NHTSA vehicle safety data

2012 Turtle Top Vanterra Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

The 2012 Turtle Top Vanterra has 1 NHTSA recall campaign and 0 owner complaints on file as of October 16, 2026. Recall repairs are usually free at an authorized Turtle Top dealer.

NHTSA recall and complaint data for the 2012 Turtle Top Vanterra. Recall data is refreshed daily from NHTSA.

STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS

NHTSA #12V330000

Reported July 11, 2012 · TURTLE TOP

Potentially affected: 361 vehicles

Defect description

Turtle Top is recalling certain model year 2010 through 2012 commercial buses manufactured from April 1, 2011, through March 25, 2012, equipped with Specialty Manufacturing Inc. (SMI) Prolo roof hatches. Increased friction between the rear plate assemblies, p/no. 009327, and the nylon rear pop-up support, p/no. 008956, may result in an opening force of the Prolo roof hatches that exceeds federal standard requirements. Thus, these hatches fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 217, "Bus Emergency Exits and Window Retention and Release."

Safety consequence

In the event of an emergency, passengers' exit from the bus may be hindered possibly resulting in injury to the vehicle occupants.

Manufacturer remedy

Turtle Top will notify owners. SMI will provide service kits along with repair instructions to dealers and owners, free of charge. The safety recall began on August 16, 2012. Owners may contact Turtle Top at 1-574-831-4349 or SMI at 1-800-951-7867.

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.

Other Turtle Top Vanterra model years

Check your 2012 Turtle Top Vanterra VIN

Not every recall applies to every VIN in a given year. Enter the 17-character VIN from your Turtle Top Vanterra at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether your specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

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