Dear madame/sir, I own a toyota sienna (2008). The driver side sliding door cable just got cut-off last week while my kid was trying to open the door and get in and the passenger side door moves very slowly. I went to the toyota dealer(s) and they said they had a fix at no cost only for vehicles which are 9 years/120,000 miles and if the customer came with a problem (not a recall) and I do not qualify as it has been 10 years (how did toyota come-up with this number?). I went online and found that many people have reported a similar issue and looks like toyota did not take care of them either. From the dealer I understand toyota was aware of the problem and did not take care of the issue or did not do enough to resolve this problem. I sincerely request you to provide necessary directions/action taken against manufacturer so that 1000s of customers like me will get their car fixed. Thank you for your valuable time
2008 Toyota Sienna body complaints
Page 2 of 5: complaints 11 to 40 of 117, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Rear sliding doors fail to close fully resulting in the door opening while driving.
The automatic rear lift-gate/door when opened either via remote or driver overhead back-door opener, opens all the way up and closes immediately. The door not stay open. This appears to be a recall issue in older sienna model (2006) but dealer could not fix my model (2008) as a recall issue as this is not listed under my model for recall. The problem symptoms are exactly similar to the recall issue. I would like to fix it as a recall issue for my vehicle from toyota. Please help. Thanks.
Sliding door cable snapped. This left us with a heavy door to manually open/close which creates a safety concern (trapped) for children and elderly passengers.
We had the recall concerning dashboard melting and cracking 2 years ago. Our vehicle dashboard has been melting for about 4-5 years now and it also started to crack on either side. As soon as we received the recall notice, we took our vehicle to the dealers 2 years ago. They took measurement for our vehicle dashboard and we were told the product for replacement is not available, as soon it is available they will call us. We have called multiple times to the dealership and it is still not ready to this day (fort bend toyota dealership in sugar land, tx). The car smells, we are unable to use this vehicle as the smell of melted rubber inside the vehicle causing breathing issues for all of us especially our child who has breathing issues. How long should I wait for a replacement parts? It has already been 2 years and we have called the dealer multiple times. Our secondary warranty extension expires next march 2018. Once this date comes around, are we out of options to get replacement under this re-call? I need solution immediately or take the vehicle back and give us our money back!! Can someone please help us. Thank you.
Vehicle was parked and turned off parked in parking lot. Opened side door with automatic key fob and the door opened halfway then started making a weird noise. It would not close or open manually no matter what I did. I had to drive myself and 5 kids across town with the door open, car beeping because door was open. My husband finally got the door to close after I got home but there was a severed cable that now hangs under the rear window. The door will not open manually or automatically now. So I can't use the door at all. If you even try to touch or open the door then the system thinks the door is open and beeps the whole time you are driving and you can't lock the door. I'm worried it will open while driving. From research it appears to be an all too common issue with toyota vans and should be a recall or covered for the life of the vehicle in my opinion. The auto opening door was the only reason we purchased a van and not a SUV.
Passenger side power sliding door cable snapped. Cable hanging out side of vehicle. Very difficult to open door since cable always gets tangled. Concerned for my children.
The drivers side sliding rear door will not latch closed. While driving,the door will slide open when accelerating. I called toyota about this and they said there's nothing they can do unless I pay for repairs. They have extended the factory warranty specifically for the sliding doors to 9 years/ 120k mi. My vehicle is 11 days past the 9 years but under the 120k mi. I cannot get the door to latch closed, a toyota supervisor informed me there was a recall to keep the door latched closed but my vehicle wasn't covered under that recall. This problem happened 4/12/2017 while parked at my kids soccer practice. After reading how many complaints have been filed against toyota for their sliding door problems, I'm not sure why this wouldn't be classified as a recall. Driving with a door that won't stay shut is not very safe.
Slide door cable snapped leaving door non functional.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. The contact stated that the automatic closed door operating cable experienced severe corrosion and fractured in the vehicle. The contact stated that the automatic opening feature did not work and would only operate if opened manually. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the power sliding door cable and motor were defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was made aware of the federal safety agency campaign number: 16v858000 (structure); however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000. Updated 04/06/17 lj updated 08/07/2017
This car is experiencing sua. It happened in a parking lot an resulted in a crash into a cement wall. It also happened on a winding mountain road.
Passenger side sliding door has snapped cable. Van was parked and button was used to open door. Heard pop/crunch sound. Was able to force door shut. Door is unable to be opened and remains closed; even when power sliding door option is turned off. No damage seen inside or outside of vehicle.
Powered passenger doors on both sides of the van malfunctioned and then cable system broke and locked the doors in the closed position. This happened one after the other in about a three-week period. The cable is clearly rusted and shredded on the one side. I cannot tell why the cable pulled out and stopped working on the other side. As I transport 3 or more children at a time, it is a huge safety issue that the only way out of the car in case of emergency is through one of the front doors or the back trunk hatch. I have owned this vehicle since it was new and I am told this is out of warranty/isn't covered and will cost at least $6,000 to fix. I cannot drive the vehicle like this and I can't afford to fix it. I am apparently not the only one who's had this problem with the van, yet toyota is doing nothing about it for their customers.
Power sliding door cable broke. Door was very difficult to open manually until I cut the cables. Vehicle was stationary.
The sliding door cables have broken just like in the 2007 models that a recall has already been done. Toyota has refused to fix this on my 2008 model because the federal safety agency has not requested it and because they supposedly have not had enough reports of failures. Now our door does not completely seal shut and going done the road, the door alarm goes off indicating a door is open that has nearly caused my wife to jump out of her skin thinking that our autistic son is opening the door while she is driving down the road. It doesn't make sense that this defect has been recalled in 2007 but not in the 2008 which is the same problem. Cables are dangling out the side of the van whipping in the wind.
Our left rear sliding door won't function or open any more. The cable broke. Then 2 days later the right rear sliding door won't function or open anymore. Same problem. Cable was severed or snapped. Looks like it was rusted on both cables, both sides, and severed in the same position or length. So, both rear sliding doors do not function. They only open to about 1 foot, and no further. Extremely difficult to close or open doors at all. The minivan was stationary both times while opening doors for my kids to get in. I was parked on a street. The left side broke on july 1, 2016, and the right side broke 2 days later on july 3, 2016.
Power sliding doors have a common problem of the cable breaking and the power sliding feature stops working. The door can still be used in manual operation, which is just an inconvenience. The power rear latch is a safety issue as the door can suddenly open while driving, or other times remain locked so as the door cannot be opened. This problem is compounded when both doors are affected, and I have had multiple repairs done to both doors to a point where I cannot keep up with the frequency of how often the doors fail. To summarize, power sliding function granted is a luxury though an expensive one when toyota does not warrantee the repair. The latching problem is most certainly a safey issue as the doors either do not stay closed, or are stuck shut forcing the rear passengers to climb over the front seat to exit the vehicle. Imagine what would happen in an emergency.
Toyota cable frayed on automatic sliding door (it was fine one open then had a terrible sound the next and we could visually see the frayed cable from the outside), however the 2008 is not in the designated years (2004-2007) to have it fixed under extended warranty. Originally 3 calls to toyota customer service provided me that it was covered but I had to speak to a supervisor after reading the paperwork online to explain that although I was part of the extended warranty for cable and latch mechanisms, that the latch mechanism is the only part that applies to the 2008. It's so confusing, the customer service agents can't figure it out. Taking it to the dealership to have them tell the 2008 cable isn't covered would have cost me $110. The repair is $1500-2000 on a car only work 8k or so. Being that this has been an issue in the past is upsetting. And the fact that the warranty enhancement bulletin is so confusing their own employees don't understand it is also ridiculous. From reading online it seems others are still having this issue.
Automatic sliding door cable snapped when children were exiting the van. A known issue that was covered by csp for years 2004-2007, but not 2008. Same exact problem.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. The contact stated that the trunk failed to stop when the contact depressed the trunk release button. The contact stated that the trunk hit her in the head. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the hatch strut failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.
Driver side rear sliding door cable broke. Toyota said it is not covered! Door will not even open manually. I feel this to be a huge safety factor being that children are in the back and in case of emergency it would be hard to get them out!. The problem occurred wile my wife was picking the kids up from school!
The door latch assembly is a defected part admitted by toyota. This defected part caused the sliding door cable to break. Toyota has sent out an extended warrenty to fix the door latch but not the sliding door cable. I can now open up the door but without the cable the door will not stay open if on a grade. This is a major saferty hazard as the door could shut on a person including my four children. I have contacted toyota about the issue and it is noted. I feel that if they have admitted to a defective part and that part caused another issue, it should be replaced.
Sliding door on our 2008 sienna stopped opening or closing. We can not get in our get out off the car on driver side. We are glad it happened on parked position. It is not working electrical or manual mode. Toyota is asking about $1600-3000 for repair. We are trying to use the van with one sliding door and it is nor practical or safe.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. The contact stated that the trunk handle was melting. There was no warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer who stated that nothing could be done except to replace the handle at a cost. The failure was not remedied. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.
Rear power sliding door issues. Hard to open and close toyota has csp that only completely covers the issues to year 2007 but 2008-2010 the cable assembly is excluded. These models and years are having the same problem I don't understand why it's only partially covered.
In very cold weather (approximately 20 degrees or colder), the automatic tailgate on the back of the minivan malfunctions while parked. It will go up but as soon as it gets to the full open position, it comes back down and will not stop, even if you have your hand or body in the path of the tailgate door. This has happened to me numerous times over the last seven years (the last time being on the evening of 2/12/16 in bloomington il) and the first time I barely was able to pull back before the tailgate would have crushed me. In summary, the tailgate door malfunctions in very cold weather (as it won't stay open) and it appears the sensor that detects something in the path of the tailgate door also is malfunctioning since it will not stop if something is in its path. I have submitted this to toyota via occasional user panel email surveys they send, but I don't know if they are looking into it. This needs to be investigated before someone gets crushed, injured, or killed.
The door check on the driver side breaks prematurely. Each time I open the door, it clacks. Instead of holding the door in position which is designed to do, it moves and sometimes it can be dangerous.
The power sliding door fails. It has to be opened and closed manually. This is a common problem for this model.
The passenger side of the powered sliding door stuck open during a cold winter night and we were lucky we were at the parking lot not on highway for an emergency stop (which is possible with two little ones on board sometimes). We did a little research and found out that this is due to an known faulty sliding cable assembly and toyota already had a a customer support program which extends the warranty of the cable assembly for model years of 2004 to 2007. Unfortunately, our car is 2008 and the local dealer asked for $2000 to change the cable assembly. Since this issue is the same as the previous model years for the second generation sienna, this should have been covered by the same program. Due to the potential risk of door stuck open on highway during emergency stop, toyota should have included this as a recall campaign.
The power sliding doors mechanism broke and I was available to open the door, was parked.
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