Toyota Sienna Maintenance and Repair (2004+)

03gtiturbo

We have the same problem with our 06 Sienna where the radio display goes blank occasionally with the A/C on. The problem only happens with the A/C running....it will not happen with the A/C off. Weird......

nichrome

I have a 2006 Sienna XLE and none of the 12 volt outlets are "unswitched". This is a real inconvenience for charging cell phones or XM portable radios overnight. My old Plymouth Grand Voyager was just the opposite. The dealership can alter your van so that the outlets are hot without the key being in the accessory position. By the way, I hope your 12 volt electric cooler works better than my Rubbermaid did. A complete waste of money.

user777

if the AC were ramping on/off often causing electrical disturbances, i could see that potentially causing it.

very interesting the two of you have the same issue.

hmmm.

ask the dealer to put some form of plastic barrier around the radio in the area where it could be getting condensation from the A/C.

if there is two of you with this problem, there are probably more out there. THAT'S GOOD!

did you report this to toyota? wierd is right.

oh wait - maybe it's just cold air in close proximity to the radio. maybe there is some very sensitive traces to the LCD display that when hit with cold air cause it to stop working.

you two need to exchange information so your dealer's techs can talk.

jbollt

oh wait - maybe it's just cold air in close proximity to the radio.

user777...you may be on to something...I don't own a Sienna, but I remember reading that cold can effect the display on the NAV in my new Camry Hybrid...don't have the manual in front of me...hmmm..

I also seem to remember an electronic product I once had with a LCD screen that "went goofy" in temperature extremes, it worked fine, just couldn't read the LCD...

ohres

I just check the record again since my memory was not clear and find out that the service manager did not record the particular problem on the official receipt even if I gave a written letter (with a list of problems) that is addressed to him. My wife gave the letter to the manager when she drop the vehicle for service in March 2006. I am not sure if they were playing a game since they are aware of a legal action taken by my lawyer about the vehicle. Because of unusual circumstances sensed during and after the service, I had to talk to my Lemon Law lawyer about the suspicion of services done without record keeping and my lawyer told me that she will subpoena all the records on my vehicle from the dealer.
I am not sure what my lawyer obtained or if she really asked about the records but I have a copy of my letter that clearly says problems with the safety (reversing) system. I am sure that they did something to correct the problem since the system became very sensitive after the service. I did not file an incident report with NHSTA.

user777

well - the thing i've seen when it gets cold is an LCD display slows down...the digits don't change as rapidly...it gets sluggish.

if the vent duct work runs in close proximity to the radio, or is otherwise situated close to a vent, maybe there is an issue there... my guess would be that there is a poor solder joint or broken trace on the circuit board of the unit, maybe even a poorly manufactured component, and in temperature extremes, there is some change in electrical continuity somewhere as a result of expansion / contraction.

i would think the radio design was tested to run to a range of environmental extremes (sub-freezing to 130F or more), because let's face it, we have to have our tunes or NPR :shades: when we are stressing our bodies to get to work, or get home to the little ones. :surprise: i mean to say, any temperature sensitivity to A/C - well that is a sign of a defective unit because A/C gets cold to what 40F or so? that shouldn't be a big deal for any of the audio's electronics.

it's possible the manufacturer (toyota doesn't make radios that i know of) has a bad batch of units.

which lends credability to the "radio in-op" report. but my problem is this, if cycling power soon after the event where the radio goes inop, i wouldn't see how that would bring the unit back to operation, unless cycling power happened sometime after the unit got back to a more moderate temperature.

i'm sorry with the theorizing. is it just the display that goes bonkers but the audio keeps playing? when this happens, can you select another preset and the radio goes there, you just can't see the display?

alanstone

I did not use my hatch much, so I know that I didn't wear anything out nor did I ever misuse it. I am also discussing this with attorneys as Toyota has not given me satisfactory responses. Given the nature of the defect, it would seem unlikely that there are only two defective power hatches in the world and that it is a matter of time before other similar accidents will occur. I would encourage you to file an incident report with NHSTA as this defect can cause serious injury or worse.

Please forward your whatever information you have available to: Ajit.Alkondon@nhtsa.dot.gov

jbollt

hmm...maybe what I remember of that old electronic device with the weird acting LCD is when it got HOT, not cold.

It seems that everytime I remove a CD from an in-dash CD player, the CD is quite warm to the touch. Perhaps the radios in question are getting too hot? But then, the "reboot" wouldn't solve this...I dunno..probably your bad solder joint is more likely.

pug555

We are also having similar problems. When I am driving in hot weather and turn off the car for a short period of time (not allowing it to cool much) and then turn car back on - no navigation or radio. If I allow the car to cool, and then re-start it seems to come back on. After an afternoon at the dealer, they said they would order a whole new navigation system. They mentioned that there was a TSB (technical service bulliten) issued but they wouldnt give me any of the details.
Any feedback is appreciated.

badgerfan

You may be interested in this article, a press release, from the Detroit Free Press:

The government has opened an investigation of 2004-2005 Toyota Sienna minivans after receiving complaints that the liftgate had failed, causing the hatchback door to close on motorists.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a notice dated Aug. 2 that it has received eight complaints and four reports of injuries involving the liftgate unexpectedly closing on a person’s head or body.

The investigation involves 393,313 Sienna minivans from the 2004-05 model years.
In March 2004, Toyota issued a technical service bulletin to owners of the 2004 Sienna saying that the liftgate struts had been redesigned to help prevent seal damage and gas leakage.

Toyota spokeswoman Ming-Jou Chen said Monday that the automaker was cooperating in the investigation but it was too early to know if the problems were linked to the issues that led to the service bulletin.

Some investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration lead to vehicle recalls.

alanstone

Thank you very much for your posting.

I hope this is made public before anyone else suffers from injuries. Toyota's local reps and the dealer have denied that anyone (other than me) has reported a problem.

jb_shin

I think I noticed it once or twice when it was cold and there were some snow on the hatch, but has not happened again since.

alanstone

I just want to clarify something here....not only did my hatch come down on me, but it did not retract when it encountered an obstacle (my back). It continued to power close and it began to squeeze me.

Our cursory evaluations to date show it fails to stay open 100% and inconsistently attempts to re-open when it encounters an obstraction. So there are really two malfunctions here:
1) Closing on its own,
2) Failure to sense/reverse when an obstraction is encountered.

macmohan

I have exactly the same problem with my 2004 LE, purchased new, except the wind noise is on the passenger side, between the front door and rear sliding door. I actually had the Toyota Regional Service guy look at it and he gave me the same type of obfuscation that your dealer is giving you (driving a box). When I tried to go to another dealer, he called them and told me NOT to give me an appointment. So good luck dealing with the vaunted Toyota organization and their dealers.

I have also had the transmission problem where the van lurches ahead when accelerating from a slow (5-10 mph) speed. I was again given the routine about the van 'learning' how you drive.

I am struck by the uniformity of nonsense offered as 'reasons' for their defects.

If you can find a solution, I would VERY MUCH like to know what it was.

c2rosa

Check out:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060807/NEWS99/60807011

for information on:
"...an investigation of 2004-2005 Toyota Sienna minivans after receiving complaints that the liftgate had failed, causing the hatchback door to close on motorists.
"

nichrome

I have a 2006 Sienna XLE with 6,800 miles and recently I have been experiencing a similar problem. The knock happens at about 2000 RPM or greater and at about
35 to 45 miles per hour. It is especially pronounced when going up hill. It is a single
knock that is occurs when pushing on the accelerator. The knock can be felt in the steering wheel as well as in the accelerator pedal. But the knock is also felt when the
vehicle down shifts so I am betting the problem is in the transmission and not in the steering column or front end. Let's see if the Toyota dealer dismisses this new problem
as a phantom like my transmission slipping that he diagnosed as "normal".

user777

perhaps a faulty engine mount should be considered?

beernut

Just happened yesterday on my '06 with manual left side door. It suddenly quit latching itself held in the open position and sounds like its hitting metal or something on the rearmost travel stop.

I'm sure its a mechanical or linkage thing and am hoping its an easy fix that I can do myself. Although it is under warranty, taking it in for a simple thing is a pain.

Have any of you had this problem and found it to be easy to fix?

loucapri

seen it on my 04 every once a while.
It is a manual door on the driver side.
Yes, sounds like its hitting metal and couldn't get the door open fully.
One thing I notice is it only happenes when the car is not running. (no key inserted)
I parked my car in the garage and sometime I need to put thing inside the van and that's how I found out the problem.

beernut

So, for you it is intermittent? Have you been able to fix it or does it still happen?

jmfreshour

Is the window on that side slightly open? We just bought a 2006 Sienna, and I thought that we had a similar problem. However, it was due to the window being open on that side. If the window is open, the door will not slide back all the way to the catch.

beernut

Hmmm. Good point. I don't know the answer to whether the window was left opened by one of the kids just then. I'll try it both ways and see if it makes a difference.

Thanks.

isamau

Slugo12: I'm having the exact same problem as you with my 2004 Sienna. I have less than 20K miles on my summer tires (Michelin LX4's). I live in Canada and rotate them with winter tires, which is why the mileage is so low on them. Did you ever document a case to Toyota as you suggest? I've had the alignment checked twice on the van and they see no problems, yet tire wear is uneven which leads me to believe this is a bigger problem as well.

toyotafirst

We have a 2005 Sienna XLE and have just loved it since day one (now at 20K miles). It has been pretty much problem-free so far, but we had a strange problem yesterday.

We loaded the family into the van to run errands and started to back down the driveway into the street. Our driveway is sloped down to the street, so I usually start the engine, put it in neutral and let gravity slowly roll it back into the street (it is not a busy street). It had rolled backwards about 10 feet, usually where the antilock brakes do the quick adjustment, when suddenly it felt like we hit something and the vehicle slowed (yes, even in neutral). It did slowly roll out into the street, but that's when I noticed that the engine was dead. I cranked the engine three times, but it would not start. My wife and I did our best to push it back into the drive. I continued to try to start it, but no luck -- it just would not fire. We checked under the hood, and, well, with our limited automotive knowledge, we could tell that the engine was still there anyway. Took the keys out of the ignition, unloaded the family and hung out for a while -- fortunately we were not in any hurry. About 5 minutes later, I jumped back in the van, put the key back in the ignition and it started right up as if nothing had happened.

The only thing I could possibly think of is that the sensor for the engine immobilizer that detects the engine key malfunctioned temporarily. I'm interested to hear if anyone else has ever experienced a problem like this, or if there could be other possible causes. If it happens again, I'll check the security light on the dash to see if it is blinking, which would suggest that the immobilizer has been activated even with the key in the ignition. I didn't think about checking that until long after the problem occurred. I'll post an update if I am able to recreate the problem.

jbollt

Silly question, and no offense meant.....did you check the fuel guage? It's possible that the fuel level was low, and the slope of the driveway effected the pickup tube in the tank, when the car was level again, the fuel level may have been enough to reach the pick-up tube. A long shot, I admit.....

Just a thought

toyotafirst

Thanks jbollt -- good suggestion -- ironically, that's one of the errands we were getting ready to do was to go and fill the gas tank. However, it did have a 1/4 tank at the time. I could only get about 14.5 gallons in before it was completely full when I filled it later in the evening. We've definitely had the gas gauge much lower (at "E") before and parked on the sloped driveway, but we've never experienced this problem. What's strange is that the engine seemed to shut off immediately rather than struggle like it was running out of gas. It was as if I had suddenly turned off the key while in neutral. I just wish I would have though about checking the security light at the time; I may never be able to recreate the problem (but that would actually be a good thing!).

Again, thanks for the idea!

wwest

Sounds as if your transaxle slipped into "drive" (and mostly likely 1st gear) as you were rolling backward. That would very likely stall the engine and most certainly would add braking to your rearward movement.

Insofar as refusing to "fire" afterward I could see the episode resulting in one very confusing group of ECUs.

You also said something about the "happening" being at about the ABS where you are used to having the ABS do its checking.

I don't think that is a normal action of the ABS. But then the vehicle rolling backwards in neutral with the engine running is clearly outside the design envelope for the firmware specifications of any of the controlling ECUs.

esto

But then the vehicle rolling backwards in neutral with the engine running is clearly outside the design envelope for the firmware specifications of any of the controlling ECUs.

Huh? I do this all the time with several different vehicles with no problems. Or did you mean to say "inside" instead of "outside"?

toyotafirst

Thanks wwest -- that could be a possibility; it would explain why we felt like we hit something rolling backwards as the engine "grabbed". But if it had slipped into drive without me knowing, I don't know that I would have been able to turn the engine over or push it back into the drive -- it seems like the transmission would have been engaged at that point. But I know what you mean -- it seems like it could easily slip into drive if one isn't being careful. So I guess for now I'll hope it doesn't happen again, but I'll pay closer attention to the shift lever and the security light if it does reoccur. I just thought I'd check to see if anyone had encountered a similar problem.

If anyone wonders why we'd do a neutral rollback, it is actually because the reverse on the vehicle (especially when the engine is cold and has high RPM) combined with the grade of our driveway gives us a little too much backwards force. We have small kids in the neighborhood that use our sidewalk and they could be hidden behind the van, so we prefer a more gradual backup in case we need to stop quickly.

wwest

That's why I always BACKED up our steep driveway and into the garage, clear view of the driveway on the approach and on leaving.

nichrome

But if it were an engine mount wouldn't I feel it in park or neutral?
Also, I do not experience the knock when accelerating from a dead
stop. It happens at between 35 and 45 MPH and in 3rd or 4th
gear.

nobel1

I have noticed humming noise coming from front by driver side when driving the van at 60 mph
The van has 50 miles on it, could it be because of new engine?
When I slow down to 55 or 50 miles the noise goes away. Has anyone experienced this?

:confuse:

djp2c1

I recently hit a deer, a glancing blow only, and although I thought there was no damage my son-in-law pointed out that there was a small break inside the light unit that was going to let water in.

So he bought a new left side headlight unit ($357.00) and he installed it.

However I now find that the fog light on the left side doesn't work and worse the new headlight unit does not shine as far up the road as the right side unit, and in fact on dim it shines bright on the highway about 20 feet ahead and is not much different on high beam.

I took it to the dealer and had the 18000 klm checkup and asked him to have someone re-aim the unit. I picked the van up later and the service mgr. was still as harried as he was when I brought the car in. There was nothing on my bill to show that the aiming problem had been addressed.
I asked him about that and he said it was all right. I don't think anyone looked at it at all.
They were very busy and I can appreciate the problem as it is a brand new building and has more employees working.

What should I do? Take it to another dealer. There is another one 40 klms to the west. I really like the Service Mgr. and know he is doing all he can and I don't want to give him anymore problems :confuse:

nobel1

Humming noise I mentioned is seems to be coming from engine compartment, as soon as the engine rpm goes beyond 2500 it like starts.

nobel1

Ok I feel so stupid but for other who cares I have to share about my humming noise post.

I took it to the dealer and the mechanic took the test drive with me, as soon as he shifted the gear to “ D” not “4” were I kept and was driving like that causing the rpm to hit 2500 and was not shifting to overdrive gear, hence constant hum.

Thank god for that, now I am worried that I drove 100 miles that at 50/55 miles per hour (city driving) hopefully did not cause any damage to the gears and anything like that.

courthouseman

My wife and I purchased a new 2006 Toyota Sienna about 4-6 months ago. About 2 weeks ago, we had to have the brake pads replaced because they were scraping. Only 12K miles on it. Anybody else have this experience?

Toyota is supposed to be better than American cars, not equivalent to them...perhaps my minivan was made in an American plant (I think most of them are now anyway?)

hypnosis44

Is this on a Sienna, or another Toyota. Dealer says there is no Voice Command available for Sienna NAV system.

Thanks

jrtannura

We have an 05 and have just started trouble shooting a similar problem... I feel the knock in the steering while accelerating from a coast at 35-50 mph. I don't feel it while turning. The dealer, who I really like, has tried twice to figure it out with no success. They checked all the obvious places, ie. engine mounts, cv joints. Probably time to call Toyota. This issue appears in posts going back years.

pdsouza

On a recent trip to San Francisco in our now 06 XLE(automatic transmission) where there are a lot of steep roads I noticed that, when I stopped on an uphill road and released the brake temporarily to step on the gas to move forward the car would roll back, until I could step on the gas enough to make it move forward.

I have owned other toyota's (sedans mostly.. camry/lexus) and found them to have a feature to prevent rollback. that is even if I released the brake when Idle( while in Drive(D))the car didnt back, someting prevent it from doing that.

Has anyone else noticed this , or does anyone else have this problem? or is htis normal for a Sienna?

cptplt

I've never heard of any auto tansmission car having a "hill holder " feature, you do see it in some manuals. You are probably just noticing the roll back more on the Sienna as it weighs a lot more than your previous sedans.

visco2

Ohres:

I am interested to know if you have any resolution. I have a 2005 Sienna XLE AWD. At about 15,000 miles, I noted corrossion on all four wheels. The dealer claims they spoke to the zone representative, who told them if I purchase two rims at $904 plus tax, they will "give" me the other two. I am unwilling to do this on a van that was under 1 1/2 years old, went through only one winter, and cost over $35k. When I called the customer service line, they said they stand by the zone rep. I am going to continue to pursue, especially since I now see I am not alone. This is definitely a manufacturing defect in my mind - too little paint along the edge where the corrossion starts and then spreads outward. Now I know it is something Toyota has known about for two model years. It should be covered under the terms of the warranty. There are a couple of folks I have seen on the web where the dealer replaced all four of their rims. Don't know why they don't have a standard practice and desire to maintain customer loyalty. This is my first Toyota, and might be my last.

jqli

I recently bought 06 LE with pckg#2, without any options that dealer offered. Accordign to manual, there should be a theft-defer-system which will activate when the door is opened without key or remote entry. I tested mine and it didn't work. So I called the dealer, and I was told that my model does NOT have it, and I have to buy an alarm from them to have this feature. Is this true?
thanks. :confuse:

artur1

This is brand new 06 Le Sienna with 4000 miles and I have problem with cruise control .When the cruise control is set On everything is working fine(its ok on flat road ,uphill) until I go downhill !!! The car speeds up!! The dealer checks the car and said everything is ok!! I told them ‘you people don’t now how cruise control work “!!! What to do??

loucapri

I think that's normal. The cruise control adjust the gas NOT the brake. When going downhill, the car goes faster even without stepping on the gas pedal. It happens to all the cars I have/had.
Highlander, camry, sienna, Element....
Input anyone?

helofanrus

Absolutely right! Cruise doesn't control speed going downhill. Gravity does.

ohres

visco2,

I did not follow up the issue yet even if the problem was informed to the Toyota service in April 2006. The Toyota service who was working on the problem supposed to get a call back from Toyota Tech Support, according to the invoice dated 4/18/06, but I did not receive any calls from either of them. Mine mostly have the bubbling or peeling at the boundaries of the inside holes (close to the outer rim). I will be concerned more if it peels off at the rim near the tire since it will eventually develop slow leak once the corrosion spread into the mating surface (I had the corrosion problem with my Town & Country after years of usage at about 70k miles). I also think that the corrosion problem at 20k miles is not acceptable. The wheel should be covered by Toyota's basic warranty since it is not a normal wear item that they exclude. It supposed to be a life time part. If I have to keep this vehicle for long and if Toyota does not provide a solution on this problem then I may have to clean and repaint the area to stop the spreading.

royallen

On the contrary, some vehicles have speed reduction with cruise control down hill. My '95 Caravan will down shift with cruise control going down hill to prevent gravity acceleration. Roy

hypnosis44

I agree. I have driven any number if vehicles with cruise control and all but one (older) down shifted or decelerated to keep the speed as set.

The upper range sienna (Limited)with adaptive cruise control will also apply the brakes in an emergency situation such as when the driver is nodding off and a vehicle slows ahead of them.

artur1

That my point !!! My last car was 94 Plymouth Caravan and if i remember my tranny was down shifting going down hill !!!
thank you all for discussion

hondaoddity

I've got an '05 XLE. I definitely noticed it downshifting while driving in the Poconos in PA. I even asked a cousin who just got a V8 Toyota Sequoia and he said his downshifted going downhill as well.

Unfortunately, I don't remember if I was driving with the cruise on. I do know that I was using the brakes, so I would guess that would disengage the cruise. Maybe it's a combination of braking downhill with the cruise intially set that starts the downshifting?

Don't know what to tell you.