1998 Toyota Sienna: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for the 1998 Toyota Sienna. The newest campaign is 10V160000. NHTSA received the report on 20 Apr 2010. The NHTSA record gives the component Structure. NHTSA has 277 complaints on file for this model year. 2 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 10V160000, in the NHTSA record

Toyota will notify owners with an interim letter initially instructing them to bring their vehicle to authorized dealers to inspect for corrosion. A second notice will be sent when the permanent remedy is available. For more information, please see toyota's amended recall report of july 19, 2010. The safety recall is expected to begin on october 12, 2010. Owners may contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 29 Mar 2018. Recall file through 30 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

2 campaigns, newest first. 601,960 units in total.

10V160000Received 20 Apr 2010. 600,000 units.
Structure
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Toyota is recalling certain model year 1998 through 2010 sienna passenger vehicles manufactured between august 7, 1997 and january 4, 2010, currently registered in or originally sold in connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, washington district of columbia, virginia, west virginia, and wisconsin. The subject vehicles are equipped with the spare tire stowed under the vehicle. If the vehicle is operated in the cold climate regions of the united states where road salt is frequently used, water splashed backwards with high concentrations of road salt can reach the spare tire carrier and corrode the spare tire carrier assembly cable.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
The cable may break due to excessive corrosion and the spare tire may separate from the vehicle, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Toyota will notify owners with an interim letter initially instructing them to bring their vehicle to authorized dealers to inspect for corrosion. A second notice will be sent when the permanent remedy is available. For more information, please see toyota's amended recall report of july 19, 2010. The safety recall is expected to begin on october 12, 2010. Owners may contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Report filed by TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.. Manufacturer campaign number AOE. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 12 Oct 2010.
98V278000Received 19 Oct 1998. 1,960 units.
Electrical System / Ignition / Anti-Theft / Control Module
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles, mini vans and passenger vehicles equipped with a theft deterrent systems (tds) supplied by audiovox corporation and distributed by southeast toyota distributors, INC. In the states of alabama, florida, georgia, north and south carolina. The alarm wiring harness plugs into the vehicle's ignition switch and the vehicle's ignition switch wiring harness plugs into the alarm harness to complete the circuit. A percentage of the female terminals used in the alarm connector were found to be defective, causing an 'open circuit' condition when mated to the male ignition switch terminals.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
This condition can cause intermittent performance of the vehicle's electrical components such as the dash warning lights and/or HVAC fan speed controls. Also, the vehicle may not run smoothly and could stall.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will inspect the date code label on the security system harness and any displaying the manufacturing/final date code will be replaced with newly produced harnesses. The date codes are: rav4 - 6/24/98, 6/25/98, 6/26/98; sienna - 6/25/98, 6/26/98; and avalon - 6/30/98, 7/1/98, 8/31/98, 9/1/98, 9/2/98, and 9/3/98.
Report filed by SOUTHEAST TOYOTA DISTRIBUTORS.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

277 complaints, 326 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

1998 Toyota Sienna
All 1998 vehicles

1998 Toyota Sienna: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	1998 Sienna	All 1998 vehicles	Sienna, all years	Mentions
Tires	125.8	54.1	86.9	41
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	122.7	114.6	57.6	40
Latches/Locks/Linkages	119.6	13	143.1	39
Engine and Engine Cooling	113.5	131.3	63.2	37
Structure	107.4	39.6	261.2	35
Steering	67.5	55.6	39.8	22
Power Train	61.3	94.3	56.4	20
Visibility	52.1	60.4	24.4	17
Seat Belts	33.7	22.9	33.2	11
Suspension	30.7	81.5	14.2	10

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 22.

Complaints that report a crash: 16
Complaints that report a fire: 3
Injuries in the complaints: 14
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 6 Sep 2010

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 1998 Toyota Sienna, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1999, with 65 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1998 Toyota Sienna
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
DP02004	Defect petition	ENGINE SEIZURE	Engine and Engine Cooling	30 Apr 2002	20 Jun 2002
PE99070	Preliminary evaluation	STEERING WHEEL TO RETURN TO CENTER	Steering	17 Nov 1999	12 Apr 2000

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 1998 Toyota SiennaThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1998 Toyota Sienna: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/toyota/sienna/1998/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 30 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 29 Mar 2018
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 1998 Toyota Sienna?: 601,960 units in 2 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Toyota Sienna have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 50 recall campaigns for the Toyota Sienna, model years 1996 to 2020. 2 of them name the 1998 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1998 Toyota Sienna name most often?: Tires: 41 of 326 component mentions, or 125.8 per 1,000. For all 1998 vehicles the figure is 54.1 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1998 Toyota Sienna open?: No. Each of the 2 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.