2006 Toyota Sienna: hesitation when accelerating

Filed Sep 10, 2012 · Steering · 68,000 miles · VA

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota sienna. The contact stated that when decelerating, the vehicle would hesitate abnormally. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle would become uncontrollable when driving over road bumps and when attempting to park. The contact took the vehicle to a mechanic and was told that the steering column was partially fractured and would need replacing. The contact spoke to the manufacturer but no assistance was provided. The failure and the current mileages were 68,000.

Filed Apr 15, 2010 · Transmission · CA

I have a 2006 toyota sienna le minivan. A month after the purchase I noticed that the transmission did not shift correctly. The transmission gets stuck often and very often will run in 2nd and 3rd gear for extended times. When the van manages to get out of 2nd or 3rd it clunks into 4th. I have taken the van to the toyota dealership 5 times to get it looked at and everytime they tell me there is nothing wrong with the vehicle. The dealership says because they can not duplicate the issue in the shop it must not exist. They will not fix it and they will not take it back. I feel unsafe driving the van because sometimes it will not drive- it simply just wont go because it hesitates to go into the next gear. I don't feel safe to pull out in front of other vehicles because I don't know if it is going to stick or not. The initial problem happened in nov. 2008 only a month after purchasing the van. This is an ongoing problem and it is getting much worse.

Filed Mar 11, 2010 · Transmission · 200 miles · KY

I bought a new 2006 toyota sienna van. From the beginning, the transmission drops into neutral as the vehicle slows for stops. Upon acceleration to move through a stop sign or light, the transmission hesitates in neutral, leaving those following about to rear end the vehicle. Or, if you accelerate, the vehicle lurches into gear throwing passengers forward. I have mentioned this problem every time I have had the vehicle serviced. The serviceman acknowledges the problem, and states that toyota claims it is a means to save the transmission. The jerking on the transmission as the vehicle goes into gear after a stop cannot be good for the vehicle. The serviceman further stated that other car models made by toyota had experienced the same problem, but that a "computer patch" had been made available that solved the problem. He said that no such patch has been made available for the sienna vans. My concern is that I will end up rear-ended because of the hesitation or that the transmission will fail.

Filed Mar 9, 2010 · Acceleration, Body · 10 miles · LA

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota sienna. The driver stated that while driving 10 MPH in an attempt to increase speed, the vehicle began to hesitate and surge. The dealer stated that there was nothing they could do to assist him since the failure was electrical which was also a normal function of the vehicle. The failure mileage was 10 and the current mileage was 75,000. The consumer stated when slowing down between 5- 10 MPH and then speeding back up again, the van would hesitate and then surge forward to the point of jerking the consumers neck. The vehicle would slow down once the accelerator was released. Also, the drivers side door was exhibiting a popping/scrapping noise when it was being opened or closed. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed there was a recall regarding the thinness of metal which allowed the cracking of the metal where the door stop was attached to the door. Updated 04/21/10

Filed Feb 23, 2010 · Acceleration, Body · 27,442 miles · NY

I have a 2006 sienna and have a few complaints. As I have learned from reading some other complaints I know I am not the only one who has experienced a hesitation upon acceleration with the car from day 1 (january 2006 when the car was purchased). I have been told by the toyota dealer nothing is wrong. Recently, on a very cold day I noticed the steering wheel was extremely stiff and hard to move- almost like not having powering steering. The most important reason why I am filing this is because I too have started to have a problem with the right side passenger sliding door. It started to malfunction in january of this year (2010)- one month ago. First the door wouldn't open. It would pop to release but not really open . You could not move the door to fully open it or then close it. After a while you could then manually open the door. This happened several times but would sporadically work. Toyota replaced the motor- we have platinum warranty. Then a few weeks later it started to malfunction again. I took it back and they adjusted the door. Almost immediately started to malfunction again and is worse than before-inoperable most of the time. I've been told that the whole door is out of alignment and the body shop has to adjust the door I don't know how this could happen and toyota doesn't seem to have an answer. Door is still not fixed- I have to bring it back, but another person I think is on the right track with the hinge failing and that is probably why the door is not aligned. Aside from the inconvenience a door failure is a serious safety issue that needs to be addressed asap!

Filed Jun 23, 2008 · Acceleration · 32,145 miles · MD

We have a toyota 2006 that will increase surges in engine speed when stooped which has all most caused three accidents one going into a building, also the vehicle hesitates when the accelerator is pressed on start. When sitting in traffic you have to hold your foot on the brake because you will get an engine surge which runs the RPM's up to 5,000 then it drops off. It is very dangerously because you don't know when it will happen and controlling the van is very unpredictable.

Filed Jun 11, 2008 · Acceleration · FL

I own a toyota sienna 2006 model. When in traffic the car sometimes hesitates when the accelator is pressed and at other times it surges forward dangerously. Therefore controlling the car is unpredictible. The exact response is also noticable at a traffice light or a stop sign. The failure happens often.

Filed Sep 7, 2006 · Transmission · NY

Vehicle surges while gently applying accelerator and can't decide which gear to be in. Transmission appears to hesitate, especially noticeable at 5-10 pmh and while turning. Dealership says its completely normal. The drive-by-wire system cannot react quick enough to changes in acceleration. After days of research I see this is occurring on avalon, camry, lexus es300-330, highlander, bmw,audi, vw touareg, subaru...shall I keep looking. Obviously the drive by wire technology is not mature and dangerous. Re-programming is needed. To date there are no tsb's for the 04-06 sienna's regarding this issue. 8jb