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.
Door welds on driver side and passenger side are damaged. Never received information from Toyota. Brought into dealer in December. There is some sort of modest service program, but my car is too old, although under the mileage rules. Currently I am waiting to hear from regional rep, with no reply from 1/14/09 call. Ours was a very early purchase of the new model in its first year, so excluding a few early vehicles and covering the rest seems totally unfair. There ought to be a recall of all models to fix this obvious defect.
I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna xle limited both the driver's side sliding door (January 2009) and the passenger's side sliding door (October 2008) have incurred problems with the cable and motor mechanism that led to both to need new motors and cables. This occurred within 3 months of each other !!! a hinge wears out in the door and it causes a wearing on the cable until the cable frays and breaks. This seems to be a widespread problem as indicated by numerous complaints by Sienna owners.. it is definitely a manufacturer defect but Toyota is not acknowledging it at this point. The repair at the Toyota dealer is $1600 plus and is not covered due being out of warranty. The repair times 2 within three months is just ridiculous !!! and I hope that with enough complaints Toyota might recognize their defect problem.
Cable snapped on sliding door of 2004 Sienna, causing door to remain open until I could forcibly close it. This was a potentially dangerous situation in that 1) cable snapping could have hurt someone, and more importantly 2) car had to be driven with door open until got home and could forcibly close it. Toyota put out a tsb for this problem in April 2004 but only covered the problem for 3 yr/36K mile. Additionally they implemented production line fixes to prevent this problem in the future. But those of us unfortunate enough to encounter problem after 36K miles have to pay $1800 parts and labor to fix just one door. I believe that this is a prevalent problem in the 2004 Sienna and Toyota should issue a recall for their customers due to the potential danger involved.
Sliding door on our van would not close properly. Took it to the dealership, they told us the door had to be fixed, and the metal and bolts were getting ready to come through the door parts. It is currently being fixed, but since the van is a 2004 Toyota Sienna, it is out of warranty, and we will have to pay the $ $1,800 repair bill.
- Fogelsville, PA, USA
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The driver's side rear power door cable snapped (rusted and frayed). This is clearly a potential safety issue, as I had to cut the cable with wire cutters in order to be able to close the door. I contacted both the dealer and Toyota customer service, who say it is not covered under warranty, and will cost $2000 to fix. There have been many other reports of the same problem, and it seems this should be considered a recall issue.
I owned a 2004 Toyota Sienna le with passenger side power sliding door. The cable of the door was snapped on 11/16/08 and hanged loose to the outside of the van. The door can neither be opened and closed at the time. I had to force closed the door so that the van could be on the road again. We have stopped using this door since the incident happened. In short, the door is inoperative. After called and filed a case with Toyota customer assistance center, they claimed nothing they could help me in resolving the issue.
The drivers side automatic sliding door of minivan is stuck open. While the door was opening I heard a strange crunching noise, when I pushed the automatic close button the door would not close. I disabled the power door and the door would not close manually.
2004 Toyota Sienna xle AWD van. Power passenger slider will no lock in open position and will close on own as passengers are in door way, if parked on slope.
1. no unusual events to vehicle. Usual school drop off of passenger. Powered sliding door was activated for opening on Nov. 5th 2008. Door is well lubricated and no other symptoms of failure were noticed before failure. 2. powered, rear, sliding, passenger side door (rh) will not open fully. Door cannot be opened in manual over-ride. Door only opens 4 inches, then jams. Difficult to close after jam. 3. root cause of failure is shedding cable jacket jamming door center hinge pulleys. Door will require a new motor, cable assembly, center bracket no 1, and center hinge.
Have an 04 Toyota Sienna with power sliding doors. Both sliding door cable snapped or jammed and stopped working. One cable was hanging on the outside. It was frayed and rusty. The door now is not functional by manual or electric. When I took the vehicle to the Toyota dealership, I was told that the repair cost was $3,000 and that the motor, mounting brackets and other various parts would need to be replaced. I have a hard time swallowing the thought of this cost considering the cable is rusted and broke in half with no fault of my own. Although I am out of warranty period, I would think this problem should be considered a defect and a recall issued because this is a very common complaint with Sienna?S. neither the dealer nor Toyota was accommodating, Toyota never ever responded to my letter. I have owned Toyota for many years, so when I paid a premium price for my Toyota Sienna, I thought I was getting a quality mini van. I will never buy another Toyota! this problem should be classified as a recall.
No event or warning of pending failure. Passenger side sliding power door. Cable snapped. Motor/cable assembly failure. Estimate of $1800 to replace repair.
Sliding side door cable snapped. I have had it in for repairs several times (the cable was replaced as well as many other parts costing $1,500). I am not at the point for the third time that the door will not open and Toyota believes it is yet another part related to the door.
The cable on the passenger side sliding rear door snapped, making it impossible to close the door. I had to drive my 5 year old home with the door stuck open, which is extremely unsafe, but there was no apparent alternative. After much wrestling with the door, we finally succeeded in getting it closed again, so at least we're now driving with it closed, but it's unusable even manually. Did some research and found that a tsb (EL004-04) was issued in April of 2004 and production fixes were made, but the drivers of vehicles manufactured prior to the production fixes weren't even notified, and the tsb authorized repairs only to vehicles showing problems prior to 3 years/36,000 miles, despite the known design problem. Of course it's well out of warranty now and Toyota customer service refuses to help in any way with a repair estimated around $2000. This is absurd for a known design problem that poses a substantial safety hazard.
As I pulled up to the airport to take a flight, we noted that the right sliding door would not close. After much struggle and effort, we were able to close the door; however, the cable for the door was rusted and snapped. We are unable to use the door for fear that the door may fall off or cause body damage. When I did a search on this website, I noted many similar complaints filed for the same problem. As an attorney in the state of New York, I can only conclude there is a manufacturing design or defect in the sliding door and that the vehicle should be recalled. This is a dangerous defect that could have caused bodily injury. I respectfully request that this Agency look deeply into all complaints regarding the sliding door and issue a recall. My vehicle has approximately 61,000 miles on it. In addition, the fact that many consumers are describing similar conditions, namely that the cable snapped and appeared to be rusted, is further indication that the vehicle was designed poorly. I appreciate the NHTSA's attention in this matter and I look forward to hearing from you. Caterina ranieri grasso
The fuel pipe from the tank to the engine on my 2004 Toyota Sienna le disconnected. I was driving with my kids and stopped at the light, our car being the first in the rightmost lane at a busy intersection. When the light turned green I pressed the accelerator but the car didn't move. I made several more attempts but it was in vain. The message on the screen panel appeared as a discharged battery, which at that moment puzzled me very much. I started looking around, making signs to the vehicles behind mine to try and get into the other lane as I can't start my car (there were few angry drivers). One stopped by me when the light turned red again and then said he smells gas. At the same time a woman and her older teenage daughter were running from across the street waiving and shouting 'get out of the car!'. she helped me and my kids get out and told us that while driving from the other side she saw when the gas gushed from under my car. Well the rest is known - 911, police, fire truck and my family scared and blessed to have escaped a horror. The car was towed to the dealer who told me that the pipe disconnected, they put it back and that they've never encountered this problem. When I asked about a warranty on this or a future sign to look for, the answer was 'it shouldn't happen, it can't'. but it just did, right? I want to mention that the car has never been involved in any accidents and it's very well cared for. I had to pay for the repair over $100 which I'm guessing Toyota will never refund. I will forever be thankful to that woman and her daughter who quite possible saved out lives.
The right power sliding door cable on the 2004 Toyota Sienna le broke. The car was 5.1 years old, bought new in 2003, and had 69,000 ml. On the day of problem. No indications on a sliding mechanism were prior to the incident. As always the door was activated by the remote control. It did not open on several attempts. When I approached it and tried to open by the handle I saw the cable being rusty and broken. The dealer worked with Toyota on the issue and Toyota offered to pay 50% of parts and labor, but my fee is still above $800. Toyota refused to cover it entirely, although the problem is well known to them. Toyota.justanswer.com/uploads/snd27613/2008-07-05_074916_sienna_sliding_door_inop.pdf. no extended warranty on this part was offered by Toyota. I can not use this door in any way until is repaired, even if I set it to act manually, it won't open more than 1/2 ft. The only way my two children can get in/out the car is from the left side door. Where one's car seat is installed. Needless to say this is a serious safety issue as the left side is the one to the road and children jump out or run to the car in a blink of an eye.
2004 Sienna xle limited -- electric sliding/rear door on driver side closes by itself when parked facing down incline. Dealer diagnosed faulty 'door check' but refused to repair under warranty. There is a tsb for front door 'door check' but not rear sliding door. This issue is a safety concern, as passengers could be pinned if door were to close unexpectedly.
The right power sliding door on the 2004 Toyota Sienna le has jammed. The cable attached to the door is stuck in the door mechanism. The door was activated via the remote control on the day of the malfunction and it simply jammed open. The door wont close with this cable jammed into the gears. We had to drive home with the door in an open position. Toyota's dealers say that this is a known defect. When I brought the Toyota technical service bulletin - power sliding door inoperative " EL004-04 document to their attention, they still refused to repair the problem because my vehicle is over the 36,000 miles tsb warranty, but since when does a defective part on safety of a door become limited to a mileage issue" they insisted that I pay a $120 fee to 'diagnose' the problem, but then state that the costs for repairs are at least $1800, as they know exactly what the problem is. I have contacted national Toyota at 800-331-4331 and they say that there's nothing they can do to assist me. I have switched off the electronic controls of this door, but it still wont close all the way. It is a total safety hazard.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Moultonborough, NH, USA