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 cable on my 2004 Toyota Sienna sliding door snapped. First the remote buttons failed to open the door and then shortly after the door will not open at all either from the outside or the inside because the cable snapped. I can see the broken cable underneath the rear window. Toyota is telling me they want about $2K to fix the problem. I have read that this is a pretty common problem for this vehicle and am surprised that the manufacturer is not offering to have the repair fully or at least partially paid for by them.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the door cables for both the driver and passenger sides failed without warning. The contact had to enter the vehicle through the front doors or rear hatch. The dealer stated that the cables to the doors would have to be replaced but it was not covered under warranty. The failure and the current mileages were 109,182.
Our passenger side rear door stopped opening and closing with the remote or inside buttons 3 days ago but we could open and close it manually. As of this morning it will no longer unlock, therefore we can not even get the door open. My children are required to exit that side of the car at school drop off so this is now a dangerous for them to have to get out on the driver side and walk around the car.
The drivers side passenger door sometimes would close on it's own after opened. I took it to dealership & of course worked as normal. In May 2011 I returned to the dealership, because while I was out shopping the door would not close, I closed as best I could, but would open on it's own going up a hill or on turns. Dealership said my warranty expired in April. They could not get the door to fully close, which meant I had to turn off my power doors or the alarm would sound non-stop, the inside & outside lights would not go off. I drive this van at risk of the door opening at any time, but, it's what I own. The dealership and myself has asked Toyota to repair, they refuse - cost $3000!!! cable, motor, hinge - all rusted out! I have researched this problem on the internet and have found thousands of complaints on 2004 & 2005 - same issue. This should be a recall by Toyota, paid by them! when is someone going to listen and make Toyota responsible for this matter. I travel with my dogs and young children in my vehicle, it has eliminated one seat in my van, I can't let anyone sit there. NHTSA you need to do something for all of us that are having this issue and don't have $3,000 to pay for repair, a repair that we should not have to pay anyway! wake up Toyota, you are gonna be loosing lots of customers over this one, I know it's my last Toyota, hello Honda or Nissan! I will never recommend Toyota to anyone.
One day we noticed a scraping noise that our passenger side sliding power door was making when we opened and closed it. The next day we parked in a shopping center and after getting our two year old twin girls out of their car seat, we pushed the button to close the door and it got stuck half way. We could not push it open or closed. The cable had frayed and the protective covering over the cable had come off. We panicked because we did not know how we would get home since the door would not shut to safely drive our children home. Fortunately after some time we came up with the idea of cutting the cablewith wire cutters so we could at least get it closed. It worked and the door is now manual but the door may be compromised from this cable failure. Apparently this is a common problem that many Sienna owners feel Toyota needs to address due to the inadequate materials used to operate the power sliding doors and the hefty expenses to have it replaced.
The automatic sliding side door on my 2004 Toyota Sienna quit working. The cable broke and the door still works manually. Without the cable, the heavy door slides closed with great force. If the van were to be parked on a downward slope, a person could easily be injured by the out of control door. It appears the cable was the safety mechanism for the door. My research shows this is a large problem with these vehicles.
2004 driver's side sliding door cable broke, causing the door to be unable to close. Due to severely cold weather in Iowa, the door was forced shut to allow the vehicle to be operable. Door motor replacement cost estimates range from $1300-1500. A few months later the passenger side door started exhibiting problems opening and closing. Turned off the motors from the inside compartment. One time when the drivers side door was opened, a piece of the door assembly shattered the rear 3/4 glass panel.
The passenger power sliding door has failed to operate due to a frayed cable. The door will not open even in manual mode with the cable in place. I snipped the cable to free the door, and it will open but will not lock in the open position (useful when opening the door at a slight decline). When closing the door manually, it makes a loud "thunk" as the door edge and frame of the car make contact. It appears as though the door has shifted on its hinges preventing a perfect alignment with the locking mechanism.
The passenger side power sliding door became stuck in the open position and would not close. The manual override does not work; it simply would not close. Using a great deal of force, we finally got it closed after arriving home, but now we cannot open it.
Both of the sliding doors on my 2004 Toyota Sienna have stopped working. First, the cable snapped on the passenger side, then the driver side got locked in an open position. After much struggle, each time we were able to close the broken door in order to safely drive to the dealership to get it fixed. Both times, we were told we needed to replace the door for $2000. The dealer told us that they are seeing alot of people with the same issues. Seems like Toyota should be providing a manual solution or a recall if it's really as widespread as the dealer indicated - essentially, the van is unsafe to drive with doors stuck in an open position.
Both sliding doors worked only intermittently. Then driver's side door got stuck open and we had to drive with the alarm blaring. Could not get the door open or shut. Approx 3 days later, the passenger sliding door got stuck shut and when I tried to open it I heard a loud sound. The cable snapped and the door is stuck shut. Our kids had to get in and out of the van by going in the front door and climbing around to the back. If there is a reason to need to get out of the van quickly they will not be able to do so. This is an ongoing issue w/ Siennas and is a big problem that needs to be addressed.
The motor in the power sliding door burnt out. The pulley cable got caught and overheated the motor. Now the door is stuck in the open position the pulley cable is taught and it will not close.
The driver's side door check strap is failing. My understanding is that it has to do with the failure of welds where the strap connects to the door. There have been other complaints I have seen on line of similar failures. Some as early as 35,000 miles into the van's life. The repair for this defect is expensive and requires the re-welding of the strap to the internal portion of the door.
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.
1. since last year, the left side of sliding door will close by itself. 2. the right side of sliding door will not able to close unless pull from outside.
The passenger power sliding door cable has broken. I have seen this complaint numerous times on the internet. The repair is costly since the design has the cable as part of the motor assembly. Bad enough that the doors stick off and on all winter anytime the vehicle is left outdoors (or just being driven), but to not make the cable a serviceable and repairable part seems an engineering mistake. Exposed seals and cables are not a well thought design.
The left side automatic sliding door was stuck in an open position. Our car was packed with our 5 kids. They door could not be closed automatically or manually. What occurred was the plastic coating on the cable had cracked and bunched up and stuck in the pulley of the door system. In order to move, we had to cut the steel cable (which wasn't easy). Which allowed us to close the door manually. The door can not be fixed by simply putting another cable in. It requires the entire motor assembly to be changed. Which cost between $1500-2000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Union, NJ, USA