Toyota Sienna Recall Covers 228,367 Minivans With Second-Row Seat Issue
The recall covers 2022–2026 Siennas with second-row captain’s chairs. Most will receive a software update to the seat-belt pretensioner.
Toyota’s recall of 228,367 Sienna minivans centers on a specific combination of second-row seat and seat-belt hardware. In certain frontal collisions, the seat-belt pretensioner’s force can affect the recliner mechanism and allow the seat back to move. The campaign includes model-year 2022 through 2026 vehicles built from September 16, 2021, through July 20, 2026.
The affected Siennas are current-generation models equipped with two second-row captain’s chairs, making them seven-passenger versions. The recall does not cover every Sienna configuration, and Toyota says it has no reliable estimate of how many of the 228,367 vehicles have the defect. The reported 1% figure is a placeholder, rather than a confirmed estimate of the affected share.
The Sienna switched to a hybrid-only powertrain for the 2021 model year, but that first model year is outside the listed recall population. For buyers comparing used Siennas, the production dates and second-row layout matter alongside the model year: a 2022–2026 designation alone doesn’t establish whether a specific vehicle is included.
How the seat mechanism is involved
The seat belts use pretensioners, which tighten the belt in a crash. Toyota’s description says that, in certain frontal impacts, the load from a pretensioner can produce oscillation in the recliner mechanism. That movement may let the seat back shift during the collision.
The issue involves particular recliner assemblies and seat-belt components supplied during certain production periods. The source report describes those parts in deliberately broad terms, so it doesn’t identify a supplier, provide a detailed parts list, or specify which production batches contain the combination. Toyota’s recall population is therefore much broader than the number of vehicles it currently believes have the defect.
Seat-back movement matters because the backrest is part of the seating system that supports an occupant. The concern described here is limited to how the recliner could behave under the forces of certain frontal collisions. The report doesn’t claim that the seat moves during ordinary driving, nor does it provide a crash rate or say how often the condition has occurred.
What Toyota says it found
Toyota says it first identified the issue last year during prototype sled testing for a second-row seat and seat-belt design intended for a future vehicle. It then carried out additional testing and examined second-row seat assemblies recovered from vehicles in use, checking how their recliner mechanisms had held up over time.
The company reports no field technical reports or warranty claims related to this defect. That history offers some context, but it doesn’t establish how many affected vehicles contain the relevant parts or how the issue might present in a collision. Toyota says it does not have a firm estimate of the defect rate across the recall population.
Repairs vary by vehicle
Most vehicles included in the recall will receive a no-charge software update to the system that controls the seat-belt pretensioner. Toyota says “the majority of involved vehicles” will get this repair. Around 200 Siennas fitted with the Mobility as a Service Package will instead receive new seat backs with a different recliner mechanism.
The split repair approach suggests that Toyota has identified a small group requiring a hardware change, while the larger group can be addressed through control software. The source does not explain how Toyota determines which repair a particular van needs, give a repair duration, or specify when owners will receive instructions. Those details are necessary for owners to understand the next step for an individual vehicle.
For shoppers, this recall is a reminder to check a specific vehicle’s status and seating configuration before buying a used Sienna in the listed model years. For current owners, the practical takeaway is that the campaign applies to seven-passenger versions with second-row captain’s chairs, and Toyota plans a no-charge remedy. The recall’s broad population and the absence of reported warranty claims make the repair details worth tracking, but neither changes the stated concern: the seat back could move under certain crash forces.
Related reading: Toyota’s hybrid minivan, 2025 Sienna features, and Sienna reliability.
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