There are plenty of car features that just sit around collecting dust like auxiliary plugs in a Bluetooth world. But there’s only one feature that has that one job. It’s among the most convenient options available today – minivan vacuums.
When it’s available, that is. Supplier issues have now forced two of America’s best-selling minivans to drop integrated vacuums from their lineups.
The problem has hit Toyota and Honda, but not, so far, Chrysler.
The Toyota Sienna is entirely new for the 2021 model year, and the company had planned to offer the vacuum as standard equipment on its mid-tier Limited and top-tier Platinum trim levels. But the vacuum’s supplier, Shop-Vac, shuttered its doors last September amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Shop-Vac never re-opened, going out of business shortly after laying off most of its 430-strong workforce in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Toyota is working on finding a new supplier and still plans to bring the feature to market, spokesperson Nathan Kokes tells us. A date isn’t yet available.
The same sucky problem hit the 2021 Honda Odyssey, forcing Honda into a very strange move. The company offers its Shop-Vac-built HondaVac on the Elite trim level of the 2021 Odyssey, but it’s is not yet available on the 2022 Odyssey. So, facing a shortage of vacuums, Honda moved the 2022 version’s release date all the way up to January of 2021.
“The timing of model year introductions varies from model to model for a number of reasons, some of which are out of their control. We pulled forward the introduction of the model year 2022 Odyssey primarily due to the discontinuation of the HondaVac feature in the Odyssey Elite at the conclusion of the 2021 model year based on a supplier issue,” a company spokesperson explained.
Supplier may reopen
There may be help on the way for both Honda and Toyota – GreatStar Tools USA has purchased Shop-Vac, and announced plans to re-open the Williamsport plant and rehire employees who lost their jobs in the pandemic. No date for the relaunch has been announced.
So, what should shoppers do if no onboard vacuum is a dealbreaker? We’re not judging, by the way. If you’ve had a toddler who knows how to hide the crust of a peanut butter and jelly, you’ve seen (and smelled) some dark things. A solution readily at hand sounds like a miracle.
And you can have one – if you buy a Chrysler Pacifica. Chrysler’s internal Stow ‘n’ Vac system comes from Elyria, Ohio-based RIDGID Tools, which is weathering the pandemic so far. Spokesperson Darren Jacobs says the company has seen no shortage of its vacuum supply.
