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 contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated the sliding interior door on the driver's side would not release open whenever accessing manually. In November of 2011, the sliding door would only release open or close with substantial force exerted and over a period of time the malfunction progressed. The contact planned to take the vehicle to authorized dealer for diagnosis and repair. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 122,000.
Driver side passenger side manual door will open but will not close. Internal latch appears to be broken or loose causing the door not close properly. Car is undriveable as door will not close.
Power locked up due to metal wire connecting it to the motor is shredded. The metal wire has some black coating that has worn off and the metal exposed looks rusted and caused it to break. The door can only open partially causing ingress issues.
- Basking Ridge, NJ, USA
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Cable snapped on right hand power sliding door opener. The cable protective coating had shown signs of cracking and allowing the cable to rust and ultimately fail.. the door would not open and close properly until the cable was cut. The cost to repair this through the dealer is approximately $1800! the part alone is $1200! the fact that there is a recall for "rusted tire cable" that presents a hazard, leaves me to believe that Toyota did not adequately test their cables that are exposed to road salt conditions. I would have no problem replacing the faulty component if the price was somewhat reasonable..
Please note that the door hinges are no longer welded. According to 3 repair centers and Toyota dealer stated that this has been a common repair but that my car is no longer under warranty. This is a defect as the auto shop that I am speaking with regarding my car has had about 3 to 4 vans (including mine) with this issue. My repair will cost approximately $315 plus or minus. Toyota should have a recall on this instead of just labeling and categorizing it as "service bulletin" instead of a "recall". there are multiple ODI cases listed in this website. What are we going to do about this issue? I have taken good care of my car and feel I do not have to be responsible for repairs out of my control. Both front doors should be serviced under a recall notification. Thank you,
Driver's side sliding door cable is frayed and has apparently jammed the mechanism such that the door is stuck half-open (I'm an optimist or I'd have said half-closed).
The drivers side sliding door failed in the open position due to a corroded/parted wire in the door motor assembly. The door wouldn't close and van had to be transported to the dealer for repair. The passenger side door experienced a similar failure in mid 2011. This is an unsafe, but all too common problem with Toyota Siennas.
The power sliding door on the passenger side stopped working. The buttons do not open or close the door. The door is so heavy that it cannot be opened or closed easily. The cable that moves the door snapped and visible (hanging outside the body). We had the extended warranty for 7 years and the car was serviced regularly, but this problem occurred after the extended warranty expired. The dealer says the whole motor, not just the cable, should be replaced, asking for more than $1500 for parts and repair. Snapped cable, loose and visible moving parts outside the body of the van, and a heavy and hard to operate "power" door present a safety problem, especially with the kids going in and out of the passenger side sliding door. I would appreciate it if you could take a closer look at the issue and have Toyota own up to its design problems. This issue has its own forums online, has its own facebook page and it seems that Toyota will not listen one customer at a time.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while parked, he noticed that the dashboard was cracked along where the front passenger side air bag was located. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for a diagnostic test and the technician stated that the dashboard would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was concerned that the crack on the dashboard may have a negative affect on the deployment of the air bag if involved in a crash. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000. Updated 02/13/12
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the automatic rear lift gate would not stay open when using the automatic system or when opened manually. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the rear door stay kit was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 110,000 and the current mileage was 123,000.
The left power sliding door on my Sienna failed. While out on errand with a friend's child, I could not shut the power sliding door. Had to drive to my home with the child strapped into their carseat in the back and the door open. Took it to dealership and they said the motor failed and it would cost $1900+ to fix the power or $300 to turn in into manual door. Husband looked on internet, found instructions to take door apart and fixed himself as this was a very, very common problem. Sure enough, the problem was not the motor, you can hear it run to this day, and it was the cable used to slide the door - there was stripped plastic shielding bunched up on the cable which kept the door from running on the cable. This is very dangerous as the door did not respond to the power button and would trap a child in it. Second issue is the weld on the driver's side door making popping sounds. My husband looked and the weld was coming off and the metal underneath the weld had actually torn!! he took the welded piece off so that the door would be operational. Once again, the door can close unexpectedly on a small child without warning without door being replaced. Third issue is the sonar which comes and goes without warning. I try to leave my sonar on all the time, but in process of backing up, will realize the sonar has turned itself off. It comes and goes-sometimes will just beep on and off and on and off while driving down the street without anyone else around the car. Fourth issue is when the car is cold, the back hatch door will rise and then immediately come down forcefully on your head (it runs with a motor). All of these issues are listed all over the internet as problems with this car and everyone is told by Toyota that is you don't have a current warranty, they will not fix it for free. These are design flaws and safety issues!!!!
I would like to file a complaint about Toyota failing to take full responsibility for a manufacturing defect in the front doors of their Sienna minivan. Like thousands of other Toyota Sienna owners, the welds on my door have failed and now the door must be completely replaced at a cost of more than $2000. Toyota covered this failure for just 5 years and did not notify owners during the coverage period that they should have this manufacturing defect repaired. I have complained to Toyota, but they have refused to cover the cost of this defect. There was nothing I could do in the repair and maintenance of my vehicle that would have prevented these welds from failing. The fault lies with Toyota manufacturing practices at the time my van was built and the cost should lie with them as well.
The spot welds for the "check strap" on the driver's side, front door of my Sienna have failed. Toyota headquarters advised me that they recognize that there is a problem and they have expanded their warranty to 5 years/100,000 miles to cover it. Unfortunately, my 2004 Sienna is beyond the limits of the expanded warranty. I do not understand why this is not a "safety recall" issue covering every impacted Toyota Sienna. Clearly this problem has serious safety implications. Without this "check strap" in place, the door can unexpectedly swing shut on a person causing serious injury, particularly if it slams into a child. Also, there are additional safety issues associated with a car door that can swing open freely. How can the NHTSA possibly allow Toyota to get away with correcting this safety issue on some but not all of the defective Sienna models involved?
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the dashboard was fractured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not repaired. The contact stated that the dealer could not confirm that in the event of a crash, the air bags would operate as designed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While parked, the contact noticed a crack on the passenger side dashboard where the front air bag was located. The contact stated that pieces of the dashboard were detaching from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing where the technicians stated to the contact that the dashboard would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the dashboard was defective. The dashboard was cracked near the air bag area and the contact was concerned that the failure could cause a disruption in air bag deployment in the event of a crash. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 114,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact noticed there was a crack in the dashboard that extended to the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic. The technician stated the dashboard would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 26,000.
Passenger side automatic sliding door requires manual force to assist electric motor during opening and closing. Door appears out of vertical alignment and impacts car frame during opening procedure. Exposed metal occurs where door has rubbed paint off of frame.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Ellicott City, MD, USA