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 power sliding door on my Sienna stopped working because the cable snapped. The cable has a plastic coating which fell off part of it and allowed the wire underneath to rust since it is exposed to the atmosphere. I managed to force the door closed and it is now inoperable. This is a safety problem - what if there were a wreck? this is poor design and could cause loss of life and should be fixed by Toyota. It is an expensive repair - due to the design flaw of having this cable be so difficult to replace, so people - like me - aren't haveing it done because we can't afford it. This isn't "normal wear and tear".
The doors on my 2004 Toyota minivan have been freezing every winter season since 2006. Canada Toyota has made this a recall item, but the United States will not? I find this to be absurd - especially when children have to climb up through the front seats to get out of vehicles. This could be fatal in an accident if the doors can not be opened. I have contacted Toyota dealer and they claim to use wrench grease to lube the doors to help and prevent from sticking. I live in new england and the doors have already starting freezing shut this year (Oct 2009). This is extremely frustrating, this isn't a cheap vehicle and it was purchased for family use. Toyota has really failed the american public with their minivans. I would have used this avenue to complain years ago - I have been wasting my time trying to work with the Toyota company. Please help
We have a 2004 Toyota Sienna. We have discovered that the cable on driver side of the sliding door has rusted/rotted and snapped off. We have called Toyota about this issue and they informed us that the doors are not covered. We feel that this is a safety issue as the doors only open part way. We have found that there was no recall on this issue. Please look into this asap. Just picture your children trapped in the van during an accident- these doors are too heavy for them in manual mode. This is happening to many Toyota vehicles, to the point where this needs to be aired on national television for Toyota to step up and stand behind their vehicles. This is about safety and our children - not just a bonus feature. Help us to keep our children safe in these family built vehicles! please!!!
Electric side doors opener becomes jammed when cable frays and breaks. This happened on the left door, then the right door wouldn't open. Libertyville Illinois dealership had to pull the fuse that controls the circuit that operates the 2 side doors and the rear door. All 3 doors operate manually.
- Buffalo Grove, IL, USA
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The power sliding door on an '04 Toyota Sienna would not stay open when the vehicle was on a slight incline. Other times, it would not close properly. On a number of occasions, after the door was opened it began to close by itself hitting the person who was reaching into the vehicle, while the door was continuing to try to close. It took a lot of force to stop the door from closing. On one occasion the force of the door closing bruised my wife's right arm. This is a definite safety issue. Someone could be seriously injured, including being crushed between the door and pillar. This problem was reported to the dealer on three different visits over a six month period. On each visit the technician reported "no problem found" or "working per design and intent at this time." On the last visit, after the technician found nothing again, I went out with the service advisor and was able to demonstrate the problem. Afterward the shop foreman found that the rear hinge bushings were worn. After the bushings were replaced, the door worked as it should. Toyota claims this would have been covered under the original 36 mo. / 36,000 mile warranty, but not under their extended warranty.
I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna xle limited. Both sliding doors have broken. When I have been driving the car with my 7 year old son and my dog in the car, the door has slid open.
Power sliding door on 2004 Toyota Sienna xle AWD fails to operate. The door is actuated by a cable and the cable has broken. The replacement is extraordinarily expensive at approx $1500 or more. As a result, the door must be opened or closed by hand, which is a difficult proposition, and if the vehicle is parked on an incline, nearly impossible. Further, the door doesn't stay open when on an incline posing a danger to exiting passengers.
Broken cable in side sliding doors (automatic). Would not open manually. Children stuck inside had to exit through front doors. Manual override not functioning. Dealer wants $2,000 per door to repair. Van only 4 1/2 years old when cables broke.
The power function of the automatic rear sliding passenger door has failed. The cable that attaches to the motor for this device snapped and was exposed causing a safety hazard. Approximately 1 foot of cable was exposed and hanging from the middle rear of door. Additionally other parts of the system failed/broke when the cable broke and became lodged in the system causing the door to remain open. When some of these parts associated with the snapped wire / door motor broke they were ejected into the car hitting the nearest right side car safety seat where one of our children sits. The cost of replacing the door parts is prohibitive. Per Toyota dealership, cost is approximately $1700 per door to replace the snapped wire. The door will not be repaired and remain non-functional. 2006 reference tsb EL004-04 2009 reference tsb-0085-09nhtsa number:10029190 for similar cases.
2004 Toyota Sienna xle minivan - sliding doors will not unlock or open. Dealership asking $2000 to repair and claims that they cannot switch door to manual usage.
We are pleased with our Sienna with the exception of the sliding doors which freezes the last 2 winters. I have 2 small children under the ages of 3 and very concerned about the safety issues. Whenever the temp is below freezing, the door will not open until the temperature rises. I know that I am not alone with this issue. Should an emergency arise, I fear the safety of my children - however I do not have the money to fix this issue. Others have been quoted fixing it in the price of upwards of $1000. Please make Toyota do the right thing and recall these vehicles to fix them.
I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna with automatic rear passenger sliding door. The cable and motor malfunctioned in January 2008. I went to the dealer in gainesville, fl. I was advised that the whole assembly with the wire cord had to be replaced at the cost of about $ $1300. After getting it fixed, the same wire and the plastic latch broke again on 9/12/09. Went to the dealer only to be informed again that the same parts need replacement at the cost of $ $1600. I believe that the part is not properly designed, and the consumers have to pay great sums of money to get it fixes.
My wife was putting the children into our 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan and when she went to open the passenger side automatic sliding door the door cable broke. Thankfully she was able to close the door safely. However, she was not able to open it. When she brought the van to me, as I was at work, I could see that a piece of the door cable/pulley system was in the way of the door sliding open. I cut off that piece and the door now opens and closes manually. If my wife had gotten into an accident on her way to see me, that door would not have been able to be opened. That, in my humble opinion, is a serious defect in design...that something could happen that would prevent the door from being opened.
Cable snapped on rear power sliding doors. It appears that the outer plastic coating dried and broke off of the cable. Cable is hanging outside of the car as I drive down the road. The door is very heavy and my children are unable to open the door themselves.
2004 Toyota Sienna xle limited (75,000 miles), purchased April 2003. Passenger rear sliding door cable snapped. It looks like the covering on the cable deteriorated over the years and the cable rusted and snapped. We are not able to open rear sliding door due to broken cable.
The rear power sliding door on the Toyota has a safety defect where the power sliding door closes completely but then pops open slightly at the rear of the door. The result is that the door is not fully closed or latched. However, the "open door" indicator in the vehicle does not light indicating that the door is not in a fully closed position. The "pop open" scenario was occurring over the course of several weeks, before going over a bumpy road the vibrations must have been sufficient enough to warrant the "open door" indicator to light. Upon bringing to Toyota for repair they informed me the motor was damaged along with the latching mechanism for the door.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Depauw, IN, USA