Toyota Recalls 310,000 Minivans Over Rollaway Risk

Image courtesy of Mike Mozart

When you park your car, you expect for it to stay parked. Yet, that might not happen in nearly 310,000 Toyota minivans that may contain an extra greasy shift lever.

Toyota announced Wednesday the recall of 310,000 model year 2005 to 2007 and 2009 to 2010 Sienna minivans after discovering an issue with the shifting lever.

According to the carmaker, grease inside the shift lever — that thing that makes your car go from park to neutral, driver, or reverse — can transfer to internal components, causing them to function improperly.

This could allow the shift lever to be moved out of the “park” position without the brake pedal being depressed.

If this occurs when the parking brake isn’t engaged, it could lead the vehicle to roll away, increasing the risk of crash.

It is unclear if Toyota has received any injury or crash reports related to the issue.

Consumerist has reached out to the carmaker for additional information.

Owners of the affected vehicles will be notified of the recall by mid-December, and dealers will replace the shift lock with a new one, remove grease, and reapply the appropriate amount of grease.

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