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 vsc has activated multiple times on my van for no apparent reason. While driving at any speed and usually in a turn, the vsc light will flash, the warning beep will beep, and the ABS brakes will automatically be applied and the engine will quickly decelerate. I have almost been rear-ended several times because the van will suddenly decide to decelerate. I have no control over when this happens and no control of the van when it does!
2004 Toyota Sienna van has been having intermittent vsc. At 10-20 mph the anti-skid warning light will activate with warning beep and the anti-lock brakes will active and begin to stop the car. When the anti-lock brakes activate the car pulls violently to the right and is difficult to control. Toyota issued a tsb BR008-04 in November 2004 stating ''some customers may experience an intermittent vsc activation after starting the engine and driving straight from a stop position. This condition is always accompanied by the instrument panel vsc light and audible warning buzzer turning on at the same time. To prevent this condition, the steering angle sensor has been changed. This is an obvious recall malfunction. Why was there not a recall?
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While driving approximately 5 mph a slip control alarm began to sound and the rear brakes locked. During the failure a slip control light also began illuminating on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that there was rust developing on a spindle near the front driver's side speed sensor. The front driver's side speed sensor was replaced and the rust was cleaned from the spindle. The failure continued to occur. The failure and current mileages were 94,900. The VIN was unavailable.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the vehicle would not shift out of park just after the ignition was started. After repeated attempts, the contact was able to shift the vehicle out of park as the anti-lock brake warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the brake switch and the anti lock braking system were replaced. The failure and current mileage was 97,145. Updated 04/15/11 updated 1/13/2012
I owe a 2004 Toyota Sienna. Within the last 30 days I had to replace my brake master cylinder at my local Toyota dealership (over $1500) due to a brake fluid leak which caused brake fluid to accumulate into the booster and into the engine (and the brake light to illuminate). This is a very similar to the problem which caused Toyota to issue the recall that was announced on October 20th with the Toyota highlander model. I feel the recall should be extended to the Sienna model. I contacted Toyota, and they will not offer any reimbursement or relief for me.
- Wantagh, NY, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
-the contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While the contact was driving approximately 35 mph the brakes began to engage without pressure applied to the brake pedal. There was an illumination of the anti-lock brake system warning light. The failure was a first time occurrence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for service repair. The technician replaced the steering angle sensor. The failure mileage was 68,734. The current mileage was 160,000.
2004 Toyota Sienna xle ltd. There were times when the gas pedal would get stuck at 60 mph or when I was turning on a long freeway on ramp going about 30-35, the van would accelerate when I did not want it to.
1. events leading to the failure: My wife was traveling North on peebles rd in allison park, pa in our 2004 Toyota, Sienna. After my wife proceeded through the intersection with duncan avenue the driver of the vehicle in front of my wife suddenly stopped short and that person's brake lights did not come on. When my wife realized the situation she hit her brakes hard and the pedal went quickly to the floor providing no braking and resulting in my wife?S vehicle to hit the vehicle in front of her. While all vehicles were traveling well within the speed limit the damage was extensive as the vehicle in front of my wife was a Ford Explorer. 2. the failure, frequency, and consequences: I have tried to replicate this failure and can readily recreate it. In a safe environment I have tried to suddenly and dramatically hit the brakes and the pedal quickly goes right to the floor. Some fairly limited braking does occur during these attempted re-creations but it seems to be too little and delayed. My wife's vehicle was significantly damaged requiring $7,083.61 in total repair cost (documentation is available). 3. while the crash was the first time for such a dramatic failure, our concerns of the softness of the braking system had been previously reported to a local Toyota dealer and their response was "that is how those brakes are". so nothing has really been done to correct the failure and I believe all the parts in the braking system currently are original to the vehicle.
I was driving 2004 Toyota Sienna xle AWD, 109,000, with Bridgestone rft snow tires. At 15-20 mph on dry pavement, I tried to stop quickly for a dog strolling in front of us. The van slightly slowed, the dog waddled out of the way and we came to a rolling, gradual stop with the brake pedal depressed fully to the floor. I hadn't time to pump brakes and I don't know if it would have mattered. The Toyota dealer couldn't duplicate problem and said pads, etc; were good. Has happened to me this one time only, but google search suggests others may have had this experience. Thanks
When backing 2004 Toyota Sienna le van in driveway the brakes failed. The vehicle has 41,000 miles and has always been serviced by Toyota. The brakes were checked at 34,388. The car has a higher idle (fuel consumption) so in the process of backing, the car was rolling. I put the car in reverse and did not touch the acelerator. The vehicle rolled and continued to pick up speed, since I was unable to stop the car. The brakes were applied around 3 times and then I opted to hit the retaining wall instead of going back into the a busy street with wife and children in the car. It was either pray for no coming traffic or run into the neighbors house and vehicles. We have not experienced any problems in the past. The dealership was unable to identify any root cause. We are concerned about the safety of the vehicle and wanted a complaint as a matter of record. In researching the incident in google this is not an isolated incident and there have been a few records of such cases with the Sienna van around this make and model.
The car is used on an occasional basis. 34,000 miles in four years. It has suffered corrosion buildup on the rotors, so we have tried to use it at least twice a week, knowing that catastrophe can occur when the vehicle is not used with some regularity--especially in the cold weather. About two months ago, my wife complained of noise, and I told her it was due to corrosion buildup and that driving would remove the corrosion. Then she abandoned the car a couple of days later when the brakes failed. The inner pad had work down to metal, and the metal backing slid out of place. My wife wound up braking on the caliper piston. I will replace the brake shoes and rotors, and must also replace a caliper if I cannot find the piston as a separate piece. Estimate: $300, not counting the caliper, with me doing all the work. Toyota would likely charge a little more than $1,000 for the job. The car has sat unused and unrepaired now for weeks for want of the cash for the parts.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While driving 40 mph, the contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle did not stop. There were 30-40 yards between the contact's vehicle and the preceding vehicle. The brake pedal extended to the floorboard. The brakes grabbed momentarily, but then became "mushy." The contact crashed into the preceding vehicle and caused injuries to the occupant in the other vehicle. The passenger's seat belt did not engage properly, causing the passenger to strike the dashboard and sustain minor injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed from the scene. The failure and current mileages were less than 55,000.
Driving our '04 Sienna at about 30-40 mph in flow with traffic with about 30-40 yards of separation had to brake for suddenly stopping traffic in front when brake pedal went to the floor with shocking mushiness failing to stop in time resulting in totaling of our vehicle and significant damage to vehicle we struck.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna le. After purchasing the vehicle, the contact noticed that the brakes were making a squeaking sound and when engaged they did not stop the vehicle as quickly as they should have. The brakes were repaired. The failure and current mileage were 73200.
Vehicle hesitates when accelerator is pressed. Vehicle 'surges' at times when brake is depressed. Similar to other complaints noted in this section, my Sienna has a rough transmission, tires occasionally spin out with normal acceleration from a parking lot, toll booth, etc. Repeated trips to dealership bring no satisfaction: Response from dealer is that vehicle is operating within standards.
: the contact stated while driving 40 mph or at various high speeds on normal braking conditions, the automatic braking engaged intermittently and the wheels locked up. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer who upon examination determined that the steering angle sensor failed. The dealer also stated that there was a NHTSA service bulletin # 10011806 regarding the service brakes, hydraulic. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for further repairs.
Brake pads worn down to damage rotors with no warning at 30K miles. New pads and rotor and still hear noise from right front. Black brake dust on outside hub caps started appearing at 3K miles, mechanics said it's normal. Mechanic hears noise but maintains it is not indicative of a problem. Two tires already replaced due to wear. Tire sensors worked sometimes for flats.
2004 Toyota Sienna developed problems with the brake equipment.** answer required*** on four occasions, the brakes had been inspected by mechanics and in some cases reinstalled. The consumer also experienced a grinding noise on two different trips. The consumer was informed that the grinding noise was coming from the rear brakes and did not constitute serious brake problems. The consumer tried to use the hitch mount/bike rack only to find that the hitch would bottom out while entering gas stations or exiting driveways. Also, as an alternative to the hitch not operating properly, the consumer added rear air bags on the suspension system in order to give the vehicle additional clearance and they have failed and or blew out about three times. Other problems: Battery failure, rear bumper clip not holding the bumper in place, interior trim piece on seat detaching, grab handle trim piece breaking, and the consumer's daughter's hand had gotten stuck in the automatic door that was not supposed to close due to resistance in the path.
The mechanic determined that the brakes needed to be replaced due to worn out parts. The consumer was informed that the brakes had 2% of life left and the drums had to be machined. The vehicle never gave any warning that the brakes were bad.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Glen Allen, VA, USA