When I attempted to open driver side sliding door it would not open electrically or manually. After several failed attempts to open I cut the cable and was able to then open the door. At this point in time both sliding doors will not open electronically but will open manually.
2002 Toyota Sienna: doors won't lock, open or latch
24 of the 181 complaints about the 2002 Toyota Sienna describe doors won't lock, open or latch.
- owner complaints
- 24
- of this car's complaints
- 13%
- typical repair cost reported
- $200
- typical mileage
- 75,000
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
Doors won't lock, open or latch by model year
What owners say
Door handles break off during normal use due to electrical door malfunction. The design of these door handles are poor and a new design needs to be made.
Ever since novmber, 2008, my 2002 toyota sienna passenger side power door, has intermittently failed to open either by activating the button on the inside of the door column, by pulling the door handle outside, or the instrument panel door button, or worse, after opening, will not close. The dealer had to reinitialize the ecu in november, 2008, and have had intermittent problems since. Now, since at least december, 2012, the sliding door will not open at all by any of the 3 methods and cannot be reinitialized. Also, at times the manual drivers side passenger door, in the past ~ 1 1/2 years will not open either from inside door button release or outside door handle and passengers have to climb over from the front seats to enter or climb over the front seat & console to exit the vehicle. I have been advised by my local toyota dealer that I need to "start with the replacement of the ecu," a part costing $730.00 and about $1000 with instillation. I have read other horror stories that replacing the ecu isn't necessarily the answer and many don't know what the answer is. Have there been any auto recalls on these power door mechanisms yet? I see a large volume of the exact same complaints on the internet for these sienna as well as within the federal safety agency database. In the event of an emergency evacuation of the vehicles' passengers, as it stands, a catastrophe is waiting to happen.
Every door handle on the vehicle has broken from the inside and outside. Almost every toyota sienna I see on the road had atleast one of there handles broken off. I really think toyota should have a recall on this. The door has actually swung open while I was driving because I could not tell if it was closed proper. It did not result in an accident or more damage but could very easily have.
Electronic automatic sliding door failures. July 2011, passenger side (sliding door) electronic outer door handle stopped working. The only way to enter or exit the vehicle is by pushing the button on the door jam or overhead console. Then the door stopped opening completely. The motor tries to open the door but seems like the door does not release. It will not open. April 2012, drivers side (sliding door) electronic outer door handle has stopped working. The only way to enter or exit the vehicle is by pushing the button on the door jam or overhead console. The door opens 80% of the time. When it does not work the motor tries to open the door but seems like the door does not release. When the drivers side passenger door does not open the family has to enter or exit through one of the front doors and climb through to the back seats. There is no internal manual override of these doors. This is not safe. In an emergency my family will have to go through the front doors or break and go through the windows. This is a safety hazard. The outside door handles and sliding door mechanisms should be repaired at no charge by toyota.
When the sudden acceleration problem erupted I remember seeing an internal document which related to the rear door latch for siennas. I own a sienna and have had to replace the rear latch twice so far. It just brakes apart and it becomes a real huzzle since the rear door cannot be opened. Toyota must replace this latches with a good well manufactured material.
The door latches got stuck intermittently. Door is not closed while car moving.
Passenger side power door jammed, would not open after slow speed crash which knocked off the outside door handle. Toyota of santa barbara, ca took a week and charged $2500 to fix just the power electrical door, no body work (that was extra). Door has never worked properly ever since. Many incidences of door not shutting or opening when using control buttons inside car. After 19 months, power door jammed while open and could not close it by power or manually, attempted to drive to service station while in the jammed open position and while moving, the door slammed closed on its own, popping the wire cable, which is now dangling. Door now works part of the time manually, not at all with power, no motor sound at all. Door opening mechanism on inside of door frequently jams in the pushed in position and then door is completely inoperable. This is severe safety issue. Children in back cannot exit on that side. Toyota should recall and have power doors converted to a safe, reliable, manual opening mechanism.
Within a year after buying the 2002 toyota sienna the right side sliding door could not be opened from inside. The left side door has the same problem intermittantly. Neither one has been repaired but are seen as a safety concern in the worst case and a constant nuisance otherwise. The issue was not covered under warranty and so remain. The rear door plastic latch broke after about four years, requiring a $200 repair. It broke again after about three more years but this time I repaired it with a metal screw, but a year later it broke in another place and cannot be repaired. The part is made of slightly soft brittle plastic, poorly designed. Interestingly, I recently bought a new toyota prius and purchased an extended warranty. Reading the fine print I find in the rather long list of exclusions from the "bumper to bumper" warranty are included door latches as well as, ironically, the bumpers.
My husband and I purchased a certified used 2002 toyota sienna in 2005. Since purchasing the vehicle we have had problems with opening and closing the sliding doors and issue with the trunk. It first started when the trunk would not open any more. The little piece to click it open broke off. Next, the right passenger sliding door would not open from the inside, but could be opened from the outside. Eventually, the outside handle broke off (probably due the inability to open it from the inside). Next the left passenger sliding door started to show similarities to the right sliding passenger door. Eventually, this handle broke off as well and would not open from the inside. To date, the sliding door on the left or the right can not be opened inside or out. This is a safety issue for us and our four kids. The kids have to come through the front to get out of the van. It became somewhat strange to me when I noticed that other toyota sienna minivans had handles missing off the back passenger sliding doors. I thought, what is up with the quality of the vans? Most individuals driving minivans are transporting children, so I would assume that the vans were constructed to handle the constant opening and closing that occurs from the back passengers. I think this problem should be addressed in a fair way. When we went to inquire about the trunk we were told that it would cost over $200, so we took the optional route of loading groceries, luggage, etc. From the inside. The door incidents have happened this year, 2010. We have owned other vehicles with the kids, namely 1997 honda odyssey that did not have any of the handles missing or any problems with getting in and out of the vehicle. I sent a letter to toyota corporate office on august 22, 2010 via email, no response. I phone toyota corporate office on august 30, 2010 and was informed that the car was not under warranty (I already knew this) and that there was nothing they could do at this time.
We had some transmission work done on our 2002 toyota sienna. After that work was completed the door locks on the van automatically and repeatedly lock with out intervention . This happens when the car is parked, turned off and while driving. We have taken it to the dealership twice while it was happening and they can't figure out how to fix it. The dealership said this issue wasn't related to the transmission work.
1. Trunk door latch broken and cannot open. Toyota does not provide a manual trunk release inside the van. 2. Passenger side automatic sliding door would not stay closed. It just kept popping open.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2002 Toyota Sienna door locks
Is doors won't lock, open or latch a common problem on the 2002 Toyota Sienna?
24 of 181 owner complaints about the 2002 Toyota Sienna (13%) mention doors won't lock, open or latch. The model year with the most reports is 2004.
How much does it cost to fix doors won't lock, open or latch on the 2002 Toyota Sienna?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $200 (median of 5 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2002 Toyota Sienna?
There is no recall or service bulletin for this area of the car on record.
Other symptoms on the 2002 Toyota Sienna
Grinding brakes 14Check engine light 9Engine failure 7Tire blowout 6Sudden acceleration 5
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