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 driver's side seatbelt gets folded up and cannot retract. This was a safety issue because I had to drive with no effective seatbelt until I could get home and fix it. This is not the first time this has happened. Once I took it to get fixed but recently I learned how to fix it myself. This required tools and about 30 minutes to complete. If this happens again when I am not at home or don't have time to fix it, I'll be in the same unsafe situation again. Please issue a recall.
Both front seat belts fail to retract, remaining much too loose to provide safety to passenger. I have been able to fool with the mechanism in various ways and get the seatbelt working again until today -- 3-28-14. Driver's side is fully extended, folded over, and there is no way to get it unfolded and reactivate the retracting now that it is fully extended. I have actually been fussing with this on and off for a couple of years, but in the last month it is constant. I looked for a solution online and discovered it is a very common problem for Sienna owners. All agree that once the belt is all the way out, it cannot be fiddled with enough to fix it.
I love this vehicle, but the drivers side seatbelt periodically sticks. I've tried pulling more belt out, often running out of belt and not being able to get unstuck initially. Sometimes the belt has folded over, but not in all instances. I have often had to use needle nose pliers to grip, pull and/or flip the belt over if folded. Often this takes 10 minutes to correct. This has happened when I'm not at home, and I've had to drive home with no seat belt. This is a consistent problem, and one my Tundra, avalon and echo do not experience. I am an avid Toyota owner, still owning 3 of 4 I've bought. Toyota should resolve this issue as it seems from the online community that seat belts 'locking' is a persistent issue.
On the day I purchased this (used) vehicle, I noticed that the driver's side seatbelt would not retract. After examining the seat belt I noticed that it had folded in on itself and was jammed at the site of where it retracts. I could see that belt was not only folded on itself from the outside, but also past the plastic hardware and behind the casing. I could not unfold the belt with my hands because the folded part of the belt was inside the plastic, which I believe is where the trouble was occurring. I had to drive home with a loose seatbelt (as I had pulled it out while trying to get it to retract) and use a pair of pliers to untwist the folded part. This has happened every single day since I purchased this vehicle 6 days ago. I called my Toyota dealer who said there is a seat belt recall for the second row seat belt, for the same problem, however, there is no recall for the driver's side and therefore they could not fix the problem. It is a big problem when I am out in public and cannot get the seatbelt unfolded. I am forced to drive my vehicle back home without the ability/protection of using a seatbelt.
- Washburn, ME, USA
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The front seat belts on both the driver's side and the passenger's side will not retract. Once extended, they get stuck in the extended position, making the seat belt restrain system completely inoperable. The seat belt will click into the lock mechanism, but the belt is completely loose, and the retract/lock system does not work. This is an unsafe condition. I researched online to try to fix this problem myself, and I found hundreds of other complaints exactly like this one, each with varying mileage on their 2004-2010 model year Siennas. Its one of the most popular selling minivans, don't you think Toyota should fix this safety issue??
In just normal use, without ever having been involved in a collision causing the seatbelt to restrain a passenger, the seat belt on the front passenger side over extends and folds. The belt will not retract and causes the passenger seat to be unusable. The fold is nearly impossible to remove and the belt remains extended. This has happened numerous times over the course of owning the vehicle, to many different passengers.
The front passenger seatbelt has a tendency to twist when retracting. I've seen online that this is a common problem with Toyota Siennas. I've read that some people iron and starch their seatbelts - but heat/melting is a terrible solution.
The seat belt has managed several times become twisted/jammed up in the retractor portion of the seat belt. If an accident were to happen in this vehicle the seat belt would fail to operate as it is intended, which I feel would result in serious injury. I would like to have our seat belt fixed at the cost of Toyota.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated the front driver's side seat belt webbing failed to retract or properly restrain her. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who stated that the entire seat belt assembly needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000. The current mileage was 140,000.
Front passenger seat belt folds over on itself when pulled to engage. This prohibits the use of the seatbelt. Does not happen every time but probably occurs 15 to 20 times a year. When it jams if the occupant does not know how to correct the problem they ride with no seatbelt protection. Toyota washes their hands and states that it is out of warranty.
The front passenger seat belt often gets folded and jammed and does not retract. It takes a lot of messing with to get it to retract. Today, I could not get it to retract, so it is extended all the way so noone can safely sit in the front seat.
The front passenger seat belt has a tendency to jam whenever put on in a certain way. I have found a way to almost consistently repeat it and have found that it tends to happen with passengers of greater girth or stature. Definitely more likely to happen when the passenger pulls the seatbelt out forward towards the dashboard to put it on. What happens is the belt folds over due to the design of the pivot area and gets jammed in the gap resulting in an inoperative seatbelt. This has happened so many times that the seatbelt tension on the passenger side is now noticeably lower than the driver's side. Also reproducible on the driver's side but happens less frequently mostly due to a consistent driver. Definitely a hazard if it can't be unjammed as the seatbelt cannot be fastened or used properly. There is also a high chance of causing the belt to twist inside the pillar when trying to unjamming it thereby decreasing its strength. Have not found a way to consistently unjam it easily and usually just requires lots of manipulation.
The front seat belts--especially the passengers seat belt, often become stuck when extended because of twisting and folding up upon itself. Sometimes the seat belt cannot retract at all; more often than not, because of the twisting, the seat belt becomes jammed in the fully extended position. The result is that the it the occupant isn't (adequately) restrained. This happens 5 - 8 times per week. Also a problem, because the belt is not retracted, it frequently gets slammed in the door when the driver or passenger get out of the vehicle. Over time, the integrity of the belt will suffer from this. I never know when the belt will twist. If a passenger leans forward and then back, that is enough for the belt to twist upon retraction. Now I have an improperly restrained passenger at risk for injury in a moving vehicle. Please do not wait for a fatality before acting on this. We require occupants to wear belts for a reason. It is the law. If Toyota's belts are failing, we lose the benefit of the seat belt and are unprotected. Please see other websites that list this problem, the VIN numbers of these cars are similar. And also www.aboutautomobile.com/complaint/2004/Toyota/Sienna/seat+belt.
Both front seat belts on this vehicle fold over and bind up. They cannot be retracted properly. The front passenger side is bound so bad, it is unusable. Frustrating.
The front seat belts do not retract. I just bought this vehicle used new years eve and the first time used the seat belts jammed. I just looked on line to see if there is a fix and there are none listed, but hundreds of Siennas with this problem. This is a safety problem because I still have to use the van, but the front seat belts do not retract to tighten around passengers.
The front seat belts (both driver and passenger side) are easily jammed and getting folded over so that the seat belt neither retracts or pulls out. It is extremely difficult to unjam the belt, and often necessitates driving without the safety of an effective seat belt. This has never happened in any other make/model car I've driven - Toyota needs to address this safety issue promptly.
Numerous times the seat belt folds as it is pulled out and then jams. Prior to today I have been able to get it unfolded. Today I am not able to and now cannot drive my car safely. If I can't fix it myself I will have to drive it to the Toyota dealership without wearing the seatbelt.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Chapel Hill, NC, USA