The Toyota Sienna may Lose its Spare Tire
Life is harsh for cars in our polar region. Cold weather can do damage to certain parts, meteorologic conditions can cause accidents... But the worst enemy of vehicles is salt. This powerful abrasive can scrape paint and corrupt steel like nothing else.
For minivans, this can cause a quite serious problem: since their spare tire is located under the floor, the release mechanism may become rusted over time.
Toyota learned this the hard way. They are now recalling more than 370,000 Siennas built between 2004 and 2010 that were sold in the northern United States. According to the NHTSA, the retaining cable for the spare tire may corrode, and in some case, may even drop the tire on the road while the van is moving!
A Canadian recall has not yet been announced, but since our roads are even worse than those in the US during winter, it is reasonable to think this problem also happens here.
Toyota doesn't have a definitive solution yet, but they will relocate the spare to inside the rear hatch for the time being.
So if you are following a rusty Sienna on the road, don't stay behind it for too long!