Toyota Sienna Hybrid jerking problems

Filed Oct 30, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · IN

I have been having issues with my 2024 Sienna XSE since about 6 months after getting it. The break surge, jump, lurch, slip, etc. so many different names people call it, is the issue and it needs a permanent fix! I had the ‘software update’ done from the bulletin that is out for this issue about a year ago and it finally went away…but only for about 3 months. Ever since then, it has gotten so much worse with time now. I wish I never got the update. It is happening much more frequently, like twice a week! It doesn’t matter about road type, turns, hills, etc. anymore as long as I’m breaking it happens. The slip is getting longer and not catching as quickly and I nearly hit a car that was stopped at a light yesterday because of the re-acceleration, and I was breaking with plenty of time.

Filed Oct 30, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA · crash

While driving at very low speed on a residential street, my wife was braking when our Sienna struck an unoccupied parked Toyota Tacoma with the right front corner. She believes she was braking and the van did not slow as expected. The pre-collision system did not brake or warn. We have repeatedly noticed the van surge or lurch forward while braking at low speed, such as when pulling out of our driveway. We are aware of Toyota service bulletin T-SB-0047-24 on brake surge in 2021-2024 Sienna hybrids. Damage includes the right front structure, hood, fender and headlamp, with repairs estimated at about $19,900. The vehicle is currently at a body shop (Haws Auto Body, Lafayette, CA).

Filed Oct 9, 2026 · Brakes · VA

I purchased my 2021 Toyota Sienna Hybrid new in March 2021. For several years I have had an intermittent braking problem: when I apply the brakes, especially while slowing down or driving downhill, the vehicle sometimes lurches or feels like it suddenly accelerates forward instead of slowing. I must press the brake pedal again to stop. This happens without warning and is frightening, especially with my children in the car. I first reported this to a Toyota dealer on 10/10/2023 at about 41,192 miles, and again on 7/11/2024 at about 55,637 miles. On the second visit the dealer reprogrammed the Brake ECU under TSB T-SB-0047-24. The technician could not reproduce my exact concern but said the bulletin described a similar condition. The problem has returned despite the update. Online owner forums show other Sienna owners with very similar braking complaints; some paid for repairs themselves, others sold their vehicles over safety concerns. I have seen claims that too few complaints have been filed to trigger a recall, though I cannot verify that. What concerns me is that Toyota issued a TSB for a similar condition, yet the problem persists. I have owned this vehicle since new and reported the problem multiple times. I have dealer service records from both 2023 and 2024. I ask the federal safety agency to investigate whether this is a widespread safety defect and whether a recall is needed before someone is seriously hurt.

Filed Oct 9, 2026 · Brakes · VA

This is a supplemental correction to my the federal safety agency complaint #XXX (2021 Toyota Sienna Hybrid, VIN [XXX]). The description of the brake defect itself is unchanged; I am correcting the service-history details. First dealer visit: the correct date is XXX, at approximately 41,192 miles, Repair Order #XXX, at Checkered Flag Toyota of [XXX]. I reported that when braking downhill, the vehicle seemed to speed up rather than slow down, as if something were pushing it forward. The service record states "No Work Performed – Customer Requested Return of Vehicle." No diagnosis or corrective action for the braking concern is documented. Second dealer visit: the visit spanned XXX, at approximately 55,637 miles, Repair Order #XXX, at the same dealership. I reported the vehicle lurching forward when attempting to stop and engine RPM increasing when the vehicle should have been slowing down. The technician's notes indicate the technician felt a small lurch when braking and noted an RPM abnormality — the concern was partially reproduced, not entirely unreproducible as my original complaint stated. The dealer reprogrammed the Brake ECU under Toyota TSB T-SB-0047-24. The problem returned a few months later and has continued intermittently since. I request that this correction be attached to complaint #11770036. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Oct 8, 2026 · Brakes · MO

I am reporting an ongoing braking-safety problem with my 2022 Toyota Sienna XSE Hybrid. During low-speed braking, at the transition from regenerative to conventional hydraulic/friction braking, the expected deceleration can change abruptly. The vehicle can briefly surge forward even though I continue braking. This reduces the gap to the vehicle ahead, requiring significantly harder and faster brake-pedal input to avoid a collision. This affects the predictability of stopping distance. I purchased the vehicle on June 17, 2024 as a Toyota Certified Used Vehicle. On July 8, 2024, during a service visit — 21 days and 577 miles after purchase — I personally reported to Toyota a noticeable change/jerk in braking force at low speed during the transition between regenerative and conventional braking, and Toyota officially documented my complaint. T-SB-0047-24 already existed and provides for reprogramming the brake actuator control module. The update was not performed then and still has not been performed. In 2026, I again returned to Toyota with the same complaint. Seeger Toyota did not perform a road test because the technician considered the mechanical brakes unsafe. The dealer recommended rotor replacement because of corrosion/pitting, but the final RO contains no separate rotor-thickness measurements, runout measurements, quantitative pitting/corrosion data, or specific Toyota limits/criteria. After my written escalation, the Service Manager agreed to perform T-SB-0047-24 at no charge, but the update remains unperformed and the problem recurs regularly. I ask the federal safety agency/ODI to evaluate this case as a potential safety defect related to the regenerative-to-hydraulic brake transition. Because of the 2,000-character limit, the full description and chronology are attached as a separate PDF. Key evidence is being uploaded with this complaint; additional service records, correspondence, and photographs/measurements are preserved and can be provided upon request.

Filed Aug 26, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · GA · crash

Three (3) separate systems failed. 1. Upon seeing cars ahead of us slowing down, my husband pressed the breaks to slow down to avoid collision. When he pressed on the breaks, instead of slowing down or stopping the vehicle, the brakes failed to engage, and caused a surge that compelled the vehicle to lurch forward. The lurch propelled our vehicle into collision with another vehicle. 2. Also, the forward collision warning system failed to alert or engage the breaks. Our vehicle was stopped by the impact of hitting the other vehicle, not by its own breaks. 3. The automatic breaking system also failed to engage at all prior to impact.

Filed Jul 13, 2026 · Brakes · NY

FAILURE: Brake control system. Vehicle intermittently surges forward while braking at low speed, most often through a curve — the brakes momentarily release and the vehicle lurches before braking resumes. Appears to occur during the transition between regenerative and friction braking. Vehicle available for inspection. SAFETY RISK: Unpredictable momentary loss of braking at low speed, in parking lots, residential streets and curves where pedestrians and other vehicles are close. Driver cannot anticipate it. WARNING LAMPS: None. No lamp, no message, no stored trouble code. Present since early in ownership; purchased new September 2021. CONFIRMED BY DEALER: No. Reported to a Toyota dealer in 2022 under warranty. Dealer test drove, could not reproduce the intermittent condition, took no action. Also reported in writing to Toyota in August 2022; no substantive response. MANUFACTURER REMEDY: In May 2024 Toyota issued TSB T-SB-0047-24, a brake control module software update for this exact low-speed braking condition on 2021-2022 Sienna Hybrids. Warranty had lapsed, so it was applied at owner expense in late June 2026 at ~156,000 miles. The defect persists after Toyota's own remedy. The surge still occurs, including within the past week at ~157,000 miles. REQUEST: A TSB is not a recall — owners are not notified, and the software remedy did not eliminate the defect on this vehicle. Request that ODI evaluate whether this condition warrants a defect investigation and recall.

Filed Jun 26, 2026 · Brakes · ID

The car will occassionally lurch forward while braking. It's somewhat random but most often happens when going down a slight hill. My best guess is that there is an issue with the transition from regenerative braking to mechanical braking. It feels like the vehicle momentarily looses contact with the brakes and that the brake pedal has to be pushed down another inch or two to reengage. My concern is that if this happens at the wrong time that I will get in an accident. This has happened ever since I bought it. It's not very often, maybe once a week. Speeds have been variable from under 25 to highway speeds.

Filed May 8, 2026 · Brakes · MN

The brakes on the hybrid system release during braking. Which send the van lurching forward, this typically happens a lower speeds, under 20mph. Which makes it unsafe as you do not stop when you are expecting.

Filed Apr 28, 2026 · Brakes · NC

When braking, there is a sudden jerk and surge in power at low speeds. It feels like you are losing control of the car. It feels unsafe to drive the car.