Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. has announced it will recall over 300,000 2004-'11 Toyota Sienna minivans in the U.S. over an issue with the vehicle's spare tires.
The Sienna's spare tire could fall off if a cable rusts, according to the automaker. Approximately 370,000 vehicles are affected by the recall.
Repairs are currently under development, which will involve the replacement of a spare-tire carrier assembly, said Cindy Knight, a Toyota spokeswoman, according to Edmunds.
Knight confirmed that Toyota is not aware of any injuries, accidents, or fatalities as a result of the defect.
Affected models are sold or registered in state that use a large amount of road salt in cold weather.
"The involved vehicles are equipped with a spare-tire carrier stowed under the vehicle with a lightweight, foam water splash protector in front of the spare-tire carrier," said Toyota in a statement regarding the issue. "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 Siennas from 2004-'10 were involved in a 2010 recall, according to Toyota.
"In an extreme case, the cable may break due to excessive corrosion and the spare tire may separate from the vehicle," Toyota said.
Dealers will install an anti-rust agent application and water splash protector to help reduce the effects of corrosion.
"If the splash protector is misplaced or falls from the vehicle on these 2004-'10 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," Toyota said.
A recall date has not been set by the automaker yet, according to Toyota.
Owners with more questions can reach Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
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