The interior release buttons for both sliding doors stick "in" and are very difficult to pop out again. Until the button pops out, if the door is open it will not latch closed; if it is closed, it cannot be opened. Both situations could be extremely dangerous.
This problem showed up before the vehicle's very first regular service and, despite several tries by Toyota, has never been completely fixed. It is worst in the summer, so appears to be related somehow to parts that move against each other and rub worse when they get hot. The first dealer I took it to for service said they could only make it happen if the door was locked when they pushed the button, so the solution was never to try opening the door when it was locked. ... Yes, thank you, I will make sure that everyone who ever gets in the back knows that when there is an emergency and they are desperately trying to get out in the shortest time possible, they should stop and check whether the door is locked first.
I have never gone back to that dealer.
A complaint to Toyota about their complete lack of interest in a hazardous problem resulted in the other Albuquerque dealer calling me, so I started having the servicing done by them. For years they would disassemble the release handles and lube everything, which would help briefly, but the problem always recurred. Eventually, after it was well off warranty, a service tech told me that a Toyota bulletin had been issued WHILE THE WARRANTY WAS STILL IN EFFECT saying to simply replace the whole assembly. After much arguing, and a complete refusal by Toyota corporate to do the work for free despite years of records showing it had been reported at almost every service during the warranty period, the dealer agreed to eat the cost (about $500).
Unfortunately, while the replacement improved the problem considerably, it has not entirely gone away. On hot days - and we get a lot of those where I live - the buttons are still prone to sticking in, but they are much easier to pop out than they used to be so it is not as severe. As far as I can tell, the problem is simply not fixable, but it can now be put up with.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
The interior release buttons for both sliding doors stick "in" and are very difficult to pop out again. Until the button pops out, if the door is open it will not latch closed; if it is closed, it cannot be opened. Both situations could be extremely dangerous.
This problem showed up before the vehicle's very first regular service and, despite several tries by Toyota, has never been completely fixed. It is worst in the summer, so appears to be related somehow to parts that move against each other and rub worse when they get hot. The first dealer I took it to for service said they could only make it happen if the door was locked when they pushed the button, so the solution was never to try opening the door when it was locked. ... Yes, thank you, I will make sure that everyone who ever gets in the back knows that when there is an emergency and they are desperately trying to get out in the shortest time possible, they should stop and check whether the door is locked first.
I have never gone back to that dealer.
A complaint to Toyota about their complete lack of interest in a hazardous problem resulted in the other Albuquerque dealer calling me, so I started having the servicing done by them. For years they would disassemble the release handles and lube everything, which would help briefly, but the problem always recurred. Eventually, after it was well off warranty, a service tech told me that a Toyota bulletin had been issued WHILE THE WARRANTY WAS STILL IN EFFECT saying to simply replace the whole assembly. After much arguing, and a complete refusal by Toyota corporate to do the work for free despite years of records showing it had been reported at almost every service during the warranty period, the dealer agreed to eat the cost (about $500).
Unfortunately, while the replacement improved the problem considerably, it has not entirely gone away. On hot days - and we get a lot of those where I live - the buttons are still prone to sticking in, but they are much easier to pop out than they used to be so it is not as severe. As far as I can tell, the problem is simply not fixable, but it can now be put up with.
- nmgyrl, Albuquerque, NM, US