were previously released as a technical service bulletin, and Phoenix will redeploy this bulletin as the recall remedy. Per Phoenix, the update will limit the radiator fan speed to 80 percent, which reduces the load of each fan by approximately 46 percent and reduces the temperature at each terminal by approximately 71 percent above ambient without degrading performance of the cooling system. Phoenix will provide this software remedy free of charge to owners of vehicles within the recall population. Version 4.10.2 or above contains the remedy, and this version can be referenced on the vehicle's dashboard...
FTA Safety Advisory 24-1 Proterra Bus Phoenix Motorcars Safety Recall (dot.gov)
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