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Comments
I just had the struts replaced on a ten year old vehicle with 130,000 miles and no signs of corrosion.
Will you see any problems - probably not. I am really surprised that a Toyota dealer did not use Toyota red. I would call the service manager at the dealership. Then I would search for a new dealer.
That same day, a customer service manager called me to ask me what the problem was, I asked her why I didn't get the Red coolant and if the green coolant was silicate-free. She went to ask the service advisors, and when the customer service mgr. came back she said they would change my coolant to the red type free of charge if it would make me feel better. Note that there is no admission of guilt nor answer to my silicate question. Needless to say, I'm scheduled to have my coolant changed. Most likely, it will be the last time I visit that dealership.
I'm not here to slam any dealership but if anyone wants to know, it's located in Tustin, CA. Consumer beware!!!
Anyone getting a fix for a different year?
Steve, Host
On the other hand, a colleague of mine had the drums replaced per the TSB, no charge, though his Sienna was out of the basic warranty. He wasn't sure which party actually paid for it under goodwill -- the dealership or Toyota Canada. In any case it was a win-win-win for all.
One customer said "But, I never had to add any oil".
Er ah...
Unclear on the concept...!
I am contemplating buying a Sienna, and was wondering if they still have problems with sludge buildup?"
Are you planning on buying new or an older model? The 2004 had an engine redesign and I have not heard of any sludge problems. The 1998 - 2002 are the models covered under the 8-year unlimited mileage Toyota Sludge Policy. Many people blame the problem on owner's following the oil change recommendations in their manuals (5,000 miles severe/7500 miles normal) and state these engines need 3,000 mile oil changes to avoid an early demise.
I know this issue has been beat to death, so I don't want to get into it again, but if anyone can point me to a site where this is documented, I'd love to see it....
So we are considering another Toyota, possibly the Sienna. We can't afford a new vehicle, and would probably get a 98 or 99 model, if we buy. However, all this talk about problems with the Sienna has been scaring us off. After having such good luck with our previous car, the amount of problems people report here seems unbelievable to me. We are especially worried about sludge.
We located a used 99 Sienna that did have a diagnosed sludge problem that was "repaired" under the 8 year warranty program at about 75,000 miles. The vehicle also had a new transmission put in at the same time under some type of recall. Vehicle now has about 95,000 miles. My husband test drove it and it pulls to the side (other people have reported similar problems with pulling).
So I am wondering, if a Sienna has been "sludge repaired" under the Toyota 8 year program, did the dealer just clean it up? Or would they have installed new (but same type of equipment) as on original motor - which could lead to similar problem down the road, or would they have installed different reengineered engine parts so that the problem won't reappear later? If anyone else has had this fix and could respond, we would be appreciative.
Regarding the transmission, I also have read about many transmission failures on the Sienna. Anyone with the new transmission put in under the recall - is it a new type so it won't die again in 80,000 miles? Or just another of the same?
What is the fix for the van pulling to the side?
I know the previous owners weren't very good at all about changing the oil until they had the engine fixed.
Are we crazy for even considering this vehicle, or is it a good deal considering it only has 20,000 miles on the transmission and the "fixed" engine? Since the oil wasn't changed very often in the early part of this vehicle's life, is the van pretty much toast anyway, even with the fixed engine?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
There are "thousands" of these sludged engines, but they represent a tiny fraction of all the Toyota V6's out there.
All or most of the sludged ones saw poor maintenance; therefore, the rest of the car is unlikely to have been treated well.
The maintenance problem is particularly bad with minivans (no time, other things to worry about with kids) and with Toyotas (it's a Toyota it doesn't need anything!).
Regarding your statement that you can't afford a new one; if you can't afford that, I'm not sure you can afford to pay $10k for a nice '99 with 80k miles, and then have to pay maintenance, repair, and the next vehicle sooner. A lot depends on your area and the supply/demand situation, but these tend to hold their value so well that a new one might make more sense.
To illustrate; I bought a 98 in 2002; it was an LE with the usual stuff, no leather/sunroof, just the power stuff. The silly thing had 54k and brought $13+ at auction... by the time it's ready for sale, a dealer has $14 in it for his cost.
9 months later, I bought one of the last 2003s brand-new for $21. It was a CE, but the equipment level was virtually the same. The new one was the better deal, and I know its history. This is just an example; I know you can't go and buy the old model; and the new one is pricier. Still, you want to consider a new CE with just the stuff you really need, it should be well under $25. Finance it as long as you have to, and since you appear to keep your cars "forever", you'll likely come out ahead in the end.
Alternatively, buy a '99 Caravan/Voyager with the 3sp auto for under $5, skip the collision insurance, and hold your breath.
You can check my profile for a (too long) treatise on this subject, but buying used Toyotas to save money can be very difficult.
-Mathias
Thanks,
Adrianus
Do you find this to be true with all minivans or just Toyota minivans?
I can't remember the fuse number (number 29 or 38), but it's a 15amp fuse located underneath the steering column. It's easy to tell if you have the correct fuse as the metal line in the middle is snapped apart. To replace, I used a spare fuse located in the box under the front hood on the right hand side.
Very easy process using the yellow tool provided.
Are'nt Toyotas supposed to be reliable? 50k is way too early for a trans failure.
I heard there is a TSB on how to program the remotes for a 98, but have not seen the TSB. Does anyone have the TSB for this and can you send it to me? Is this something I can do myself or will I need to take it in to the dealer. Thanks.
1. Start with the following conditions:
a) Key is out of the ignition
b) Driver door is open (all other doors are closed)
c) Driver door is unlocked (other door locks don't matter)
2. Insert the key into the ignition (don't turn it) and pull it out.
3. Perform these steps within 40 seconds:
a)Using the power lock/unlock switch on the driver's door (with the driver's door still open and unlocked), perform 5 lock/unlock cycles starting with lock. A lock/unlock cycle consists of pressing the power lock switch, followed by pressing the power unlock switch on the driver's door panel. Use an even pace and try to go relatively fast.
b)Close, then open, the driver's door.
4. Perform these steps within 40 seconds:
a) Using the power lock/unlock switch on the driver's door, perform 5 lock/unlock cycles starting with lock, as you did previously.
b) Turn the ignition to "ON" (as far as you can go without cranking your engine), then back to "OFF".
c) Again, turn the ignition to "ON" (as far as you can go without cranking your engine), then back to "OFF".
d) Remove the key from the ignition.
5. Within 3 seconds, the power door locks should cycle (lock then unlock) automatically, indicating successful entry into programming mode. Return to step 1 if the locks do not cycle at this point.
6. Perform these steps within 40 seconds:
a) Press the lock and unlock buttons on the transmitter (the remote) simultaneously for 1 second.
b) Immediately after letting go of the lock and unlock buttons, hit the lock button by itself and hold it for 2 seconds. Within 3 seconds, the door locks should cycle (lock then unlock) once indicating successful programming. If the door locks don't cycle, or cycle twice, repeat steps 6a and 6b, as this means the remote has not been accepted.
c) Repeat steps 6a and 6b for each transmitter that will operate the vehicle, including any old transmitters.
7. Close driver's door.
There ya go. Just a couple pointers.
First off, notice the bold in step 6 c). You have to repeat 6 a) and b) for EVERY remote, both your old ones that were already working, and your new one(s). And you have to do it before closing the driver's door in step 7.
Second, don't test your remotes until you've completed step 7. Then go ahead and test all of them. If you press one of the buttons on the remotes before having completed everything and closing the driver's door, the programming will not be successful.
I programmed my 2 new remotes, and then my old ones stopped working. Sure enough, I didn't read the instructions properly. I had to program those 2 and my old 2 all together. They all work perfectly now.
I tried them last month. Those instructions look like they came word for word from another web site that I hang out at, where I have posted this same question.
I beleive there may be different instructions for the 1998 Sienna's, and I know there is a TSB as mentioned above - TSB EL009-98 - specifically for programming 98 remotes.
Can anyone help me on the TSB? Thanks.
Dave
Technical Service Bulletins
Freebird: I would really aprreciate it if you could let me know if you find anything in your repair manual! If there is a way I can do this without having to pay the dealer I would really be happy!
Don’t know if this will work with your ’98 or not. If the remote is black, then it probably will.
The ECU appears to be just to the left of the radio.
To add a remote to the system.
1) Insert the key into the ignition switch, and turn it to "on."
2) Press and hold the ECU's programming switch for 2 seconds. The exterior lights turn on for 5 seconds. The programming switch figure shows that if you were looking at the ECU's side where the wiring harness is connected, it would be on the left side.
Note: Perform the following step within 5 seconds.
3) Press and release the remote's top or bottom button. The exterior (tail and marker) lights flash once, and then turn off.
4) Turn off the ignition. The system will now operate with the remote just programmed.
To remove all remote codes from the system.
1) Key to "on."
2) Press and hold ECU's programming switch for 2 seconds. Exterior lights turn on for 5 seconds.
Do the following within 5 seconds.
3) Press and hold ECU's programming switch for over 2 seconds again. Exterior light flash then turns off.
4) Turn off key. All remote codes have been erased. It will not work with any remote until programmed as above.
Good Luck
Dave
Then seems like there are 2 or three nuts holding the latch on. Replacing the latch was not hard.
Good Luck. If you have more questions, please post again.
www.toyotaparts4u.com is one that I know of for OEM parts.
Some junk yards and used parts places have a hot line where they can check with used parts places all over.
But this Sienna-poor-maintenance bit doesn't make any since at all. I didn't know anything about it until the problem started just this past week. I thought it odd that something like that would happen at 31,000 miles, so I started checking on the net and found all of the cases of complaints. Even if you have done a poor job of oil changes, you wouldn't expect damage like this until 3 times the mileage I have on the Sienna. I've been changing my own oil for over 15 years and have never seen anything like this. I would suspect that a problem would eventually develop with this engine anyway (after high mileage) even if you change the oil every 2,500 miles.
So I don't know how you can say that all or most of the sludged engines saw poor maintenance unless you know the owners personally. Otherwise, it's just a guess on your part and I can tell you that, at least in my case, you're wrong!!
I'd recommend not buying a Sienna at this point. If Toyota fails to cover the mistake they made with my vehicle, I'll certainly never buy another Toyota again and I'll do whatever I can to let as many people know about the problem and Toyota's lack of support for the customer.
It's a shame, because it runs great and besides the lack of space, we loved everything about it until the sludge problem.
DON'T THINK THIS ISN'T REAL, BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T EXPERIENCED IT YOURSELF. I'm sure that a great number of vehicles don't experience the problem early on whether they've had poor maintenance or not, but I'm willing to bet that they will eventually.
- Coast