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 struts on the manual liftgate of my 2004 Toyota Sienna failed at around 65,000 miles. The replacement cost at the local Toyota dealer where the vehicle was purchased, was $391.07. This appears to be a frequent complaint among Sienna owners. It would seem that Toyota should issue a recall for this problem.
2004 Toyota Sienna problems with the tailgate falling down. Customer states the tailgate came down from the raised position without any warning and hit her in the head. The consumer was no injured, however when the consumer tried to get the back door to go up via the back door switch or by using the remote, it would not go up and if she raised it by hand it would not stay up.
I have a Toyota Sienna 2004 ce. When I try to open the lifegate, it failed to keep open the morning of Sep 8 2007. And it hasn't worked since then. When I called the dealer, I was informed it will cost me about $640 to fix it since the van is out of warranty. I found out that the struts that raise the liftgate has a defect from internet.
I was unloading my 2004 Toyota Sienna when the struts holding up the rear hatch failed. I was pinned between the bumper/stuff I was unloading and the door. Luckily I was able to push myself up with the door on top of me and only had bruising on my left arm. Had the door fallen on my pregnant wife more serious injuries could have occurred. Also I am pretty sure she would not have had the strength to push her self up with the weight of the door and the angle that I was in. I have the extended warranty so the struts will be replaced along but I have a $50 deductible. If I did not have the extended warranty I would be looking at $350 plus labor. Update 12/12/2007 updated 12/12/07
Toyota Sienna 2004 power rear door closed inexpectedly and quickly hiting my wife's head. Problem can be reproduced every time that the door is powered open. Door "drops" several inches as soon as it reaches the fully-open position.
- Round Rock, TX, USA
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Power liftgate not supported by the gas struts. Power liftgate opens and then begins to power close, knocking the person loading/unloading the car on the head or squeezing them between the liftgate and the rear bumper. Has bumped me, squeezed my wife multiple times. I fear this could seriously injure the kids if they ever find themselves in the mouth of this hungry minivan!
Complaining in regards to the liftgate strut on my 2004 Toyota Sienna le. The liftgate came down on my head after anticipating the struts would hold and continue to raise the liftgate. This incident is a complete hazard to consumers that Toyota should do something about. This happened two months after my warranty had expired, but still 10,600 + miles below the 36,000 mile warranty. A Toyota dealer had told me that these struts are often changed. That tells me these struts are already known to be defective and at $175 - $181 each strut, they're not cheap. This is a serious safety hazard to buyers and especially for kids who help take out groceries from the trunk. A similar concern has been addressed by another person to consumer reports.org. Defective parts are available and will be addressed to Toyota. Thanks for the help.
2004 Toyota Sienna minivan: Over a dozen times the automatic rear tail hitch has come down without warning and tried to close itself completely. The door traps you between it and the rear bumper, once hurting my child. Toyota and the dealership said this was not under warranty and that there was no recall yet this seems to be a problem they are hearing more frequently. The dealership repaired the door at our cost.
1) rear liftgate operated normally - no indication of potential issues. 2) rear liftgate struts failed, causing the door to close unexpectedly, hitting my wife while she was underneath the liftgate. Liftgate will no longer stay in the open position. Using the power assisted feature to open the liftgate works, but it will close immediately after the opening mechanism disengages. 3) no resolution from Toyota America customer assistance since the vehicle is past 36,000 mile warranty (currently @ 42,000 miles).
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the rear hatch would close unexpectedly when it was opened all the way. The dealer stated that the struts needed to be replaced. There was an open investigation action # EA06020. The powertrain was unknown. The current mileage is 18,791 and failure mileage was 18,500. Updated 02/01/08.
The rear power rear liftgate did not stay open. It slammed close every time it was opened. This has twice caused unsuspecting vehicle operators to be struck, once in the head and once in the back.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While attempting to open the rear liftgate, the contact noticed that the struts had failed. As a result of the failure, the liftgate became very heavy and difficult to open. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that he had to replace both door struts. The current and failure mileages were 72,000.
My 2004 Toyota Sienna rear liftgate failed numerous times - including falling without warning on my 5 year old daughter - she was not hurt thankfully. No warning - the gate would just start to fall. It did not matter if it was in "power lift mode" or manual. I took the van to Toyota, hoping they would fix the problem. They said since I have 60K miles it is out of warranty. I took the van to my mechanic and he replaced the struts with others, that do not allow me to use the power option.
On 6/29/07 I opened the back door of my 2004 Toyota Sienna to put the stroller in. While I put the stroller in, the back door suddenly come down and hit my head. I try to open it again but it won't stay open and keep falling back down. I call Toyota dealer and ask them about the problem. They told me that I may need to replace the back door shock. I asked them if it is still under warranty and they told me that it is not because my vehicle is 38,000 miles and more than 3 years. I believe this is a safety issue and it can cause serious injury. I believe Toyota should recall and fix this problem free of charge. They told me it will cost me $270 to fix them and I make appointment with them for repair next week.
Failure of gas struts on liftgate of 2004 Toyota Sienna resulted in liftgate not fully opening and proceeding to close, motor-driven), immediately upon reaching the end of travel of the powered opening. First occurrence approximately 3 weeks ago, now occurs continuously. Liftgate must be held or propped open. No injuries to-date. However, several near-misses, bumping head/shoulder into gate as it is automatically closing, have occurred. So far, no repair has been made. Awaiting resolution by dealer. Defective struts were still installed.
During this winter (2006-2007) we noticed that the rear tailgate on our 2004 Toyota Sienna (purchased in Aug 2004) wouldn't open up all the way. We thought this to be the cold temperatures. However, this week, the rear liftgate failed all together. The struts that keep the gate up have ceased to operate. My wife was able to lift the gate, but it came down and slammed shut to her surprise. Pretty scary since we have a 3 year old who's seat is the back and likes to enter through the tailgate. The right strut (looking at the tailgate) seems to have leaked and has left a film on some of the plastic molding for the rear taillight. My wife contacted our local Toyota dealer, whom we have worked with before, and was given an estimate to have the struts replaced (about $411-$435). She was told that the have seen this problem on other Siennas of the same year. I have called Toyota and was basically told that they would open a case with the dealer to what can be done to help me out. I am currently waiting for the call from the dealer.
Power lift gate gas strut failed. Gate hit spouse from behind. Lift gate dropped unexpectedly. It currently does not work at all passenger side gas strut is leaking fluid.
The two liftgate support arms failed and the door fell on my head. I was not seriously hurt, but had a knot on my head. Toyota and the local dealership refused any responsibility. This door has not yet been fixed because it is expensive ($520) and since they are continuing to use the same parts, this will probably happen again!
Right side rear hatch support strut failed causing the hatch to self-close instantaneously after opening. I began to load groceries as the hatch opened and the hatch closing startled me to jump into the traffic lane of the parking lot. No traffic. Strut replaced at dealer at my cost. Old part retained by dealer.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Anderson, SC, USA