NHTSA Complaint #10583658 — 2011 TOYOTA SIENNA

THE AIR CONDITIONER HOUSING IS LEAKING WATER ONTO SAFETY-CRITICAL PARTS. THIS HOUSING IS MADE OF PLASTIC PARTS THAT ARE GLUED TOGETHER. WATER IS CONDENSED DURING THE COOLING CYCLE, AND IT THEN COLLECTS AT THE BOTTOM AND EXITS THE VEHICLE THROUGH A RUBBER HOSE. THE GLUE HOLDING THE HOUSING TOGETHER HAS FAILED. WATER IS LEAKING FROM THE HOUSING AND RUNNING ONTO THE COMPUTER MODULE THAT DEPLOYS THE AIRBAGS. I HAVE BEEN ADVISED BY THE DEALER THAT IT IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE WITH A WET MODULE BECAUSE THE AIRBAGS CAN DEPLOY WHILE MOVING, OR THAT THEY MIGHT NOT DEPLOY IN THE EVENT OF A COLLISION. AN IDENTICAL PROBLEM AFFECTS TOYOTA MODELS CAMRY, AVALON, AND VENZA. THIS RECALL CAN BE FOUND AT: WWW.TOYOTANEWS.PRESSROOM.TOYOTA.COM THE RECALL INFO IS: RELEASES/TOYOTA/RECALL+CAMRY+AVALON+VENZAOCT17 THIS WILL TURN INTO A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AS THESE VEHICLES GET OLDER WATER CAN LEAK ONTO THE DEPLOYMENT MODULE WITHOUT BEING SEEN. IN MY PARTICULAR CASE, THE WATER HAD APPARENTLY BEEN LEAKING FOR SOME TIME - PERHAPS A YEAR OR TWO - AND WAS DETECTED PURELY BY CHANCE. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT RUST ON THE FLOORBOARD OF THE VEHICLE. I HAVE DISCUSSED THE ISSUE WITH TOYOTA, AND THEY REFUSE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE RECALL ON CAMRY, AVALON, AND VENZA APPEAR TO BE IDENTICAL TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES I HAVE EXPERIENCED, YET THERE IS NO RECALL ON THE SIENNA. THIS APPEARS TO BE AN UNSAFE CONDITION. I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU WILL TAKE A LOOK. *TR