Toyota Sienna Maintenance and Repair (2004+)

lambster

Sorry to hear of your problems. I just picked up my XLE AWD yesterday and you are definitely scaring me Once they fix your problem, go have the car blessed. Can't hurt.

Can you mention where your oil leak was? Was it due to faulty filter or oil plug installation?

What is the tranny service bulletin you mentioned in your post? I'd like to make sure that this is not an issue for my van.

My car has Bridgestone run-flats. From what I can tell, everyone else with an XLE AWD got Dunlops. The Dunlops actually have a higher quality rating. I think I will go to regular tires and a spare once these wear out.

discgolfer99

I have a 2004 XLE (not AWD). I (actually my wife was driving it at the time) had a similiar problem. The vehicle would not go over 15-20 mph, hesitation, etc. After some time, it did not run at all. We had to have it towed to the dealer. It was there about 1/2 day, and was returned working well. Of course, the most important information you want, is what was done to fix it. I don't remember, and the paper work is at home. If I get a chance, I will post the fix here tonight, although I am very busy trying to get ready for a trip this weekend. If not, I'll post by Monday morning. All I remember was that something worked its way loose, and had to be tightened...

bosco9

I recently posted that my Sienna would not go faster than 20 mph, and that I limped it in for service. Please read the following carefully:If you are having similar problems....tell the service manager to run your vehicle through all the diagnostics for all service bulletins for the 2004 Sienna! I had them do this and this is how they located the problem.They performed two different service bulletins and that was the fix.I also called the national phone number for Toyota and they started a file on my van. The oil leak that someone asked about came from the steering gear, and it has been replaced.And yes, the tires...run-flats are pretty lousy and I can't wait to replace them with "normal" tires.

ippy

When I set my heating dial to "Rear" so that heat comes out of the second row vents overhead, it takes a while for the heat to warm up. Even when the car has been running for a while the heat is only luke warm. Does anyone else have this problem or is it just me?

kmead

For whatever reason, the upper vents lose much of their heat to the roof before it gets to you. The lower vents don't suffer this problem.

My Sienna also does this, we didn't find it much of a problem this winter as the heat from the lower area is sufficient.

I hope the upper vents will exhale enough cool air during the summer...

deepan

i was under the impression the overhead vents ONLY blew cold air. Atleast the 1st gen Sienna was like that. Heat only comes from the floor vents.

timndar

I noticed the same problem. I haven't compared the 2nd row floor air temp to the overhead air temp but, it seems that eventually the 2nd row overhead air does heat up.

mke

Both front doors had rust damage after only 6 months or 7,000miles. I paid extra to get rust protection, but it didn't help obviously. Rust damage was at bottom of the door where door is touching the rubber seal of the frame when door is closed. Anybody else with same experience? Toyota repainted the doors, but said won't do it again if rusting reoccures... No other problems so far..I feel I'm just lucky after reading all these messages.

dako_tian

If they actually did the rust proofing you paid for (not that any auto dealers have been known to be dishonest!?), then the rust proofing process itself would be one the prime suspects for causing the rust. Depending on what kind of rust proofing it was (I hope it wasn't just wax!?), it might have clogged the drain holes in the doors or they simply might have scratched through the paint/primer while doing it. That paint/primer combo does an admirable job protecting the metal on almost all modern vehicles. Just my WAG....

kwtrading

not sure on the Sienna, but don't all modern vehicles have extensive rust through warranty's nowadays? surely whatever they do to fix it should still be covered under the standard warranty in the future. something sounds fishy here. i would have the local toyota rep that covers your region involved in a heartbeat. thats what they are there for. (lemons, out of the ordinary problems, etc)

player4

Rust-Through: 60 months/60,000 miles (corrosion perforation of sheet metal).

I got this from the 2004 Toyota Sienna brochure.

devsienna

I think it's fairly standard for the heat to come from the floor vents, and cool air to come from the overhead vents. Our '98 Dodge Grand Caravan does the same thing.

I've also noticed that as the driver or as a front passenger, when the vent controls are set to bi-level (aka vents on the floor are in use as well as the vents directly in front of me), I'll get warm air at my feet, and cool air on my face.

And I'm sure it's designed this way because warm air rises and cold air falls. Makes for a much efficient system to let physics/nature do the work of more evenly distributing the heat or cold...

momstruck1

if there is a problem with the van can toyota or will toyota give a loaner or a rental for the day if it is in the shop? I have 3 kids and need a car everyday as there is no school bus in our area we live too close to walk and too far for them to walk to school . So i just wanted to know if there was anyone with this situation and what has happened for you? I am really concerned with this as GM is unbearable to work with this in our area and I am really looking to replace what I got with either a toyota or a honda.

danog

Well we're back in the game again after buying an MPV four months ago instead of being patient and getting the Sienna. We thought we'd save some money, which if we don't change would do but the MPV isn't the Sienna.
Comparing the two side by side which we've now had the opportunity really makes the differences more obvious.
Now to the problem at hand, the availability albeit is better than four months ago isn't where we can just pick one out and drive it home. This strategy of Toyota's is very annoying.
Prices are better no than before and as soon as we can nail down a specific vehicle we'll be moving forward.
I've got some catching up to do with regard to the problems being reported here so I apologize if I post anything that may have been discussed weeks prior.
Specifically asking if anyone would mind posting or emailing their price paid for a XLE Pkg#14 would greatly help.
Thanks,
Dano

stever

hmmmm, I think you may want to look in the Toyota Sienna: Prices Paid & Buying Experience discussion for pricing info.

Steve, Host

danog

and have been. In fact I decided to only post one message instead of multiples and added it here.

Thanks for the advice though.

woodytwo

The computerized display panel on the ceiling of my Canadian Sienna shows both miles per gallon and liters per 100 kilometers. The MPG is using the US gallon (128 oz) instead of the Imperial gallon (160 oz) as used in Canada. Both the dealer and Toyota Canada indicate that it displays imperial gallons but I verified my conversion data using the info on the Province of Ontario web site. I never did learn the liters/100 klms stuff and would really like to use the MPG readout. My Sienna was purchased in June 2003 so was probably an early production vehicle. Is any other Canuck aware of this problem and is there a fix so as to display MPG using imperial gallons?

davenow

woodytwo - i'm NOT a "Canuck", but i'd like to share with you my experience so far with comparing the actual vs computed MPG rating by our vehicles. imho even if your right your not going to get very close comparisons. i've been experiencing 4-5 mpg differences with error siding on the favorable side. if you find a way of tweeqing this display let me know. i'd like to apply my calculated "fudge-factor" to my display to make it more acurately calculate my mpg rating.
Thanks

weedshasta

I have a one year old Genie garage door opener with a rolling code. It says right on the manual that it is Homelink compatible, so I was very frustrated that it would not program. I went through the owner's manual and the directions in the Sienna manual about 10 times. Then I went to the Homelink web site and tried their directions. Still no go. They have a more complete manual that you have to download, so in desperation I did that. There were two new tips. I put the key in the second "accessory" position. And I decided to erase everything and start over. To do this, press and hold the two outside buttons until the indicator light begins to flash. Now the directions say for "20 seconds." Nothing happened, no flashing, so I tried again. Still nothing. So I just kept holding. After probably 90 seconds there was a slow and then a fast flash. Finally! So then I pushed the button on my remote and the Homelink button simultaneously. Then I pushed the "learning button" on the door opener and the homelink button on the car within 30 seconds. Then pushed the homelink button again and it worked! The secret seems to be to hold the buttons much longer than they tell you to. I also found this to be true when programming a radio station. I had to hold the button down much longer than the instructions indicate before I heard the beep telling me I was successful.

kip

I believe the Genie garage system is of "rolling code" type. If you read the Sienna manual (near the end of Homelink section), it tells that it is different when programming a rolling code garage opener. One has to press the "learning button" in the garage opener, then within 20 seconds press and hold one of the buttons inside Sienna. That was what I did and it worked in seconds after I tried the first approach unsuccessfully for three times. I wish the manual is better written and stated up front that there is a different method for rolling code type garages.

weedshasta

As stated above, I know my opener has a rolling code, and I followed the directions for the rolling code in both the users manual and on line. It didn't work until I went in and erased everything and tried over holding the buttons for well over a minute and not the 20 seconds they tell you to.

davenow

weedshasta...it did the same to me...

why is it that we (as consumers) can't get plainly written english instructions in any of our owners manuals!

makes you wonder...

are the people who write this stuff outsourced or in some foreign land?

steve1969

I also have rust forming on the passenger and driver door. My dealer informed me that the root cause is the weather seal on the door is so tight to the door, that salt is getting trapped in between the seal and the door and rubbing at the paint causing rust over the winter months. They are fixing the doors and Toyota is supposed to be designing a new weather strip for the door so salt isn't trapped and potentially adding a clear coating on the door where it touches the gasket to protect the paint. I believe this is also related to easy to scratch and chip paint that is on the vehicle. I was considering asking them to pull the door panels off the fan so I can look inside to make sure the doors aren't rusting inside. Do you think this is out of line? I'll let everyone know how I make out.

bosco9

In re: to the problem with rust....everytime you wash your Sienna, water gets inside the door frames, especially with a power washer. Therefore, you must open all the doors, including the back hatch...and hand dry all the areas that are wet. Seems rediculous to me....but it needs to be done to avoid the prospects of rust.I have never had to do this before...and I have owned about 30 vehicles. Very strange indeed!

stever

Any other new owners notice any rust on the doors or hatch?

Is your rust at the bottom of the doors, Steve1969?

Steve, Host

steve1969

To answer steve_host, the rust is at the bottom of the door ajacent to the second weather stripping. If you look at the bottom of the door frame on the body side there are two sets of weatherstripping. The rust is occurring on the door where it mates to the inner rubber stripping not the outer rubberstripping which I find strange.

With regards to Bosco9's comment I am not sure I agree with that being the cause as it typically takes more than just water to start rust on treated metal in such a short period of time. There is usually a corrosive involved as well like certain surfactants in soap or salt etc. I have also noted drain holes in the bottom of my door so I don't think they are holding any water. However, if your theory is true the door would certainly be rusting from the inside out. Therefore, pulling off the door panel and looking in side for rust would have some merit.

stever

Thanks Steve.

The Mazda6 has been plagued by similar sounding rust/stains so you did pique my interest:

roughlyright "Mazda6 Owners: Problems & Solutions" Nov 30, 2003 8:22pm

Steve, Host

davenow

First Oil Change for my 04 Sienna is due at 5K miles, I think. Will Toyota offer me the use of synthetic oil as an option over conventional?

What grade is recommended/used?

momstruck1

do you feel that after the year that the Sienna has been out and in the time that you have owned it that it is A worth the money and B really a reliable car that you would reccomend to others ? Just wondering.

impact01

Dave, the manual recommends 5W30 oil, but some dealers apparently are guilty of using 10W30. Also, once you use synthetic oil, Toyota doesn't recommend switching back to regular. If you're going to be changing oil every 5K miles, regular 5W30 should be just fine.

momstruck1, I have had my van for only about three months now and I really love it for the design, ride etc. Can't make any reliability statements just yet though.

jmess

Has there been any change in the status of the dragging problem with the toyota trailer hitch? Is there an aftermarket hitch design that is less prone to dragging than the hitch you can get from the dealer?

danog

Is it with Toyoguard that the first oil change is free?

momstruck1

in the past 6 years both GM's were in the shop in the first 3 months on for a tranny and the other for a re haul of the muffler system . I can honestly say that I am done with GM but very ,very nervous about getting another car from anyone but I am going on the fact that toyota has a great reputation on reliability.

cliquez

Has anyone experienced a noise from passenger side dashboard (sounds like key chain banging on the dashboard)? Toyota dealer is still working on it for more than 6 days. They told me they have to work on it for another couple of days. I'm just wondering if this is a common problem.

stever

Six days? You'd think they could completely tear the dash apart and put it back together in one day. Maybe two if they keep losing screws and clips. Maybe they are waiting on parts?

Steve, Host

davenow

#599 of 602 davenow by danog Apr 06, 2004 (4:51 pm)
Is it with Toyoguard that the first oil change is free?

I don't know what Toyoguard is?

I think I'll get invited (by my Toyota dealership which i've purchased the van) to an owner's car event which hopefully can answer some questions, and offer some goodies! That doesn't happen till later next month, I think...

davenow

#599 of 602 davenow by danog Apr 06, 2004 (4:51 pm)
Is it with Toyoguard that the first oil change is free?

I don't know what Toyoguard is?

I think I'll get invited (by my Toyota dealership which i've purchased the van) to an owner's car event which hopefull can answer some questions, and offer some goodies! That doesn't happen till later next month, I think...

steve1969

The dealership has fixed the rust problem on my doors. They outsourced the fix to a body shop and then they applied a mylar tape to the door where it touches the weatherstrip. It seems that this will fix the problem. Over all I am happy with the level of service I recieved from the Dealership.

For the record that makes the third warranty job on my new fan since I purchased last July. They were 1) squeeking B pillar, they took the b pillars apart and greased them, The squeak hasn't come back. 2) recall on the gas tank. They replaced the tank and gave me $25 dollars in gas, which is a bonus as I coasted into the dealership on fumes to get the gas tank replaced. 3) rust on the front doors. Fixed body and paint on inside of the doors and applied mylar tape.

I am not saying these issues are good or bad, it's what I get for buying a vehicle in it's first year of production. Hopefully that is it.

siennamobile

At 3500 miles the power sliding door on my Sienna startled rattling intermittently for no apparent reason. The first time I took it in to the dealer they didn't hear the rattling. The second time I took it in they took apart the door panel but couldn't locate the problem. Later, they determined it was a loose door latch that needed fastening! I have to admit that the loose door latch problem on top of the recalled gas tank and the delayed acceleration problem (now all corrected)have made me a little disapointed in the new Sienna. I never expected there to be so many kinks in a new Toyota model.

youngm

I have drove my Sienna '04 for less than one year, and the windshield has been cracked.
I talked to an employee at the dealer's parts department. He mentioned to me that several owners have reported the broken windshield problem.

Just wonder if any owners have similiar problem? If there are many owners have similar problem, Sienna might have windshield quality problem or design problem.

wwest

An impact crack will be between you and your insurance company. A stress crack, usually starting from an edge, might be an OEM problem.

danog

We had our Sienna 5 days and the first time I drove it on a nice rock hit ours. Talk about frustration.

pbaxter

I was sincerely interested in buying a Sienna until today. When I test drove the Sienna at few days ago the rear window behind the driver was closed. Enjoyed the ride!

Today I test drove it again and lowered the rear window while traveling at highway speed. Much to my surprise there was a very strong rhythmatic and loud air resonance.. like someone beating on a drum. My inner ears as well as the car salesman's were vibrating. HE couldn't believe it! So we test drove another sienna and it did he same thing. I told the salesman that we were not interested anymore because of this.

Anyone else experience this?

devsienna

Most cars I've driven have this problem, including the '96 RAV4 I have now and the old '86 Honda Accord I had. The only way to relieve it is to roll down the driver's side window a bit, and to roll down the other passenger window. This is why I don't tend to drive with the windows down unless absolutely necessary.

I've never been clear on why this seems to happen only with the rear (or in this case, the middle windows) rolled down and not with the front windows. Something to do with air pressure changes obviously...

If you are travelling at freeway speeds, having the windows down is probably not the smartest thing to do, especially for gas milleage purposes.

aggie76

Don't walk away from the Sienna due to this - almost every car I have owned since the mid-90's does this as devsienna mentions. I've got both a '98 Lexus GS300 and an '01 Acura MDX that this occurs with and have read about it on Edmunds Town Hall boards and other message boards I participate in. If you want to open rear windows for air flow I recommend you open the rear vent windows in the back which I used to do with a '96 Dodge Grand Caravan I had with no problems with the air pressure change that you heard.

I've driven many recent cars and this happens these days on every one - Acura's, Audi's, Infiniti's, Lexus', Mercedes', Saab's, Volvo's, etc.

I can't explain the technical reasons but do a search in Town Hall boards to learn more.

danog

Our 2001 Pathfinder and more recent 2004 MPV had this same turbulence.

I haven't driven the Sienna with the sliding door windows down but I imagine the rear quarter glass windows being open would help.

kksdad

......which is ANOTHER chat room, on ANOTHER web-site!

Like the old joke about the man who says to the doctor "my arm hurts when I do this", and the doctor says, "DON'T do that"! Listen to devsienna and aggie76, certainly shouldn't be the reason NOT to buy a Sienna, otherwise, just open the rear vent window AND, while you're at it, lock out the window controls so nobody but YOU can open or close them! I started doing that in my Sienna, learned it from my '98 Volvo V70, used to drive me crazy, and you didn't have to be driving down a highway, simple street driving caused it, too.

Needless to say, I'm not surprised that particular salesman didn't have a clue what was causing it, are you serious, "he couldn't believe it"!!! Was this the first time he's ridden in "a car, on the highway, with the window open"? Your problem is definitely NOT the Sienna, rather it might be the Salesman! Good luck there!

stever

Resonance and/or helicopter noise is very common with a lot of new cars; I see similar reports all over the SUVs boards.

Steve, Host

wwest

Having owned several Ford station wagons back when, the solution then was to lower the rear tailgate glass slightly. Driver's door remote made that really easy.

Chrysler minivans also haveing a driver's remote to control the rear quarter winglet windows, as does the Lexus LX470.

For my RX300 I went to Lexus and bought 2 LC rear air exhauster vents and installed them just rearward of the rear quarter panel window.

Not because of the noise, but to vent cabin moisture rather than have it fog up the windshield during the colder months.

hopeful8

I'm starting to hear a clicking kind of noise as well. It started on the way home after a 1000 mile trip. Let me know if they ever figure it out so I can tell my techs. By the way, on the same trip the front right shock(strut) started leaking and had to be replaced. Van has 2500 miles on it.