2005 Toyota Sienna: doors won't lock, open or latch

Filed Aug 2, 2021 · Body, Electrical · FL

I was pulling in my driveway when this incident happened. When exiting my vehicle and opening the driver side door this is what occurred. The driver side sliding door cable snapped and could have potentially hit the driver or me and which could have injured a body part especially the eye or hand. It also made a loud popping noise. There was no warning lights that this would happen and now the door will not open which causes a safety hazard because in case of an emergency this door may need to be opened to escape for safety reasons. Thank you for the investigation of this matter.

Filed Jul 14, 2019 · Body · 193,000 miles · OH

Both right and left rear doors will not open using the mechanical assembly or disabling the mechanical assembly. This happens when trying to exit or enter the car. My son has to climb through the front seat. Very inconvenient.

Filed Apr 3, 2019 · Body · VA

The passenger side automatic sliding door will not open in either automatic or manual mode from the inside. It will open if someone pulls the handle from the outside. Possible motor and or cable problem. There are similar complaints I found on the internet. It started intermittently about a year ago but now it's permanent and can only be opened from pulling on the outside door handle.

Filed Feb 23, 2017 · Body · 110,000 miles · CA

In stationary mode my sliding doors will not open, or will open intermittently, or will not open at all or will not close at all or will not latch. The passenger door would not close all the way and so I had to drive home with the door unlatched and beeping at me staying part way open even while operating the vehicle. I see that the 2005 toyota sienna was given an extra 9 years warranty for this issue or 120k miles, my car has only 110k miles and has the same issues as the federal safety agency campaign number: 16v858. Both doors were affected within a week of each other. The dealer diagnosed the actuator motors on both sides as coincidentally going out at the same time but replacing the actuator motor on the passenger side did not fix the issue. After removing the passenger door they say that the cable is bad and the clutch is worn out on the motor/part that moves the door is bad or broken. The first night I saw the problem the car alarm came on really muffled and ran the battery down so the battery had to be replaced. This may have been associated with the door is my thinking since all this happened within a few hours of each event. (this door has been frozen shut twice since I have owned the vehicle and had to wait for it to thaw to get it to open or shut.) this vehicle has not had heavy use, only light use.

Filed Dec 27, 2016 · Body · 187,000 miles · HI

Automatic sliding door will not close. The cable mechanism appears to be broken. I can't use the door until it is repaired. I took the van in for service with the warranty enhancement letter in 2013 and was told no repairs were needed. Now that the door is broken, toyota is saying the warranty has expired and I must pay for repairs. When asked why they didn't change out the faulty parts - csd said the door is not a safety issue! I see hundreds of posts for similar problem. Why isn't the sliding door being recalled?

Filed Oct 12, 2016 · Body · 150,000 miles · VA

When the rear sliding door was closing, the cable broke inside the door and the door would not close. I was at preschool picking my kids up so I had to call a friend and the only way we could get the door closed was by cutting the cable.

Filed Jun 22, 2016 · Body · 25,000 miles · CT

The sliding doors continue to malfunction where you can't open and get out of the vehicle, causing the potential for people (e.g. Kids, disabled folks, older people) to be unable to get out. This has happened multiple times now on the passenger side where the automatic door will not open and the manual override does not work. Once due to an actuator, several times caused by a crappy cable mechanism, and now a forth time due to who knows what. The dealer this time told us it would cost $275 to take the door apart before he could diagnose the problem. We have already spent $3,000 for the past times the door would not open. My disabled sister got stuck in the [xxx] car and had to be moved out the other side which was extremely difficult. What if there is an accident and a person can't get out? I see hundreds of the same complaint on websites, and looking at only three add up over 1000 complaints, all on the same door issue. Multiple times we were traveling with small children and the passenger sliding door would not totally close. What were we to do? Once the cable assembly snapped and we could not close it. Toyota has to be aware of this issue and should be made to replace the door with a different design or just with a manual one that people can open and close. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Apr 18, 2016 · Body · WA

Passenger's side power door will not open. It seems it fails releasing the latch.

Filed Jul 21, 2015 · Body, Electrical · 190,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota sienna. Approximately five years ago, the rear passenger side sliding door failed to unlock. The contact mentioned that now the rear driver side sliding door would not unlock. Both doors were equipped with power locks. The vehicle was taken to dealer. The technician diagnosed that the pulley was broken and needed replacement, but the doors would not open manually either. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 190,000.

Filed May 4, 2015 · Body · 118,000 miles · NY

Sliding doors will not open.

Filed Nov 3, 2014 · Body · 80,000 miles · NY

Hello, it looks like the check door hinge that connects to the actual door frame literally fell right off causing the door to move around freely. Toyota has already put out an extended customer care program to fix this issue but the prior owner didn't appear that he needed it fixed. The problem now is that it moves around freely and can be a major issue. For example if my 3 yr old son is next to my door and I have it opened it could close on him by just simply the window blowing the door closed. The mechanism that the check door handles is not in place to avoid this. It's a bit frightening. Here's documentation regarding this customer care program extension. It really should be a recall. Http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/24/toyota-fixing-600-000-sienna-doors-but-its-not-a-recall-mind-y/.

Filed Oct 27, 2014 · Body, Electrical · MA

The power sliding door does not open. The dealer and toyota corporate have said tough luck get it fixed for ~$1,500. There are enough complaints on this issue that this should be a recall by now. It's a safety concern of the greatest degree. The door will not open. Example below of typical complaint: 'to date, toyota has not issued a recall for the sienna, although some owners have reported that the automaker has issued technical service bulletins (tsb) for the automatic sliding doors. A tsb is effectively a hidden recall, meaning that toyota is attempting to handle the problem in-house. Contact your toyota dealer for assistance. Check the federal safety agency website for current recall information. Please force them to fix this problem.