The 2009 Toyota Sienna has 5 recalls, the most serious involving aftermarket seat heaters that can short circuit and start a fire, a shift lever that can be moved out of Park without pressing the brake pedal, and a spare tire carrier cable that can corrode and drop the spare tire onto the road.
The seat heater fire risk applies only to vehicles fitted with certain aftermarket heated seat equipment distributed through Southeast Toyota Distributors. The transmission concern covers two separate issues that share the same consequence: in both cases, the shift lever can slip out of Park without the driver pressing the brake, leaving the vehicle free to roll or engage a drive gear unexpectedly, raising the risk of a rollaway or backover. The spare tire hazard is geographically scoped to vehicles registered or originally sold in states where road salt is common, including the northeastern states, the Great Lakes region, and the mid-Atlantic. Road salt corrodes the cable that holds the spare tire under the rear of the vehicle, and if that cable fails, the spare tire can fall onto the road and become a hazard for other drivers. A fourth recall covers the same corroded spare tire carrier cable on a broader model year range but affects the same salt-belt states and carries the same consequence, so owners in those regions should confirm both concerns have been addressed for their specific vehicle.
