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 dash has developed several long cracks and the material is deteriorating, the vehicle has been kept garaged. I am concerned about the air bags or other dash components being effected. ## VIN passed ## Toyota Sienna le 2004 ##.
The sliding doors will not open when outside temperature is below freezing. If you need to enter and exit the vehicle you must crawl through the front seat. The automatic door will sometimes open without being manually activated. The air in the rear will automatically come on and shut off after a few seconds without being manually activated.
Tire pressure monitoring system is not working and Toyota has made up various excuses as to why the light does not go off during a flat or "blow out" or that it is working properly. Recently I was extremely nervous during driving and found after pulling off and stopping at a Honda dealership that I had an undriveable tire. Honda was not sure why the light did not go on but said it was unsafe to drive and would not hold air so I could not get to Toyota. Beside the 9 tires I have replaced the latest tire cost me a rim also. I am assuming that this was due to the flat that I did not know that I had. Something needs to be done about the run flats and especially the tire pressure monitoring system before someone is killed or severely injured. Please do something about this very serious problem.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the instrument panel was cracked across the front. The dealer was notified and of the failure who referred her to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was contacted and a complaint was filed. No other assistance was offered. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 130,000.
Power sliding passenger door no longer operates with the keyfob remote, or the door switches. The door will open if the handles are used to disengage the door.
- Clark, NJ, USA
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Power sliding door of Toyota Sienna le 2004 fails to open. Happened when car battery ran out of power. After battery was charged by an aaa mechanic with jumper cables, power door could open and close again. After driving the van for a few miles, power door started opening and closing by itself. Very, very dangerous as van was being driven on a busy highway. After I pulled up on the side road, power door kept opening and closing, but not getting successfully closed by itself. I helped the door close successfully by pushing it fully to closed position. Door is stuck in closed position since. Electronic controls and manual knobs don't manage to open the door.
6/13/2011 I brought my 2004 Toyota Sienna to the cedar rapids Toyota to check the electrical right sliding door as it was hard to open using the electrical system and manually. Toyota applied white grease and the door was less hard to open. No electrical check was performed. 7/9/2011 that same door would not open electrically and, while opening it manually, the door made a strange noise; then, the rear quarter glass of the wing window shattered. The electrical sliding door stayed stuck in a semi-open position. Being late Saturday, it could not be repaired and had to drive home with that door open, shattered glass all over the floor and seats and the deafening beeping automatic sound/signal that indicating a door is open. 7/11/2011 the car is taken to Toyota of fort worth. A supervisor was called in and, despite no investigation whatsoever, the conclusion was that nothing could be done and that I should bring the car to a body shop because it didn''t look like a mechanical/electrical failure. I took the car to the body shop (sterling fort worth.) once the door was stripped of its components, the body shop found that the door''s power slide control motor was noticeably chafed with cables linking the motor to the door all twisted. The motor was replaced but the issue recurred and also the second motor showed chafing and twisting, not allowing the door to work. The body shop concluded that the cause of the problem is the sliding door control module which controls the motor. For safety reasons I agreed with the body shop to disconnect the motor to allow the manual use of the door. Both body shop and Toyota conclude that the issue cannot be resolved because of a design flaw which does not allow for the installation holes of the module to line-up with the door. Toyota specified it does not have a manual or a design to share with anyone to fix the issue.
Electric sliding van door has failed on passenger side, will not open or close. Manual sliding side door on driver side is very difficult to open and close. Very dangerous in event of crash or fire. Dealership estimates over $1000 to fix. There are over six hundred similar complaints at townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.F0eb3fd/600 please help. Thank you.
Power sliding door cable broke due to the fact it is exposed to the elements of the rain and snow and ice causing the cable to rust and break door will not open this is a safety issue Toyota needs to address this issue if there was an accident this could be deadly for my family if they can't get out!!!!!!!
Failure of electric sliding door cable. Cable that pulls electric sliding door open rusted, failed and snapped in half. Failed cable now hangs outside the vehicle (below the rear passenger's side window) dangling from the door track.
Passenger side automatic sliding door failed to open when using remote as well as when it was manually attempted to open. Good thing we have one manual sliding door...though this door is automatically locked when gas tank door is open. Updated 08-29-11 updated 3/08/2012
Most recently, passenger side automatic door stopped mid-way, I closed it manually, drove a couple of feet and turned off the car. Then the car would not start. Door is not working automatically only manually. Started easily with jumper cables but continues to not start on its own most of the time, usually when engine is cold it won't start on its won. This happened about 8 months ago and dealer said it needed a starter even though I showed printout from tow truck showing it wasn't the starter. This also happened some time before that and dealer said I needed a new battery and that seemed to fix the problem temporarily. This has been a problem since I first purchased the car and the dealer did not fix the problem.
We had used the automatic overhead button to open the rear driver's sliding door. After our children got in the car, we tried to use the button again to close the door, however the door stopped midway because the cable came off it's track. We were not able to close the door while the cable was off the track, so we had to cut the cable and remove it in order to shut the door. We can only use the door manually now, however, it is extremely difficult to open and close, especially on the slightest incline. This is a safety issue for whoever is sitting in the rear seats, typically my children, for if there is an accident, it would be extremely difficult for them to get out. Apparently this has been an ongoing problem for years with the Toyota Sienna's and Toyota will not fix the problem.
Passenger sliding door failure. Cable compromised due to design flaw that stripped it of its insulation. Despite being garaged, this caused the cable to fray and then rust, making the door inoperable. This includes manually, as the cable catches on a roller at the door hinge in the sliding track. Additional fear is that consequent motor strain may cause additional failure/expense/fire. The cable failure causes it to bind on the hinge roller and prevents the door from both opening* closing. In an accident, you will not be able to exit the vehicle from that side if necessary. Door did open partially and then would not close without great exertion. Thankfully, my wife was able to force it closed before having to take the highway with our children inside and an open door. Once the part fails, the door can not be made operable without major repair. Toyota has tsb EL004-004 on this issue that covers our particular VIN, but will not cover the repair out of warranty. Cost of repair is approximately $2,000 and the fear is that many, like us, will not have the part repaired due to this cost (and anger over *acknowledged* design flaw).
Item 1-- this is an AWD model with run flats and no space for a spare tire. The low pressure warning for the tires is revolution based, and therefore doesn't activate due to the stiff wall run flat tires. I have had numerous occasions where the tires were very low with no warning, and two occasions where the tires had zero air and were ruined with no warning, and the first indication was a roar and sudden very bumpy ride. These 2 events happened at city speeds, but I fear this event at interstate speeds. The later models were equipped with pressure sensing devices (not revolution sensing). The vehicle has only 38K miles, perfect condition, and I just renewed my extended warranty for 6 more years, so would like a recall retrofit to pressure sensing for safety and peace of mind. I had thought Toyota would develop a fix, but to no avail. I have this documented on Toyota service invoices and the factory rep has reported there is nothing Toyota can do. Item 2--- when pulling out from behind a vehicle to pass and flooring the accelerator, there is a full second of hesitation before the down shifting/acceleration begins. This has caused two near misses. This is documented with Toyota, but all I've been told is that it is caused by "drive-by-wire" (?), which I assume is an electrical signal as opposed to a mechanical throttle cable, but again, Toyota says there is nothing they can do.
The 2004 Toyota Sienna xle van that we own has two power sliding doors. The cable to the passenger door snapped preventing the door from functioning as it should. The motor on the door is still in working order, but you cannot replace just the cable, you must replace the entire unit including the motor at $1200. We converted the door to a manual door and that worked for about 2 weeks. The door stopped functioning entirely and we are no longer able to open the passenger sliding door on our vehicle. This is a potential safety risk to us as we haul our 3 children in the back of the van. For example, when fueling the vehicle, the driver side sliding door is inoperable and in the event of a fire, the children would be trapped in the back of the vehicle. We have had very little luck in finding a used part and will hopefully be getting a new part to fix the problem in the near future.
In early January 2011, the heater for the passenger car seat in my Toyota Sienna burned through the leather, through my 12 year old daughter's dress and superficially burned her leg. I believe the seat is defective as a fuse or other safety feature should have prevented such an injury/event.
The rear passenger power sliding door failed. The cable that opens and closes the door snapped and then bound up jamming the door open about 3 inches. My children could not exit the vehicle on that side if there was an accident and I had to dissasemble the door just to close it.
2004 Toyota Sienna the ac began to work intermittently and now stopped blowing cold air at around 75,000 miles. Initial diagnostics indicated that the gauges and climate controls inside the cabin were causing this problem. Freon levels appear to be at adequate levels.
The automatic door failed and almost crushed my 21 month old. It opened and as she was getting out it started closing. It did not detect her and I had to forcefully push it open before it closed her in it. Then again the same thing happened with my 10 year old luckily she thought to get out of the way.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Fleming Island, FL, USA