Toyota has announced it is recalling 834,000 Sienna medium-size minivans/MPVs sold in North America due to a problem with their sliding doors.
The recall affects Sienna models produced between 2011 and 2016, of which 744,000 units were sold in the USA alone.
In the USA, the Sienna is priced at between just under US$30,000 and US$43,000. It was the best-selling MPV in its class in this market last year with 137,500 deliveries.
There is a danger that the sliding door could open while the vehicle is moving, Toyota is reported to have confirmed. If the door is obstructed, the motor’s circuit can overload and the door will fail to close even if the vehicle is in motion. The circuit overload opens a fuse in the car that prevents its latch from fastening correctly.
Toyota said it is still developing a solution for the problem and will carry out the repairs free of charge. Notifications for the fix will be sent out to owners in mid-January 2017.
Ford also recently announced a large recall of cars in North America for a door-latch in motion issue, but the cause was mechanical, not electrical.

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By GlobalData