Toyota Announces Recall of Certain Toyota Sienna Minivans

TORRANCE, CA--May 22, 2014: Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., today announced plans to conduct a voluntary safety recall of approximately 370,000 Model Year 2004-2011 Sienna Minivans originally sold in or registered in specific cold climate states.

The involved vehicles are equipped with a spare tire carrier stowed under the vehicle with a light-weight, foam water splash protector in front of the spare tire carrier. Due to variation in the placement of the splash protector or loss of the protector during normal usage, water splashed rearward with high concentrations of road salt can reach the spare tire carrier and corrode the spare tire carrier assembly cable.

Some of the involved vehicles, 2004-2010 model year, were involved in a recall announced in April 2010. The recall remedy included the addition of a water splash protector and an anti-rust agent application to reduce the effects of corrosion. If the splash protector is misplaced or falls from the vehicle on these 2004-2010 model year vehicles, the spare tire carrier assembly cable may not have sufficient anti-rust protection even after the anti-rust agent application that was part of the recall remedy.

If an involved vehicle is operated in cold climate regions of the United States where road salts are frequently used, in an extreme case, the cable may break due to excessive corrosion and the spare tire may separate from the vehicle.

Detailed information is available to customers at Toyota Recall and by calling the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.