Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. The contact stated that the driver side door hinge was fractured yet she was still able to exit the vehicle. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer who informed the contact that she would need to replace the entire door or have it re-welded to correct the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000. Updated 02/07/11 *bf the cosumer stated she opened the drivers side door and it made it noise and then the door would no longer open or close properly. The dealer informed the consumer the hinge was broken. The hinge was welded back together. Updated 03/17/11
2004 Toyota Sienna body complaints
Page 15 of 33: complaints 401 to 430 of 962, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I have a 2004 toyota sienna xle. The rear lift gate sometime does not provide enough support and fall down and bump into people's head cause head injury. Toyota has issued a recall and did a replacement but the new part is sub-standard and failed just after a year. They need to issue another recall and provide a better/longer term solution.
Sienna rear lift gate opens up about 95%, sits there for a moment and then closes. This is no big deal if you are just watching it, but if you start to load or unload during the process the door will hit you in the head. This has happened to me several times in the last few weeks. I understand the lift gate struts were recalled on my vehicle, service records indicate they were replaced in december 2008 (I did not own the vehicle at the time. The safety issue is partly the week struts, seems to fail due to cold temperatures. The real safety issue is that there is no warning sound that the door is deciding to close itself.
We have a 2004 toyota sienna, which we bought used in september. It is now early december and this is the third day in a row that we've had both rear sliding doors frozen shut. It's obviously winter here and we've had some snow, but I've never had a problem with a vehicle where doors are frozen shut on a consistent basis over several days. If we attempt to open one of the doors, the motor opens it a fraction of an inch and then won't close again completely so that we have to drive with the door not entirely closed. I don't feel that I can have my child in the back safely with this situation, not to mention the inconvenience of having to climb over seats to get in and out. I will not take it on the highway with any passengers for fear the door will suddenly open on the highway without warning. This appears to be a problem with many 2004 sienna vans and it should be a safety recall.
My wife parked our 2004 toyota sienna minivan and opened the rear liftgate from the console above the rearview mirror. She exited the vehicle and walked to the rear of the vehicle. As she turned to the open rear area the liftgate descended and struck her, causing her to fall to the ground and opening a gash in her scalp that bled profusely and required three staples to close. Our vehicle had been recalled to address this issue in 2008, but we have experienced similar intermittent and unpredictable instances since. Although a 2008 recall notice calls for the replacement of the struts that support the liftgate, and although our records show that our vehicle was serviced under that notice, our local toyota dealer declined to take any action, stating that their service department was unable to replicate the event and further stating that had they been able to replicate the event their next step would have been to try to determine the cause. These responses are inconsistent with the clear directions of the 2008 recall. Assuming that the servicing was carried out in 2008 under the 2008 notice, we do not know whether it was incorrectly performed, or whether the deterioration of the struts that LED to the notice has continued with the replacement struts.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. The vehicle was stationary when the contact observed that when accessing the opening and closing of the front driver side door a loud popping noise would occur. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they informed that the door strap spot weld completely fractured and recommended the part be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 87,239. The dealers recommendation was to replace the entire driver side front door. Updated 05/26/11
Both sliding door cables snapped and broke in our 2004 toyota sienna xle. Because of this we are unable to open either of the rear doors at all to our mini van this is a safety issue as our children have to climb over the front driver side seat in order to get in and out of the vehicle. The dealership states it will cost $1,500 per door to fix this problem and enable us to use our rear doors....money we unfortunately do not have to fix this! They quoted $500 per door to disconnect the faulty units and make our power doors manual. I also contacted a non-toyota repairman and inquire about this...he contacted many sources and was unable to locate any used parts that can be used to fix this. So here we are with our toyota and because of an obvious faulty sliding door set up we are unable to open and use either of our rear doors!!! We see this as a major safety issue and concern that needs to be addressed! Following this thread it really seems to be a major defect and safety problem with the 2004 toyota siennas http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/sienna/103978-2004-sienna-power-sliding-door-cable/.
2004 toyota sienna passenger side (power) door refuses to close; broken door cable. Also, the driver's side door (manual) has been broken for over 3 yrs; toyota fixed this 3 times while still under warranty but refuses to fix it again despite the fact that it is a design defect since it keeps happening.
2004 toyota sienna xle van door cable/motor broke. Door stuck open and were not able to close manually. Can't drive because door is stuck open. Only way to fix is cut cable or pay $2000 to toyota to fix the door motor.
We recently had an issue with the pass. Side vent window on our 2004 sienna. While driving the window was opened the glue failed and the window swung down the side of the van only being held on by the motorized arm. It appears as if the track that the window is attached to has been painted prior to the glue being applied. So instead of glass, glue, metal it was glass, glue, paint, metal. This seems to be a growing issue based on a quick search online. If the glass had broken free of the arm, it would have gone flying into traffic. The dealer and toyota were contacted and both dismissed the issue.
When it is cold outside the sliding doors on the 2004 toyota sienna seem to "freeze" shut. They do not open from the inside or outside. This happens to both the power and non-power door.
I have a 2004 sienna. It began making a strange noise when I opened the driver's side rear sliding power door. That night, the van was parked on a downward sloping hill. As my daughter's friend was getting out, suddenly the door slammed shut. I put up my arm to stop the door and luckily she jumped back in time, but she would have been really hurt had she been in the doorway. I had a bruise on my arm that may have been a broken bone on the child. Looking closer, I realized that the cable connected to the door had snapped and was hanging outside the van. I had never heard of this problem before, and am surprised given that the van is only four years old and has low mileage.
The cable operating the automatic door on my 2004 toyota sienna frayed and jammed causing the door to freeze in an open position. The only way to correct the problem was to cut the cable and operate the door manually. This defect seems to be extremely poor quality.
2004 toyota sienna power sliding door cable snapped.
The sliding passenger door on our 2004 toyota sienna suddenly just stopped working and we cannot use the door now. Passengers on that side cannot get out of the car that way. As we have done some research, this seems to be a common problem with the power door cable in sienna vans.
Cables on both rear power sliding doors have frayed and snapped. Replacement cost of cable is excessive at $2200 per door.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. The contact applied force to the rear hatch door several times before the hatch door latch would properly close. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer three times with replacement of the rear hatch struts on separate occasions. In addition, the second row passenger automated door cable deteriorated. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact had concern with the safety of the door resulting to not completely opening or closing. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
Driver side sliding door cable frayed and snapped.
Sienna 2004 xle power door cable snapped and sliding door wont work. Though car had been serviced by toyota dealer all the time.
We took our '04 toyota sienna to the riverview dealership (mesa, az) to have spot welds repaired on front driver's side door (cost $260) and to have front passenger door replaced because the spot welds failed and door frame was damaged beyond repair (toyota good-willed new door under "warranty enhancement" at approximate cost of $2000). When the service tech was nearing completion of the repairs on 9/30/10, he opened the power slide door on passenger side. The center hinge pin failed. The motor on the power sliding door did not stop when it encountered resistance from the failed center hinge pin. It continued to force the door open causing the center hinge pin to pop out of the track. In the course of the center hinge pin coming out of its track, the track was forced upward into the rear side window causing the window to buckle, shatter and explode glass fragments outward all over. Toyota would not cover the repair expenses. They said it was going to happen sooner or later, and it is our expense. We had paid to have the center hinge pin replaced 14 months prior to this incident on 7/9/09. Toyota would not good will the repair even though the part had failed just 2 months outside of the 1yr part warranty. Estimate for full repair is $2500 for power motor with cables, center hinge pin, window and repair of paint job on rear quarter panel. This goes beyond a mere part failure to a safety issue of exploding glass. Next time it may explode inward into the vehicle showering the occupants in glass shrapnel. Another toyota sienna (year unknown) was at the collision center at the same time as our van for the same reason -- failed center hinge pin and blown out rear side window. To avoid another such incident in the future, we did not repair the power motor in the door. It is now a manual door. Cost of repairing window, center hinge pin and making the door manual was $828.04. Our confidence in toyota' customer care and concern for safety is as shattered as the window.
Drivers side sliding door started to intermittently stop or reverse in mid cycle. Finally stuck open while at local car wash. Discovered that the cable coating had become brittle and apparent,y jammed the motor drive- finally causing the drive mechanism shattered. Already aware of the problem and that toyota will not fix this so I did not take it to my dealer. Instead I plan to buy my next mini van form someone else. No more toyota...
Normal use of the automatic passenger sliding door of the 2004 toyota sienna resulted in cable breaking at 82,000 miles. Have not repaired due to high cost $1,700. Known problem at time of my vehicle's manufacture, tsb issued (el004-04), but failed outside of warranty. Door is no longer operational which is the safety issue. Children must now exit the vehicle on the street side, instead of the curb side.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. While parked, the contact opened the front driver side door and the vehicle exhibited an abnormal popping sound. He also noticed that the door was swinging very loosely from the hinge. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed the failure was due to the welding of the door check lever. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 57,000.
My 2004 sienna passenger sliding door cables on both sides have broken making the doors inoperable. The doors open slightly manually making it very difficult to get in and out of the car. The toyota dealer told us it would cost $3,500 to fix both doors. That is outrageous for something that should last for the life of the car. I am very concerned that the faulty doors might be a safety hazard for my kids with the doors getting jammed in case of an accident or just closing on them manually if parked on a hill. Reading the blogs on the internet this seems to be a common problem with many 2004 toyota minivans. This obviously should be a recall item fixed by toyota at their own expense. My car has also been recalled for cable erosion of the spare tire. The dealer has temporarily relocated the spare tire to the trunk. I have lost space in the trunk and cannot fold down my seats as they are supposed to. A timeline for a permanent solution to the problem has not been given.
Rear hatch hydraulic lifters fail catastrophically on 2004 toyota sienna, resulting in heavy liftgate falling on occupant in 2008. Lifters were replaced and again failed 8/2010.
2004 toyota sienna's automatic sliding door mechanism jammed preventing door closure. The door could not be closed automatically or manually. Circumstances forced passengers, including 4 small children, to travel several highway miles with that door open. In april 2004 toyota modified that door mechanism for new product and issued technical service bulletin el004-04 "power sliding door inoperative" to correct existing product. Sienna's early 2004 sliding door is a defective product. The sienna product is a minivan marketed to families and children. As such it is designed to be a closed vehicle. The defective door should be considered a child restraint failure because closed doors are, in fact, the primary protective restraint in a family vehicle. Corrective action we elected is to cut the automatic door's tractor cable. That frees the door to close and permanently disengages the defective door mechanism.
The door would not open manually, on my sliding door in my 04' sienna. The only way it would open was to use the one power door- I callled toyota explaining I have 2 side doors that the locking mechanism was broken and this is a safety issue- they did not feel it was an issue, a month apart both sliding doors stopped opening!! Today I pushed the button to open the motor door, a cable went flying sideways and almost cut the principal at our school when I was letting my daughter out for school. The door would not open or close it was just stuck! I called toyota as I have seeen thousands of 04 sienna's with the doors doing this- the cable gets a rust spot and just snaps!!! I can not believe that toyota does not think it is a problem to have children in a car where the door will not either open or close- thats a huge safety issue! Let something happen to one of my kids and I will own toyota!! Repairs for this doorare $1800.00!!! With layoffs and jobs- who has $1800.00 to just fix something that should have never happened in the first place, normally you could not have to replace the motor you could use the manual door- but, it seems with all the metal in the locking mechanism,and if that little .29 cent piece breaks, you have to replace the whole $600 mechanism. Come on people- seriously! Well I have contacted them, this is a huge safety issue far more preceeding a tire cable. Thousands of complaints- toyota-doesnt seem to think its an issue at all, maybe it will happen to one of them and their kid has a door open while driving or a wreck, and no way to get them out.
2004 toyota sienna. Power sliding door cable snaps. Leaving door unable to open fully. Toyota dealer says part is $1200 dollars and 4.3 hours labor to install. $1800 to fix.
Driver's side door hinge broke inside the door.
2004 toyota sienna passenger side sliding door mechanism failed and automatically shut without warning, hitting a passenger who was reaching into the back seat. It did not spring back. The door wouldn't open again. We took it to the rudy luther dealership in golden valley, mn and were told that it would cost $2,000 to fix. Rather than pay this, we elected to pay $112 to have the cables cut and the switch unplugged. We are extremely disappointed in this failure and in the dealerships response. The car only had 51,641 miles on it when this occurred.
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