— Toyota Sienna hybrid cable corrosion problems have caused a lawsuit that alleges 2021-2023 Sienna hybrid minivans have defective cables that run from the front of the vehicles to the rear motor generators.
According to the class action lawsuit, all the Siennas have hybrid powertrains and all-wheel-drive (AWD) capability.
The class action includes 2021-2023 Toyota Sienna LE, XLE, Limited, XSE and Platinum minivans.
The Toyota Sienna hybrid system power cable has an orange cable connector which connects the cable to the rear motor generator. But the class action lawsuit alleges the cable and connector corrodes from snow, road salt and other road debris.
The owners who sued assert the Sienna hybrid minivans suffer from the same cable corrosion problems that caused a Toyota and Lexus class action titled, Isenberg v Toyota, and a Canadian class action titled, Constantin Sultana v Toyota Canada.
The Toyota Sienna hybrid cable corrosion lawsuit was filed by two owners.
New York plaintiff Mark Chatwin purchased a new 2023 Toyota Sienna XSE/AWD, and Texas plaintiff Gioi (Joey) Nguyen purchased a new 2023 Toyota Sienna SXE 25th Anniversary Edition AWD.
Both plaintiffs contend they learned about the Sienna hybrid cable corrosion online, but the plaintiffs don't claim they took their vehicles to dealers for inspections or repairs even though both vehicles are covered by their original warranties.
The plaintiffs say corrosion on the Sienna hybrid cable connector causes a short-circuit in the connector which may cause noise or distortion when listening to the radio. But the real problem is when the hybrid system allegedly fails and requires replacement of the Sienna hybrid cable.
According to the class action lawsuit, a Sienna owner likely won't notice a problem until a few years have passed as the cable corrosion grows and expands.
"Toyota initially took the position that the cable is covered only by the 3 year/36,000 mile basic warranty; rather than the Toyota Hybrid Related Component Coverage ('Hybrid Component Warranty') which covers defects in materials or workmanship for 8 years/ 100,000 miles or the HV battery warranty which is covered for 10 years from date of first use or 150,000 miles whichever comes first, or even the powertrain warranty which runs for 60 months/60,000 miles." — Toyota Sienna hybrid class action lawsuit
The lawsuit alleges when the fourth-generation Toyota Sienna hybrid first came out, Toyota’s press release issued in October 2020 misrepresented that “the powertrain warranty covers all hybrid-related components.” However, the plaintiffs claim that was not accurate.
"The cost to replace the cable results in repair bills in the range of $4,200 to $8,000 which are routinely charged to the customer because the basic warranty has expired by the time these expensive repairs must be performed to operate the vehicle." — Toyota Sienna hybrid cable lawsuit
The Toyota Sienna cable corrosion lawsuit also argues the owner's manuals and warranty booklets do not assert the hybrid cables, harnesses or connectors should ever be inspected or maintained.
Toyota allegedly knew or should have known the Sienna hybrid minivans were defective before the vehicles were first sold. The plaintiffs contend this is especially true because other hybrid models had the same cable corrosion problems.
If you're in New Jersey and own, lease or have owned or have leased an affected Toyota Sienna, the attorneys would like to speak with you.
The Toyota Sienna hybrid cable corrosion class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey: Chatwin, et al., v. Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Nagel Rice, LLP, and Joseph Santoli, Esq.
