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Comments
Possible cause is prior wheel rotation by someone else using an air impact wrench - those easily put out 300 ft pounds
Ye,s my car was manufactured in 07/99.
The diagnostics did indicate the P0770, I asked the service manager and he confirmed.
The new transmission I had installed over my Thanksgiving vacation is the *good* transmission, this was verified by the service manager.
He called Toyota and they have a case opened up on this reoccurring problem.
Toyota had him run additional tests. Toyota recommended that a shielded wire be installed, thinking that for some reason the code is being set incorrectly (bad wire?). They flushed my transmission and said all looks good.
I got the service managers cell phone and was instructed to call immediately if the check engine light comes on. He also asked me to come back for a check-up in one week.
I guess time will tell.
I also asked reported the car is pulling to the right so they did an alignment, surprisingly they didn't charge me for it.
Out of curiosity, are the major transmission failures (seemingly, from what I've read)) concentrated in the northern part of the US or are some of you in the south? I'm in Texas and haven't heard of (limited, of course) of any Sienna friends having the same problem with the transmissions down here. I have a 2000 Sienna, low miles, and very happy with it. I also have a 2001 MPV, again, low miles, and happy with that one too so far (my wife won it!).
She loves her Toyo and so do the 500 soccer kids she hauls around - mud & all. One complaint - I'm scared to take a trip in it for fear of falling asleep since it's so smooth. Not that the Mazda is a jitter bug, but the Sienna is a much more "refined" van.
BTW, we purchased the Sienna because the Ody's were priced waaay too high and the dealers don't budge an inch. My Toyo dealer has probably called me 10 times asking if I'm happy, any problems, etc. I took it in for a rear window wiper replacement. They fell all over themselves, said it was under warranty, and sent me on my way with a new one. No big deal but I wonder if Chrysler or Ford would do that...? Hmmmm.
The main problem has been nuts breaking in two, but several studs have also been "stretched" and/or broken. A local mechanic (that I trust completely), and a Toyota dealership, have been the only ones to work on the van. They blame each other for damaging the studs and nuts. Toyota replaced all ten front studs and nuts (costing me $291.55) a couple of months ago. (The machinist said the nuts on the front would logically fail first since they are under the most pressure).
When the van was taken in for another oil change and tire rotation two weeks ago (and under my direct supervision) a nut on one of the rear wheels broke - under 90 lbs of torque!
This looks to be a continuing problem. :-(
roberts12 - a month ago we had a sticky passenger's sliding door. Lots of snow, slush, sand and salt here in Dayton, OH. So I've been washing the van every week (an automatic wash with undercarriage spray) to keep the junk off the frame and body. Voila, no more sticky door.
What did Toyota say? It said that the sticking door was the result of spilled drinks. It has told countless others that this is the problem. Interesting that it is winter and now the culprit becomes snow and salt. What does it tell those in the south? At any rate, it is an owner problem with these explanations when in fact, the problem is very common. If I were you, I would not accept that theory until proven.
Charlene Blake
cblake@erols.com
An alternative would be to take the van to a reputable collision repair shop and request a diagnosis and estimate to correct it.
Sticky side doors on vans is a fairly common situation and can usually be corrected with either minor adjustment or lubrication-or both.
The only advice you will get from Ms. Blake will be to "Look real hard until you find someone to support my position that all Toyota products are worthless, and then get back to me with that evidence".
Good luck with your Sienna--it's a great product!
Now way to fold up the middle row of seats if the front seats are all the way back! Dumb and is the main reason why I wouldn't buy a Sienna....bought an Odyssey instead!
Thanks,
Isn't is curious that JD Power essentially says the same?
Just a thought, but perhaps some of those Toyota Bashers out there with those horrendous tales of woe, are predominantly idealists who expect all things to match their concept of what's perfect in life. Perhaps what they need is an exorcism to rid their Toyota products of the demons which seem to have possessed them?
(Just kidding!).
Thanks to 2muchmoney1 for some good news for a change.
That said, your _odds_ of getting a defective Toyota Sienna are far smaller than they are of getting a defective Caravan, Voyager, Windstar, etc. So while you can't eliminate risk, you can reduce it.
As an aside, did you ever hear the analogy about the three kinds of liars----Liars, Damn Liars, and Statistics?
This week I had a scary occurrence with the ABS. There was a mere dusting of snow on the ground (the non-sticking, powdery variety). I was traveling very slowly up to a four-way stop and applying steady, constant pressure to the brake pedal (I did not stomp on it or pump it). My wheels locked rather abruptly and I heard an awful grinding sound. After this, I proceeded to slide through the stop sign with my foot all the way down on the pedal!
Needless to say, it causes me concern. I do not think that the ABS needed to be activated in this case, but even so, the wheels locked making the situation much worse. I was lucky that I could coast and avoid hitting anything in my path. Had I been going faster, this would not have been the case.
I have seen posts from others about grinding brakes. I'd like to know more about that. I have had the rear brake drums replaced once. I hear a "thump" upon braking when backing up at times now. Could others comment about any unusual brake occurrences? One Avalon owner spoke about hydroplaning through a small amount of water....this sounds like s similar reaction of the ABS to me. Perhaps it is a sensor problem?
Thank you for your response.
Charlene Blake
cblake@erols.com
My van was towed in to Ann Arbor Toyota on the 2nd of January with failed transmission. I was told that the "new" transmission would be ordered and my van will be ready in a couple of days. Well couple of days later (on Jan 04), when I called to check on my van, I was informed that the transmission was on backorder and my vehicle will not be ready until Jan 19th.
And also by the way, the transmission is not going to be new but a factory remanufactured.
So I ended up driving back to IL in the loaner provided by Toyota and will be returning to MI to pickup my van once ready.
Put yourself in a "Toyota Basher's" shoes. Imagine, if you could, that you owned a Toyota with a myriad of problems which required countless trips to the dealer to be repaired. Imagine the dealer telling you that a perceived problem is "normal" when you know it is not normal. Imagine your tranny breaking in the middle of no where leaving you stranded by the side of the road. Why don't you refrain from bashing those with legitimate complaints and concerns about the quality, or lack there of, of their expensive vehicles? It really isn't called for and doesn't add anything to your credibility.
Btw, the name of this form is Toyota Sienna Problems, not Toyota Sienna Love-in. If you don't like the "chronic complaining" then don't read them!
First posting after purchasing my 2000 Sienna back in May. I've have several annoyances, all thankfully small.
1. Power Slider squels like somebody is skinning a cat.
2. ABS light comes on intermittently (dealer was unable to locate problem).
3. Brakes make a cracking/clunking sound when applied in reverse.
4. Biggest concern: When lifting off the accelerator, a slight hesitation can be detected... it feels like the parking brake is on. At first I thought it might just be high drag coefficient, until I noticed it is correlated with a precipitous drop in engine speed (down to 1000 rpm) and then it shoots back up. Again, dealer can't seem to find anything wrong.
Anybody else experience any of these?
Thanks!
quicheman@home.com
Like yu4 did, I wrote letters to the dealer and the TCAC telling them that this was the first and last Toyota I will buy. For a premium mini-van at the $30K price point, the quality and level of customer service should be much higher. I put the safety of my family at stake when this happened at freeway speeds. When the transmission and torque converter were replaced the mechanics performed an invasive procedure that required them to disassemble and reconnect a whole lot of engine components, cooling, emission and electrical systems. Two weeks ago I wrote that engine check light came on and the charcoal canister was leaking. The SC Toyota dealer wouldn't tell me why it was leaking just that it needed replacement. Highly suspect that this would occur so suddenly with only 13K miles on it.
When the heat from Town Hall challenges to her theories gets turned up, she goes to the Complaint Station and appeals to her fellow theorists to lend support to her Town Hall postings.
Shortly thereafter, an underwhelming show of support from 5 of the CS group shows up in this Topic. Impressive! Behold The Power of the Pen!
Most certainly, there are bound to be problems with Toyota products. As stated earlier, statistics,if nothing else support that fact for any manufactured product. Statistics compiled by a half dozen of the leading auto pollsters also show that Toyota is consistently at the head of the pack in quality, reliability, and customer satisfaction.( Even the Lemon Aide author supports that--Read it--he puts Toyota in the Rcommended category).
Now, if this is the Topic to air those complaints, so be it. But why do these complaints have to be aired in every Toyota related topic in the Town Hall--Especially when those complaints are consistently accompanied by an implied "Toyota Plot" theory with only one objective---Let's gang up and "get" big bad Toyota?
In spite of the impassioned pleas for sympathy toward Ms. Blake's cause, there are millions of completely satisfied Toyota owners out there--who are loyal to the product, and who recognize that companies like Toyota are largely responsible for the much better quality we see in all automobiles today.
I say again to those who have had problems with their Toyota (or any other make), if you are being honest and straightforward with your service dept., you have nothing to fear. However, if what you seek is only that solution which pleases you, yer gonna be in in trouble right from the git go! Credibility in seeking redress for any complaint is the first rule.From what I see in a lot of this anti Toyota stuff is that truth was the first casualty, and everything went downhill from there!
Suggestion: Try the honest approach--first with yourself, and then with the Toyota service person. It really works!
I'm not saying this is the hard truth, just what I suspect is the case. To that end, I've always had good service from any dealership, any maker, I've dealt with. Why? Because I always treat service managers and mechanics with the same level of respect I'd give to a medical doctor. I never accuse them of trying to rip me off, and if their service fees are high, I politely state that I'd like to shop around - they can repect that. I've even had people recommend I not have work done I'm contemplating because it would be too expensive at their dealership.
Just last week I took my '99 Sienna (33K miles) in to the dealer and showed them the post and latch that was rusting on one of the sliding doors. The service manager said, "Hmm, I've never seen that before - looks like something may have been spilled on it." I told him I kept the van very clean, and while the door works fine, I'm concerned with the possiblity of future failure. He ordered the parts, and the work gets done Friday.
This is common sense people. Don't go in there with the attitude that these guys are trying to cheat you out of your warranty or rip you off with expensive work - they pick up on that and feel right away that you don't trust them. Rather treat them as professionals. Don't start with, "this door doesn't work, and I want you to fix it right!" While this is what we all want, the right way to ensure you get it is by saying, "I've got this concern with my door, and I'm hoping you can help resolve it for me."
Bottom line is simple, people will do more for you when they feel you recognize their worth and treat them with pleasantly and with respect.
Isn't it interesting that so much of our society "Cops Out" of one- on- one arbitration of disputes and instead, always relies on a third party to intervene on their behalf? An old friend of mine said it well many years ago--"Whatever happened to people talking to each other?"
As noted in some of the horror stories told by Ms. Blake & Co., owners have visited a variety of dealers to correct a perceived complaint; others have written nasty letters to their dealer swearing off Toyota products forever; still others have phoned or written Toyota management with uncomplimentary remarks, etc.,etc.
Boys oh boys, talk about burning bridges! No wonder they get negative reactions and no satisfaction!
What would most people do under the same circumstances? Probably the same thing---shut the door in their face!
Living in Minnesota and dealing with ice and snow 6 months out of the year I hear the ABS quite a bit on all of my vehicles.
It will make a humming/grinding/clicking noise when it activates and you'll feel the pulsation in the brake pedal. Sometimes, you'll just keep going and it'll feel like you're sliding or your wheels are locked up but in reality your brakes are activating and deactivating many times per second. Your wheels will continue to turn when the ABS is activated, this allows you to steer the vehicle (a big plus over "locking them up").
The ABS activates when wheel lock is going to occur.
Hey "iforgotit" - lose the attitude!
Scott
pilot13 - let's have lunch and tell our waiter, "the service here sucks, and I'm never eating here again - now get me a bowl of soup that's actually hot!" How many people in the kitchen do you think would spit in our soup?
What are you here for anyway Hapiii-less? Is it just to moan about your problems, or are you looking for information and ideas? Have you thought of treating your situation like you were out of warrany and finding out how an independent garage goes about getting a new toyota tranny? There are many ways to get results. My earlier post spoke to one method of simply being nice and respectful to people. Obviously that's something you are way past.
So why don't you check the attitude, pal? You're not doing yourself any favors.
================================================
The vehicle must be running and the fluid will be hot. Please follow all
precautions and service procedures in the repair manual. A factory trained
technician follows the procedure below when filling the fluid on the 2000
Sienna.
1. The transmission fluid fills the transmission and differential through the
same dipstick tube. In order to drain the proper amount of fluid you must drain
fluid from the trans pan and differential.
The fluid needed to fill the transmission is 3.7 quarts. The proper procedure to
do this is to fill the 3.7 qts, then let the engine idle. After the vehicle
idles the trans fluid will need to be added again through the dipstick tube (.8
qts) . to fill the differential to full capacity. To verify that the
differential has fluid slightly remove the plug to verify trans fluid present.
National Customer Relations
The service team quickly produced a beautiful
2001 red Camry for my wife to drive to work until the van is ready. Well, lets not pass any judgement either way lets wait and see what happens to this van. Will the van be repaired properly, will it be on time, will it be a "Remanufactured" transmission, will we have to pay to have the torque converter replaced at our cost, will it have any leaks or other items of concern after we pick it up, what will the warranty status be after the repair? According to the dealership they will call when the transmission arrives and then give us a set date as to when we may expect the van to be ready.
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Thank you,
Dana S. Livingston
Manager, Community
Town Hall
Edmunds.com
dlivingston@Edmunds.com
I bought my new Sienna LE on February 2000.
We drove to Las Vegas from Sunnyvale over this Christmas break. While returning from Las Vegas, the transmission failed. Actually, it would drive on gear 1, but beyond that we would hear a grinding noise.
The van had 8000 miles on it. Its with the dealer in Las Vegas. [We returned to Sunnyvale in a one-way rental]. They said that "some solenoids in the transmission get burnt when the temperature reaches a certain level". They have agreed to replace the transmission.
I am presuming that the replacement would be a new transmission. I haven't considered that it could be a remanufactured one.
I also own a 93 Camry. It has performed beautifully for us (over 90K miles). No major work has been required on it.
Its puzzling why so many Sienna transmissions are failing. After all it the same engine as the V6 Camry.
Camry my guess is the Sienna weight is a lot more than the Camry and the Trans just can't handle the added weight. But thats just a guess.
I normally only post in the Honda forum since I own Honda products, but have conducted extensive RD&D on vehicles of various manufacturers.
I read, with dismay, the problems you folks are encountering with your Sienna transmissions. Not to say that Toyota products are all bad. I see this with every automotive product. I also read about the run around you are given by dealership service departments due to the "lack of" and not 'availability of' proper knowledge on the subject.
I read that there are some "mechanics" among Sienna owners. (Like I have done) could one of you make it a ownership project to do some intensive diagnostics and studies on your systems and advise other owners accordingly. Aside from everything else I do, including another vehicle in my research will become difficult.
Reference has been made to the same Camry drivetrain being installed in the Sienna. That does not seem right to me unless all specifications, including weight, are absolutely the same. The Honday Odyssey drivetrain was built on the Acura platform, but it has been specifically upgraded to take care of the additional weight, etc., and torque curves adjusted accordingly.
Transmission controls are similar to the Odyssey. I have doubts to the authenticity of statements such as "solenoids" getting burnt due to temperature of fluid. Specifically, solenoids are 'valves', are mechanically or electromechanically controlled, and if electrical, control valves that are within the transmission (in valve bodies). Solenoid valves are precision temperature/pressure instruments. They can fail due to incorrect pressure but are made to withstand far higher temperatures than their applications.
Many/most applications in your transmission are slide valve applications. Excess temperatures can cause ceasing of pistons drives. Something taken care of in design and not after it is installed in the transmission.
From your posts I will also not remove the possiblilty of malfunctioning PCM (Powertrain Control Modules - drivetrain computer). But unless someone does some real diagnostics, it will be difficult to provide real assitance. This cannot be expected of dealerships - I get the impression a lot of their work is trial and error.
Unless you clarify the matter with your dealer and register unit numbers, you are not guaranteed a "brand new replacement transmission". In all likelihood you will get a 're-built transmission.
If you direct some pertinent questions in my direction in terms of advice, I will try and find the time to do some research and hopefully answer your questions.
Take care.
I was also told that a "remanufactured" transmission had an old casing but that all the parts inside it were brand new. I was explained that this is different from a "rebuilt" transmission which has old parts.
Speaking about the transmission failure, I recall that the engine check failure light came on only when I stopped and restarted the van. It did not come on originally when the grinding noises began.
Bummer. I was hoping for a new transmission.
--Deb
When it comes to warranty parts replacement Toyota's policy states, "Any needed parts replacement will be made using new or remanufactured parts. The decision whether a part should be repaired or replaced will be made by the servicing Toyota dealership and/or Toyota."
Crystaltod
Use Mobil one, synthetic, sludge has no chance with it and 5,000 change intervals!
INKY
I, like many, had looked at the Honda Odyssey, but because none were available and because Toyota has done such a good job at marketing their products as safe, reliable and backed by strong customer service, we purchased the Sienna.
I will never purchase another Toyota.
I agree that no car is perfect, but we have owned many over the years and the only transmission problem I had occurred with a van that had over 80,000 miles. Incidentally, we had purchased an extended powertrain warranty so it was covered. The dealer fixed the transmission while we waited; no weeks of waiting like some Sienna owners have faced.
SIENNASTINKS
When we purchased our 2000 Sienna XLE, which was ordered by the dealer with port added options, they forgot the moonroof wind deflector, the letters"XLE" on the gold package and it had a blemish on the hood. They took care of everything, and even added a cargo net at no x-tra charge.
One thing you may want to try is to convince the dealer to swap the Firestone tires out for another brand, preferably Michelin. There's actually nothing wrong with the Firestones, at least they're not being recalled, but from what I've heard they don't last that long and the van will ride better on Michelin's. We had our torque converter replaced soon after buying our van, and the Service Mgr gave us Michelin's for the inconvenience.
As far as the postings about the problems with the Sienna, I can only say that it is the best vehicle we have ever owned and think you will feel the same after driving it for a while. You may have read about problems with the transmission, I think this has happened to a select few. There are also some postings about sludge, I think this is due to the owners not changing their oil often enough. You should also check out other van manufacturer postings, you are sure to see there are many problems listed.
We have owned our van for about 6 months, have driven it on some long trips and in nasty weather, and think the van has a great ride. We also have 2 year old twins and have had no problems with space/storage. We had owned a Toyota 4Runner prior to the Sienna for 5 years, racked up 125,000 miles, and had no problems! Take care of your new Sienna and it will give you years of enjoyment and reliability!!!
Many dealerships offer special service coupons for free oil changes, tire rotations, etc. (usually for a 2/24,000 period). Ask about it, but mostly you want to schmooze with the guy you'll be dealing with if you need service. He should outline local procedures such as appointments, walk-ins, courtesy vans or loaner cars. Some dealers don't give loaner cars, but your salesperson may give you his/hers if your van needs a sleepover in service.
You've bought a quality vehicle. Toyota has acknowleged the rash of tranny problems, and it's unfortunate that everybody isn't getting the proper care and results from the dealers. Our '99 XLE has been flawless for 33K miles, thankfully. However, if I could get new Michelins for a torque converter, I would sabotage mine if I knew how (and not get caught) - jk.
thanks for sharing the experience.
yupb00@maritz.com
Also sounds like his dealer has tried to give satisfaction, but some folks just stay mad forever because the new car just didn't meet their expectations. Can't blame them in a way, but sometimes we all tend to expect too much. For what it's worth,try and establish a professional relationship with your dealer service person, follow the owners manual recommendations and schedules, be honest with yourself and your dealer--and you should have nothing to fear with your new van.
Those who get into trouble with their vehicles and/or their service dept. often don't follow this advice. Enjoy your Sienna!