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.
Normal use of the automatic passenger sliding door of the 2004 Toyota Sienna resulted in cable breaking at 82,000 miles. Have not repaired due to high cost $1,700. Known problem at time of my vehicle's manufacture, tsb issued (EL004-04), but failed outside of warranty. Door is no longer operational which is the safety issue. Children must now exit the vehicle on the street side, instead of the curb side.
2004 Toyota Sienna's automatic sliding door mechanism jammed preventing door closure. The door could not be closed automatically or manually. Circumstances forced passengers, including 4 small children, to travel several highway miles with that door open. In April 2004 Toyota modified that door mechanism for new product and issued technical service bulletin EL004-04 "power sliding door inoperative" to correct existing product. Sienna's early 2004 sliding door is a defective product. The Sienna product is a minivan marketed to families and children. As such it is designed to be a closed vehicle. The defective door should be considered a child restraint failure because closed doors are, in fact, the primary protective restraint in a family vehicle. Corrective action we elected is to cut the automatic door's tractor cable. That frees the door to close and permanently disengages the defective door mechanism.
I have 2 different complaints. Driver side seat heater burned legs of 3 different drivers before complete failure. Heat was not adjustable. Driver and passenger heaters stopped working at same time. Took to dealer, recommended new heating element ($1000+). opted not to fix. 2nd complaint, check engine, vsc, and trac off lights illuminated. The van has been sent to the dealer on at least 3 occasions. Gas cap has been replaced several times, spark plugs changed. Will go off for brief periods, but always to return. This has been going on for at least 30,000 miles. I could live with the check engine light on, but if the other lights are illuminated, that indicates these components are not working-kind of important-skid control & traction control!! there are many complaints out there on blogs, doesn't look like anyone has filed any reports with your office regarding this same problem, which is too bad because it's obviously a problem not with just Sienna but several other models as well. Extremely frustrating when even the dealer can't determine what the problem really is!! we purchased this vehicle because of the safety features. Not so sure about it if their safety features malfunction!
Power sliding door on my van quit working. Door is stuck half opened. Took to Toyota said it was a common problem but the warranty wont cover. They said it was due to door sag due to hinge but this is not the case I cut a steel cable and was able to close the door manually. It works fine manually you would think it was due to what they said it wouldn't close at all. Many people are having this problem and Toyota is doing nothing about it.
Toyota (2004 Sienna) seat heater burned a hole through the leather on drivers seat. Toyota (judy faul) interviewed me/my case and submitted to terrence chu (regulatory affairs). He wrote me a letter 3 months later and said Toyota was not at fault because I had a towel (8"X8" baby burp cloth) adjacent to my leg (left outer thigh) and the owners manual states "not to use an insulating object" with the seat heater operating. He never contacted me for clarification on the incident. I have been denied access to anyone at Toyota. The dealer (peoria, il) said they will repair for $1337, but will not support me to repair the damage the faulty heater created. I can see their logic if sitting on a stack of towles, but not a rag, of which the consistency is less than the ski pants worn (with the heater operating) or my wife sweater dresses in the same manner. Personal friends (torry olsen) had the same year van and the same problem. Toyota repaired theirs as it was under warranty. The heater element is still hooked up (and dangerous) and Toyota will not service unless we pay.
- Peoria, IL, USA
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No prior problems. The automatic door and it's safety feature of not closing when something is in the way stopped working. The door will not open completely and when closing it closes on anything in it's way. Sometimes it will not close or open at all. If the button is engaged to turn the automatic door off the door will not budge. It will not work in manual mode. Nothing has been done to correct the failure as of yet, as the expense is prohibitive.
Right side power sliding door sticking. Must manually pull handle to get door to unlatch. Once the door is in motion, you can control(open/close) with key chain controller or both power buttons inside vehicle. Same problem if the door is in open position, door latch will not released with any power buttons, must manually pull handle to get door to unlatched. Dealer cleaned and lubed door on 8-29-2008 at 84,734 miles. Charged $21 for service. Later in evening same problem occured, I took the Sienna back to dealership the next day. Service technician said it needed a new(door) motor and would cost $1,500. I was shocked since the day before they had claimed everything was ok and it was only $21. Needless to say, the door has not been fixed, I feel it is a major safety concern and it is sad to learn that there are a lot of people having the same problem. The problem seems to be consistent between 75,000 to 85,000 miles. Would appreciate if you could look into this problem.
I drive a 2004 Toyota Sienna xle. On 3/4/10 at 1030 am, I was coming to a stop light on broken land pkwy. As I completed a full stop, my Sienna tried to accelerate while my foot was depressing the brake pedal. The vehicle lurched but did not stall out and I was able to continue on my way. During the rest of the morning, I did not experience any more acceleration trouble the rest of the day. I did inform my husband and he suggested I research 2004 Toyota Sienna acceleration. I did that and found a variety of complaints from 2004 Toyota Sienna owners on several internet auto web sites.
It happened twice during 2 weeks ago ( during heavy rain). I was driving my 2004 Toyota Sienna on a parking lot. The steering wheel is very hard to turn, it seems like I lost the power steering. After restarting the van, the problem disappeared. Next day, my wife encountered the same problem when she is picking up our kids from school. We believe there is a major problem with the electrical system or computer system. I have so many problem with this vans and the dealer refuse to fix it, I have seat belt problem, it is not easy to release after driving, dealer wants 300 to fix. Electrical sliding door problem etc.
Under normal operating conditions, 2004 Toyota Sienna xle limited with hid headlights, had premature headlight failure. Mechanic diagnosed the problem as a faulty transformer and replaced it under warranty. Within a few weeks, the other side transformer failed. Mechanic replaced that transformer. Within a few days, that transformer failed too. Issue currently under investigation with Toyota.
No pertinent events other than pressing the button to open the automatic right passenger door, the cable wire broke. We brought to the Toyota dealership and we were told that it will cost about $1500 to fix it.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the passenger side power sliding door failed. The dealer stated that the entire motor assembly for the door needed to be replaced at the cost of $1,000. There were no recalls for this component. The failure mileage was 60,000.
I bought a 2004 Toyota Sienna ce in ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from a dealer, new, off the lot in August 2004. By the first winter, both back sliding doors would freeze shut, especially the passenger side, and would not open until the vehicle got really hot inside. The dealer had no solution, offered no solution. In addition, by the second year we had three radiators installed, and had both front doors repaired for rusting under a general recall. Also, the rear fan has been going on and off, even with the switch in the "off" position. We have taken this issue to the dealer many times, but they do not have an answer, nor a strategy to figure out why it does this. Finally, this vehicle has rattled inside from day one and is unpleasant to drive. I find the Toyota dealers not interested in you once you buy the car, but after three years to the day the called me wanting to know if I'd buy a new one. I will not buy another Toyota.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the motor for the driver's side sliding door failed. As a result, the door can no longer be shut and the vehicle cannot be driven. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and will be repaired at the cost of $1,600. The failure and current mileages were 58,000.
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.
Initially the dr side low beam headlight would not light. Dealer replaced bulb and ECU module. Warranty replacement. Cause was reported the ECU failed. Months later the dr side low beam headlight failed again but after the one year repair work warranty. This time it was reported to be the bulb and was replaced, dlr. Would not warrant the work, even the extended warranty supposedly did not cover. Cost to cust. Was $395. Currently the passenger side low beam headlight has quit working, several months ago and cust. Bought direct replacement bulb and installed it. That did not remedy the problem. It appears that the ECU for the passenger side low beam headlight may be faulty. It has been reported that costs for the ECU and dlr labor to replace would cost about $800. This seems to fall in the safety category and should be a recall and warranty work. Different dlr states that they can diagnose for $125 and determine the problem. Oh what to do! please help. All for seemingly a burned out headlamp. The service attitude and associated costs by the mfr. And dealers are piracy to say the least. I wouldn't mind paying my way but this seems to be a problem that is more widespread than just a few. Even in some other models. Unconscionable policy!
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the air bag warning indicator flashes intermittently on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer approximately three times and they stated that the wiring in the seat back needed to be replaced. The current mileage was 52,622 and failure mileage was 47,000.
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.
"battery saver" feature is only partially in my 2004 Toyota Sienna. The owners manual and the Toyota service manual state that "if any door is left open, then the room lights should go out after 20 minutes". this feature is only partially operable as the ignition key cylinder lights and the two front personal lights do go off, but all other interior lights remain on with an open door. Toyota has taken no action to correct problem. When a door is inadvertently left open, the battery will discharge, removing the ability to start the vehicle. There are numerous reports of this problem on the internet.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Canby, OR, USA