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Toyota Sienna Maintenance and Repair (2004+)
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Comments
My driveway has substantial incline, and I never had any problems with the clearance. The clearance between the bottom of the hitch receiver and ground is approximately 9.5". Also receiver sits right under the rear bumper and is set back couple of inches from bumper facia. Note that I have AWD model which comes with 17" wheels (225/60R17) vs. 16" (215/60R16) for 2WD LE. It might have something to do with the clearance problem if one assumes exactly the same suspension height setup.
And I love it. It's so damn good.
The Yukon also has standard automatic headlights, DRLs, heated power side mirrors, autodimming rear view mirror, 3-way climate control, and a 9-speaker Bose audio system that can be set to adjust the volume to compensate for the extra noise speed brings (and it has low, medium and high settings for doing so, depending on how much extra volume you personally need).
Now it is true, that I got a very good deal on a leftover 2003 at $30,700 or so. But the Siennas and maybe most of the Lexus models do not have all those features at any price, do they?
It just shows that the vehicle choices do not necessarily fall on a linear scale from worst to best. You have to find the mix that suits you best, appreciate what you've found, and put up with the features that are missing. Such is life....
Calling Corporate customer service is a joke because all they do is call the dealer and get the same info I give them and then say they will look into it. A call from the Corporate parts division claims they do not know where the part is available but they will call back in a couple of days. What a fiasco this has been. I am totally disillusioned with Toyota and it's lace of responsibility to it's customers. I hope no one else has to run into a similar situation.
It seems this is a nasty side-effect of Toyota building a vehicle that turns out as perhaps more of a success than they planned on it being.
I purchased a seven passenger Sienne LE with a #7 package which included all around disk brakes,vehicle skid control and TRAC.
All went well when, after 700 miles the engine warning light on the dash went on and indicated there was a problem with the VSC and TRAC components. The dealer's service department diagnosed the problem as a solenoid malfunction in the transmission. As it turned out, the diagnosing procedures evidently were incorrect and the problem was traced to the ECU (electric control unit) which is a small computer that regulates shifting.
Once the warning lights came on, I noticed that I had the same situation as you describe, i. e. in order to get the car moving, I had to race the engine to do so. The service people explained that the reason was the transmission was not shifting into first gear as the car reduced speed. Upon re acceleration, the transmisson was in second gear thereby calling for more enging power to move it. Once the car got going again it seems to shift into other higher gears OK.
In any event, I would suggest you see your service people for a check. My service people also told me that the TSB cited in this forum did not apply to my van.
Evidently, there seems to be a problem with the diagnosing procedure which is the reason for the error in the first place.
I'm considering purchasing a new Sienna for our next vehicle and wanted to hear how well the engine/trans combo works for towing. I've read all the threads about hitch problems, so i'm aware of that one.
Specifically, we have a 2000# popup camper that we like to use a lot in summer. Does anyone have some towing experiences to report? Will the van be strained at 70mph (fastest speed i ever go when towing) on the freeway?
Thanks
Our hitch is a class II and fits snug under the bumper. The ground clearance is not great, but still, we rarely ever scrape the hitch on the ground. We do go slow when exiting parking lots with a dip. Perhaps we've scraped it a half dozen times since we got it, which was 9 months ago. The van tows the camper great and we have tons of power. Hope that helps.
What do you think, a major lemon, scared the heck out of me, could happen anytime and I drive a lot with 3 kids, no lights etc is a bit much.
Ever heard of this before, I have to call thedealership at 8am tomorrow, I need some input on this isuue....
I did a quick 'n dirty install of the antenna - didn't even bother to put it on the roof - I just threw it up on the center of the dash and ran the wire along the well under the inside of the windshield, down and around some cracks in the dash fitting, and down to the radio. There is a little wiring showing at the unit, but it doesn't bother me. Reception is fine with the antenna on the dash! You can spend the $95 and have it professionally installed, but if you want to get going fast with a good solution right out of the box, this works great.
I had Sirius for over a year because of their being commercial-free, but their playlists were getting too repetetive and the sound quality wasn't good. X-M has much more variety, the sound was better, and this little Roady gem was just so easy to install, that dumped Sirius and have not regretted it - sound quality and programming is excellent. NOW THE GREAT NEWS! X-M will go commercial-free starting Feb. 1 2004 - so there's no longer any competition (unless you HAVE to have NPR which only Sirius has!)
See the pictures below for the placement of my Roady in the 2004 Sienna.
http://204.50.24.183/roady1.jpg
http://204.50.24.183/roady-close.jpg
http://204.50.24.183/roady-antenna.jpg
Wendy
The quality is near CD, none of the compression of normal FM stereo, putting it through a cassette converter although not perfect is better than the FM option as you get much better SN, stereo separation and dynamic range. No its not CD quality but its pretty good. Unfortunately no direct input has been engineered for the new Sienna (and several other Toyotas) stereos yet but both PIE and others are working on it so a direct AUX input will be possible.
As for looks, I can understand your sentiments, but consider that you can use the same unit in several cars and at home.
I am not yet a user of either system, but can assure you that most anyone would notice the difference especially if you like CD quality. Some positives over CD are that you won't toast expensive CDs or lose them to a break in. The XM can be put in your shirt pocket and taken with you with ease. This is among the many reasons to go with XM or even a multigig MP3 player so you can lots of qualtiy, quantity and portability.
After three weeks of haggling, I have just been notified today that the computer that controls electonic shifting has arrived and has been installed. I will pick up the car tomorrow.
Have your's checked out before it goes too far. Make sure the technician road tests it because the test module used to find electronic problems did not find the problem. It was discovered only after they installed a new transmission and they found the same problem still existed.
Good Luck
Admittedly, I personally don't spend as much time in the car as I used to do. Plus, that time tends to be more occupied with keeping peace in the middle-row seats, satisfying the seemingly-endless litany of food/drink/attention needs/desires assaulting my senses from that region, and enjoying the all-too-infrequent peaceful interludes when peace and sometimes even silence reigns mid-vehicle. Actually listening to music isn't something I can indulge in very much any more. But then, there are other rewards inherent in the lovable little munchkins whose "music" I now enjoy. :-)
to gregali119, have you had a chance to test drive your van yet after they fix it? pls keep us posted on how things are.
It does move much easier from start up and I don't get any hesitation now when the car shifts into high gears or when it shifts down.
That's all I can say now and I know that it isn't much. I'm taking the car cross country from New England (Go Pats) to Texas on the 22nd and then on to Phoenix. Hopefully, all will be OK.
They flashed/updated the ECU. I hope this fixes the problems, we will pick the car up tonight.
The dealer refused to touch up the paint chips - WHY? Said we should do it! The manual says all chips should be touched up right away so they don't rust. Dealer is Koons Tyson's Toyota in Vienna, VA. Anyone else have any experience here?
Wendy
No reason for converter replacement until cause of failure is isolated.
But the smell is "sour"???
Maybe like mould or mildew??
If so then see:
http://www.airsept.com/eed.html
"Based on BBB files, the company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to unanswered complaints. Some customer complaints presented by the Bureau were resolved, however. The company responded to complaints with an explanation of the matter stating their position and the appropriate actions they have and/or would take.
Complaints against this business concern advertising issues, contract disputes, guarantee or warranty issues, refund practices, repair issues and service issues."
Even Rosenthal dealers have satisfactory records. Need I say more?
Most dealers will have it touched up for you for a fee, as will any detailing or other bodyshop.
Did you offer to pay for this? Its an easy enough job, you can get the touch up paint at the dealer service department.
There may be many reasons to fault that dealer, but this is not one of them.
Paul
XLE Artic Frost Pearl, Package 12
stiff and stiff compare quest or caravan.
It's strange and really disappointed.
This is not a 'toyota quallity'.
I think only my sienna have a problem.
dealer says 'looks normal'.
what should I do?
If you could be more explicit as to the problem, we may have some suggestions. I wouldn't expect it to ride like a Lexus, it is a van after all.
thanks,
Long-Term Test: 2004 Toyota Sienna
To rule out the obvious, are the tire pressures to spec?
That link also mentions that the Sienna engine earned so-so marks, but they don't mention lag specifically - just want more acceleration without having to punch it.
Steve, Host
BTW, the transmission software update improved the shifting/performance greatly. Can any of you tell me approx. what speed in mph that your transmission shifts into 3rd at?
Thanks, Wendy
Wendy
The smell you describe is often the result of running rich, ie more fuel than can be burned with the available oxygen. It may well be dumping a bit more unburned hydrocarbon into the cat than it can catalyze at startup.
A catalytic converter needs time to heat up to be able to convert different elements of combustion into less harmful forms. At startup they are less efficient and under heavy load (again often a rich condition) may be overcome and unable to catalyze all of the gases completely.
It is quite normal for cold start gases to smell much worse than normal operation odors due to the rich condition an engine needs at startup and the converter not being up to temperature.
I have not seen any evidence that Toyota has admitted to this being a real problem with the Sienna. I participate in another board about the Sienna and there are Toyota service people who participate there and none have mentioned this, nor has anyone else complained about it. The Toyota dealer has admitted its a problem they don't know how to solve or that the service writer doesn't understand but is trying to satisfy a customer.
If this is really a problem, a catalytic converter can be acquired, or new O2 sensors or other recalibration of the injection system can be performed. Given Toyota's experience with this engine family across multiple product lines, I am very sure they can figure out this problem.
I would ask to have the Toyota regional service representative get involved to help resolve this.
I can't believe that all of these cars have bad cat's.
The sulphur smell is not isolated to Siennas, or even to Toyotas, but rather is reported by many owners of newer models. Seems to be a bit more predominant in the Japanese makes. If you haven't already, take a look at the boards for Accord, Corolla, Protege, among others.
Lovemyaccords, hope that your dealer is right and able to quickly resolve your issue. Just can't help but notice that many with the sulphur smell are quite concerned (not hard to understand why) and that not all have been successful in getting a fix.