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.
Our 2004 Toyota Sienna xle, power sliding doors will not open, or latch closed all the way. It occurred during a cold spell in our area, and we haven't been able to fix it yet. It is a safety hazard, and extremely difficult to get my infant and my other children in and out of the van when both doors won't open. Neither will open with the power buttons in the car, the buttons on our keys, or manually. There has been no way to get them open, and since they aren't latched closed, the van can't be locked, and when I drive it continuously beeps, alerting me to the "open" doors while I am driving. Once again, I would like to emphasize how unsafe this is, as if there was an emergency, there would be no quick way that I, or any emergency personnel could get any passengers out of the back seats quickly and efficiently. Apparently it costs more than $1200 per door for the dealer to fix the problem.
I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan. It has two power sliding rear doors that use a cable to open and shut. Over the past few months there has been a grinding noise coming from both doors and recently, one of the cables finally snapped, resulting in the door to be unusable. I am being told by Toyota this is a $1200 repair as the whole door mechanism needs to be replaced, despite the fact the only problem is the snapped cable. This repair is only for one of the doors. The other cable looks as if it could snap soon, at which point it will be an additional $1200 to repair. My understanding of the issue is that the cable had a plastic coating that deteriorates over time. The coating becomes dry and brittle over time, causing it to crack and fall off the wire, leaving the wires completely vulnerable to getting wet, rust, freeze, etc, also rubbing extensively unprotected against the gears. As the bare cable is exposed to the elements, it weakens and the whole cable snaps, making the door jam altogether. After reading some information on the internet, it seems this is a common problem with many Toyota Sienna vans and this issue should be the subject of a recall.
2004 Sienna driver's door began to creak and then had difficulty opening and closing. Inspection showed the weld broke. It was not reported until two weeks after the warranty was out, and the Toyota extended warranty wouldn't cover it. They quoted 2,000 to 2,500 to fix it. They said this problem has been occurring, but only on the driver's side. When you hear the cracking sound, take it in right away.
Power sliding doors fail to open, primarily in cold weather. The vehicle was taken to the dealership about 10 times. Fist they "could not duplicate the problem", then when I was able to show it to them, they could not fix it. Eventually the manufacturer sent a factory engineer to check the vehicle. He had the door seal replaced. That helped for a few weeks, now it's doing it again. I took it back today they said that they did all that they can, although there is nothing more that they can do for me.
My 2004 Toyota Sienna has had issues with the sliding doors ever since I have owned it. A couple of years into ownership the cable on the motorized door (passenger side) became slipped off its track, making closing the door impossible. The cable had to be snapped, converting the door to a manual door, so that the car could be locked and secured. The cost of repair was excessive (for me), thereby making this temporary solution a permanent one. The greater problem resides in operation of both rear sliding doors in cold weather. Whenever it's cold, the doors stick and cannot be opened. The safety concerns are twofold. Primarily, I am concerned that my children cannot be efficiently removed from the car, in the event of an accident. The other day, it was so cold, I actually snapped the door handle off the vehicle, attempting to open it. Indirectly, I am also concerned about instructing my children to enter the car, via the front doors, and to climb over the front seats. Without adult presence, any child could inadvertently kick the (automatic) gear shifter into reverse or drive, thereby endangering an person who might be in front or in back of the vehicle. In areas where one is accustomed to start a vehicle and leave it running to warm up, albeit it's very remotely possible, there could be a tragic outcome. Personally, I will take steps to prevent this, but I can see others not anticipating this outcome. I have become aware of a number of Sienna owners who have experienced various problems with these doors, and I am greatly concerned about not being able to open doors that have been frozen shut. I have to think there is a design flaw here that needs to be remedied by Toyota. Yet, other Sienna owners hear the same thing that I do, specifically that we need to keep throwing money at the problem to keep the cars maintained and that it's not Toyota's responsibility.
- Marion, MA, USA
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The cable on the automatic drivers side sliding door of our 2004 Toyota Sienna snapped. This rendered the door unable to close until getting it to the dealership.
Toyota Sienna 2004. Automatic right side door progressively getting harder and harder for motor to close & latch properly. A week ago, vehicle was parked on a slight decline. My child opened door, the door reclined 75% then, in a manual mode, reversed and started closing rapidly. Had his hand or foot been in the way, it would have crushed the limb. Dealer said, 'this is a $1200 - $1700 repair not covered by Toyota at this time" and that a motor and cabling, both located internally to the door, would have to be replaced. I feel this is a safety issue and Toyota ought to be forced to repair it.
We own a 2004 Toyota Sienna. Both sliding doors fail to open. These doors have been serviced at least once previously. There was no accident giving rise to this condition.
I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna with electric sliding side doors. The passenger side sliding door locked open today and would not move. My wife was taking children to school. It was very cold. I took the van to the Toyota dealer and they said it would be near $2000 to repair it. They had to cut the door cable so we could operate it manually. This is unacceptable. I own two Toyota's and was planning to buy more. They need to recall this issue as I have read many similar stories.
Automatic sliding passenger side door cable broke. Door will not open or close. Occupants are trapped in vehicle. Must climb over front seat or out drivers side sliding door (which also broke) to egress vehicle.
Driver side sliding door will not stay locked and latched. The fasteners that hold the locking mechanism place pulled through the door sheet metal. Dealer states it cannot be fixed and a new door would be needed at $3500. Door can open at any time.
1. power sliding door worked. 2. went to operate power door, loud sound of plastic breaking, door would not open or close completely. 3. at home saw that cable to operate power sliding door had snapped. Called dealer said they wouldn't do anything, out of warranty. Called Toyota said isolated case sorry can't do anything. Cut cable so I was able operate door manually. Approx. 1 year later cable on other door snapped. Same process, same response.
Toyota Sienna le 2004 passenger side power sliding door does not work as intended. It can only be operated from the outside by pulling the handle and getting the door started. None of the remote buttons will cause the door to open. The door can not be opened from the inside of the car.
The cable which opens and closes the left side sliding door broke. The door jammed and would only open about 6 to 8 inches. The dealer told me that the cable was rusted through.
2004 Toyota Sienna sliding doors malfunctioning. Over time, the doors appear to wear out and will not open from the inside or the outside of the vehicle. They cannot be opened manually or by using the power operation feature. The dealer was able to open it and adjust it but told us that it will happen again unless we paid approximately $1200 per door to replace the worn parts. We are concerned about getting trapped in the vehicle.
The passenger and driver side middle (sliding) doors of our 2004 Toyota Sienna have frozen shut each winter for 5 years. After melting free the drivers side door came suddenly open a few times while we were driving down the road. Now the automatic open/close has stopped working at all.
The power sliding door of our 2004 Sienna stopped working when the cable snapped. It worked manually for a while but is now shut and will not open at all. The cost to repair is outrageous and I am concerned in an accident that disables the doors on the left side that my children will not be able to exit the vehicle.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Spokane, WA, USA