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Toyota Sienna Maintenance and Repair (2004+)
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Comments
You mean that not all people do their new car research by joining the TownHall community and participating for a couple of years before they purchase????? :confuse:
"i remember reading a post in another forum where a person and his wife thought they were buying a 4WD vehicle and found out it was only 2-wheel sometime after the purchase."
I'm not surprised this happens. I am surprised they fessed up to it.
After re-reading my last post, I would like to offer this to meg7: the salesmen certainly shouldn't have assumed that any potential buyer would intuitively understand that vehicles with run-flat tires wouldn't have a spare. Run-flats are still new enough to the market that this is not common knowledge. Therefore, when pointing out that the vehicle comes equipped with run-flats, they should have pointed out that there was no spare.
now then - will the customers know that the RFTs on the AWDbSienna seem to be giving people problems and are rather pricey to replace (if they haven't done their research here)?
and is it the salesman or the manufacturer's responsibility to point this out to a potential buyer?
frankly - just like on the issue of HIDs, i'm still stuck on the whole AWD benefits thing... i can't seem to come to an understanding of their true advantage - i believe the AWD technology helps get you going from zero speed, but once going, they don't add to your traction. i'm probably sadly mistaken about this - but it seems to be a bit of a hype, specially in a vehicle with Traction Control and Stability Control.
talk about confused? sign me up.
now i'm sure their are circumstances where the AWD is handy, but i don't see the disadvantages when coupled with RFTs outweighing their advantages. if the RFTs are replaced by conventional snows, then the equation changes slightly in my mind - but i'm still not thrilled with not having a spare, nor the impact on mileage, nor the increased complexity of the overall system...
confused and conflicted. anyone else?
AWD gives you better traction for acceleration (duh; you've got traction on 4 contact patches rather than 2). But no more traction for manuveuring or braking. Manuveuring and braking control is aided through the use of ABS/VSC which are available on the FWD models. IMO, many folks just get it in their heads that they 'need' AWD without understanding the benefits of Toyota's VSC system. Personally, I'd rather have the capacity to carry a spare and put on a good set of snow tires if I thought conditions waranted.
Salesman/Manufacturer's responsibility - I think it is their responsibility to make it clear what equipment is on a car. I also think it is the responsibility of the consumer to ask questions of the salesman when they are unclear about a piece of equipment. And I certainly would never expect a salesman to 'volunteer' information about potential problems a particular piece of equipment was having. That's were research comes in.
And the research really isn't that hard. If one wants to get an idea of potential problems with a car, one seeks out any Owner's Clubs for that car on the internet. One doesn't necessarily HAVE to know about Edmund's to find out this information.
Although knowing about Edmund's certainly helps.....
i understand they get you going easier, but how do they help in traction, specifically directional and stopping control?
if there is someone out there that has a good scientific link to the advantages, i'd love to visit it. same with HID studies (as far as I'm concerned they are a nuisance to other drivers) but my opinion could be swayed.
Unfortunately, the volume issue for the DVD is well known and all of us have at one time or another "switched" from DVD to radio without turning the volume down. When it happens to you, your hearing will recover but it takes awhile.. Seriously though, I don't know of any fix for it.
In order to reset, we will need to manually force close the sliding door, then the motor would work again. Does anyone have this similar problem?
Did you consult your case with a lemon law lawyer?
When I had a problem with my Dodge Grand Caravan, a lemon law lawyer could help me to get a replacement even if the PA lemon law was not applicable due to the time and the mileage requirement. After reviewing my case including all the document (such as the service records and the letters to and from the company and the arbitration board) for free, they agreed to help. He applied other consumer protection law. The service was free for me but upon settlement they recovered their fees from Chrysler. Good luck!
Below is an extract from the ToyotaFinancial site:
"Toyota Certified Used Vehicle Protection Plan
All Toyota Certified Used Vehicles (TCUVs) come with a Limited Warranty that covers engine, transmission, and axle-assembly components. Toyota Financial Services offers a Certified VSA that enhances this Limited Warranty by covering additional key components while your Limited Warranty is in effect.
The Toyota Extra Care Certified VSA is available through your Toyota dealer only at the time you purchase or lease your TCUV. Please see your dealer for pricing information."
All Extra Care warranties (there are multiple different types) cover engine and transmission although only the more expensive "options" cover other components like the NAV or Audio systems. You are not being given the correct information by the dealer. I would demand to discuss this with an area representative since the extended warranty would be worthless if it didn't cover the engine and transmission!
You are most likely out of luck with the tires. They seem to be prone to early wear and 22K is pretty good compared to what some others have gotten.
JVC really messed up the automatic leveling on this unit.
It turned out to be water pump(timing belt) problem.
After dealing with both local and regional Toyota reps they have refused to do anything about this, though they did acknowledge the system does not work as advertised.
If not for this problem, we love the van. But I will not have my family driving around in an unsafe vechicle and the tires are rated ONLY up to 50 MPH and only for 150 miles on low pressure.
I would advise anyone considering this van to NOT get the AWD version with runflats. It is not a safe van due to the admitted nonfunctioning tire sensor and the first time someone gets killed due to this Toyota is going to be sued for a known defect.
I personally will never buy another Toyota again, and just cancelled a pending purchase on a 50 grand 400h lexus hybrid because if this is the best Toyota engineers can come up with, my family is driving something else. We will be trading in a year old Limited Sienna and taking a huge hit, but safety comes first.
Totally disgusted. :mad:
Interesting. Did your dealer find a nonfunctioning tire sensor? If a sensor was defective, why was it not fixed as a warantee item?
Does it state anywhere in your owner's manual that you do NOT need to periodically check the tire pressure manually?
there may be some legitimacy to the concern being expressed here as runflats are supposed to have a very stiff sidewall and/or internal supports to allow for driving at slower speeds for a limited distance without the vehicle riding on the rim. however, practically, people just may not know that their tires are low and may drive at considerable speed and distance with the tire compromised.
this should be easy to test. check the owner's manual for a description of the monitoring system, then artificially let some air out of one of the tires to the point the system should trigger. does it trigger?
Before you do the reset you should always check all four tires to be sure of equal and/or proper tire pressure all around. If one (or two) tires are under or over pressure and you do the reset then whatever pressure is there, within certain boundaries, at the time becomes the "norm".
It works as designed.
After this problem happens a few times, I got tired of it and placed a starter on board. But it is a joke that you cannot open the van doors for a while to enjoy fresh air when you are outdoors. Does this happen to anybody else?
PS - I believe they do have the option to use remanufactured ("like new") parts. Of course they are not the same as new.
Best wishes
1 hour sounds pretty darn fast to drain a battery but I would recommend shutting your doors.
Could be some sort of side effect from that.
however, since the drain lines exit the bottom of the vehicle, perhaps they are collecting some road oil/grease from the roadway as the vehicle is driven; as water continues to exit the vehicle for a short time after it is driven and parked, small quantities of oil/grease on the exterior/lip of the lines is taken down to the concrete in the same spot.
There are no mechanical connections whatsoever between the shift lever, electrical contacts only, and the transaxle.
Report your problem to the NHTSA and file a complaint. This sounds like a very important safety problem and they could force a recall you vehicle.
If the manager at your dealership is not aware of this, then you should make him aware - or find a new dealer who will be more helpful
Mick
The manual said if the button is pushed the power sliding door suppose to work like a non-powered door where you need force to close the door. But I found it to still power when almost at the closing position. I don't know if this is as designed or a defect that need to be reported to the transportation safety board.
Where is the spare stored?
Bought a toyota sienna LE pkg#6 last month.
Basic features are missing in 2005 toyota sienna compared from 99 toyota LE
1, Once we turn the defogger... A/C is not turned on automatically.
2, There is no automatic sensors that turns ON the head lights automatically in the dark.
These features that are available in 99 toyota corolla for the price of 15000$ when we bought in 1998.
So, people think before buying sienna and ask these questions to the sales person.
Thanks
RA
Before the C-best become available I simply disconnected the A/C compressor clutch wiring during the winter months.
And you are correct, the US manufacturers did this first but also had the good sense to realize that it could be more detrimental than good in cold weather so the A/C was typcially completely disabled below about 47F.
It was the fools, idiots, in Japan, NipponDenso, Denso US, that thought, think, the A/C could still be used efficiently in the wintertime to defog the windshield.