APRIL 2010 -- Toyota is recalling certain model year 1998 through 2010 Sienna passenger vehicles manufactured between August 7, 1997 and January 4, 2010, currently registered in or originally sold in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington District Of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, And Wisconsin. The subject vehicles are equipped with the spare tire stowed under the vehicle. If the vehicle is operated in the cold climate regions of the United States where road salt is frequently used, water splashed backwards with high concentrations of road salt can reach the spare tire carrier and corrode the spare tire carrier assembly cable. The cable may break due to excessive corrosion and the spare tire may separate from the vehicle, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash. The manufacturer has not yet provided the agency with a remedy and notification schedule.   10V-160

JUNE 2009 -- Toyota is recalling 1,281 Model Year 2006 through 2009 Sienna, 2004 Land Cruiser, and 2009 Lexus GX passenger vehicles. The vehicle capacity weight on the tire and loading information label and the GVWR on the certification label is insufficient for certain vehicles. Some vehicles were accessorized through vehicle processing centers and had accessories installed that caused the vehicle to exceed the GVWR value. These vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 110, "Tire Selection and Rims," and 49 CFR Part 567. The GVWR is insufficient for the load carrying capacity of the vehicles. Toyota will notify owners instructing them to return their vehicle to a Toyota or Lexus dealer for an exchange of the certification label and the tire and loading information label, an installation of the load carrying capacity modification label, if necessary, and a correction to the owner's manual. This remedy will be performed free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin during July 2009.  09V-234

JUNE 2009 -- Toyota is recalling 1,348 Model Year 2009 and 2010 passenger cars built from June 2, 2008 to May 4, 2009. These vehicles were not equipped with load carrying capacity modification labels which fails to conform with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 110, "Tire Selection and Rims." Incorrect load carrying capacity modification labels could result in the vehicle being overloaded, increasing the risk of a crash. Toyota will notify owners and provide them with a new, accurate label to be installed over the inaccurate label free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin during July 2009. 09V-223

JANUARY 2009 -- Toyota is conducting a safety improvement campaign involving 26,501 early 2004 MY Sienna vehicles. In the event the retention clip used to secure the floor carpet cover is missing, the cover can interfere with the operation of the accelerator pedal if the acceleration pedal is depressed to nearly the full throttle position. If this occurs, the accelerator pedal can become stuck which could result in a vehicle crash. Dealers will replace the retention clip and floor carpet cover at no charge. The manufacturer will begin notifying owners in early February 2009. Owner notification is expected to be completed by early April 2009. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-888-270-9371, if they have any further questions. This action is deemed a safety improvement campaign and is not being conducted under the safety act. However, Toyota has informed NHTSA that it will provide the modifications described above at no cost. This recall was the subject of an Engineering Analysis, EA08-014, conducted by the Office of Defects Investigation.  09V-023

JUNE 2008 -- Toyota is conducting a safety improvement campaign involving 196,222 MY 2004-2006 Toyota Sienna vehicles equipped with power rear liftgate struts. The gas struts used to help lift and support the rear power liftgate could wear out sooner than expected. As the gas struts deteriorate, the performance of the liftgate will begin to degrade and the power rear liftgate will operate more slowly than when the gas struts were new. If not repaired, the gas struts may not be able to support the weight of the liftgate when it is open, and eventually, the gas struts could deteriorate to the point that the liftgate will fall about ten inches after it reaches the fully open position, at which point the power motor will engage and power the liftgate to the fully closed position. This condition may cause injury to a person who is struck by the liftgate when it falls or when it is closing. Dealers will replace the gas struts with newly designed gas struts that have a longer service lift. The campaign is expected to begin during August 2008. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-888-270-9371. This action is deemed a safety improvement campaign and is not being conducted under the safety act. However, Toyota has informed NHTSA that it will provide the modifications described above. This recall was the subject of an Engineering Analysis, EA06-020, conducted by the Office of Defects Investigation. 08V244

NEWS:    2004-2006 Toyota Sienna

ConsumerReports.org -- July 21,  2008 -- Toyota is conducting a safety improvement campaign on over 196,000 Toyota Sienna minivans equipped with power rear liftgate struts. The gas struts used to help lift the rear power liftgate could wear out earlier than expected and could eventually cause the liftgate to fall a few inches or completely close.

Dealers will replace the gas struts with new ones that have a longer life. Owners can contact Toyota at 1-888-270-9371.

MORE RECALL INFO:    Toyota Sienna

NEWS:   Toyota May Recall Minivans Pending Result of Probe

Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second-largest automaker, may recall its 2004 and 2005 Sienna minivans with power rear liftgates, pending the result of an investigation by U.S. safety regulators.

We will wait for the result of the investigation and judge whether to file a recall,'' Shiori Hashimoto, a spokesman at Toyota said today. ``The case is now under investigation, and Toyota is fully cooperating with it.''

The Siennas are being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after reports of 14 injuries when the liftgates unexpectedly closed....

NEWS: 

• Washington Post (NEW)--  Toyota Motor Co..recalled 978,000 sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks amid concerns over the power steering system.....

• Detroit News - Despite reliability image, automaker has had five recalls in the United States this year...

• LA Times - Toyota Recalls More Than 750,000 Vehicles...

• Google News Links - more Toyota Recall information...