2004 TOYOTA SIENNA Complaints

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. *TR

DRIVER'S DOOR DETENT WELD FAILURE. I HAVE AN '04 TOYOTA SIENNA THAT ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR USES A DETENT STRAP TO HOLD THE DOOR OPEN AT CERTAIN POINTS. WHERE THE STRAP IS HELD AT, ON THE DOOR, THERE ARE TWO SPOT WELDS THAT ATTACH THE BRACKET TO THE DOOR. THE STRAP IS BOLTED TO THE BRACKET. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE THAT TWO SPOT WELDS ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO HOLD THIS BRACKET. AFTER I FOUND OUT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE DOOR, I CONTACTED MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER, AND THE SERVICE PERSON WAS WARE OF THIS CONDITION . THEY SAID IT WOULD HAVE TO BE SENT OUT TO A BODY SHOP TO BE REPAIRED. AFTER DISCUSSING IT WITH THIS PERSON AND THE SERVICE MANAGER THE DEALERSHIPS POSITION WAS THAT IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND THAT THERE WERE NO RECALLS ON IT AT THIS TIME. I CHECKED A WEBSITE FOR TOYOTA SIENNA VANS AND FOUND THAT THIS PROBLEM WAS BIGGER THAN THE DEALER WANTED TO ADMIT, AND THOUSANDS OF THESE DOOR WELDS FAILED. ONE PERSON POSTED THAT A LOCAL BODY SHOP WAS REPLACING 7 DOORS A WEEK ON AVERAGE. I CALLED THE DEALER THAT I BOUGHT THE VAN FROM AND WITHOUT EVEN SEEING IT THEY KNEW OF THE PROBLEM AND SAID THAT THEY WILL TAKE CARE OF IT UNDER WARRANTY. THEY CLAIMED THAT TOYOTA WAS WORKING WITH THEM TO TAKE CARE OFF THE PROBLEM. SO, I WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE THIS OR ANYTHING A"RECALL. IS IT UP TO THE MANUFACTURER TO DECIDE OR JUST NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS. I URGE ANYONE WHO HAS A PROBLEM LIKE THIS, EVEN IF IT WAS TAKEN CARE OF UNDER WARRANTY, TO CALL TOYOTA CONSUMER AFFAIRS AND LET THEM KNOW ABOUT IT. THE PHONE NUMBER IS 800-331-4331. *AK

BROKEN WELDS IN DOOR ON DOOR STOP ON 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA. THIS IS A KNOW DEFECT THAT NEEDS TO BE COVERED UNDER A RECALL. I KNOW OF 35 OTHER VANS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. IT IS HIT OR MISS IF THEY WILL FIX THIS UNDER WARRANTY. THIS WILL BECOME A SAFETY ISSUE WHEN THE BRAKES AR EINVOLVED. TOYOTA CUSTOMER CARE HAS REFUSED TO TAKE COMPLAINTS ON THE PROBLEM. AK

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. *AK

SIENNA 2004 AWD, PULLING TO THE RIGHT, UNRELIABLE RUN-FLAT TIRES- NEEDS REPLACEMENT ALMOST EVERY 12,000 MILES. I JUST HAD IT REPLACE LAST YEAR 2006 AS SPONSORED BY TOYOTA BECAUSE THEY SAID ORIGINAL TIRES WERE DEFECTIVE. NOW I AM HAVING PROBLEMS, GRINDING NOISE WHILE TURNING RIGHT, AND WAS INFORMED THAT ALL THE TIRES NEED TO BE REPLACED AFTER AT APPROXIMATELY 12,000 MILES , ODOMETER SHOWED APPROX 25,000 MILES, BECAUSE OF UNEVEN WEAR MOSTLY LEFT FRONT OUTSIDE PART OF THE TIRE. DEALER SAID BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN RUNNING ON LOW PRESSURE AND WAS PROBABLY MAKING A LOT OF RIGHT TURNS. IF I MAKE A RIGHT TURN I WOULD MAKE AN EQUAL AMOUNT OF LEFT TURNS. THE VAN WAS EQUIPPED WITH LOW PRESURE MONITORING SENSOR, ONE OF THE REASONS I PURCHASED IT WHICH DID NOT GO OFF. *AK TOYOTA REFUSES TO HELP WITH ALL THE TIRE PROBLEM AND DEALER IS PLAYING DUMB TO THE ISSUE.

I OWN A 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA I BOUGHT NEW THAT HAS HAD TO HAVE THE BRAKE PADS REPLACED 3 TIMES IN 62,000 MILES. THE LAST 2 SETS ONLY LASTED 17,000, BUT THE FACTORY ONES LASTED 27,000. IT' WAS WORN OUT ROTORS, AND HAD TO REPLACE THOSE TWICE. IT WA SBECOMING VERY EXPENSIVE, AND SEEMED TO BE A PRODUCT DEFAULT. NO OTHER MINI VAN I DROVE HAD ANYTHING LIKE THIS. *AK

THE REAR LIFTGATE ON THE TOYOTA SIENNA DOES NOT HOLD AND WILL NOT STAY UP. THIS CREATES A SERIUS HAZARD, ESPECIALLY WHEN CHILDREN ARE NEARBY. *AK

I'VE SEEN OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE TRANSMISSION BEING HESITANT AND THE CAR SURGING AND SLOWING UNEXPECTEDLY. I'VE HAD THESE PROBLEMS, TOO. THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME I NEEDED A FLASH TO THE COMPUTER THAT WOULD GIVE THE CAR A SHIFT ENHANCEMENT. THEY SAID IT WASN'T PART OF THE POWERTRAIN WARRANTY, BUT THEN AGREED TO DO IT FOR THE $45 I INITIALLY PAID THEM TO LOOK THE CAR OVER. IT SHIFTS MORE AGGRESSIVELY NOW, BUT IT STILL SEEMS TO SLOW AND SURGE UNEXPECTEDLY AND FAILS TO DOWNSHIFT FOR ACCELERATION AT TIMES. TODAY WAS MY FIRST DANGEROUS SITUATION IN WHICH I MADE A LEFT HAND TURN RIGHT BEFORE A CURVE IN THE ROAD. JUST AS I WAS BEGINNING MY TURN A CAR APPEARED AND I HAD TO STEP HARD ON THE ACCELERATOR. THE CAR DID NOT RESPOND AS QUICKLY AS IT SHOULD HAVE, BUT I DID MANAGE TO MAKE IT ACROSS.

RELATING TO CURRENT INVESTIGATION OF 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA REAR LIFTGATE STRUT FAILURE NHTSA RECALL CAMPAIGN NUMBER: EA06020). MY WIFE HAS A 2004 SIENNA XLE WITH THE POWER LIFTGATE AND THE STRUTS JUST FAILED, CAUSING THE LIFTGATE TO CLOSE AND REQUIRING HELP FROM A FRIEND STANDING NEARBY TO HELP HER HOLD IT UP TO REMOVE OUR CHILDREN'S STROLLER. I LOOKED AT IT THIS EVENING AND NOTICED GREASE AROUND ONE OF THE CYLINDERS WHERE THE SEAL HAD OBVIOUSLY FAILED. WHILE I WAS LOOKING AT THE STRUTS I TOOK MY HAND OFF OF THE HATCH FOR A SECOND MISTAKENLY THINKING THAT THE POWER ASSEMBLY WOULD HOLD IT UP AND IT IMMEDIATELY CAME DOWN AND HIT ME IN THE HEAD, CAUSING LUCKILY ONLY A HEADACHE. AFTER RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM AND FINDING THE ONGOING INVESTIGATION I WANTED TO ADD MY NAME TO THE LIST OF COMPLAINTANTS AND SUGGESTIONS THAT TOYOTA BE REQUIRED TO FIX THE DEFECT AND REPLACE THE STRUTS. NOTE: I ENTERED 2 IN THE NUMBER OF FAILURES BOX SINCE BOTH STRUTS FAILED AND I ENTERED 1 IN THE PERSONS INJURED BECAUSE IT DID HIT ME IN THE HEAD HARD ENOUGH TO GIVE ME A HEADACHE ,AND I AM A 200 LBS MAN. MY FEAR WAS THAT IF IT WOULD HAVE CLOSED ON ONE OF MY CHILDREN THAT IT COULD HAVE CAUSED SERIOUS INJURY. I WILL BE SHOPPING TOMORROW FOR REPLACEMENT STRUTS FROM AN AFTERMARKET DEALER BECAUSE IN MY RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND PEOPLE ON THEIR 2ND, 3RD, AND EVEN 4TH SETS OF STRUTS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. UNFORTUNATELY, MY SIENNA WAS CONVENIENTLY AT 39,000 MILES, 3,000 MILES OUT OF WARRANTY. *AK

MY HUSBAND NOTICED THE 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA MOVING IN THE DRIVEWAY AND FOUND THAT THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SHIFTED OUT OF PARK. HE THEN PLAYED AROUND WITH IT AND FOUND THAT IT CAN BE SHIFTED OUT OF PARK WITHOUT DEPRESSING THE BRAKE. I TOOK IT TO THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THAT SOMETHING BROKE OFF INSIDE AND WOULD COST AROUND $700 TO FIX IT. THEY THEN SAID THAT MY CHILDREN MUST HAVE BROKEN IT OFF SWINGING FROM THE SHIFTER. I RESPONDED THAT I REALLY DIDN'T THINK THAT MY CHILDREN DID SUCH A THING AND THE CUSTOMER SERVICE REP ADMITTED THAT THEY'RE PROBABLY NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO BREAK IT ANYHOW. THISWAS VERY DANGEROUS. *AK