Your vehicle report
1999 Toyota Sienna
The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.
Your vehicle at a glance
Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.
- Owner complaints
- 215
- Received Dec 1998 to Dec 2020
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Rear door latch fails to open or close38 complaints · 18% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Tires blow out or tread separates29 complaints · 13% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Engine burns excessive oil between changes17 complaints · 7.9% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
- Recall #10V160000Toyota 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.
- Recall #98V278000Vehicle 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.
BrakeNews signals
Flagged complaint patterns
Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.
No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.
How flags are identifiedComplaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 14 crashes, 4 fires, 25 people injured, 1 death.
Explore by system
Where do owners report problems?
Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.
Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.
Showing all 16 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
- Engine burns excessive oil between changes
- Unintended acceleration despite braking
- Transmission fails or loses power while driving
1 more problem
Brakes
Electrical & lights
Airbags, belts & seats
Steering, suspension & tires
Body, doors & glass
Driver assistance
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Other
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Complaint history
When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.
Show as a table
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 1 |
| 1999 | 29 |
| 2000 | 37 |
| 2001 | 32 |
| 2002 | 22 |
| 2003 | 15 |
| 2004 | 24 |
| 2005 | 9 |
| 2006 | 6 |
| 2007 | 4 |
| 2008 | 3 |
| 2009 | 8 |
| 2010 | 13 |
| 2011 | 2 |
| 2012 | 3 |
| 2013 | 1 |
| 2014 | 4 |
| 2015 | 0 |
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 0 |
| Total | 215 |
Problems owners report
Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.
| Problem | Complaints | Share | Share ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rear door latch fails to open or close | 38 | 18% | – | |
| Tires blow out or tread separates | 29 | 13% | – | |
| Engine burns excessive oil between changes | 17 | 7.9% | – | |
| Steering wanders or pulls at highway speed | 14 | 6.5% | – | |
| Seat belt fails to latch or retract | 7 | 3.3% | – | |
| Airbags fail to deploy in crashes | 7 | 3.3% | – | |
| Vehicle catches fire from wiring | 6 | 2.8% | – | |
| Unintended acceleration despite braking | 5 | 2.3% | – | |
| Transmission fails or loses power while driving | 5 | 2.3% | – | |
| Glass shatters or cracks without impact | 4 | 1.9% | – | |
| Horn fails with airbag warning light | 4 | 1.9% | – | |
| Check engine light comes on repeatedly | 4 | 1.9% | – | |
| Brakes make grinding or squealing noise | 4 | 1.9% | – | |
| Tailgate or trunk latch fails | 3 | 1.4% | – | |
| Suspension clunking or rattling noise over bumps | 3 | 1.4% | – | |
| Brake master cylinder leaks fluid and fails | 3 | 1.4% | – |
AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.
Recalls
NHTSA recall #10V160000April 20, 2010600,000 vehicles affected
structure
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.
The cable may break due to excessive corrosion and the spare tire may separate from the vehicle, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash.
Remedy
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 recall #98V278000October 19, 19981,960 vehicles affected
electrical system: ignition: anti-theft: control module
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.
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
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.
Other model years
About this data
NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 1999 Toyota Sienna.
Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.
Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN