Toyota has initiated a new recall, and it’s a serious one. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 228,367 Toyota Sienna Hybrid 7-seat minivans are being recalled due to a dangerous defect in the second row, where seat backs “may fail to remain secured in the event of a crash.” As a family vehicle that transports kids, this is particularly worrisome, and the recall (26V690) covers vehicles produced from September 16, 2021, to July 20, 2026. That means it affects model years 2022-2026, but only a very specific few that were built with seatbelt pretensioners from a certain supplier.
Toyota Sienna Hybrid: Why and How a Recall Began
Toyota
The NHTSA recall report explains the issue in detail and says that the vehicles in question have an integrated seatbelt with a pretensioner that quickly retracts during high-speed frontal crashes, securing the passenger. The seatbelt systems feature an outboard recliner that uses interlocking teeth to secure the belt, and when the pretensioner deploys, it creates oscillation between the cam and pawls within this recliner mechanism. In certain scenarios – with variables including the type of crash, the seat back’s position, and pretensioner deployment times – this oscillation can allow the cam to rotate. If this happens, the recliner mechanism disengages from the locked position, and that can have obvious negative consequences. But despite this issue appearing across multiple model years, it was only discovered last year. Fortunately, it was discovered by Toyota, not an extremely unlucky buyer.
Over the course of January to November 2025, Toyota says it was conducting sled testing using a modified seatbelt and second-row seat assembly with an eye to finding improvements for future seats when certain tests revealed the disengagement of the rear seatback’s outboard recliner mechanism. This led to an investigation that ran from December 2025 to August of this year. More sled testing was conducted, during which Toyota found that internal friction affected the recliner. Yet more testing was undertaken, and the automaker began field recoveries to assess how Sienna second-row seat assemblies being used every day were performing. Over September and October, Toyota conducted crash tests to validate the results of sled testing, and that’s when it discovered the issue and began the process of initiating a voluntary recall.
What Toyota Sienna Owners Need to Know
Kristen Brown/Autoblog
Kristen Brown/Autoblog
Dealers have already been informed of the impending Toyota Sienna recall, but owners will only be notified of a remedy in December. When the remedy is ready, Toyota Siennas must be brought to dealers for assessment, and most vehicles will need nothing more than an updated SRS ECU software file to better control the pretensioner. However, roughly 200 2022-2025 Sienna Hybrid minivans will need their two second-row seatbacks replaced with new components featuring a different recliner mechanism. Whichever group owners fall into, a dealer visit is necessary, and the fix will be applied at no cost.
About the author
Sebastian Cenizo is a senior editor at Autoblog and an automotive journalist and columnist specializing in German sports cars, aftermarket tuning, and emerging vehicle technologies. Since 2019, he has written thousands of news stories, reviews, technical explainers, and opinion pieces, analyzing how innovations and legislation impact American car buyers.
