The driver side power sliding door cable snapped, nearly hitting a child. Upon inspection, it was noticed that the plastic covering over the wire had disintegrated and the bare cable was exposed.
2004 Toyota Sienna body complaints
Page 5 of 33: complaints 101 to 130 of 962, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The front doors on siennas have a well known problem of welds failing in the door opening mechanism. Toyota recognized this and extended the warranty on the door hardware for 5 years 100k miles. I had both my front doors fixed under this extended warranty. It was known at the time (not to me) that this was another temporary fix as this is a design flaw that toyota knew about but did not try to address with a permanent solution or an overall product recall. And, they apparently have gotten away with that due to the number of owners that have not gotten their doors fixed. The problem is that while there is just a "popping" sound due to the failure of the welds right now, it may lead to a situation where the doors will either not open or open without any control as they'd be held by the hinges only. Either situation presents the owners with inherent dangers- one from not being able to exit the vehicle in an emergency and the other where a door could open suddenly and injure anyone near the vehicle when being opened. I did register my complaint with the dealer and toyota who both told me that any inspection or repair was solely the responsibility of me (the original) owner of the vehicle. My toyota case number is [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
The driver side door stop started making a noise when we open and close the door. The window stopped opening completely. Toyota has extended the warranty to 6 years or 100k miles for this defect. They won't repair my vehicle because it is beyond the extension. The cost is over $2,000. Now the door stop has broken off completely and door swings wide. This creates a dangerous situation every time we use the car. My understanding is that the welds were defected and toyota didn't want to spend 2k per vehicle to repair all the defected cars. Car doors are a major component of any vehicle and shouldn't fail.
Due to a failure in the moonroof system in the vehicle (rubber seal and two drains on either side), rain water seeped into the air bag system resulting in mold-build up and serious damange to the vehicle and possible malfunction of the air bags and breathing of dangerous mold/fungi. All the passengers in the vehicle got nauseous in 1-hour journey and the future consequence of such fungi build up and potential failure of the air-bag could be life threatening.
Toyota verbalizes there was a substance left out of the dashboard mixture during production of the vehicle. It, according to them, is an issue with two models and two years of those models. The dash board begin to crack about 28,000 miles. The van only has 38,000 now. It has cracked from side to side across the top, down the front and around the sides (like an egg shell). The right side air bag is housed in the dash. Pieces of the right dash are actually going to fall out now. Toyota, again, admits the problem, but refuses to help. I last spoke to them on 5.2.2014 (roy g.). I have been speaking to them about this safety issue since 2008, even with the regional manager, as the local toyota asked them to replace it. Toyota declined. This is an issue that can cause the airbag to deploy without an accident or wrongfully so in an accident. The entire dash will blow out, the physical damage to a person unknown. I need help with this issue. This is a 60,000 sienna that has handicap lift in it. This is a huge safety concern for me.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. The contact stated that she noticed that the dashboard had many cracks. The contact stated that she examined the dashboard and noticed the majority of the cracks were around the air bag. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that the dashboard needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 98,000.
2004 toyota sienna. Consumer writes in regards to door weld recall problems. *smd the consumer stated for more than 3 years, he has been hearing a popping noise coming from the driver side door. Toyota was aware of the problem and initiated a warranty enhancement program for the defective door weld for the 2004-2006 sienna's, but only if they were 5 years/100k miles. The consumer stated the problem started with his vehicle in 2010, when the vehicle was already 6 years old. Toyota issued a technical bulletin, but refused to issue a recall. Re-welding the failure points was not recommended as they were prone to fail again.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. The contact stated that the driver side door spring became fractured. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated the door would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 114,855.
The front of the door latched just fine. The back of the door stopped latching about a week ago leaving the door open light on all the time. I poked around a bit and discovered the rear latch on the driver's side sliding door was loose inside the door. Since I had to take the van to the dealer for a recall repair anyway I asked them to take a look at the door.
While I was climbing to the back of the car, (the car being parked, ever-so-slightly inclined to the back), the left back side-door shut close and trapped my right hand (which I was using for support to climb up), for about two minutes. I couldn't get it to open..! Under excrutiating pain, I tried unsuccessfully to open the door. Nothing worked. The retractable cable had popped out two years before, so the beeper didn't respond adequately. After many attempts I was finally able to get it to open. I believe I had already filed a complaint to the federal safety agency about the the power-sliding door. The mechanical failure on my car's power sliding-door is the same as described by many disgruntled sienna owners, on various websites. Neither toyota USA, nor toyota puerto rico, has assumed responsibility. They've acted negligently. As I must've described in my previous complaint, they've obviously acknowledged a factory malfunction --inasmuch as they have conducted a recall campaign--. However, the campaign wasn't carried out responsibly. Despite their having my telephone number, email address and physical address, they failed to contact me. I found out by a third party (an auto-body shop). When I confronted the dealership, they said the campaign had expired. This situation is shameful.
The vehicle dash is cracking.
Rear sliding door issue - the trunk keeps falling on the head when putting shopping bags. Power sliding door assembly - the sliding door keeps closing and injuring when putting the seat belts for my baby in the car seat. These are safety issues and causing injury.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Side sliding doors become frozen making it impossible to get open trapping guest in the rear of the vehicle this is a major safety issue and should be taken care of.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. The contact stated that during cold weather, both rear sliding doors failed to open. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for inspection. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact mentioned that the manufacturer stated that there was a warranty extension under a manufacturer's safety improvement campaign for the failure but his vehicle was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 83,000 and the current mileage was 92,000.
Passenger side vehicle dash began cracking during summer of 2013. Original appearance was that of a cut or scratch along the surface of the dash. Crack has been growing wider and longer since then. Vehicle has been garaged since purchase (9/2003) and custom fit shade used when parked outside. Concerned that dashboard may fracture into smaller projectile pieces if the passenger airbag was to be deployed.
During below-freezing temperatures and accumulating precipitation, sliding doors can freeze shut to the point of not opening. I recently had to kick the side doors from the inside in order to get them opened.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the spare tire became detached from the vehicle without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the spare tire carrier assembly was corroded and causing the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 70,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. The contact stated that the driver's side door failed to close without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the mechanic stated that the entire door needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 80,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. The contact stated that there was a popping sound every time the driver's side door was opened or closed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the door hinge needed to be replaced due to a fractured well. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 140,000. Updated 12/30/13
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. The contact stated that the driver's side door check failed due to defective welding. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer advised the warranty enhancement door check had expired. The approximate failure mileage was 84,000 and the current mileage was failure 105,000.
Passenger side sliding door cable snapped and will not open. Passengers can be trapped in the van and not able to get out. This is a known problem with toyota sienna minivans with electric doors. In addition, the motor is often known to fail. The the cable has a black sheathing that is inadequate and wears causing it to jam in the pulley and break or exposing it to later corrosion and then it will break as well. Toyota has known of this problem for years and does not issue a recall. You only need to check the toyota forum to confirm the problem with many owners reports. Repairs run $1,200 to $2,000 at the toyota dealer.
Passenger sliding door will not open. Even when power is turned off, the door will not open manually which is a safety hazard as my kids can not exit the car from that door if there is an accident. I recently received a csp letter from toyota about this exact door problem but the letter states the extended warranty is good for 9 years or 120k miles which ever comes first. Unfortunately, I received the letter just after I had the car for 9 years. If I had received the letter and known about the door issue before the 9 years, I would have taken my car in to be fixed. Quote for fixing door is over $1,100.
2004 toyota sienna van driver side sliding door cable frayed then broke and door jammed shut.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. The contact stated that the entire dashboard became fractured. The vehicle was taken to an authorized the dealer for inspection. The dealer advised that the dashboard material was defective needed to be replaced. The dashboard was not replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 80,000.
Dashboard has multiple hairline cracks. A lot of 2004 toyota sienna have the same issues when I made an online research about the problem.
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