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281 electric school and transit buses can lose drive power from a wiring harness rubbed through by a bracket, and 49,958 Volkswagen Tiguans can have the engine switch off mid-drive. Owner letters for both go out in November.

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Six vehicle recalls reached NHTSA in the week to September 14. Micro Bird filed three of them, covering 281 G5e electric school and transit buses built between February 2025 and August 2026: a wiring harness routed against a metal bracket can be damaged and cause a loss of drive power. The filings describe four field complaints, including one bus that shut down in service in July, and report no injuries. Volkswagen is recalling 49,958 model-year 2025 Tiguans because a software fault in the body control module can reset it, switching the ignition off and stalling the engine, and can also kill exterior lights, warning lights or the rear-view camera. Also recalled: 155 Forest River Rockport trucks where wiring can short against the hood and start a fire, 42 Grand Design motorhomes whose top speed exceeds their tires' rating, and 549 tires mislabelled 'Not for Highway Use'. None carries a do-not-drive or park-outside warning.

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Within 31 minutes on September 11, Micro Bird sent NHTSA three separate recalls with the same defect text, the same chronology and the same remedy. Together they cover 281 G5e electric buses, most of them school buses.

A wiring harness may have been incorrectly routed. A metal bracket may contact and damage the harness, causing a loss of drive power.

The consequence, as all three filings put it: "A loss of driver power increases the risk of a crash." The typo is the manufacturer's.

The three bus recalls

Recall Vehicles Units
26V594000 2025–2026 G5e school buses 197
26V591000 2025–2027 G5e school buses 81
26V593000 2025–2026 G5e transit buses 3

They are split between two filing entities, Corp. Micro Bird in Quebec and Micro Bird USA in Delaware, and by build window, but the defect is one defect: a harness that can be rubbed through where it touches a bracket.

How it surfaced, from the filings' shared chronology: premature harness wear in November 2025, a bus that would not charge in February 2026, air-conditioning faults in April and June, and in July a bus that shut down in service. A review that month found "several variations in the routing" of the harness. Micro Bird decided to recall on September 3 and corrected production on August 10.

Micro Bird says it has "not received any other claim nor has received any report of death or injury linked to this defect," and that the harness is fuse-protected, so it rules out a fire risk.

The fix: inspect, replace and secure the harness, free. Letters are due November 10. Micro Bird customer service: 819-477-2012.

49,958 Tiguans that can switch themselves off

Volkswagen's recall 26V587000 covers 49,958 model-year 2025 Tiguans built between March and August 2025.

A software error may cause the body control module (BCM) system to reset. This may result in the ignition switching off, resulting in an engine stall.

It can also take out "certain controls, warning lights, exterior lighting, or failure of the rearview camera system," which is why Volkswagen reports the vehicles as failing four federal motor vehicle safety standards.

Volkswagen reports no crashes, fires, injuries, deaths or warranty claims: one ignition-off event on an internal test vehicle in January 2025, and a small number of possible cases in other markets. The module comes from Continental; the corrected software went into production in early September 2025.

The fix: a dealer software update, free. It is not an over-the-air update. Letters are due November 6. VINs have been searchable since mid-September. Volkswagen customer service: 1-800-893-5298.

Three more

  • Forest River Rockport trucks, 155 (26V589000): wiring can be damaged by the underside of the hood. "A short circuit increases the risk of a fire." Dealers reroute it free; letters October 19. The filing notes an owner may notice chafing wiring during a routine engine inspection.
  • Grand Design Lineage motorhomes, 42 (26V595000): with one optional tire package, "The vehicle's top speed may exceed the tire's speed rating." One owner has reported a tire failure, which the company has not yet inspected. The remedy is still under development; owners were asked by phone to keep to a recommended speed. Letters November 2.
  • Avix TrailTek RT tires, 549 (26T014000): sidewalls were stamped "Not for Highway Use" by mistake, which fails the federal tire labelling standard. Wheel Pros says all affected tires have already been replaced.

What none of them carries

No do-not-drive warning and no park-outside warning. NHTSA's flags for all six vehicle recalls are false, and the tire recall carries no such flag at all.

If you own one

Check a vehicle by its VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup, which is free and takes the 17-character number from the dashboard or the door jamb. The repair is free.

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