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.
Traction control beeps and brakes hard at unnecessary times, even on freeway on ramps, endangering the occupants and other cars. Repeated trips to mechanics have failed to cure the problem. This has been going on for several years and occurs every day.
Vehicle stability system engaging brakes unexpectly during turns placing van in unsafe condition. Unexpected braking can also occur at 65 mph in a turn!
I am having a massive problem with my vsc. Randomly, regardless of speeds (it's happened going 70 as well as 25, and 40 mph), my vsc will kick on, kill my speed, and cause me to swerve. As you can imagine, going 70 on an interstate with other vehicles around and having this happen is life threatening not only to me and my family but other vehicles around me. Reading on several auto forums, this problem has been drawn to the attention of Toyota corporate to no avail. It is absolutely beyond me that they see no reason to file a recall.
When I drive my van the vsc and trac off lights come on intermittently and cause the vehicle to bog down and pull towards oncoming traffic. I took my van to the dealership and they suggested replacing the steering sensor. We replaced the sensor and the problem persists. With no codes coming up they say they can't fix my van. It happens while driving around corners at 35 mph mostly but has also happened a few times on the freeway at 70. All times it has happened so far has been on dry pavement. Toyota doesn't seem to think that there is really a problem since no codes are coming up on their code reader. Due to the frequency of the issue I am having it could be disastrous and end up in a head-on collision. How come this vehicle hasn't been recalled. I have included a photo of my service report from the dealership. Also there are multiple complaints in different forums regarding this same issue and as far as I have read there is really no resolving it.
While driving at 55 mph or faster, generally on a right hand bend, the vsc will activate pulsing the brake and violently pulling the car to the left and towards oncoming traffic. The skid light goes on, and the car beeps until you are out of the turn and then it goes away. This problem has been intermittent for about 6 months but has gotten much worse and more frequent in the previous 2 months. It has been to the dealership several times and they do not know what to do. There are no error codes. The best they can say is "you're going to fast..." which is a wholly unacceptable answer considering we are going the speed of traffic and no more than 0-10 over the speed limit.
Vsc light turned on after front wheel alignment, two dealers cannot make it go off. It appears that stabilization was not working for some time. Light only appeared after alignment procedure. Electronics are part of a $2700 ABS module. ABS works. No indication of the lack of vsc is a safety issue. Others have seen this problem. Apparently Toyota redesigned the system for the next year's model.
I just bought a 2004 Toyota Sienna xle. When driving the vehicle home I experienced the vsc (traction control system) go off with the dash light illuminating, audible tone beeping and brakes automatically applied all while on dry clean road. The first incident I was making a slight right turn to get on an onramp to the freeway. I was traveling at approximately 35mph when the vsc was activated and caused me to veer hard right and almost hit the right onramp rail. The second time I was getting off the freeway I made a slight right turn at about 30mph and the vehicle veered right from the left lane to the middle of the right lane. I took the vehicle to my mechanic and said that he ran diagnostics on the vehicle and there is no error codes in the computer and does not know what the issue is. Mileage is 125,600
The vsc traction control system activates on it's own. Driving the van it automatically comes on and brakes the van, dashboard light and beeping noise comes on. Brakes you automatically causing the van to veer to the right. This malfunctioning devise with the yaw system is continuing after many trips to the local Toyota dealer. They currently have the van and are replacing part after part and the problem still persists. Contacted Toyota headquarters and filed a complaint with them but they say there is no recall on this van. Checked on line and found many other Toyota Sienna owners who are experiencing the same issues as we are. This is a dangerous safety hazard which can cause an accident. As of today's writing the problem has not been diagnosed by Toyota.
When turning in a slight curve on dry surfaces the anti skid control mechanism is activated and the car begins to turn a hard right, it begins to automatically slow down and the internal beeping sound is activated. It is very hard to control the van when it happens and with the automatic slowing of the vehicle if we on a highway I fear we will be rear ended. The internet is full of other 2004 Sienna van owners experiencing the exact same issue. It is very dangerous and scary.
My family and I were traveling on the highway at approximately 70 mph when the traction control/vehicle stability control activated causing a beeping sound along with the dash icon blinking. This in turn locked up the left front tire. The van violently swerved to the left and I luckily gained control and pulled to the side of the highway. I thought I had just experienced a tire blow out, but to my surprise nothing was amiss. My wife was distraught at what had just occurred considering the consequences if a vehicle had been next to us at the time. Now, driving much slower and white-knuckling the steering wheel, we proceeded to the nearest Toyota dealer which was roughly 20 miles away in asheville, nc. Along the way, the incident occurred two more times. Keep in mind that the skies were sunny and the road dry. Arriving at the dealership we waited while the car was looked over. After five hours we were told they could not find anything wrong. I did not accept this and told them that I found hundreds (if not more) of postings on the internet with people having the same incident. I also informed them that Toyota had redesigned the steering angle sensor (yaw) in 2005 and asked if that could be the problem. The service writer excused himself and twenty minutes later returned with a Toyota service bulletin referring to the sensor. They then ordered the new sensor and we rented a car to continue our trip. Returning five days later to pick up the van, we were told the new sensor was installed and a zero point calibration/alignment performed. I paid the $692 and drove away. My wife and son stayed in the rental car, since the A/C had mysteriously stopped working when the initial incident occurred. While following them home, the traction control/vsc activated a total of four more times. No one knows how to fix this problem. Toyota should recall and fix this.
At 108190 miles I had the front end aligned. They attached a snap on analyzer and did a code link computer reset. As I left, the vsc light came on and would not turn off in spite of doing a zero point calibration. I took the vehicle to the Toyota dealer where I bought the van new on 5/8/2003, he ran his diagnostics, got no error codes, and claimed that I needed to replace brake actuator assembly at a cost of $2721. Out of warranty. No recall on this model. Too bad. Others have seen this problem on other 2004 Toyota's. the danger is that after the light is on the vehicle may decide to apply hard braking at any time and at any speed. Toyota redesigned the system in 2005. I am concerned that this will happen to me. Toyota recalled some vehicles with this problem with the vsc system in later models, why not the first year of the problem? I have heard that there is a soft recall for this problem.
The vsc sensor is activating during normal driving conditions without warning. This is causing the van to aggressively apply the brakes and lose acceleration. This issue mainly occurs when turning down while going down hill, however it happens randomly in other instances as well. I have been in several life threatening instances where the brakes are being applied while traveling through mountains with large semi trucks behind me.. nearly causing several accidents. My research points to a few things that could possibly be the culprit: The yaw sensor stearing wheel rotational position sensor vsc computer module this video captures exactly what is happening to my vehicle. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=tgmjafpifko I cannot find any instances where this issue was fixed online
Unexpected vehicle stability control activation while driving resulting in automatic braking and unexpected steering pull. I have been experiencing this issue over the past 4-5 years. There have been times where this issue has led to almost striking vehicles around me. I have brought the vehicle to a Toyota dealership, but they have not been able to fix the issue. On several online bulletin boards, other owners of Toyota Sienna have complained regarding the same issue. I just read in the news that similar issues are occurring on 2001-2002 Toyota sequoia.
My rear door is not working, I have visited two Toyota dealership and they told my the rear lift gate and rear hatch latch both of them needs to be replace. We did that relapacemt. The problem has not being solved, we tried to make the door working manually instead of automatically also this way is not helpful. It looks like we reaching to closed way.
When driving through a turn (more often at highway speeds) the car traction control activates when there is no emergency. This is always accompanied by beeping, flashing tcs light, and sometimes by emergency braking which slows car and takes it off the intended line creating a dangerous situation for the driver and cars nearby.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stability control warning light and trac warning light illuminated intermittently. As a result, the vehicle decelerated independently. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the cable needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.
The vehicle stability system activated while travelling 75 mph on the interstate. The car was travelling on a section of road that curved to the left. Due to the braking action induced by the vsc at the highway speed, the car swerved and almost hit vehicles in the other lanes. The car has exhibited this behavior many times, and there are at least two sections of road where I can make it happen at will. Due to the extreme danger of losing control of the car while it is applying the brakes, I have disabled the vsc system, causing loss of anti-lock brakes, vsc, etc. This is a common problem with a lot of complaints on multiple web sites.
It started a year or so ago the while driving on dry road above 50miles the vsc light would lit with a alarm sound, the van will automatically apply brakes and slow the Sienna. Since this was extra van and we were driving mostly sedans we had and due to business I could not spend any time on it.. now it happens more frequently and it risk our lifes on highway. Upon searching internet various forums came with with problems pertaining only to this year and model, please search (sudden vsc activation) and you will find multiple owner only of 2004 complaining for same issue.. in fact there are to two tsb articles to point to this problem ( tsb-BR001-04 and tsb-BR004-03). I would kindly request to investigate the sudden vsc activation in middle of highway. I have spent money to replace tires, aligment balancing to find the issue is widespread.
The following has happened several times over the past couple years. The latest 2 times were on a ramp at about 25mph coming off an interstate and at about 65mph an interstate. While cornering to the left a fair amount, but well under control, the vsc started alarming and kicked in. When it kicked in, it caused the vehicle to swerve hard to the right as if it had locked up the brakes on the right side of the vehicle. In both cases, the vehicle swerved into an adjacent lane. Had anything been in that lane or had we been in an outside lane, the vcs would have caused a serious accident. Whatever the cause, the vsc in this vehicle is very dangerous. Over the 12 years we've owned the vehicle, it's unlikely that the vsc has come on more than 5 times. Since it's so rare, we drivers have no experience with the behavior and the vehicle is compliant until the vsc kicks in. When it kicks in, the car has presumably determined that some stabilizing action needs to happen, yet, instead of providing safety - the very purpose of vcs, it unexpectedly locks up the brakes on one side of the vehicle and causes it to swerve out of its lane. Note, the vehicle has recently had a brake job. Under hard braking, the vehicle stays in its line, and does swerve at all, so it's whatever the vsc is doing to "provide stability" that's causing the lockup/swerve issue. Finally, from the internet, a couple quick queries led me to postings by other Sienna owners who'd experienced very similar behavior, so this is not an isolated incident.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Orangevale, CA, USA