The plastic shield rotted and the wire cable started to rub on some metal part. The cable started to split and unravel and caused the door to stick. Finally it just popped and the door stopped working. The estimated cost to repair is ridiculous at $1600 to $1700.
The bottom two bolts on the latch on the rear of the passenger sliding door have poked through the door and therefore the latch is loose and does not latch the door all the way closed. During turns, the dome lights flicker since there is a loose connection.
This is ridiculous. The front of the door latched just fine. The back of the door stopped latching about a week ago leaving the door open light on all the time. I poked around a bit and discovered the rear latch on the driver's side sliding door was loose inside the door. Since I had to take the van to the dealer for a recall repair anyway I asked them to take a look at the door. They said they would charge me $60 to diagnose. I agreed. Later the dealer called and asked if the van had been in an accident. I said no and asked why.
The dealer informed me that the latch was broken off inside the door and there was nothing they could do about it. They told me that they would not charge the $60 diagnosis fee and told me to take the van to a body shop for repair. While I was there the tech told me that there are 3 bolts that hold the latch to the door. In my case 2 of the 3 had broken through the metal on the door! This is a result of the way the door is manufactured. How is it not a safety recall when the door latch can break through the door leaving the door unlatched? This happened from normal wear and tear, not an accident, deffer maintenance, or anything else.
Anyway, since the dealer told me that the 3 bolts are used to hold the latch in place and I could still manipulate the latch to get the bolts out I was able to buy 3 new bolts from Home Depot. I bought 3 6MM-1.0 x 20mm hex head bolts and 3 - 1/4" x 1" fender bolts. I was able to install them in the 3 bolt holes without dropping the latch into the door by replacing the 2 that fell into the door before removing the one that hadn't. The one that didn't fall in yet was only a couple of days from breaking through. The picture attached to this post shows the back of the door with the 3 bolts I am talking about. The top one hadn't broken yet. I removed the one on the bottom left and the metal piece that had broken off the door. The one on the bottom right is still connected to the door metal inside the door.
I appreciate the dealer telling me the problem and not changing. It would have been better if they had fixed it as well.
We have a toyota sienna 2004. For the last 6mths we have not been able to use our rt sliding door!!!!! We get this letter in the mail from toyota saying they have exstended the warranty on the door!!! I thought great
The problem probably occurred much earlier. We were having a difficult time closing the drivers side sliding door. I'd have to close it several times with force. It never dawned on me to check the door from the back end. When i finally did, i noticed 2 bolts missing and the 3rd one was loose!!! You can't imagine the terror I felt. How do 2 bolts just disappear without my knowing???
My daughter sat by that sliding door so I could assist her out. Since I've discovered it & went to Servco (the local dealer), the service rep told me that I'd have to take it to a body shop for repairs. He said it could either be a simple weld or the door would need to be replaced. OMGosh!!! This is a safety issue & that's the best they could do??? Not food enough. I am a very busy person and I'm embarrassed to say its taken this long to make a complaint.
I NEVER cared for Servco and how they treat customers (unless if you loyally service your car there) - EVERYTHING they do for you is based on your loyalty, until you get really pissed off and threaten them. (I NEVER purchased any of our cars from them - we went through the Maui dealer, friendly, great service, & competitive pricing - WAY, WAY cheaper than Servco and I don't even live on Maui!)
Anyway, if anyone has the same problem, it would be helpful so I can report it to them. This is something that is clearly a manufacturers defect and should have NOTHING to do with how much mileage I have!!! Give me a break. SAFETY ISSUE!!! Would they rather have a law suit on their hands???
My van has manual doors. great since all the other sienna's seem to have defective cables. however, the door was not meant to withstand human hands wrenching it open. First of all, on a downward incline, the doors will not stay open... this puts exiting children in danger of decapitation.
Now, we find that the three bolts holding the latch on have slipped thru the bolt holes, into the cavity of the door. The mechanism latching the door closed is now floating around inside the door and not connecting when we close.
This means that the front of the door latches, but the back of the slider sticks out from the vehicle. Every time we take a right turn, our dome lights go on because the door does not make contact with the sensors.
Next week, they will try to find washers to hold the bolt heads outside the hole, but there are warranty issues, so I have to sign off on it. Also, if the washers are the wrong metal, there can be corrosion from two metals making contact! The dealer wants us to buy a whole new door for $2600! for two bolts. Bad news is that this is starting to happen on the other sliding door as well.
If Toyota wanted to design a door that could only withstand a power glide open, they should not have offered the vehicle without that option. Clearly the metal in that part of the door is too soft. Should not be my problem.
just stopped working, can't afford to pay for repair. Feel dealer should fix. Had at Dealers in Oct.2011 and they said needs a new motor for cost of $800, not including labor.
Couldn't drive to dealership to request repair because door wouldn't close. Finally repaired myself by squirting lubricant into bearing of door rollers and track. Have had to do this pretty much at 6-month intervals since initial problem.
As the door failed, the cable broke, caught itself on additional bodywork, and destroyed the door, tearing sheetmetal and shearing plastic. The door cannot be opened and is a safety hazard for passengers.
Bought this van used exactly 1 year ago. When looking at it on the lot, the power sliding door would not open all the way (would open part-way then close). Dealer sprayed WD40 on it and it seemed to fix the problem. (Said it had sat for a while without being used) Last month, when the temp was in the teens, this door would not close when in "power" mode. (Note - our temps have been below 0 throughout the winter, and I did not have a problem with the door until last month.) When I took the power off and slid the door closed manually, it would stay closed. This happened maybe 3 or 4 more times over the last month - usually when the temps were below 20 degrees. Tonight, I cannot get the door to close! The temp outside is 60 degrees - so it has nothing to do with the temp. It won't close in power mode nor manual mode. I had to drive home only to have the door fly open while my son was sitting in the seat by that door! Cannot get this stupid thing to shut! Sprayed WD40 on various areas - to no avail. The interior lights have finally turned off - but I don't know what I'm going to do when I get up tomorrow morning and have to drive this van! This is a darn shame because I have absolutely loved this van! Now I'm irked beyond imagination!!! My husband lost his job in November and I do NOT have thousands of dollars to fix this! Repairs on Toyota's do not seem to be cheap! ARGH!!!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
The plastic shield rotted and the wire cable started to rub on some metal part. The cable started to split and unravel and caused the door to stick. Finally it just popped and the door stopped working. The estimated cost to repair is ridiculous at $1600 to $1700.
- Claude R., Kissimmee, FL, US