On February 13, 2025, Toyota Motors issued a recall for over 160,000 Sienna Hybrid minivans due to a potential issue where the vehicles' third row seats may not be properly bolted together. According to the recall, the loose bolts may increase the risk of injury during the crash. Below is everything we know about the problem, including what Sienna owners can do about it and why it matters to talk about this.
What's Wrong with the Recalled Toyota Seats?
The language of the recall suggests that the third row seats of the Sienna Hybrid minivans—the seat my coworker's kids used to call "the back-back" and fight over—are loosely bolted to their reclining back supporters. That may not sound like a big deal if the seat back just occasionally drops and knocks a passenger backward, but the real concern is what happens to the loose component during a collision.
Toyota very carefully notes that "...a seat back with low torqued bolts may not perform as intended" during a crash, but that could easily be read as a warning that a poorly-secured seat back could detach and/or cause injuries in those circumstances.
Which Toyota Vehicles May Have the Loose Seat Bolts?
Toyota submitted recall information to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), saying that an estimated 167,802 Sienna Hybrid minivans need to be serviced. The report says all vans were made in the 2021-2025 year range, but Toyota added that they can't be absolutely sure what percent of those vans may actually be affected. In their words,
"This issue only affects vehicles equipped with third-row seat assemblies that may have certain bolts not torqued to specification at a specific manufacturing facility of a specific supplier during a specific production period....Toyota is unable to estimate the percentage of the involved vehicles to actually contain the noncompliance."
It looks like Toyota figured out which factory dropped the ball, but they're not yet sure how many units slipped through with loose bolts. Anywhere from 1% (~1,678) to a very unlikely 100% could have the issue, so compliance with the recall is in some ways more urgent than normal—especially considering the damage the defect could cause.
What's the Risk of the Toyota Seat Defect?
As I said before, people may think a few loose bolts in the back seat of a minivan, while not ideal, aren't really that big a hazard. The level of danger may partly depend on the owner's lifestyle, but realistically speaking loose bolts anywhere in a vehicle can't be good. Here's a few risks for third-row Sienna occupants off the top of my head:
- Seat Failure – If the recliner bolts are loose, the third-row seat may not stay securely anchored during a crash. That could mean it shifts, collapses, or even detaches and goes airborne after impact. A flying seat back in a closed cabin poses a danger to other van occupants.
- Increased Injury Risk – Third-row passengers could be thrown forward or backward if any part of their seat moves or detaches unexpectedly. Getting thrown from the seat, especially in a serious collision, could lead to severe injuries.
- Compromised Seatbelt Effectiveness – If parts of the seat move independently of the van's intended structure, seatbelts may not properly restrain passengers in a crash.
- Structural Weakness – In some minivans, the third-row seats may be part of the vehicle’s crash energy management system. Loose bolts could alter how impact forces are distributed, potentially worsening injuries.
That's not to say that every Sienna collision would result in a detached seat bouncing around the interior of the minivan. Information from the NHTSA suggests this is a proactive recall, driven by inspection results rather than consumer complaints or crash reports. We just believe it's important to consider what a worst-case scenario could be, so that readers are less inclined to ignore a recall that "doesn't sound so bad" on its face. Instead, anyone who gets notified by Toyota should take the recommended action to avoid danger down the road.
What Can Consumers with Affected Siennas Do?
Toyota's recall says that consumers with recalled Siennas will receive notice by mid-April. Once they get a letter or email, Toyota encourages them to take it to a local dealership where the third-row seat bolts will be tightened free of charge.
Altogether it seems to be a fairly low-friction repair, though you'll still have to trek over to a dealership for what basically amounts to a few turns of a wrench. Compared to the possible risks of not getting the repair, though, the inconvenience seems pretty minor.
Why Should People Care about This Recall?
It can be easy to lose sight of just how complex a vehicle really is. Most people have to drive every day for one reason or another, and unless something major obviously breaks or fails we tend to take for granted that everything is working properly.
Concerning as it is, a recall like the one above serves as a reminder that even a vehicle's smaller, less-complicated parts have to be fabricated, installed, and inspected correctly. Something as simple as a few bolts in a seat back, if "improperly torqued," could mean the difference between a few bruises and a trip to an emergency room after a crash. That's why we tend to take the position here that no recall is actually small; the components may be, but the urgency isn't. Think of it like this: If Toyota really thought nobody could ever be hurt by this, would they be asking over 160,000 people to head to a dealership?
As always, we'll keep our fingers crossed that this defect doesn't hurt anyone. If the worst comes to pass and a flying seat back causes chaos in a crashed Sienna Hybrid, though, Toyota may owe that minivan's injured occupants more than a recall letter in the mail.