This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The push-button on the inside of the sliding side-doors fails to release. In the case the door is unlocked, this prevents to door from closing. If the door is locked, the button does not release, keeping the door from being unlocked and thus the door cannot be opened.
The push-button on the inside of the sliding side-doors fails to release. In the case the door is unlocked, this prevents to door from closing. If the door is locked, the button does not release, keeping the door from being unlocked and thus the door cannot be opened. This can be remedied by sliding a flat blade under the button to release it. This affects the 1998 Toyota Sienna.
Door handles on all doors have broken off. In case of accident, there would be no way to enter the vehicle from the outside. Rear sliding doors also stick and again do not allow entry or exit from the vehicle without use of a lot of strength which is dangerous for children in back of van.
1998 Toyota Sienna sliding door on left and right get stuck and will not open. In case of accident or fire my grandchildren would not be able to get out. Rear door handle broke off in my hand which would create the same hazard of not being able to exit. I've had this problem since I bought the car, and they have never been able to fix it even though they have tried. There are many complaints about thiis very problem from Sienna owners. This will definitely cost someone's life.
- Lawrenceville, GA, USA
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We have a 1998 Toyota Sienna. For several years we have had problems opening the rear passenger doors because of faulty springs on the door buttons. Now the vehicle spews out blue smoke when starting up or accelerating. The oil is also sludgey. We took it to the dealer after hearing that the blue smoke problem is a recall issue, but the dealer wants proof of all oil changes, even though I change the oil and filter myself. A friend around the corner has the same problems with the faulty doors.
I have had multiple problems with both sliding doors on my minivan. I had rattles fixed on 3 separate occassions and recently took the van in because the driver side sliding door would not open without putting the weight of my body behind it. The dealer shrugged it off by saying there was a coke spilled in the door. The dealer cleaned "the coke" and the door is still sticking shut. Now the tailhatch handle has broken off and I can no longer open the tailgate. I have also had problems with the suspension. The van feels like the front wheels are pulling to one side. I have had it aligned on numerous occasions and the dealer says there is nothing wrong. The other day it felt like the front wheel was going to fall off. I have also had the brakes worked on (at my expense) because the dealer said I left the parking brake on all the time. I no longer leave the parking brake on and the brakes are beginning to sqeek and squeal again.
Power sliding door on both sides of vehicle jamming, can't open door from inside or outside, even when trying manually it will not open. Dealer contacted. Please add VIN.
The sliding door on the passenger side does not open unless someone kicks the bottom or it is opened from the outside of the vehicle. The locking mechanism is off also. Took to dealer. The problem has not been remedied as of yet. Nlm
On 18 separate ocassions our Sienna minivan's automatic door locks toggles lock and unlock by themselves. At one point our 5 yr old and 2 yr old were locked in the van. I had gotten out of the driver side, shut my door and before I could open the driver side sliding door, the locks locked me out. I had to call my wife to bring her keys so we could unlock the van. Of course my children were frightened and thank goodness the ac was running as this was during a hot summer day. The locks continue "freaking out" but we no longer shut the door if we have to get out with the van running. I've contacted our local Toyota dealer and all they said is I would have to pay all parts, labor and troubleshooting to find and repair the problem. And of course my 7 year, 100K mile expensive extended warranty does not cover this. Being that this has turned into a safety hazard, my question is; should I have to pay upwards of $300 for the dealer to repair a safety hazard which I feel the manufacturer should issue a recall for? I am very much relieved that cbs news aired a story about this very same problem. Thank you for your concern in this matter. Sincerely, [xxx]. parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Consumer stated the sliding door button gets jammed inside, as a result the door cannot be locked, or the door becomes locked when button gets stuck, and the door will not open, dealer advised consumer that sliding door will need to be replaced at the consumers expense..
When both sliding door are unlocked and consumer pushes button in to open door, button gets jammed and doors do not unlock. Contacted dealer, and dealer did some cable adjustment. But remedy did not work. Dealer has attempted to fix problem 3 times.
Two door problems: (1) driver and passenger side hinged doors periodically will not open, regardless of whether remote, manual, or electrical push button is used. They just freeze shut. (2) sliding door on drivers' side will not open, sometimes not at all and sometimes not more than an inch or two. The inability to open is an inability to open from either inside or outside the vehicle. It occurs mostly in hot weather. Dealer unable to duplicate problem, so Toyota not much help. Seems very dangerous to us - not being able to exit the vehicle.
My 13 year old daughter went to open the driver side sliding door and it caught in the track and fell off. That's right, fell off! Toyota's customer assistance program was no help at all.after about 10 days of pleading my case, the dealership did the right thing and repaired the track-they straightened it out instead of replacing it. The door works fine and it didn't cost me a penny. But the point is Toyota never listened to me as to how it occurred. They said I must have tried to forcibly open the door when I was fueling the vehicle, and it just simply did not happen like that. I'm an engineer and understand the safety stop they have built into the car. So you can't slide the door open when fueling. I never ever did that. Please contact me so I can go into more detail.
- Bay Shore, NY, USA
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- San Ramon, CA, USA