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.
Rubber on rear hatch handle has become soft and pliable. This started in 2013 and while being an inconvenience because the rubber blackened your fingers caused no danger. Yesterday morning it was 31 degrees in atlanta and when I tried to open the rear hatch the rubber was hard and would not open the hatch. This could be a serious problem if in cold weather the vehicle was in an accident and the only access to the passenger compartment was through the rear hatch. Toyota should recall or at their expense repair the vehicles with defective handles.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while driving at 10 mph, the passenger side sliding door opened independently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was repaired, but the failure recurred several times. The details of the repairs were unknown. The vehicles passenger side sliding door also opened independently when parked and failed to close. In addition, the door ajar warning light illuminated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 5,000. Updated 2/4/16.....updated 02/10/16
That was around 2012 new year time when I, my wife and my kid visited our friend at atlanta, ga. We drove our van on interstate highway I-75, in the middle of our trip, our van started shaking vigorously. I felt that was from engine, it forced me to stop on the side of I-75. After a while we restarted our van, we could only drive for < 65 miles/hour. Any acceleration resulted in vigorous shaking. After we came home I drove my van to an auto service center, and was checked. It turned out that 3 ignition coils, spark plugs, and manifold gasket had to be replaced. Yesterday (9/10/2015) the same problem happened again.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. When the vehicle was started, the power sliding door on the passenger side failed and would not open. The contact stated that the door could be opened manually with force. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the power door cable needed to be replaced. The failure recurred with the driver side power sliding door also; however, the door could not be opened at all. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 103,000.
Passenger side power slide door does not work by pressing the button on the central console, on the side of door or the key fob. The slide doors do work by pulling the handles from the outsides. I was told this was the override procedure. This is a big concern with this being a family vehicle.
- Zebulon, NC, USA
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I was getting things out of back with power lift gate up. While leaning in vehicle the power lift gate came down without warning and caught me. It did not continue to crush me but it did not reverse so I had to use a pretty good force to push it up (my wife probably would not have been able to do it). It did it a second time a week or so later. When I took it to Toyota they said the struts were bad and replaced them. When I asked why there was no warning they just shrugged their shoulders and said do not know and insinuated they would not know what to do so it would not happen again without warning. How was I to know the struts were bad since it is a power lift gate had been working just fine? it seems to me if this is not something Toyota can fix so it cannot come down without warning they at least need to install warning labels in an obvious place that the lift gate can close without warning. I really think my wife would not been able to push it up as I did. She would have needed assistance.
Both power slide doors do not work by pressing the buttons on the central console nor on the side of doors. It first happened on the left door and then happened on the right door recently. The slide doors do work by pulling the handles from the outside. The failure post a serious safety concern that if the vehicle involved in an accident, the passengers in the 2nd and 3rd rows will not be able to leave the vehicle quickly without the immediately help from the outside, especially for the minors and disables.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the rear hatch door sensor malfunctioned and failed to recognize when someone was within the entry of the hatch. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the sliding doors cable fractured causing the automatic opening and closing of the door to fail. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 112,000.
The passenger side automatic door cable snapped. The car is only 6 years old. I did some research on the internet and there are widespread reports of this being a common design flaw with Toyota Sienna automatic doors. I called the dealership and they indicated it was $1600 to repair the cable. That is outrageous! I wrote to Toyota through their customer support site inquiring about an extended warranty I read about regarding this issue, however they opted to ignore me and not respond.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the passenger's front and rear side doors failed to unlock internally. The passenger side front and rear side doors were only able to be unlocked from the outside. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was advised that the doors electric cable failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000 and the current 126,600. The VIN was not available.
Air bag light started blinking when car started and stayed blinking. Brought in to dealer and comments were "open in side. Squib rh circuit" and "needs pass. Side front seat airbag" for $865. Same issue seems true for 2007 Siennas online. Light stopped blinking and has not recurred.
I recently purchased a 2008 Toyota Sienna that I believe has a safety issue, particularly in cold weather. The exterior switch that allows the rear hatch to open is not functional in cold weather due to a material malfunction. I noticed that during warmer weather, the rubber seal over this exterior switch had become soft and gummy. Over time, the rubber seeped between the switch housing and the switch button. As the weather became cold, the rubber has hardened around the switch button and the exterior switch is no longer functional. The only way I can open the rear hatch in cold weather is to open a front door and use the interior switch to open the rear hatch. My concern is if we were to get into an accident during the cold months and the only way someone could get access to the interior of the vehicle is through the rear hatch, it could not be done because the exterior switch on the rear hatch would be seized preventing access. It is very alarming when I think of my entire family, especially my 15 yo, my 3 yr, and my 6 mo, being inside of this van and people not gaining access to the inside to help them due to injuries, fire, water hazards, etc... I own a 2005 Toyota 4runner and it appears to have the same switch. However, the rubber on the switch is perfectly fine and functions normally. There appears to have been a material change allowing the rubber to soften resulting in a potential safety hazard during the cold months. I spoke to our local Toyota dealership and they are fully aware of this issue and said that Toyota does not consider this to be a safety issue. Initially I thought the previous owner applied a solvent or something to soften the rubber. As I researched more on the internet, this issue applies to many Toyota vehicles, with models including the Sienna and the 4runner. The earliest model year that I can find for either model is 2007.
My sister and I had just returned home from the store and I pressed the button to lift the back door to get our things out. We were in the middle of getting our things out when the door started closing on us. I got out and my sister got caught and it came down on her back and scratched her up pretty good. Ever since then just out of the blue it will not stay up and it will close down on you. I think this is a major safety issue especially since I have two little children. It could really do some harm to them. The sliding doors stop closing if someone is in the way and it should be the same for the back door. I bought this vehicle because it is supposed to be one of the top of the line fans for safety. So far I am not impressed. Someone needs to resolve this issue! I am scared to even open up that back door because of this.....and that is not good.
Right rear power sliding door on 2005 Toyota Sienna lxe malfunctioned. Dealer quoted nearly $1000 to fix. Ridiculous. Had dealer disconnect system (over $70) and now can use door manually although door is cumbersome to move -- almost impossible for children to operate. Inexcusably poor design! same problem right rear window. Will not operate. Now disconnected by dealer (included in $70 charge noted above). Window cannot be operated manually. Permanently shut. Bad! ventilation in rear and thus throughout vehicle adversely affected.
The rubberized surface of the rear door latch has dissolved into goo. I assume that heat from an electrical short melted the rubber. Thus, two problems: 1) this may be a sign of a serious electrical problem that will manifest itself again but with respect to a critical component; and 2) each time the latch is used, some of the black goo comes off on my hand.
I arrived at work and used the interior push button to open the power door on the driver side of my van after exiting the van my key fob would not activate the close of the door. It was dark and I closed the door manually. After leaving work I attempted to activate and open the same door with my key fob. The door would not open and I could not open it manually. After closer examination (it was now daylight) the power door cable was hanging down from the furthest rear window. It had snapped. The door would not open manually (it wouldn't budge) and if I attempted using the fob or interior push buttons you could hear the component that activates the cable humming but the door had no movement. The failure of the door to open as a safety issue.
All of the sudden when I was driving on the highway (2008 Sienna limited AWD) last two week it suddenly stopped while I was driving at 75 mph. With not prior signs of malfunction before the incident. I tried to start it up but it didn't work. (August 1, 680 South bond al costa blvd is where my car broke down) so we towed the car to the sunnyvale Toyota. They said they would give us a report of what went wrong. Turns out the fuel pump doesn't work, and they don't know why because it is a independent part, I consulted a professional auto mechanic for a second opinion. He said that it usually doesn't happen unless your car is over 10 years old. I called the Toyota headquarters to file a complaint but they said it wasn't a very "big" problem and didn't follow up with me and said I have to call my own dealer only. And that it was perfectly safe for me to pull over with the left over momentum. I was not satisfied with their answer and I found it weird that its breaking down already. With only 30,000 miles and 2 years new. Not only that when they returned the car to us, they decided to mention to us that apparently not only is the fuel pump not working apparently the battery rotted too. They said that all the liquid in the battery leaked out so they had to change it also. I am not pleased that they decided to tell me this when they returned the car to me not before when they told me the fuel pump was not working. I am not pleased with the quality of Toyota, and do not feel safe driving my car around.
Vehicle traveling 35mph on a level street. Warm, dry, windy, cloudy afternoon. Sudden acceleration! brief (1-2 seconds) ended before I could depress the brake. No damage, collision or injury occurred. Just startled. Checked for floor mat or other visible obstruction/ impedance, none apparent. This was the first time I was sure of the occurrence. There have been a variety of what appear to be electrical /electronic "glitches" : ac green light on button comes on by itself, summer or winter and sometimes I can not get it to turn off. Seatbelt light sometimes comes on when they are properly in use. (and nothing heavy resting on the seats) also airbag light sometimes. Service light remains on sometimes after oil change service. Brake highly sensitive gas pedal very touchy, especially from stop, ie at light. Hard to not spin wheels on starting. (especially when pavement wet, even on level St.). fortunately, having lived in snow territory, I know the importance of slow starts and stops when possible. I have not checked any sites to see if Sienna 2008 has any problems listed yet.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact started the ignition. The "engine" warning light indicator illuminated in a flashing motion on the instrument panel. The warning indicator illuminated until the engine was turned off. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician detected an engine default code. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on a separate occasion for the identical failure. However, the previous repair code was not detected in the computerized system and other error codes. The vehicle has not been repaired for the malfunction. Whenever the temperatures were 20 degrees or below the failure occurred. The failure mileage was 15,255.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lilburn, GA, USA