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.
My son was getting into the van via the driver side sliding door. His backpack bumped the sensor, and the door opened and froze halfway open. I disengaged the automatic opening, but the door had difficulty closing. I noticed that the cable to the sliding door had snapped. I was eventually able to close the door, but now the door will not open at all.
On 12/20/19 in my 2014 Toyota Sienna the sliding door next to my 3 year old opened while I was driving. I was in the midst of accelerating after a light turned green when the car started notifying me that a door was ajar and the passenger-side sliding door started opening. The door opened fully and remained open as I was at speed in the middle of an intersection. Note that all doors were closed and latched before I put the vehicle in drive, and this only occurred after a few miles of driving. I took the car to the dealership and they replaced the latch assembly in both sliding doors. The dealership couldn't tell me what failed or if the replaced latches would solve the problem, so I called Toyota Corp. I learned that Toyota already knew about this issue. When I asked if they could assure me that the sliding doors wouldn't open while driving again, they couldn't. they told me that they couldn't confirm that the latches were the problem, and while the replacement latch has a different model number than the original, they don't know if it is in fact a different part and if so, how. The only assurance that Toyota could give me is that 'of the people in your region that this has happened to, it hasn't happened a second time that we know of'. the more questions I asked, the clearer it became that this could happen again. Please note that this issue is entirely different from the '16 recall that involved sliding doors opening while driving (all associated recalls had been performed by Toyota dealerships prior to this incident). We had not previously reported this to nhsa as we had assumed that Toyota reported this incident as part of our case with them.
- Bellingham, MA, USA
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The fuel door hinge has broken loose due to the sliding door safety button (mechanism) that is exerting to much pressure on the inside of the fuel door. The upper left portion of the fuel door. This plunger exerts so much pressure on the fuel door that it warps/flexes the gas door away from the body. It takes an extreme amount of force to push this safety button (plunger) in. This plunger clearly was not designed properly. Now, the driver side slider door will not operate due to the plunger/mechanism not being fully depressed in. This is a safety concern if someone needed to exit the vehicle in an emergency.
For about 3 weeks my spouse noticed a musty smell inside the van and then noticed that the entire cabin carpet was soaking wet. On 09/14/18, I took the van to team Toyota in glen mills, pa and had the ac lines drained. The carpet was still getting wet after having this service done. On 10/09/18, I took our van back to team Toyota to have a company called the "water doctor" to diagnose the water leak problem. Team Toyota advised that the "water doctor" discovered the leak was coming from below the front windshield cowl. The "water doctor" applied a sealant to the effected area. Team Toyota replaced the padding and deodorized the cabin area. My bill to have this repaired was $551.20.
The tail gate door function failed in a series of problems over about one week's time. First, it suddenly started crashing down unexpectedly while loading. The vehicle was stationary. Then it will not open/close with the remote without a lot of crashing noise and shaking/vibrating the whole van. Then it will not stay open at all, even for a moment. The only way to deal with the tail gate door now is to manually open, manually lift, and manually hold it up at all times. It is dangerous to operate at this point.
Both sliding doors do not close. Have to push hard on the doors to close. Problem started with both doors at the same time, and after the factory recall work was completed six months ago. Dealer wants to charge $862 to fix both doors. Tail gate door comes crashing down. Serious injury hazard when children are close to the door. Dealer wants to charge $490 to fix tail gate door. Problem with tail door started three weeks after sliding door problem started. Field complaint with Toyota. Door operation is a significant safety problem that Toyota should address immediately. Opening and closing doors are with the vehicle stationary.
Recently, at approximately 80,000 miles, the upper hinge of the fuel filler door (the door covering the gas tank access) failed. This appears to have been caused by pressure exerted on the door by the safety switch governing the driver side sliding passenger door. This is a known issue, documented here: www.siennachat.com/forum/67-problems-maintenance-repair-gen-3/19274-fuel-filler-door-hinge-broke-anyone-else-have-happen.html#. I brought my van to my local dealer repair facility, novato Toyota, at approximately 81,000 miles and was told that the cost to repair would be around $380. I was told that neither Toyota nor the company providing my extended warranty would cover it. In addition to being caused by a mechanical design defect that could not have been foreseen, it causes a safety issue, as it will prevent opening of the rear passenger door when the switch is activated. Photo attached is not my vehicle, but a photo found online of the same issue.
The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Sienna. While attempting to manually open the driver's side sliding door, the door would sometimes remain closed or become very difficult to open. The failure was intermittent. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 35,000.
Side sliding door assembly rusted. Bought van in Nov 2013 and by July 5, 2015, about 18 months, sliding door assembly is rusted (see pictures 1-3) - reported this to Toyota dealer when reporting sliding door closure issues during summer \ fall 2015. Van is parked in garage when not at work so it does not sit out in the elements 24/7, just outside 8-9 hours Monday through Friday. In 2015, Toyota dealer said they would not do anything so I sprayed wd-40 onto surface in attempt to keep from further rusting. Attached is a picture #4 of same door assembly from today (October 30, 2017). We have not had van 4 years yet, about 66,000 miles, and this component continues to rust. If door assembly fails, door could close on person by itself causing injury especially if vehicle is parked on hill.
The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Sienna. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 16V858000 (structure). The parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer (bill penney Toyota, 4808 university dr nw, huntsville, al 35816) was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. The manufacturer was not contacted. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Fuel door hinge broke because the fuel door pin has so much tension that it broke the hinge. This caused a safety issue because the door cannot be opened from the inside if it is not closed all they way or pushed closed enough for the sensor to allow the sliding door to open. This event was reported past the 36 month warranty, (at 40 months, but less than the mileage warranty), but had begun before the warranty had ended. Current owners should be aware that if there are instances beginning of the door not being able to be opened, should check the hinge and pin tension and have it fixed while it could be under warranty. This should be an item covered under an extended warranty due to the safety issue of not being able to exit the vehicle in an emergency situation. This happened several times while parked and exiting the vehicle. Currently getting an estimate from the dealership. There are other instances of this issue on different Sienna and Toyota forums.
The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Sienna. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 16V858000 (structure) however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Mark miller Toyota located at 730 S w temple, salt lake city, ut was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue and was not able to confirm when the parts were to become available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. The consumer stated the vehicle was repaired.
The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Sienna. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA campaign number: 16V858000 (structure: Body); however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer daytona Toyota in daytona beach, Florida was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available...updated 08/22/17
The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Sienna. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 16V858000 (structure); however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The superior Toyota dealer was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Sienna. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 16V858000 (structure) however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The Toyota dealer was not contacted and the vehicle was not taken to the local dealer. The Toyota manufacturer was contacted at 888-270-9371, where the manufacturer was made aware of the issue and were not able to confirm when the parts were to become available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
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- Fairfax , VA, USA