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.
Vehicle had been parked. When we backed out I turned the wheel to the left. There was a "clunk" and it felt like I just went over some object with the right front tire. We could find nothing in the parking lot that would contribute to this. I drove the car that day without further incident. The next day we went on a 430 mile trip. Several times that we parked we heard the same "clunk" and felt a slight drop in the right front. I went to the Toyota dealer as soon as I could get an appointment on 2/26/13. Toyota found that the internal power steering rack was failing and had to be replaced for safety. The part number was: 0 44250-08041. I asked Toyota if there were any safety recalls. There were none. Toyota said these failures did occur on trucks in heavy duty use but not in Sienna mini-vans.
Steering very hard and "bumpy" during low speed maneuvering when first driven for the day. Internet search revealed many others have very similar problem that improved after spraying "steering knuckle" with penetrating type oil. Appears steering link is becoming corroded and sticky. Vehicle is always garaged when not being driven. Called Toyota dealer, they are aware of problem but say Toyota hq has not authorized them to do any work without full pay. Appears lots of people are having belts, power steering pumps, etc replaced at great expense at independent and dealer repair shops without solving the problem or the problem even being correctly diagnosed. Lucky I have internet and refer to it in these situations. Guess I can now have mine repaired for $1-2000 or do the temporary oil fix. Lots of money when its a manufacturing design defect and they won't help.
The boots of the rack and pinion leaked and it seems that it is a common problem. They even have a tsb for it and Toyota said replace the whole rack and pinion which is very expensive.
First of all, this vehicle has had all routine maintenance performed on a timely basis, and is in very good condition. Car was taken in for routine oil change, and to have a review of a noise coming from the right, driver's side. Was told rack and pinion steering was leaking, and needs to be replaced for a cost of $1200.
Upon routine oil change appointment, vehicle was found to need the power steering rack replaced. It appears this has been a common problem in Toyota Sienna minivans model years 2004 through 2006. Repair requires replacing power steering rack and aligning car, totaling more than $1000.
- Leawood, KS, USA
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While I was driving, my steering started locking on me. I was going thru mountain driving and as I try to get control on situation it started to become much harder to control. To avoid any unpleasant incident I decided to move over in right lane and slow down significantly to keep control on the car. Once the mountain driving was over I tried to find reliable shop to get this issue fixed as this was getting worst. We were fortunate to come out without injury but next family facing this issue might not be. I did research regarding this issue on internet and it appears that many more consumer has experience similar problem with same model. I would like to request a proper investigation for consumer safety. Thank you
During the turning of the steering wheel to the left at 5-10 mph, in making a left turn, clicks and clunking noise could be heard and felt through the steering wheel. At one point, I had to apply bigger turning force to the left as if I was overcoming some unusual resistance in the steering column, making the turn uneasy and non-smooth.
During inspection and repair of other vehicle recalls, it was determined that power steering assembly was severely leaking fluids, that radiator was leaking in 3 places, and air conditioning coils hoses\brackets were corroded and cracked due to manufacturer using two dissimilar metals (such as steel bolts in aluminum assembly) and thereby requiring immediate replacement for safety. Toyota dealership upon inspection declared steering assembly a "critical" repair and issued written documentation. I took vehicle to another shop and they confirmed Toyota's dealers conclusion and also found radiator and conditioning coils problems missed by dealer. All problems have been fixed at owners expense - a recall should be made by manufacturer.
My vehicle 2005 Toyota Sienna xle limited AWD is experiencing a serious safety scare and concern, I have noticed the steering wheel column making loud pop noise at idle while turning the wheel, and while driving and turn at the speed 15mph or up. The loud pop and clicking noise is also associated with the feeling the U joint at the steering column shaft is badly design, and causing a real safety concern for the general public, this pop noise problem truly deserve a recall by Toyota to fix this safety issue to avoid future injury or death accidents to occur for everybody.
The steering on this vehicle has become very hard. At variuos speeds the steering goes from fluid to hard, and feels as though it's turning on a flat tire.
1. second row seat belt locked tight to passenger (unable to loosen) during steady speed as well when in standby. Need to unlatch and fullly retract in order to extend it out again. 2. rack and pinion starts leaking power steering fluid and starts generating noise when making a turn. 3. passenger side slide door fails to open from inside and by remote. Further research confirmed failure of lock release actuator.
Steering has become difficult on 2005 Sienna. Feels like it is binding and releasing. It is intermediate and can happen during turning or a sticking when adjusting down a straight away. Thru the internet, it seems the intermediate shaft assembly with a universal joint that fails from corrosion is to blame and I will be replacing it soon. After documented cases here and several Toyota tsbs this isn't getting as much consideration as it deserves.
Vehicle did feel safe to drive because it was very hard to turn and driving was like there was a loose wheel. My wife almost climbed curves when she tried to make turns. Brought the car to the dealer and they replaced the binding steering shaft and binding steering rack. The 2005 Toyota Sienna had only 41,000 miles on it. The car was not involved in any accident or major repair. I believe this is a safety issue and a recall need be issued.
Less than a year ago my power steering became stiff. Changed pump as it seemed to burn out at 40,000 miles also changed belts. Less than a year later the stiffness is back and the pump and belts are fine. Starting a 33,000 miles and 3 years I have had to change sliding door motor, struts on back door, steering pump, middle seat belts along with other things. I find that this van is not built for the safety of my children and Toyota does nothing about this. I am seeing that a lot of their Sienna seem to have the same problem. It is a 2005 Sienna with 52,000 miles.
Universal steering shaft binds causing potential driving hazard. $800 to repair, if this was not my family car, I would have continued to operate until complete failure.
Toyota Sienna 2005 shows excessive corrosion of the lowermost universal joint installed on the steering intermediate shaft. Thump noise can be felt and heard from steering wheel. Safety concern steering.
5 years ago, we needed a mini van and shopped Toyota, Honda, and Mitsubishi. After some research, we chose a new Toyota Sienna for it's value, it's reliability, and it's strong rating from consumer reports. I have, in the past, driven one Toyota to almost 200,000 miles with little repair, just regular maintenance! when the Sienna was about 39 months old, we began to have some steering issues. Occasionally, it would be "stiff" to steer. It was still drivable and after taking it to a local mechanic, we were convinced we needed new tires, so purchased 4 new tires. The steering issue continued, however, and became worse and worse. We were perplexed because the Sienna was a new car purchase, garaged year round, and was a Toyota. When we received a recall notice about the spare tire recall, we took the Sienna to haley's automall in farmville, va for repair and asked them to also replace the tailgate struts and investigate our steering issue. The mechanic there replaced the tailgate struts, told us it was under warranty, then removed the spare tire from under the vehicle since Toyota admitted "the corrosion resistance of the spare tire carrier cable is insufficient when vehicles are operated in areas where a large amount of road salt is applied. In the worst case, the carrier cable may fail and the spare tire could become separated from the vehicle, a road hazard for following vehicles. ". he put the tire in the back of the mini van, and then told us our U-joint was corroded in our steering shaft from the steering column to the steering rack. The cost for repair was quoted at $1169. Since the recall admittedly involved "insufficient corrosion resistance", which is exactly what also happened to our U-joint, causing further damage to the steering column and rack, we were certain Toyota would also cover this repair, as clearly a new vehicle should not have corrosion of this magnitude after only 3 years of use!
Power steering has become very stiff/sticky. The stiffness is not steady throughout a turn, however. There were no events leading up to this - it just got steadily more and more stiff over time. About 2,000 miles ago, Toyota checked it once, injected something into the steering apparatus (I was told) but now it is back and, in fact, more stiff than ever.
Toyota Sienna 2005 was taken into dealership for regular maintenance service which included a check of the brakes. Was told rear brakes needed to be replaced and that was performed. Was told by dealer that front brakes were fine. 1 month later having problems with brakes still. Took it to private mechanic and was told that master brake cylinder needed to be replaced. I would think this problems would have been detected when it was at the dealership. I am lucky that my brakes did not fail and cause an accident. Other issues with this 2005 Toyota Sienna include having to replace the A/C compressor twice, rack and pinion replaced, and now the rear struts on the tailgate have failed. This vehicle is a serious safety risk.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Tucson, AZ, USA