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.
When open or close the driver side front door, there is a loud popping sound. The weld-on hinge between the door and the body is broken. Toyota dealership informed us that the problem will deteriorate in the coming days. The door will swing freely when open, potentially hit people and other cars near by. The window on the door may get stuck and not able to be opened or closed. Toyota was aware of this problem as early as 2007. It issued two warranty extensions but told the owners to keep the warranty letter in file if the problem did not occur. I followed Toyota's instruction and kept my warranty extension in file since the symptom in my car did not occur at the time. However, when the problem did occur last month, Toyota refused to honor it, claiming the warranty has expired and I am no longer covered. They did offer $350 towards the repair but I would like to get your help to cover the full repair cost. This is a crystal clear case of a problem caused by an inherit manufacture defect. Toyota should have issued an unconditional recall and fixed it for all impacted customers because of its safety consequences. Instead, they kept extending the warranty, hoping older cars expires before this problem was uncovered. Please note that this is a well known problem and other Sienna customers have described the same problem and symptoms that my dealership described (see https://www.facebook.com/pages/Toyota-Sienna-van-door-weld-issue-creating-popping-noise/101820339938012)
2004 Toyota Sienna. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle sliding door malfunction. The consumer stated the left sliding door came off track, after the cable system malfunctioned. When the door fell down to the side step, it shattered the left rear window.
2004 Toyota Sienna xle limited. Consumer writes in regards to problems with doors on vehicle. The consumer stated the rear lift gate was repaired several times. The consumer was informed there was a recall involving a particular part on the vehicle, and she has been having problems ever since. The consumer stated when she opened the liftgate, it would fly open too quickly and when she closed it, it would essentially crush someone until it finally re-opened. The consumer stated the safety mechanism was clearly faulty. Approximately two weeks ago, the left rear sliding door became difficult to open and close.
One rear sliding door comes open after latching (once when the Sienna had started moving) and can only be securely closed by an adult standing outside of the door, pushing when it latches and quickly hitting the power locks. The opposite rear sliding door: After it fully opens, it "bounces back" and begins to close again. A child cannot stop it; an adult must stand there and use full force to stop it from closing. There has been more than one incident where a child was nearly caught by the closing door and only missed injury when his mother simultaneously pushed him back into the vehicle and put herself between the moving door and the body of the Sienna. Originally this was happening intermittently but is now nearly constant. Originally Toyota denied knowledge of an issue, and then sent a "Toyota cares" warranty enhancement notice for 04-07 Siennas with this issue. Broadway Toyota required that we pay for an hour of labor ($95) to check out the problem, and says that it isn't covered on one side because it is a different part than what is covered (although the problem is the same) and on the other unless we have cosmetic damage repaired first, and then perhaps not the other side either. So they made money and did nothing and we still have a dangerous vehicle. Updated 03/12/13
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the rear sliding door malfunctioned and became very difficult to open. The contact mentioned that the latch would not release to open and the handle broke after trying to pull the door open. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not offer any assistance. The dealer referred the contact to NHTSA. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 120,000 and the current mileage was 160,000.
- Moreno Valley , CA, USA
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The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that when depressing the button to activate the sliding door, there was an abnormal noise but the door would not open. The door could only be opened manually. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was told that the door lock actuator needed to be replaced. The failure mileage was 102,085 and the current mileage was 122,055. Updated 07/06/12 updated 07/17/12
The passenger power sliding door began making a terrible noise. When we looked into the matter, we saw that the mechanism that controls this is a cable that is exposed to the elements. The cable had rusted and snapped. This is obviously a very poor design and should be recalled.
The cable on the automatic sliding door frayed and broke, preventing the door from securely closing. For that day, the door would slide open or shut depending on how I drove and the angle of the terrain. Then later in the day, the door would not close at all. I was able to slide it shut about halfway and then it would get stuck. I figured out that the broken cable was getting tangled in the door, preventing it from closing so I had to cut the cable to close the door. A loose door like this is dangerous because it is heavy and would sometimes slide back on the kids. This door is a very heavy door and can easily hurt someone. The cost to repair is prohibitive so we have had to switch the door to be used manually, but sometimes it still does not lock in place in the open position.
Power sliding door locks and wont open. Its a simple power door lock, when malfunction, no one can open the door, and its serious risk hazard. Toyota dealer charges $700 to repair a door because they say the warranty over after 30K miles.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the passenger sliding door would not remain closed and the latch would not catch. The vehicle was repaired twice by the dealer but the failure continued to recur. The contact called the manufacturer after the third failure who offered to cover the cost of the part and the contact would be liable for the labor costs. The vehicle was scheduled for a third repair. The current mileage was approximately 64,000 and the failure mileage was approximately 24,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact was parked on an incline with the rear driver window opened. The rear sliding door was engaged but would not latch in the open position. The door began to involuntarily close and would not remain in the open position. The contact stated the failure would only occur when the rear driver window was opened. The failure would occur whether on an incline or a flat surface. There was not a recall for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 68,000 and the current mileage was 70,400.
Fax on behalf of re safety concern with his 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan, during winter months sliding doors freeze shut; reply attn caroline/nyc office. When the temperature fell during the winter months, the sliding doors would freeze shut and they could not be opened from the outside or inside. The only way for the consumers children to enter the vehicle, was through the rear hatch.
The right automatic rear passenger door in my 2004 Toyota Sienna malfunctioned suddenly, rendering it totally inoperable. It would not close all the way. Then it would not open. The dealer got it closed and said it would be $2,000 to repair and that they could not assure me that it's current closed state is safe. The hazard is that the only door for passengers to exit now is the same side as the gas intake, so if there is ever a fire, all passengers will have to climb over and out the front doors. The defective door (it appears to be metal fatigue -- on a 5 year old car!) is impossible to open at all. I have read online of many, many instances such as this. In some cases, both rear passenger doors have failed with the passenger occupants trapped inside.
Defective sliding door and cable on 2004 Toyota Sienna: Recently, a cable that allows the side door(s) of the vehicle to open and close automatically, snapped in half. This very well could have snapped in half while a person was standing near the vehicle, creating a serious injury. With the cable now broken in half, the door(s) now will not latch properly when either the vehicle remote or the side door control(s) in the vehicle are depressed. This now creates a very hazardous situation. The side door(s) are also prone to freezing shut in the winter. Until adequate thawing is completed, door(s) will remain frozen shut, allowing for limited access in and out of vehicle. Upon noticing these problems, I took to the internet to find a resolution and found that is more that just a rare occurrence, but a legitimate problem. If you could please visit townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.F0eb3fd you will find recent blogging of these issues. A tsb number of, 0085-09, was also noted on the blog indicating this problem. Any help that you can give to help resolve these matters would greatly be appreciated.
The contact owns 2004 Toyota Sienna. She stated that while driving 10 mph when she made right turns, the open door light illuminated for the left rear sliding door. The week after the light illuminated she was unable to latch the door shut. She took the vehicle to the dealer and the dealer diagnosis located the failure as the bolts and found that two of them were pulled through the metal sheet and the third bolt was loose. The dealer stated that she needed to take the vehicle to a body shop. The manufacturer stated there were no related recalls and that there was nothing that they could do to assist her. Report 1001129940 was filed with the manufacturer. The vehicle will be repaired. The current and the failure mileages were 75,319. Updated 02/01/10 updated 02/02/10.
The contact owns 2004 Toyota Sienna. While parked on a downward incline, the rear driver sliding power door opened and then abruptly closed. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The technician ordered the latch assembly because the bottom door latch had fractured. The failure mileage was 60,000. The current mileage was 60,500. Updated 12/09/09 updated 12/10/09.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While attempting to open the passenger side door with the door handle, the contact noticed that the cable under the rear window snapped due to corrosion. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the central hinge needed to be replaced. The current and failure mileages were 95,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that both the driver and passenger rear sliding door locks were defective. Previously, one of the doors came off track and caused the glass to shatter. The dealer repaired the door and glass. On July 1, 2008, the contact's children were trapped in the vehicle because he could not unlock the doors. The children had to be removed from the vehicle through the front driver and passenger side windows. The dealer reprogrammed the computer. The manufacturer was notified, but they did not take a report. The current and failure mileages were 60,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle the passenger sliding door disengaged which caused damaged to the body of the vehicle. The contact felt that rusted cables caused the failure. The current and failure mileages were 103,000. Updated 07/08/08.
I started having trouble completely closing the driver's side sliding door on my 2004 Toyota Sienna. It has a broken latch mechanism (the door is manual, not power). The latch is held in place in the door with three bolts. Two of them have sheared out of the metal of the door.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Belle Mead, NJ, USA