Photo: Toyota
The minivan from Toyota will go through a safety recall because the automaker has discovered a potential problem with its sliding doors. Toyota says that the issue can be encountered only under certain and limited conditions, which then lead to the overload of the sliding door motor circuit.
As Toyota has explained, the sliding doors could be opened while driving if there were unlatched, but only if the fault were to happen before driving with the doors unlatched. No injuries, deaths, or accidents have been reported as being related to this problem.
The electrical problem described above could only happen if the operation motor that slides the doors is impeded. Only if the conditions for the fault to become dangerous are met, the affected models risk opening the fuse for the motor.
If even that fail-safe has been eliminated, there is still hope for the owners - having the doors latched, which should prevent any problems until the fix is performed on all the affected models.
It is worth noting that the rear occupants of the vehicle should be safe even if the rear doors are accidentally opened while driving if they have their seat belts on. Well, safety is relative when the sliding doors of a vehicle get opened, but at least keeping the seat belts buckled and the children secure in their designed seats will prevent anyone from falling out of the car.
Toyota has stated that its engineers are currently working on the remedy for the situation. All the known owners of the involved Sienna vehicles will be notified by first class mail by mid-January 2017.
If you own a 2011-2016 Toyota Sienna, but are not in the company’s database for one reason or another, it is advisable to look up your VIN on www.toyota.com/recall. You can also call customer service at 1-800-331-4331.
As Toyota has explained, the sliding doors could be opened while driving if there were unlatched, but only if the fault were to happen before driving with the doors unlatched. No injuries, deaths, or accidents have been reported as being related to this problem.
The electrical problem described above could only happen if the operation motor that slides the doors is impeded. Only if the conditions for the fault to become dangerous are met, the affected models risk opening the fuse for the motor.
If even that fail-safe has been eliminated, there is still hope for the owners - having the doors latched, which should prevent any problems until the fix is performed on all the affected models.
It is worth noting that the rear occupants of the vehicle should be safe even if the rear doors are accidentally opened while driving if they have their seat belts on. Well, safety is relative when the sliding doors of a vehicle get opened, but at least keeping the seat belts buckled and the children secure in their designed seats will prevent anyone from falling out of the car.
Toyota has stated that its engineers are currently working on the remedy for the situation. All the known owners of the involved Sienna vehicles will be notified by first class mail by mid-January 2017.
If you own a 2011-2016 Toyota Sienna, but are not in the company’s database for one reason or another, it is advisable to look up your VIN on www.toyota.com/recall. You can also call customer service at 1-800-331-4331.
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