Print this page

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
43,536 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2008 Toyota Sienna fuel system problems

fuel system problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2008 Toyota Sienna:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2008 Toyota Sienna Owner Comments

problem #10

Sep 232020

Sienna

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The vsc begins to beep and then the car sometimes applies brakes, or the motor seems to lug. This can happen at any any speed. This has been happening for years and is becoming more frequent.

- Scotts Mills, OR, USA

problem #9

Dec 122018

Sienna

  • 15 miles
My dash panel warning lights 4 or 5 lite up, took it to a Toyota dealer, he put it on a computer and stated that, your catalitic converter, muffler and other parts need to be replaced. Took it to another mech. He put a pint of lukus gas treatment, told me to fill the tank with higher octaine gas and run it in 4th gear.

- Homewood, IL, USA

problem #8

Nov 152017

Sienna

  • 102,780 miles
Nov 16,2017 oil cooler pipe and lines burst on highway while driving thru no break down lane tunnel. Van all motor oil within minutes, resulting in loss of engine power. Extended service warranty from Toyota "ZE2" had been given to Toyota dealers nation wide but despite dealer service done in July 2017 no mention of a problem mentioned. No notification was sent to owners of a potential problem.it created a safety issue that could have been life threatening.

- Southington, CT, USA

problem #7

Jul 172017

Sienna

  • 59,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Defective oil cooling hose ruptured suddenly when parked, spilling oil in grocery store parking lot and leaving the family stranded. We had to tow car to capitol Toyota in san jose. The car started leaking oil on the way to the grocery store as evidenced by a trail of oil leading up to parking lot. The car has now been at capitol Toyota since 7/17 (about 4 weeks) with no eta for new improved metal replacement hose. The service department at capitol Toyota admitted this is a design defect. Apparently the better replacement hose is on national back order, again with no eta, and so no line of sight on when the car will be fixed. In the mean time my wife has no car to drive, and Toyota refuses to supply a loaner. I have escalated this with Toyota head quarters and they also will not provide a loaner. This situation is very frustrating, as the car is at the dealer, and no timeline for when the part will come in and repair will be done. I have never experienced this sort of situation before, with the many cars I've owned in the past.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #6

Jul 232017

Sienna

  • miles
My 2008 Toyota Sienna began to create a smoke screen impairing me from having a clear visual of the road. I had to immediately pull to the side of the freeway and check if my vehicle was on fire. Once I inspected the outside and open the hood to make sure nothing was on fire I notice a puddle of oil under the vehicle an upon further look my engine motor oil cooling hose had burst, spraying the motor and everything inside with motor oil. This was the 3rd time this vehicle has done the same problem.

- Houston, TX, USA

Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...

problem #5

Nov 152011

Sienna

  • 16,485 miles
I had trouble accelerating up a hill and stalling and turning off on the road. I took my vehicle to my Toyota dealership for inspection and was told that rodents or such type had chewed on the electrical wiring harness because of the insulation materials attractiveness. After been first offended, I then remembered seeing a squirrel near the vehicle I presumed innocently taking shade from the hot Florida sun. During that time I parked my vehicle in my driveway outside. I advised the dealership of this and they confirmed that indeed such animal would liking have chewed on the harness wiring causing the issue at hand. I paid out of pocket for this repair since I was told it was not under warranty. It has come to my attention that the Toyota dealership was aware of this type of animal and the attraction to the soy based insulation around the electrical wiring harness. There now are two class action cases regarding this matter with Toyota.

- Weeki Wachee, FL, USA

problem #4

Dec 212014

Sienna 6-cyl

  • 99,200 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

This is regards to my 2008 Toyota Sienna le fwd 8 passenger minivan. On 12/21/2014 my van dropped dead in the middle of busy gunbarrell rd in chattanooga tn. Following up with the diagonostics on the vehicle it was detected that the fuel pump had failed. Since I bought this vehicle as certified used from Toyota in 03/2010 I was confident that this part is covered but to my frustration - Toyota said the fuel pump is classified as an electrical system and unfortunately other than their hybrid models it is not covered by any type warranty. Upon researching multiple websites, chat forums, and among registered Toyota owners it came to my understanding/conclusion that the Toyota Sienna models from 2007 to 2010 had numerous fuel pump, pulleys, and brake drum issues. The vehicles affected had total miles ranging from 20K to 130K. New vehicles with failing fuel pumps and not covered under warranty - shocking. It is my understanding that without a fuel pump no vehicles can run and it is very unfortunate to see that automakers classify it as an electrical item and the NHTSA sadle agrees with it. This repair costed me over $600 for parts and labor. If I were to use the Toyota dealership for parts and service it would have costed me over $900 ( via 3 estimates from dealerships) through this letter I am kindly requesting an investigation to the fuel pump issues for Toyota Sienna from model year 2007 onwards so a proper warranty coverage, warnings can be provided to registered owners.

- Chattanooga, TN, USA

problem #3

Oct 012014

Sienna 6-cyl

  • 79,000 miles
Car pauses at slow speeds. Car jerks first, then check engine light comes on, trac off light comes on. Vsv light comes on. Code diagnosed as dtc PO717. Toyota dealer does not know how to fix it. Suggests trial and error. Vehicle hesitating is dangerous.

- Yucca Valley, CA, USA

problem #2

Apr 012014

Sienna

  • 62,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 5 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was unable to restart and was towed to the dealer. The dealer diagnosed that the fuel pump resister needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000.

- Framingham, MA, USA

problem #1

Dec 012012

Sienna 6-cyl

  • 16,875 miles
Just notified of sudden acceleration. Hindsight - starting fall 2012 remote starter died, no warmup, my boyfriend and I experienced engine racing when van was cold multiple times, only way to stop it was hand control brake, foot brake was not enough. Planned to have checked but Dec.1 2012 at the tanger outlet mall in canonsburg pa. I am paraplegic, my minivan is modified with foldout ramp- passenger side sliding door for wheelchair and then I transfer into the drivers seat. All the van handicapped parking spaces were filled but it was early so I parked in a regular space with an empty space next to it so I could get out. Few van accessible handicapped spaces is common so I used regular spots before as long as someone was with me who could back the van up far enough for the ramp to deploy. When my mother, my sister-in-law, my friend, and I returned to the vehicle a pickup truck was parked next to us. My sister-in-law got in the vehicle to back it up so the ramp had room to come out as she had done often. We stood behind the pickup truck waiting for her to back up. All of a sudden the vehicle flew backward so fast that before we could yell stop my vehicle had slammed into the SUV parked across the aisle so hard that it pushed the SUV into the car parked in front of it in the next row. My sister-in-law was completely shocked as were we, it was so fast it was almost like watching a cartoon. My sister-in-law kept saying "I don't know what happened", she thought all she did was put her foot on the brake and put it in gear. Not knowing about sudden acceleration in Sienna's all any of us could think was her foot had slipped even though she has been driving for 25 years without a similar incident she couldn't understand how it could happen, was sure it didn't. the police were called and a report filed. Because one of the welds from modification was broken my vehicle was totaled.

- White Oak, PA, USA

Not what you are looking for?