NHTSA Defect Investigation #EA05010

SEATBELT MALFUNCTION: Seat Belts:Rear**

RECALL »

Recall #05V327000

** This defect investigation is filed under 2 related vehicle components.
2005 TOYOTA SIENNA -- The shoulder portion of the middle-row seatbelt webbing feeds through an opening in the seatbelt bezel located at the top of the seat.the bezel also contains a clip that covers a narrow slot in the bezel.the clip may become dislodged from use and allow the seat belt to become stuck in the narrow slot exposed by the dislodged clip. In addition to ODI's 10 consumer complaints, Toyota's letter response to the Agency identifies 40 other consumer and field reports and 3,089 warranty repairs that required the replacement of the seatbelt bezel and/or clip.a stuck or jammed seatbelt does not offer proper occupant protection in the event of a vehicle crash.Toyota has notified the Agency by letter dated July 19, 2005 (amended in letter dated July 22, 2005), that it will recall 345,443 MY 2004-2005 7-passenger and 8-passenger sienna vehicles built from the start of production up to May 18, 2005.Toyota dealers will replace the seatbelt bezel and clip with an improved design on all vehicles.vehicles produced beginning May 18 already have the improved seatbelt bezel and clip.this investigation is closed. Investigation was initiated on June 13 2005. Closed on August 02 2005. For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #EA05010 »

NHTSA Defect Investigation #EA06020

UNEXPECTED CLOSING OF POWER LIFTGATE: Structure:Body:Hatchback/Liftgate:Hinge And Attachments**

RECALL »

Recall #08V244000

** This defect investigation is filed under 8 related vehicle components.
2005 TOYOTA SIENNA -- On May 30, 2008, Toyota initiated a safety recall to replace the liftgate struts in approximately 196,000 model year 2004-2006 Toyota sienna vehicles equipped with power liftgates (recall 08V-244).the recall will provide the opportunity for vehicle owners to obtain new struts that are more robust.based on these actions, the Agency has decided to close the investigation.while Toyota has not made a decision that the recalled vehicles contain a safety-related defect, in view of the recall, further use of the Agency's resources does not appear to be warranted.the closing of this investigation does not constitute any finding by NHTSA.the Agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.additional information can be found in the engineering analysis report. Investigation was initiated on December 01 2006. Closed on June 25 2008. For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #EA06020 »

NHTSA Defect Investigation #PE06029

UNEXPECTED LIFTGATE CLOSING: Structure:Body:Hatchback/Liftgate:Hinge And Attachments**

CLOSED

no recall issued

** This defect investigation is filed under 8 related vehicle components.
2005 TOYOTA SIENNA -- The liftgate gas struts for the subject vehicles may have damaged gas seals that allow the liftgate to drop unexpectedly.the rates for complaints, alleged injuries and warranty claims are higher for vehicles with the power liftgate option.the power liftgate may automatically power-close at the completion of a power-open command without input from the operator.some owners are caught unaware of the power-close operation while under the rear liftgate door.ODI has upgraded the investigation to an engineering analysis (EA06-020) and modified the scope to include only the subject vehicles with the power liftgate option. Investigation was initiated on August 02 2006. Closed on December 01 2006. For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #PE06029 »

NHTSA Defect Investigation #PE06010

TIRE PRESSURE WARNING SYSTEM FAILURE: Tires:Pressure Monitoring And Regulating Systems

CLOSED

no recall issued

2005 TOYOTA SIENNA -- ODI opened PE06-010 based on 12 reports of alleged tire pressure warning system (tpws) failure on the subject vehicles.all reports alleged that the tpws warning light did not illuminate on the driver information panel when the tire pressure was low or the tire was flat.in some incidents, the consumer reported that tpws light did not illuminate when the tire pressure in 1 tire was at 15-20 psi and the other tires were at or near the recommended tire pressure.during PE06-010, additional failure data was identified as noted in the failure report summary above.as of July 25, 2006, ODI was not aware of any allegations where the alleged defect resulted in a crash, an injury, or a fatality in the subject vehicles.in addition, ODI is aware of only two incidents where a tire was reported to have caught on fire during the incident.in both incidents, fire damage was limited to the rear passenger tire and tire well and/or smoke damage to items in the vehicle.ODI's analysis showed the following:(1) the subject vehicles use an indirect tpws system with P225/60R17bridgestone B380 or dunlop sp sport 4000 dsst run flat tires(rfts). (2) there is a large variability in the pressure and driving time atwhich the tpws will trigger the tpws warning light toilluminate. (3) the tpws may not make an accurate judgment under a variety ofroad or driving conditions, including if the vehicle is drivenover 62 mph, the outside temperature is below 32 degreesfahrenheit, the tread wear is uneven, the loading is overthe limit, or the pressure of 2 or more tires drops at the sametime. (see Toyota's April 10, 2006 information request responsefor more details.) (4) some consumers reported that their tire pressure was below 15psi or even as low as 0 psi before they realized that they had atire pressure issue and as a result had to replace the tire. Note: Toyota states that if the tire pressure drops to below 15psi, the tire can not be repaired. (5) in April 2006, in response to reports of premature or uneven tirewear, Toyota issued a customer support program to providesupplemental tire warranty coverage for 2004-early 2006 mysienna vehicles with rfts. (6) field data and NHTSA testing showed that the tpws on the 2004-2005 my Toyota sienna 2wd vehicles, which use the same tpws as the subject vehicles, but have standard tires, performed betterthan tpws on the subject vehicles.due to the following reasons, ODI has decided that further expenditure of Agency resources on this investigation is not warranted at this time: (1) only a very small percentage of tpws and tire related complaints and warranty claims cited that the tpws did not illuminate on the subject vehicle during the incident.in the remaining tire related incidents, it was not possible to determine if the tpws contributed to the tire related failure. (2) ODI is not aware of any incidents that were reported thatresulted in the driver losing vehicle control. (3) the field data did not establish a relationship between poortpws performance and tire incidents with safety consequencesaccordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist.the Agency will continue to monitor complaints and other information relating to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles and take further action in the future if warranted. Investigation was initiated on February 27 2006. Closed on August 02 2006. For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #PE06010 »