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 seat belts on our 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan do not work properly. Approximately once every ten to twelve days, the belts will not retract properly to their original position. The belts currently not working properly are the driver side and the middle seat passenger side. We have taken the vehicle back to cobb county Toyota in Georgia for repair. They claim it is "user error, " a characterization I completely reject. I have driven several cars and have never had a problem like this. They have managed to return the belts to their original position but within a few days to a week, they are improperly working again. We all know that seat belts are one of the most important pieces of safety equipment in a vehicle. If they do not work properly, the evidence is clear that passengers in that vehicle are much more likely to die. I believe this is a manufacturer's defect which should be remedied immediately.
It happened twice during 2 weeks ago ( during heavy rain). I was driving my 2004 Toyota Sienna on a parking lot. The steering wheel is very hard to turn, it seems like I lost the power steering. After restarting the van, the problem disappeared. Next day, my wife encountered the same problem when she is picking up our kids from school. We believe there is a major problem with the electrical system or computer system. I have so many problem with this vans and the dealer refuse to fix it, I have seat belt problem, it is not easy to release after driving, dealer wants 300 to fix. Electrical sliding door problem etc.
I was driving with two of my boys in boosters in the 3rd row seat. The boy on the passenger side pulled the middle seat belt down from the ceiling and wrapped around his neck twice and then put the buckle in the lap clasp. I was driving and had the radio on. Luckily my 14 year old daughter noticed him struggling and began screaming, "he's choking, he's choking"; she immediately jumped over the seat and tried to free him while I stopped the car in traffic. She frantically tried to undo the belt; he was unable to make any noise. Anyone that has a Sienna knows that the middle seat belt on the third seat clips into a lap belt that you need a pen or key to release. As my son struggled, and wiggled to free himself the belt became tighter, locked in and was basically hanging him in his booster seat. I stopped in traffic, got in back and was able to lift the booster up in the air so that it wasn't choking him but couldn't release the belt. My 15 year old was in the front seat and I asked her to take the keys out of the ignition, which I used to release the buckle. My son is fine. Luckily my daughter saw what was happening.
"clunking" noise noted on steering the 2004 Toyota Sienna just a few months after it was bought. It had gone through 3 recalls already when first the fuel tank, then the door sills, then the middle row seatbelt bezel, and finally recently, the rear hatch struts were all replaced. Vehicle was test driven, but no mention of "clunking" documented. However, all this time, the clunking had become more noticeable, and vehicle had gone through 2 alignments already, with only about 42,000 miles on it. Last serviced for alignment, dealer did note clunking and recommended replacement of intermediate steering shaft. It is now becoming more difficult to steer the vehicle, especially at low speeds, and "K-turns" now require more maneuvers, and the steering radius has increased potentially causing collisions with objects or pedestrians if compensatory action is not initiated. (steering output has sometimes been unpredictable). Second component is lack of TPMS sensors when tires were changed at a facility, and I had the facility document the lack of sensors.
- Dover, DE, USA
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Both front seatbelts in our 2004 Toyota Sienna have repeatedly jammed in the plastic bezel when retracted or extended, rendering them useless. With considerable effort the seatbelts have been loosened, however, they are now twisted inside. Having done a quick search online, this appears to be an ongoing source of frustration and hazard for a number of van owners.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While driving 40 mph, the contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle did not stop. There were 30-40 yards between the contact's vehicle and the preceding vehicle. The brake pedal extended to the floorboard. The brakes grabbed momentarily, but then became "mushy." The contact crashed into the preceding vehicle and caused injuries to the occupant in the other vehicle. The passenger's seat belt did not engage properly, causing the passenger to strike the dashboard and sustain minor injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed from the scene. The failure and current mileages were less than 55,000.
Consumer has made numerous attempts to have seat belt recall (05V327000) work performed. Consumer has been told that the parts were not in or were used on another customer.
Radiator ruptured and the engine overheated; hose replaced in steering column recall; rust protective tape recall; dvd screen replaced and the entire dvd player replaced(screen still not easily visible in middle row); passenger seat belt replaced; middle passenger seat belt failing; gasoline smell inside of car with ac on recirculation; driver's window fell inside door in snow storm and was not considered a safety issue to get a loaner vehicle even though the vehicle could not be locked; tires completely bald and leaking under 30,000 miles, dvd player must be at a high db volume and when returned to radio/cd will almost deafen you; interior lights have to be manually over ridden or will drain battery; car hesitates 1-2 seconds when trying to quickly accelerate and then lurches forward alarmingly; cruise control is not functioning; waiting to have fuel mixture sensor replaced. I was not informed of first 2 recalls until I my engine overheated. I did get the rust recall and a sticker on my sliding door informing user of danger of having middle windows open while opening the middle door could catch a head or other extremity. Toyota dealer service manager says mine is the only 04 Sienna experiencing any problems except for the recalls on the radiator; the steering hose; the rust tape; and the middle seat belt. Not so according to all I have read here. Most of the problems have occurred between 22,000 and 34,000 miles; the dvd screen always failed to lock into a good position for the middle row viewers.
Seat belt gets jammed in the guides, does not retract. This is a major safety concern because when seat belt does not retract it is ussless. Dealer replaced guides but still occuring. Same issue happened in loaner Sienna. Getting passed around calling Toyota.
1. mid row passenger captains chair seat belt-shoulder harness webbing jams.. took vehicle to dealer--replaced plastic belt guide. Did not improve situation. Jammed before I left the dealership. 3. I now use strapling tape to hold guide in place. Still can have jam problems.. purchased this vehicle because of safety rating, since I Transport my grandchildren on a regular basis. Have been very disappointed with Toyota's "non response" to the problem. 5. I feel many persons are not aware of the problem since children are the usual passengers in this position & are not aware that this malfunction should be reported.
Right side second row seat belt fails every 2000 to 3000 miles. Encasement is located on the seat itself instead of the roof of the vehicle. This clip holding the encasement together pops out allowing the seat belt to catch in opening below, causing the seat belt to fail. A child or passenger could be seriously hurt. Most people won't even realize there is a problem unless they check this belt regularly as child passengers generally won't tell you when the belt doesn't not operate correctly.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Dallas, GA, USA