Japanese automaker Toyota said Friday it will recall around 600,000 Sienna minivans in the United States, to address potential corrosion in the spare tire carrier cable.

"This condition may appear on certain 1998 through 2010 model year Siennas that have been operated in cold climate areas with high road salt use," Toyota's US subsidiary said in a statement posted on its website. It said road salts may corrode the carrier cable.

"In the worst case, the carrier cable may fail and the spare tire could become separated from the vehicle, a road hazard for following vehicles that increases the likelihood of a crash," it said.

The recall of the Sienna raises the number of Toyota's US vehicle recalls to around 6.6 million since November, 2009, according to the Detroit News.

Toyota is working on a remedy for the corrosion problem. In the meanwhile, it will write to customers, asking them to bring Siennas to their dealers for a preliminary inspection.

Once the remedy has been developed, Toyota will notify customers again.

Vehicles sold or currently registered in several cold climate states, including Michigan, are covered by the recall.

(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2010)