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Toyota Sienna Sliding Door Problems
I have a 2004 Sienna, I live in the northeast.
When it snows, sleets freezing rain the sliding doors stick. My kids can not get in the car, so they climb over the leather seats with their snowy shoes to get to the back seats.
The worst part is they CAN'T get out of the sliding doors becase they are frozen shut.
it's scarey!
Has anyone else had this problem?
When it snows, sleets freezing rain the sliding doors stick. My kids can not get in the car, so they climb over the leather seats with their snowy shoes to get to the back seats.
The worst part is they CAN'T get out of the sliding doors becase they are frozen shut.
it's scarey!
Has anyone else had this problem?
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The cable appears to have rusted out. The plastic pulley shattered. Toyotas extended warranty does not cover this.
My van was build June 20, 2003 making it just over 3 yrs old. It will cost $2,000 to fix!
Dave
The ECP "Extended Care Program" covered the repair of my sliding door. The power doors and tail gate motors are not listed in the ECP plan I bought but they agreed to cover it. I really think this was an oversite not to include these motors as they did not have power doors on any previous model. Toyota would not admit this. I would ensure you have your doors checked thoroughly while under warranty. I would suggest they need to be well lubed to prevent corrosion and checked to ensure the bolts are tight. After mine failed I found alot of corrosion, the cable is galvanized with a plastic coating that had cracked, and the main door bracket bolts were loose.
I took to the dealer and they won't fix it under warrenty. I'm just wondering how did you resolve this issue? I'm thinking to file a complaint to the consumer's group, and may be this will call their attention?
Thanks,
Toyota did not repair mine. I ended up having a body shop repair it. They said the weld had let go and the whole plate was cracked from top to bottom. I think this failure has occurred quite a few times. Toyota Canada will not warranty this failure. Hopefully you will have better luck. My dealer, ToyotaTown in London Ontario told me he had 5 fail including his courtesy van but still Toyota will not warranty. I have never heard of spot welds failing on a vehicle let alone a new one. For this to happen the spot welder was not set up properly. I am totally disappointed on how Toyota has not stood behind their vehicle quality. I can now relate to all the news articles about decreasing quality on Toyota vehicles. I will never buy a vehicle the first year in production even if it is a Toyota as they have proven to me that they cant make them right the first time and when they fail, they wont stand behind it. Honestly, I had better quality on my 1992 Dodge Caravan
I have had this problem numerous times. I have sprayed the seal with silicone but it still stuck during the next cold spell. It seems like moisture gets on the seal and then freezes the door shut. I have not taken it to the dealer as I am not impressed with their troubleshooting abilities.
I reapplied the silicone but it hasnt been cold enough to see if this fixed it. If this does not work I will look for a spray that has teflon in it.
I really wonder how much cold weather testing Toyota did on this vehicle. Have you noticed how the plastic trim on the front doors rattle when you close them when its cold out? Keep an eye on your power doors,(if you have them) the cable will corode, crack and then break, the 2 bolts come loose and my dealer never checked them, even though I have it serviced regularily.
My problem was they " fixed" it but the weather was warm so I could not tell if it has been fixed. I know they replace my door seals and a cover in the bottom inside where the door slides.
Yea I bought a Toyota because of there reliability, only to find out the past few years they gone down hill. I let you know how I make out this winter.
Fortunately, our mechanic caught the tick noise and brought this to our attention. They told us in some cases the whole door has to be replaced, but we were fortunate that ours was caught early.
My extended warranty would not cover this. Could you provide me with a dealer's name and phone number that did this repair. I had mine welded but it has failed again. I would like to ask Toyota why they are in consistent in applying the extended warranty coverage.
Thanks
Thanks
They could care less about safety!
Someone asked about this on either this board or another Sienna board. I suggest you search for this posting and try to contact that forum member to see if he/she made any headway.
I have a 2004 Sienna XLE Limited that is 2 months and 4,000 miles out of warranty. Local dealer wanted to split the cost of the repair, I called another dealer and they said bring it and and it will be taken care off.
All of us who spend $30-40,000 on a nice van should be taken seriously and Toyota needs to hear from ALL of us.
There is another web forum that has more information on this here is a link to it: http://www.siennaclub.org/forum/index.php?
PLEASE MAKE THE CALL, IT ONLY TAKES A COUPLE MINUTES 800-331-4331. Let them know of the problem. Thank you for your time.
My dealer has offered good will assistance to reduce the cost of replacement from $1,900 to $200-$400 as long as I do 60,000 mile extended service. I don't think I should have to pay-- this is a design or manufacturing problem for which Toyota should be responsible.
Call 1-800-331-4331 also go to http://www.siennaclub.org and read all the complaints there. Add yours.
I have an appointment tomorrow with the dealer. I was told they would cover half of the cost... this is unacceptable for a XLE Limited that has never been in an accident and should be covered as others are experiencing the same problems. Most people don't use message boards and for each person that posts... I'm sure it represents many others who do not!
Call the number and let Toyota know this is unacceptable for any vehicle and especially a Toyota.
I am have also had it in for a rattle in the driver side sliding door several times since new. It still rattles. Moreover the tailgate does not open fully on it's own as the shocks (black extenders) can't push it open. I am getting a little nervous that this van may continue to have door problems... This is disappointing since the van in all other aspects has been very good.
I am surprised that Toyota has been able to keep this under wrap. But now that people will be out of warranty and the repair costs no longer covered, I expect to hear more about this. Here is a link to a 130+ post thread that I started 2 years ago. The first post includes the latest TSB from Toyota.
http://www.siennaclub.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=7482
Well, maybe not... Time will tell for sure. Usually when people are experiencing problems like this one, that is when they start looking for a place to voice their "concerns." If it was a more widespread problem, you can bet the anti-Toyota folks in the world (probably most of the GM and Ford fan base, and some Honda folks, too) would make sure it received plenty of press coverage. There are lots of people who would love to see Toyota's reputation for quality get soaked over something like this.
http://www.toyotasiennadefects.info/
Good luck to all and I hope it gets recalled soon!
Based on what I learned there I e-mailed my dealer again. I had reported the noisy check strap problem in May 05.The warranty expired and he would not fix it and Toyota Canada would not fix it as well. That is until today. I was just advised that Toyota Canada is fixing this problem under warranty on vehicles under 60 months old.
Maybe the video on U tube had something to do with Toyota's change of mind.
I have made an appointment with the dealer to have the door repaired.
Thanks again
I would encourage everyone to keep the pressure on Toyota for your repair. And if your car is under warranty, take it to the dealer to have the door checked.
Consumer Reports rates the Sienna higher overall in reliability. Good luck.
This has been a progressive problem since the first year we bought this '04. At first only the non-power door side would freeze shut, but now the power side freezes shut too. It seems to happen more readily as well. I bourght my minivan to the dealer at least twice. They applied generous amount of ? lubricant to the edges where the door slides, but this has not helped.
Also, once the door freezes shut and I try to open it , the door must release enough so that the sensor registers it as open. This translates into the open door alarm going off all the tiem as well as the interior lights going on and off depending whether I goup or down slight inclines. Talk about distracting for the driver.
Let me know if you know how to fix this problem or I will have to move to Florida.
Hold on - This is a problem that affects ALL vehicles and is a consequence of leaving a vehicle parked outside during freezing weather. The fact that they are sliding doors exacerbates the problem, because there is more contact area and it is much harder to slide a frozen door than it is to pull one open, as when opening the front doors. That is it! It's not the fault of Toyota, or Honda (yes, the Odyssey's doors will do the same thing - I also own one of those and can speak from first hand experience) or any other manufacturer. It is a very simple thing to understand. Sliding door + freezing wet weather = stuck door. I've owned three different minivans (98 Montana, 04 Odyssey EXL-RES, 07 Sienna XLE Ltd) and ALL OF THEM WOULD DO THE SAME THING. There is a very simple lesson to learn here - if you live in an area where you frequently deal with freezing weather and for whatever reason, find that you must park your van out of doors where it will be subject to liquid H2O and and sub 32 deg F temperatures, maybe you need to consider that this will be a potential problem and go for something different - like a Pilot, or a Highlander. Doors will freeze, and the more contact area, the more ice will form and the harder it will be to get it unstuck. Throw in the fact that the electric motor that opens the door is going to have to work harder in the cold and you have the scenario you are all griping about. The sliding electric door is not a perfect invention. It's a machine we are talking about - keep it in perspective. By the way, of the three vans I've owned, the Sienna's powered doors are BY FAR the best engineered and the only ones to automatically release and go into full manual mode if they lose power like when your kids leave the lights on. And they are the only ones I know of that allow you switch off the power mechanism and open manually with no resistance from the electric motor and cable assembly.
Have you read there was a weather stripping recall? I asked Toyota sevice and they said no.
I read that Consumer Reports has downgraded Toyota Sienna to #5 due to poor response to consumer complaints. The Odyssey is now #1.We purchased a Sienna due to their great reliability record, presently I am sadly disappointed.
Many people around where I live own minivans, their doors are not freezing. Hmmm. Sounds like this is not as universal a problem as you would like eveyone to believe. Don't you get it. If I knew then what I know now, that my kids would have to climb over the front seats to get to the back and that I would be driving around with my alarm door going on and off as well as the interior lights, yhea, Mr. Brilliant,I wouldn't have bought this minivan. But seeing as it doesn't look like Toyota plans on reimbursing me $30,000, I would like Toyota to fix their problem.
Oh, by the way, I just got off the phone with Toyota service and one of the honest service guys told me THIS IS a problem the Siennas are experiencing. It is a problem with the material the weather stripping is made out of.
This is not just a problem with the motorized door. It first started with my manual door. Both doors freeze shut now.
Also I think VULCAN4 is right; the best thing is to go to the media. I would be happy to add your email. It is nice to know Toyota has ringers monitoring forum emails. Who else would waste their time trying to deny a problem that exists for these minivans. I am not here to bash Toyota. But apparently all the vans do not work alike. Do you think that is possible???
If you don't have lithium grease around (use it sparingly) try talcom powder.
My Miata's doors freeze shut all the time, it's a pain.
No problems with our Sienna (yet).
So are you trying to tell me that the Sienna uses a unique form of weatherstripping that causes it to glue the door shut at a higher frequency than other vehicles? I understand the frustration - it must be a huge inconvenience. I'm just pointing out that if ANY car is out in freezing wet weather, it will do the same thing. I did not say you are bashing Toyota, I just pointed out that you seem to be blaming them for a problem that is not unique to them or the Sienna. There are plenty of other folks with other brands of minivans that are experiencing frozen door issues. Of course you are not the only one having the problem. My point is that if you are parking it out in freezing wet weather, how can you expect the doors not to freeze? Unless you are telling me that parking in your garage causes the same problem :confuse: I doubt it. The only remedy might perhaps be to find some kind of lubricant that doesn't allow the ice to adhere to both surfaces. I just think you would have this problem regardless of what you are driving - the sliding doors are just making it more of a problem.
You can use my email if you want to, but I don't see how it will help your cause so I don't know what your point is. If you think going to the media is going to fix it, then do it. But be sure you have come to the right conclusion first because if you can't prove that Toyota is at fault, then what? If Toyota used an inferior form of foam rubber for their weather seals, then they should fix that. I don't see that being the case is all I am saying. Possible, yes. But more likely is that other minivans are having the same cold weather door freezing issues. Do a search like I just did and see for yourself.
BTW - our doors have never manlfunctioned and we've had several nights down in the teens already this year. Ours is garaged. I haven't added any lubricants to the seals so far, just what came with the van when we bought it in August.