600,000 Toyota Sienna Mini-Vans To Be Recalled

[Obama 2012 1,714]

http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/16/news/companies/toyota_sienna_recall/

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Toyota said Friday it will recall about 600,000 Sienna minivans to address potential corrosion on spare tire cables.

The recall includes certain 1998 to 2010 model years sold in the United States and operated in cold climate areas, the automaker said in a statement.

Toyota (TOYOF) said "prolonged exposure" to road salts may lead to corrosion of the carrier cable in these vehicles, which could in turn cause the spare tire to fall from the car, endangering other motorists.

"In the worst case, the carrier cable may fail and the spare tire could become separated from the vehicle, a road hazard for following vehicles that increases the likelihood of a crash," Toyota said.

The troubled automaker, which has been plagued by a number of other recalls in the past year, said it is "working to develop" a solution to the problem. Until a fix is found, customers will receive a notice telling them to bring their Sienna to a local dealership for inspection.

Vehicles originally sold or currently registered in the following cold climate areas are covered by the recall: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

[natty bumppo 289]

at least it's not related to the below news story ...

Man dies after car plunges from parking garage

A man died when his Toyota Sienna plunged from an upper floor of a parking garage in west Houston Thursday morning.

The accident occurred at the Honeywell parking structure in the 1200 block of West Sam Houston Parkway about 8:45 a.m, police said.

The 62-year-old man, whose name has not been released, was rushed to Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital. He later died.

Police said that the man was alone in the minivan and trying to park on the second floor, but the vehicle smashed through safety cables on the edge of the structure and fell 20 feet to the ground.

The mini-van landed on its roof.

Emergency workers pulled the man from the wreckage. Paramedics performed chest compressions on him. Houston police are investigating the incident.

No other injuries were reported.

According to the Toyota Web site, the Sienna minivan is not included in recent recalls of other models regarding accelerators or floor mats.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6960199.html