2004 TOYOTA SIENNA Complaints

POWER SLIDING DOOR IS JAMMED. RECEIVED CUSTOMER SUPPORT LETTER FROM TOYOTA LAST YEAR (2013) THAT STATED THEY KNEW THERE WAS A PROBLEM BUT ONLY AN EXTENSION OF WARRANTY FOR 9 YEARS PAST DATE OF SERVICE FOR VEHICLE AND/OR 120,000 MILES (WHICH WE ARE PAST). OVER $1100 JUST ON PARTS TO FIX ONE DOOR! TODAY THE OTHER DOOR WOULD NOT OPEN, SO I HAD 2 DOORS JAMMED AND HAD TO CLIMB INTO BACK SEAT AREA CLIMBING OVER CENTER CONSOLE TO GET TWO YOUNG CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR CAR SEATS AND OUT OF THE CAR BACK OVER CENTER CONSOLE AND OUT FRONT PASSENGER DOOR. WHEN I WENT TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE THE ALARM SYSTEM STARTED TO SOUND CONSTANTLY EVEN THOUGH DOOR WAS SHUT ALL THE WAY. THIS CREATED AN UNNECESSARY DISTRACTION TO DRIVING NOT TO MENTION THE OBVIOUS SAFETY CONCERNS OF BACK DOORS THAT WILL NOT OPEN. *TR

THIS IS A RECURRING INCIDENT. ON COLD DAYS, THE SLIDING DOORS WILL FREEZE SHUT. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, AND SOME FOLKS ON WEB FORUMS HAVE RECOMMENDED FILING A COMPLAINT TO HOPEFULLY GET TOYOTA TO ISSUE A RECALL AND RESOLVE THE ISSUE. THE FREEZING DOOR PROBLEM IS EXACERBATED BY THE ELECTRICAL DOOR LOCK MECHANISM AND OPEN/CLOSE SENSOR ON THE SLIDER. IN MANY CASES, THE FAILED ATTEMPT TO OPEN THE FROZEN DOOR IS ENOUGH TO TRIGGER THE DOOR "OPEN" SENSOR AND CAUSE THE INTERIOR LIGHTS TO COME ON. *TR

THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR STARTED MAKING A POPPING NOISE WHENEVER OPENING AND CLOSING. IT CREAKS AS IF IT IS A 50 YEAR OLD CAR ALL OF A SUDDEN. NOW WHEN OPENING THE DOOR IT SWINGS OPEN WITHOUT CONTROL. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND OUT THAT THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH THE TOYOTA SIENNA 2004 AND I EVEN FOUND A LETTER IN MY VEHICLE (THAT I HAD FORGOT RECEIVING) INFORMING ME THAT THIS WAS AN ISSUE WITH THIS VAN AND THAT TOYOTA WOULD FIX IT IF WE HAD A PROBLEM. IT SAID IF WE DID NOT HAVE THE PROBLEM TO FILE IT IN OUR OWNERS MANUAL WHICH I DID. NOW WE HAVE THE PROBLEM BUT TOYOTA REFUSES TO FIX IT SINCE IT IS NOW OUTSIDE THE WARRANTY WINDOW . THIS IS CORRUPT TO ACKNOWLEDGE AN ISSUE BUT NOT FIX IT IMMEDIATELY AND NOW WHEN THE PROBLEM ARISES DECLARE THAT IT IS TOO LATE. *TR

THE REAR POWER WINDOW WAS ROLLED UP AND CAUSED INJURY TO TEN YEAR OLD FEMALE. MY CONCERN / QUESTION IS WHY THERE IS NOT A SAFETY FEATURE ON THE WINDOWS THAT WOULD AUTOMATICALLY GO DOWN IF ANY RESISTANCE WAS APPLIED TO THE WINDOW. IF THE VEHICLE HAD THIS TYPE OF SAFETY FEATURE IT WOULD HAVE PREVENTED INJURY. *TR

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. *TR

MY CHILDREN WERE TRYING TO GET TO THE THIRD ROW SEAT AND PULLED ON THE LATCH OF THE SEAT ON THE SECOND ROW AND THE SEAT RAPIDLY SNAPPED DOWN AND OUT CRUSHING MY LITTLE ONE. SINCE THAT INCIDENT MY CHILDREN WERE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT USING THE HANDLE TO BRING THE SEAT DOWN. I HAVE HAD OTHER PEOPLE RIDE IN MY CAR THAT DO NOT KNOW HOW FAST AND DANGEROUS THESE SEATS SNAP DOWN AND OUT THAT HAVE BEEN HIT BY THE SEATS ON MY OCCASIONS. WE CALL IT THE "JAWS OF DEATH" BUT THIS IS NOT A LAUGHING MATTER. I DID WRITE TO TOYOTA ABOUT THIS BUT NEVER EVEN RECEIVED A RESPONSE. THE OTHER PROBLEM WE'VE HAD HAS BEEN WITH THE SLIDING DOORS. THEY KEEP BREAKING AND NOT CLOSING PROPERLY. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR WOULD NOT OPEN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PROBLEM WAS DUE TO A DEFECTIVE DOOR CHECK ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR. THE CONTACT STATED THE DEFECT WAS REPAIRED AT THE DEALER BUT THE PROBLEM RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 65,000.

THE REAR HATCH IS POWERED ON THIS MODEL. THE GAS SPRINGS THAT HOLD THE DOOR IN THE UPRIGHT (OPEN) POSITION DON'T PROVIDE ENOUGH FORCE TO KEEP THE DOOR IN THE OPEN POSITION. WHEN THE HATCH DROPS APPROXIMATELY 10 INCHES, THE POWER FUNCTION ACTIVATES AUTOMATICALLY, CLOSING THE HATCH. THIS POWERED CLOSING OPERATION FREQUENTLY OCCURS WHEN SOMEONE IS TRYING TO LOAD OR UNLOAD ITEMS FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. THE HATCH COMES DOWN WITH SURPRISING FORCE AND HAS KNOCKED SOME FAMILY MEMBERS TO THE GROUND AND ACTUALLY PINNED MY 8-YEAR-OLD IN A PRONE POSITION WITH HIS HEAD IN THE VEHICLE AND HIS FEET ON THE GROUND. THE SAFETY AND MENTAL ANGUISH CONCERNS ARE OBVIOUS, AND TOYOTA HAS ISSUED A RECALL FOR "CERTAIN 2004 TO 2006 VEHICLES." CHECKING WITH TOYOTA, THE RECALL DOES NOT COVER MY VIN, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE SEEING THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM FOR WHICH THE RECALL WAS ISSUED. IS THERE SOME WAY TO REDRESS THIS PROBLEM, OR DO I HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE DOOR TO ACTUALLY INJURE SOMEONE AND GET A LAWYER? *TR

DRIVING IN PASSING LANE OF INTERSTATE 70 MPH, VERY LOUD CRASHING NOISES FROM UNDERCARRIAGE THAT CONTINUED AS LONG AS CAR WAS MOVING FORWARD. TOW TRUCK DRIVER SAID POWER TRAIN (DRIVE LINE HE CALLED IT) HAD COME OFF. MECHANIC IDENTIFIED CAUSE AS TRANSFER CASE SEIZING UP, PROBABLY BECAUSE OF SOME INTERNAL PART COMING LOOSE. RIGHT FRONT WHEEL ALSO SEIZED UP. DAMAGE TO VAN IS CATASTROPHIC - IT'S TOTALED. MIRACULOUSLY I WAS ABLE TO PULL OFF TO SHOULDER WITHOUT CRASHING. *TR

WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE (2004 TOYOTA SIENNA), IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE A TURN, THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD LOCK, AND NOT ALLOW YOU TO TURN EITHER DIRECTION FOR MULTIPLE MOMENTS. AFTER TAKING IT TO TOYOTA ABOUT 3-4 TIMES (ABOUT DEC 2009), THEY FINALLY DETERMINED THAT IT WAS A SYSTEM FAILURE IN A SELF CONTAINED UNIT, THAT WOULD PREVENT YOU FROM SEEING IT IN THE FORM OF LOW POWER STEERING FLUID, ETC. AT THAT TIME, IT WAS REPAIRED AND CONSIDERED TO BE UNDER WARRANTY. IN THE PAST MONTH OR SO, THIS BEING MIDDLE OF JAN 2014, THE STEERING HAS BEEN HAVING SIMILAR ISSUES. HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALERSHIP MULTIPLE TIMES, AND THE TIME PRIOR TO MY DROP OFF YESTERDAY, THEY STATED THAT IT INVOLVED THE "RESERVOIR" AND INSTALLED A NEW ONE. AFTER A FEW DAYS OF HAVING IT, THE ISSUE HAPPENED AGAIN YESTERDAY. I CAN RECALL THAT IN THE FIRST REPAIR (ABOUT 2009) AND THE CURRENT REPAIR, THE ISSUE SEEMED MORE PREVALENT WHEN THE WEATHER WAS COLD AND RAINY. GIVEN THAT I JUST DROPPED THE VEHICLE OFF YESTERDAY, THIS INCIDENT IS STILL NOT COMPLETELY RESOLVED AT THIS POINT. *TR