Toyota Announces Recall of 345,000 Sienna Mini Vans due to Seat Belt Problems

On July 21st, 2005, Toyota Motor Corp. announced this it recalling 345,000 Sienna Mini Vans because of reports that the seat belt may not properly retract after unbuckling. Specifically, the company states that the shoulder portion of the seat belt in the middle row may become stuck in a plastic piece the belt should slide through easily. This may cause the belt to bunch or bind up making it difficult to remove or put on.

This poses a risk to passengers, especially in the event where the occupant needs to exit the vehicle quickly, such as a fire following an collision or driving into a canal or stream, just to name a few.

This voluntary recall involves Sienna's from the 2004 and 2005 model years. While Toyota states they have received 14 reports of this problem, they are aware of none that resulted in injuries.

The problem allegedly affects the right side chair in the middle row of the seven-passenger model and the center seating position in the second bench seat in eight-passenger models.

Toyota states that they will begin contacting Sienna owners beginning in Mid-August 2005. All customers will be instructed to contact their local Toyota dealer to replace the piece, called a bezel, at no cost to the customer.

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If you had an incident whereby you were a owner, renter, or simply a passenger in a Toyota Sienna and the seat belt failed to work properly, resulting in injury, please click the link below to submit your complaint and a lawyer will review your complaint for possible inclusion in a legal action.

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