2004 TOYOTA SIENNA Complaints

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED UPON ENTERING THE VEHICLE, THE AUTOMATIC SLIDING DOOR SHUT ON A PASSENGER'S FINGER RESULTING IN MINOR INJURIES. THE VEHICLE HAS AN AUTOMATIC PINCH PROTECTION FEATURE THAT FAILED TO ENGAGE. THE VEHICLE WAS SEEN BY A DEALER. THE DEALER SUGGESTED THIS WAS A DESIGN ISSUE THAT ULTIMATELY FAILED AND NO REPAIRS WERE MADE.

MY 2004 SIENNA LE AWD HAS PREMATURE TIRE FAILURE. WE HAVE OWNED THE VEHICLE FOR 2 YEARS AND LESS THAN 35000 MILES HOWEVER WE ARE GETTING READY TO BUY 4 NEW TIRES FOR THE VEHICLE AFTER REPLACING 2 TIRES AT APPROXIMATELY 17K. WHEN WE BOUGHT THE VEHICLE WE WERE TOLD HOW SAFE THE RUN FLAT TIRES WERE, ESPECIALLY IN RURAL NEW HAMPSHIRE SO MY WIFE AND 2 KIDS DID NOT WORRY ABOUT BEING STRANDED. UNFORTUNATELY MOST REPAIR STATIONS CAN CHANGE OR SERVICE RUN FLAT TIRES SO IN ADDITION TO UNEXPECTED HIGH COSTS OF REPLACING TIRES EVERY 15K MILES I HAVE TO TRAVEL TO A DEALER FOR SERVICE AND PAY $280 PER TIRE. I BELIEVE THE COMBINATION OF TIRES AND VEHICLE ARE UNACCEPTABLE AND WAS NOT MARKETED OR SOLD WITH FULL DISCLOSURE OF THE ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH THESE TIRES. I AM NOW LOOKING TO CONVERT TO CONVENTIONAL TIRES BUT THERE IS NO PLACE FOR A SPARE TIRE ON THE VEHICLE. *JB

WHILE DRIVING ON DRY PAVEMENT, SOMETIMES, BUT NOT ALWAYS, AFTER LEAVING SNOWY DRIVEWAY, THE 2004 AWD TOYOTA SIENNA'S TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON. THIS WAS ACCOMPANIED BY A VERY LOUD ALARM. THE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM THEN ACTIVATED CAUSING THE ENGINE TO BRAKE AND THE ABS TO CONTINUOUSLY BRAKE UNTIL THE VEHICLE DECELERATED TO APPX. 9 MILES PER HOUR. THE LIGHT AND ALARM WOULD THEN GO OFF. THE WHOLE SCENARIO REPEATS WHEN SPEED EXCEEDS APPX. 9 MILES PER HOUR. THIS PUTS THE DRIVER IN A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. THE VEHICLE IS VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER WHEN IS IT RAPIDLY BRAKING. THIS HAPPENED BOTH AT LOW SPEEDS, START-UP SPEEDS, AND ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN I WAS GOING 40-50 MILES PER HOUR, AGAIN, ON DRY PAVEMENT. THE ONLY SAFE OPTION IS TO PULL OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. AFTER DRIVING FOR ANYWHERE FROM 3 MINUTES TO 15 MINUTES, THE PROBLEM MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARS. THE NEXT TIME THE VEHICLE STARTS, IT MAY OR MAY NOT MALFUNCTION IN THIS WAY. THE TIRES ARE IN GOOD CONDITION AND AT APPROPRIATE INFLATION LEVELS. THERE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE ANY SNOW OR ICE ON OR INSIDE THE WHEELS WHEN THIS IS HAPPENING. *NM

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE AUTOMATIC REAR HATCH COMES DOWN WITHOUT PRESSING THE REMOTE. THE HATCH HIT THE CONTACT MULTIPLE TIMES, BUT CAUSED NO INJURY. THE DEALERSHIP DETERMINED THIS IS NORMAL WHEN THE TEMPERATURE IS BETWEEN 15-25 DEGREES, ALTHOUGH THIS OCCURRED AT 30 DEGREES. THE MANUFACTURER DETERMINED THIS WAS WITHIN MANUFACTURER SPECIFICATIONS AND NO REPAIR OR ACTION COULD BE TAKEN. THE DEALERSHIP SUGGESTED THE CONTACT TRY TO MANUALLY HOLD THE REAR HATCH OPEN.

DESIGN FLAW IN 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA. THE TRAILER HITCH SCRAPES GROUND; TOO LOW TO SAFELY TOW. *NM

AFTER PURCHASING 2004 SIENNA IN 06/03 WE HAD 2 FLAT TIRES AND 1 BLOW OUT ON RIGHT FRONT PASSENGER. THE VAN BARELY HAD 9000 MILES ON IT AND WE PUT A COMPLETE NEW SET OF TIRES ON. THE CONSTANT WORRY OF FLAT TIRES WAS NOT AN OPTION. WHAT'S WORSE THAN THAT, ON THE UPGRADED WHEELS, THERE APPEARS TO BE A MAJOR DESIGN FLAW, NORMAL DUST,DIRT,ROCKS PICKED UP ACCUMULATES ON THE INSIDE OF THE BACK WHEELS, YOU CANNOT WASH IT OUT, THE WHEELS MUST BE REMOVED AND BLOWN OUT. THIS CAUSES THE WHEELS TO BE "OFF BALANCE: PROVIDE A TERRIBLE RIDE AND CAUSE UNEVEN TIRE WEAR. THE VAN NOW HAS 30000 MILES AND IS NEED OF A NEW SET OF TIRES AGAIN. IT'S ACTUALLY BEEN A VERY BAD RIDE FOR THE LAST 15000 MILES, BUT WHO CAN AFFORD TO BUY TIRES AT THAT RATE? AFTER VISITING WITH A FEW OTHER LOCAL SIENNA OWNERS WITH THE SAME WHEEL DESIGN, IT APPEARS AS THOUGH, LOW AND BEHOLD, THEY HAVE ALSO BEEN REPLACING TIRES AT MUCH HIGHER THAN NORMAL RATE. UNTIL VISITING WITH US ABOUT IT , THEY HAD MADE THE ASSUMPTION THAT TIRES JUST WEREN'T MADE LIKE THEY USED TO BE! THE 3 OTHER COUPLES (VANS) ALSO HAD BETWEEN 30000 AND 40000 MILES AND WERE ALSO ON THEIR 2ND OR EVEN 3RD SET OF TIRES!! BY THE WAY, ALL SETS OF TIRES WERE NOT THE SAME BRANDS AND DIFFERED FROM THE 2 BRANDS ) . THE SERVICE AT THE DEALER FROM WHICH THE VAN WAS PURCHASED ARE WONDERFUL, BUT NOT MUCH THEY CAN DO ABOUT IT UNLESS TOYOTA RECOGNIZES THE DESIGN FLAW. I HAVE TO WONDER EVERY TIME I SEE A SIENNA WITH THIS PARTICULAR WHEEL DESIGN, HOW MANY SETS OF TIRES HAVE THEY HAD TO PURCHASE AND HOW BADLY IS THE COMFORT OF THEIR RIDE COMPROMISED? I WILL BE TRADING THE VAN OFF SHORTLY ONLY BECAUSE OF THIS REASON, WHICH IS A CRYING SHAME, IT'S A GREAT FAMILY VEHICLE, OTHER THAN THIS, BUT THE VIBRATION FROM TIRES WORN SO UNEVENLY IS HORRENDOUS AND I AM TIRED OF BUYING TIRES, AND IT'S INCONVENIENT, TO SAY THE LEAST, TO TAKE THE VAN TO THE QUICK LUBE WEEKLY TO HAVE THE WHEELS PULLED OFF AND CLEANED OUT. *AK

TOYOTA SIENNA 2004, 19,000 MILES NOT EVEN 2 YEARS OLD. 1. VALVES MAKING NOISE WHEN DRIVING UP HILL AT SLOW SPEED OR WHEN START DRIVING. 2. WIND NOISE IS UNACCEPTABLE. PROBLEM BEGINS AT THE VERY FIRST DAY OF DRIVING THE CAR. 3. ONE BIG KNOCKING NOISE WHEN THE VEHICLE IS MOVING , ONLY WHEN SHIFT FROM PARK TO D4 AND STARTING TO DRIVE. *AK

I AM REPORTING THAT THE SMALL GROUND CLEARANCE OF 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA WITH TOW HITCH RECEIVER IS A SAFETY CONCERN THAT NEEDS INVESTIGATION BY NHTSA AND RECTIFICATION BY TOYOTA.*AK THE GROUND CLEARANCE IS INSUFFICIENT EVEN WITH NO LOAD IN THE BACK. THE TOW HITCH RECEIVER HITS THE GROUND FREQUENTLY WHILE GOING IN AND OUT OF DRIVEWAYS. I HAVE COMPLAINED TO 2 TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS AND COMPLAINTS WERE IGNORED. THIS ISSUE ABSOLUTELY NEEDS THE ATTENTION OF TOYOTA AND TRAFFIC SAFETY OFFICES NATIONWIDE AND THE NHTSA. NOT ONLY IS IT CREATING A LOT OF ANXIETY ON US AND OTHER SIENNA DRIVERS BUT ALSO IT IS A SERIOUS SAFETY MATTER. WE HAVE TO BRING THE VEHICLE TO AN EXTREMELY LOW SPEED AND AT AN ACUTE ANGLE WITH THE DRIVEWAY TO AVOID THE TOW HITCH FROM HITTING THE GROUND. IT ISN'T ALWAYS POSSIBLE TO WAIT FOR SUFFICIENT HEADWAY WHEN TURNING INTO MAIN STREAM TRAFFIC. DRIVERS FOLLOWING US HAVE BEEN HONKING AND YELLING WHILE WE WAIT FOR GOOD HEADWAY. SLOWING THE VEHICLE DOWN A LOT OR SITTING IN DRIVEWAY TO WAIT FOR SUFFICIENT HEADWAY PROVOKE RESTLESS DRIVERS THAT ARE FOLLOWING. ON OCCASIONS, VEHICLES FOLLOWING DIDN'T SLOW DOWN OR BARELY SLOW DOWN (EVEN WITH TURN SIGNAL ON), ASSUMING IT WOULD TAKE LITTLE TIME FOR THE SIENNA TO TURN ONTO DRIVEWAYS. WITH 300 LB. LOAD IN THE THIRD ROW SEAT OR BICYCLES ON THE TOW HITCH, THE PROBLEM BECOMES DISASTROUS. THIS PROBLEM HAS RENDERED THE 7-PASSENGER VEHICLE USELESS. WE ARE FORCED TO AVOID TAKING PASSENGERS WITH US AND TO STOP USING THE TOW HITCH. DESPITE LOOSING FULL USE OF THE VEHICLE, OUR LIVES ARE STILL AT RISK WHENEVER WE SLOW DOWN TO TURN IN AND OUT OF DRIVEWAYS. WE HAVE LOST PATIENCE ON THE MATTER. WHY WOULD WE AND OTHER SIENNA DRIVERS HAVE TO SUFFER AND PUT UP WITH HONKING, NASTY WORDS FROM OTHER DRIVERS, AND RISKING BEING HIT BY OTHER VEHICLES DUE TO A POORLY DESIGNED GROUND CLEARANCE? SIENNAS WITH A TOW HITCH RECEIVER ARE FLAWED. THE VEHICLE ID NUMBER IS [XXX].TOYOTA WAS NOTIFIED BUT HASN'T RESPONDED. UPDATED 07/17/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMA

WE OWN A 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA LE AWD WITH RUN FLAT TIRES. AFTER ONLY 23,000 MILES WE WERE TOLD THAT THE TIRES WERE DANGEROUSLY WORN AND ALL 4 NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE. REPLACEMENT COST WAS APPROX. $300 PER TIRE. *NM

MY 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA MINIVAN WITH ALL WHEEL DRIVE (AWD) HAS TIRES THAT HAVE WORN OUT VERY QUICKLY (LESS THAN 20,000 MILES) LEAVING MY MINIVAN WITH VERY DANGEROUS (BALD) TIRES. ALL TIRES MUST BE REPLACED AND IT WILL COST OVER $1,300. IT IS DIFFICULT TO GET REPLACEMENT TIRES AND A DEALER WITH EQUIPMENT TO CHANGE THE TIRES, FORCING OWNERS TO DRIVE ON BALD TIRES. THEY ARE TOO EXPENSIVE, TOO DIFFICULT TO REPLACE, AND I WAS NOT TOLD OF THIS WHEN I BOUGHT THE CAR. *JB