We have owned the sienna for 4 years and 53,000 miles without incidence. We have had it serviced by the toyota dealer and have had all scheduled maintenance. One afternoon, after driving the sienna all day, we pulled it into our driveway (which is on a slight incline) and placed it into park. After doing this, instead of the brakes being applied, the sienna rolled back as though it were in neutral. We brought the sienna to the toyota dealer who inspected it. They told us the pin that enables the brakes upon placing the sienna in park was completely shot and the entire transmission would need to be replaced. The service manager said he has never seen something like this before and that these pins don't wear out over time. The service manager also told us that you would only see damage to the pin if you were driving the car and then suddenly put it into park while moving at a high speed. The service manager contacted the offices of toyota corporate and had the case reviewed. It was determined by toyota corporate to be related to the warranty and they are replacing the entire transmission.
2008 Toyota Sienna engine complaints
Page 3 of 3: complaints 41 to 51 of 51, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, smoke began to emit from the rear. The contact stopped the vehicle and noticed that a high pressure hose under the intake manifold was pierced and leaking oil. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop and was in the process of being evaluated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 40,105. Updated 4/2/12
At highway speed, all lights flicker on then lost all power.......oilline had leaked on alternator belt causing loss of power. Luckily power loss prevented engine damage from oil leak. We had not been notified by toyota about the oil line problem or recall.....only after a local garage fixed the line did I find out about the recall....I would had it replaced earlier if I had been notified.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. While driving 65 MPH, the contact stated that thea push rod fractured causing a hole in the engine. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where he was informed to replace the engine. The manufacturer was aware of the failure. The current and failure mileage was 60,600. No repairs were performed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. While driving approximately 65 MPH, the engine stalled with the illumination of the entire instrument panel. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician was unable to detect a trouble code. The malfunction occurred six times on the same day. The engine restarted each time the failure occurred and the vehicle was taken to a different dealer who could not locate a problem. The contact planned to take the vehicle for a third opinion to possibly locate the consistent failure. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 34,680.
2008 toyota sienna with approx. 45k miles. Driving down highway after wedding. Traction control light comes on. A minute later, check engine light comes on. Half mile from exit, decide to take exit to see what's going on. As reach gas station right off exit, oil light comes on. Check oil and see no oil in engine. Oil splashed on tailgate. Determine oil flowing from engine. Toyota acknowledged problem with rubber oil hose and sent tow truck. Loss of all oil without indication until engine failure. Same v6 engine as recalled in camry and avalon. This is a serious problem requiring complete engine replacement. This is unsafe--sudden engine failure without indication at highway speeds and oil spill to exhaust components of engine could have caused accident or fire!
1. Engine lights came on alerting us to a problem (check engine, service engine, etc.). After alleged repair, spouse drove to families house approximate 600 miles away and found a significant amount of oil had leaked from the system - oil had been changed as part of the fix. A second dealer, at the new location, "fixed" with the same hose again, with similar results, though my spouse only drop 120 miles. She is unable to continue the trip home due to this issue. 2. After taking to dealer, was told the vvt oil line was a known faulty part and needed replacement. Was not a "formal" recall, but was considered an internal recall to toyota that needed to be fixed for "free". Both dealerships claimed to have fixed the problem, though the engine is still leaking a significant amount of oil. There is a significant amount of data on the web that addresses this oil line and the associated issues. 3. Part was replaced, but with same type (part number, composition, etc.). Basically, a "new" bad part was replaced. Furthermore, the first dealership installed various gaskets and seals incorrectly, and still gave the car a safe rating for a 600 mile trip. The second dealership merely replaced a bad oil line with another bad oil line.
In the summer of 2009 my toyota 2008 sienna xle awd engine speed slowly started to climb without my foot on the gas pedal. I don't remember the exact sequence of events that followed but I believe I placed it into neutral, stopped, placed it into park (automatic transmission) and turned the engine off then on again. After that the engine responded only to my actions on the gas pedal. It did occur to me that the pedal could have been caught under the floor mat so I checked its position and it was some distance from the pedal and could not have been the cause. I have owned this vehicle from new in may 2008 and this undirected acceleration has only occurred once. The car has just completed 20,000 miles. I reported this to the dealer who serviced my car for the 20,000 mile interval and via toyota's web site but I want to make sure you are aware that sienna vans can also have this problem.
Early am on 6/1/10 I was driving to my cabin in the country and heard a soft popping sound, stopped my car and smoke began flowing out all opening around the hood, when I looked under the car I saw fire falling to the road. I went to the passenger side and opened the door only to find that area filled with toxic fumes, shutting the door I realized all was hopeless except to get away from the vehicle. Within seconds my car was engulfed in flames. I ran as fast as I could to get help. Had I been less alert, inactive, less proactive I would have probably died. The car was purchased new in nov, 2008 and had a little over 10,000 miles. There was no smell of fuel or another strange odor. The car was burned totally, with nothing remaining except the steel frame.
Driving my 2008 toyota sienna and it felt funny and I heard some rattling from under the hood. No idea what the problem was but I knew that something was definitely wrong. I checked the oil and the dip stick was completely dry! I put in a few quarts of oil and it came out all over underneath the car as I was driving. Had it towed to the dealer- they told me it was a faulty rubber oil line. I looked it up online and see that toyota had not yet issued a recall but is replacing it in some vehicles. The 2008 toyota sienna is not mentioned - but clearly should be. This is a van that I drive my 2 children around - very clearly a safety issue if I did not recognize soon enough that the engine had no oil!
Piston slap on toyota 3.5 l v6 since new. Very loud when cold in cooler temperatures..ca arbitrator agrees with toyota that this is normal for this engine. I cannot sell this car with this noise but toyota doesn't care. Toyota has had a few complaints but no failures yet. Piston slap wears the piston prematurely and could in my opinion lead to failure. This is my 2nd complaint to you people for the same issue.
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