This hatch door falling down in my 2004 Sienna is a dangerous problem. The hatch door is heavy and the first time I began noticing it was falling down was in Feb 2014. So hard to lift and hits me on the head when I try to shoulder it up or prop it up to get in the back Hydraulic holders/suspenders seem to be the problem, but I am not a mechanic.
What a royal pain. The power liftgate quit working and since we were camping I had to get someone to hold the heavy thing up while I packed and unpacked it. My kids are too small to hold the liftgate up and they like to carry toys and bikes in the back so I've been struggling to hold up the very heavy liftgate and try and hoist my kids bikes and toys in. My back is very sore. I almost fell over when I found out the Toyota parts alone to fix the problem were $550!
I thought Toyota was supposed to be an excellent product. My old 97 Dodge Grande Caravan I had before my Sienna never had a liftgate problem and I paid 10 times more for the Sienna! What gives!
I had my manual liftback struts 04008-012AE replaced today, but the dealer used the struts for the powered liftback 04008-11AE. The service tech was adamant that there was only one type of strut. The rear liftback quickly pops open and rocks the car with such a force, when it reaches the full open position. Someone posted a earlier complaint. Thanks for posting. I would have never known that there was a difference between a manual and powered strut. The service tech said that the problem would get better over time. I will bring the Sienna back this evening wish me luck.
Toyota recalled the power struts on the rear hatch/door of my 04 Sienna. We had never had any problems, but we took it in and had the recalled part replaced anyway. In December 2010, the new struts failed and the door slammed down on me. There was no damage to my van, but the door slammed onto my head and has caused a great deal of bodily injury. I am now in month 3 of physical therapy and rehabilitation. The part that was used to replace the recalled parts now needs to be recalled!!!
Just letting everyone know this mechanical problem was corrected before the recall came but it took two tries because they first put on the "manual" liftgates instead of the "powered" one. When it occurred to them is when I told them it fell on my back as I was putting groceries in the back. Luckily it came down slowly and caused a minor discomfort in the back only and not a severe injury. That's when the service manager realized his mechanic didn't realize there was a difference between a "manual" and "power" operated liftgate strut. It's a sad day when you don't have a mechanic that has some common sense.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
This hatch door falling down in my 2004 Sienna is a dangerous problem. The hatch door is heavy and the first time I began noticing it was falling down was in Feb 2014. So hard to lift and hits me on the head when I try to shoulder it up or prop it up to get in the back Hydraulic holders/suspenders seem to be the problem, but I am not a mechanic.
- mdms, Biloxi, MS, US