The Toyota Sienna has become embroiled in a messy recall saga in the U.S. The family minivan was recalled due to a defect in the second-row seats, but owners have been waiting months for a fix. Now a class-action lawsuit has been filed against Toyota, alleging that as of April 1, 2026, not a single seat guide had been replaced.

The recall was first announced in October 2025. It affects 54,600 Sienna minivans. The issue centers on the second-row seat guides, which can lose structural integrity in certain high-speed crashes. This heightens the risk of injury, particularly since the second row is typically where children ride in car seats.

Toyota mailed owner notifications on December 4, 2025, but they did not include a specific repair date. The company was supposed to obtain the necessary parts and deliver them to dealers, but the process has dragged on. On the NHTSA website, owner complaints keep piling up: people say parts are still unavailable and the second row remains unsafe.

Toyota Sienna
B. Naumkin

One owner recounted that Toyota had instructed owners not to use the second-row seats until a repair becomes available. With three children, including an infant who requires a rear-facing car seat, the vehicle is essentially unusable for his family. The minivan has now been parked for over 80 days, and Toyota has confirmed it still has no fix or timeline.

He was given a loaner RAV4, but he considers this a poor substitute — the compact crossover lacks the space and three-row versatility that led him to buy the Sienna. Meanwhile, his monthly payments on the minivan run about $900, he says.

Owner complaints filed as recently as late April 2026 paint a grim picture. One owner wrote that he is unwilling to place his newborn in the second row, and using the third row is impractical. Another bluntly called the seven-month wait without a solution unacceptable. Adding to the difficulty, both the left and right second-row seat guides may be affected — meaning there is effectively no safe side.

The lawsuit was filed by plaintiffs from Ohio and South Carolina: Juliet Kelsten and Adam Hamblin. The situation exposes a vulnerability in large-scale recall campaigns: when a problem can’t be fixed with an over-the-air update and instead requires physical parts for tens of thousands of vehicles, owners can get stuck between a “do not use” warning and no actual repair. So far, Toyota has not announced a firm date for the large-scale replacement of seat guides, a parts delivery schedule to dealers, or compensation details for owners unable to fully use their Sienna. The recall covers 54,600 minivans in the U.S.