Dashboard melts when driven in 80 degree weather. Becomes sticky and shiny. Glare from shine makes it impossible to see out windshield.
2008 Toyota Sienna body complaints
Page 4 of 5: complaints 71 to 100 of 117, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My wife was parking our 2008 toyota sienna with our 3 young boys in the automobile. She slowly brought the vehicle to a complete stop; never using gas, just covering and tapping lightly on the brake. Once the automobile came to a stop my wife pressed the brake a little more in order to put the vehicle in park. At that moment the vehicle accelerated incredible fast, jumped over an 8 inch concrete parking lot divider and crashed into a tree about 10 - 15 feet from the concrete divider. We are certain that this was a "sudden unintended acceleration" incident caused by some mechanical, electrical, programming or other defect in the '08 sienna. This was not "driver error"! My wife did not confuse the gas pedal and the brake. This was not caused by a floor mat obstructing the gas pedal. This was caused by some type of a design or component defect. How can w be so certain? My wife and I have parked in this parking spot (located in our apartment complex) hundreds of times. To park in this parking spot you first have to make a left hand turn at a stop sign. This stop sign is about 30 - 40 feet from the parking spot, which requires that you make a sharp right turn. Once you press the accelerator slightly to make the left at the stop sign, you do not use the gas again. You simply tap and cover your brake until you make the right into the parking spot. Our vehicle came to a stop. In fact, upon "stopping" one of our 3 boys removed his seat belt immediately before the vehicle accelerated out of control. I'm asking for assistance from someone within toyota or the federal safety agency with knowledge of this flaw. My wife and kids were "fortunate". But this is a "fatal flaw" and something must be done.
My 2008 toyota sienna has power rear sliding doors. While the driver side rear door was opening, the cable for the door mechanism snapped and would not close completely. After investigating the situation, the broken cable was jammed in the door mechanism, preventing the door from closing. As a result, the door now does not fully open, and will not hold in the open position. If parked on a hill, the door will close if not held open. Looking at the cable, the plastic sheathing around the cable had many cracks causing the cable itself to rust and fail. The passenger side door cable has similar cracks but has not failed yet. I brought the vehicle to our local toyota dealer. They mentioned this cable failure was a known problem and previous model years were covered under an extended warranty program. However, the 2008 model year was not covered.
My toyota 2008 sienna le passenger automatic sliding door won't closed and opened completely. I've experienced an intermittent jammed with this door for the past 3 days. As a temporary fix, I need to get out from the car to help the door in closing and opening it because the button inside the car and even the remote(has new battery installed) won't do the work . One day, when driving my kids to school. As I made a left turn, I heard an audible noise/alarm and we were surprised and tried to figure out where the sound came from until my kids told me that the door is partially open while driving. I pulled over and temporary close the door. I managed to go back home and still with the alarm on and then re-pushed harder to make the door completely closed. That was scary because my kids were sitting in 2nd row. To address this problem. On same day, I rushed my car to toyota dealership and the representative told me that cable assembly is broken and need to replace all parts but must pay $1700 + tax because the issue was the power sliding door cable assembly although my car has very low mileage 30, 312 miles (sitting most of the time inside the garage) and still not covered by toyota warranty enhance program for rear sliding door cable. This is very frustrating and adding insult to injury, I was told that I'm not the only one had this problem.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. The contact was attempting to open the rear driver's side door the but the door only opened six inches wide while using the fob, then shut independently and without warning. The contact stated that she had to manually pry the door open. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for inspection where the contact was informed that the door cable had snapped and wrapped around the motor. The motor and the cables would need to be replaced, the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the incident. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
Power door opened part ways and would not shut. Had to drive to mechanic with door partially open and he had to force it shut. Toyota mechanic said it was a know cable problem with the door motor, but toyota has not issued a recall yet.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. The contact stated that upon inspection, the trunk door unexpectedly closed without any warnings. The contact also mentioned that the trunk door landed on her back and caused a bruise, which was a recurring injury. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 85,000.
My sister and I had just returned home from the store and I pressed the button to lift the back door to get our things out. We were in the middle of getting our things out when the door started closing on us. I got out and my sister got caught and it came down on her back and scratched her up pretty good. Ever since then just out of the blue it will not stay up and it will close down on you. I think this is a major safety issue especially since I have two little children. It could really do some harm to them. The sliding doors stop closing if someone is in the way and it should be the same for the back door. I bought this vehicle because it is supposed to be one of the top of the line fans for safety. So far I am not impressed. Someone needs to resolve this issue! I am scared to even open up that back door because of this.....and that is not good.
When operating the rear lift gate (trunk) on this 2008 toyota sienna minivan, we have noticed the lift gate does not open all the way up, causing an average height adults to bump their heads on the lift gate. But worse, this happens on several occasions, the lift gate comes falling down, hitting an adult on the head, causing a head injury. Worse yet, if a child happens to be standing under the lift gate, the heavy trunk can cause a major injury or death! This is happening on a number of occasions, and should be covered by toyota as this is not acceptable for a family minivan with less than 5 years old. I would like to see a safety recall issued on this type of malfunction and have this repaired or replaced free of charge by toyota dealers.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the spare tire became detached from the vehicle causing the contact to drive over the tire and experience a failure with the brakes. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The mechanic stated that the spare tire cable was corroded and consequently caused damage to the braking system. The contact referenced the federal safety agency campaign number: 10v160000 (structure) but was advised by the manufacturer that the recall had expired and they would not honor the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 82,000.
Power sliding door cable broke. Research into this problem shows that it can cause door to jam in the open position. Problem was frequent enough that toyota covers the repair for vehicles manufactured 2004-2007. The problem persists in the years manufactured after this, as mine is a 2008, but the $1200.00 repair is not covered by toyota csp.
The rear hatch failed today on my sienna. It will go up and suddenly without any notice fall slamming down. It almost hit my wife in the head. This is serious defect that toyota needs to correct.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. The contact stated that the dashboard had began to deteriorate and she was concerned that the air bags could possibly deploy independently. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection or repairs. The failure and current mileage was 55,000.
Could not stop after my ABS brakes locked up then were soft/absent, drove up on the center median, got back on the road attempting to go around the car infront on the right side couldn't due to other traffic then went back to the left got back up on the median. My passenger side front bumper corner went under the other driver's driver's side rear bumper corner lifting her car up into the air causing it to fall on top of the passenger side of my hood and front right fender crushing them, resulting in over 10000 dollars damage. No one was seriously hurt and neither car's airbags deployed.
Power lift function of rear door malfunction. Upon engaging the power door, it immediately started going down once it reached the top and will not stop if someone is in between it. The struts or brackets are not able to keep the door open, making the mechanism automatically shut the door. Extremely dangerous.
While backing the car in my driveway it suddenly accelerated and could not be stopped by braking before it struck stone wall, blowing the right rear tire, damaging the underbody and damaging the stone wall. Very scary!
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. The contact stated that the rear liftgate latch was found to be melted. The contact was unsure of how the latch became melted. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was contacted and advised her that the entire door handle assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000. The current mileages were approximately 65,000.
Power lift function of rear door malfunction. Upon engaging the power door, it immediately started going down once it reached the top. The struts or brackets are not able to keep the door open making the mechanism automatically shut the door. Extremely dangerous.
Last june 2012 I was backing my vehicle in my home driveway when the rear hatch window suddenly exploded, showering large and small shards of glass outwards with enough force that glass particles were found approx. 15 ft. Behind the vehicle! The inside rear of the vehicle was filled with large and small shards, and broken and hanging glass was left in the window frame. When this was reported to the toyota dealer, their rep replied that he had never heard of such an event occurring with a toyota, and implied that I had broken the window by accident. Since my warranty doesn't cover glass, I turned in a claim to allstate insurance($100 deductible) and the window was repaired. On 11/08/2012 I was driving approx. 25 MPH on a city street when the same window exploded with enough energy to produce a loud "bang!" I again turned in a claim to allstate($100 deductible, again!) and the window was repaired. While waiting at the repair shop, I asked the glass technician if he was aware of any similar incidents with toyota windows. He replied, "oh yes," and told me that he had just repaired a similar window on a toyota owned by a kirtland, ohio police officer, among others! I feel that this is a serious safety defect that should be investigated immediately, before someone gets severely injured!
The rear hatch of my 2008 toyota sienna xle closes automatically when opening by using either the remote opener or by opening manually. The door crushed my son.
Both sliding doors on our van started to slow when opening and closing and began to make a clicking or crackling noise. We took it to the dealer for inspection and were told that the frames were bent on both sides and we were responsible for the repair. The vehicle has never been in an accident and has low miles on it. There is no reason for the door frames to bend other than a manufacturer defect. I have read several complaints about the same problem on the 2008 sienna. Toyota needs to be held accountable for this problem. There have been internet reports of doors coming open while driving. Our car is still under warranty and we are being told it is not covered.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. The contact stated that a passenger was standing in the path of the rear passenger side sliding door. The door was engaged and closed on the passenger, crushing the passenger between the sliding door and the frame. The passenger was transported to a medical doctors for treatment of her injuries. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no failures found with the sliding door. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle needed to be taken to a dealer for diagnosis. The failure mileage was 14,000. Updated 07/19/12
We have a 2008 toyota sienna with an automatic lift gate. When you push a button on the overhead console or on the remote it opens the rear lift gate, push again and it closes and latches automatically. However, the mechanism(s) that holds it open has failed. Similar to failure on the 2004-2006 sienna that forced a toyota recall. If you open it automatically it starts closing immediately after you open it without warning, no alerts. If you open it manually it will not stay open and the weight is unsupported meaning it will close on anything in its way. A child could be crushed/injured from the weight/force of the door.
2009 non power slider door transmission replaced by dealership I paid for labor since I was out of warranty......2012 @ 99000 miles same door doing same thing...will not latch . Dealer got it to close but says that it needs a new latch system at a cost of $700.00 this door is rarely used.........might be opened once every two or three months......this seems to be a defect....
Automatic sliding door on passenger side failed. Stuck halfway open. Appears to be a cable problem. Research done on internet shows to be common problem with approx. $1800.00 repair price.
Right rear power sliding door on 2005 toyota sienna lxe malfunctioned. Dealer quoted nearly $1000.00 to fix. Ridiculous. Had dealer disconnect system (over $70.00) and now can use door manually although door is cumbersome to move -- almost impossible for children to operate. Inexcusably poor design! Same problem right rear window. Will not operate. Now disconnected by dealer (included in $70.00 charge noted above). Window cannot be operated manually. Permanently shut. Bad! Ventilation in rear and thus throughout vehicle adversely affected.
Rubber on the trunk release hatch melts and sometimes causes the trunk to unlatch by itself. Contacted 2 local dealerships and no recall has been issued and they want about $300 to replace.
My 2008 toyota sienna has an automatic lift gate. You push a button on the overhead console or on the key fob and it opens the rear lift gate, push again and it closes and latches automatically. However, the mechanism(s) that holds it open has failed. Similar to failure on the 2004-2006 sienna that forced a toyota recall. If you open it automatically it starts closing immediately after you open it without warning, no alerts. If you open it manually it will not stay open and the weight is unsupported meaning it will crush anything in its way.
Son opened power sliding drivers side passenger door. Upon closing, door would not latch shut. Door had to be held shut by adult. Dealer has quoted $995 at this point just to get door to close, stating a "rusty cable" is causing the issue. Representative at toyota customer care advised that vehicle is beyond warranty and toyota will provide no relief.
The exposed cable of the automatic sliding door on passenger side snapped while the door was in motion.
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