Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
I called the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) to file a complaint. They suggested to get more people who experienced the same situation file the complaint, so Toyota may recall for this issue. So for I am still stuck with my unsafe car. I am still considering I should bring to another dealer for another possible worthless checkup. I have already spend more than $1200 on my repair, still no improvement……
Frank
- Upon pulling away from a stop, the rear brakes will apply and the rear end will "sit" down repeatedly.
- If I accelerate hard from a stop, it will cut the throttle so there is no acceleration until I left my foot and reapply the throttle.
- Occasionally when accelerating from a stop when it doesn't do either of the above, the Stability Control light will flash and beep.
Recently the Stability Control and check engine lights stayed on. It gave me an O2 sensor fault code along with some others. When my service guy went to search it, it was one of the top 5 fault codes in the system.Has anyone else experienced a similar issue?
I have a 2004 Sienna with ~146,000 miles on itand this problem has been going on for about 6 months. It happened twice in a span of 5 minutes, and then didn;t start happening again until about 2 months ago. Since then it has occurred with greater frequency and intermittent severity. In almost all cases, it occurs when driving 55-70 mph and while going around a right hand bend in the road, the "skid" light will come on, beep, and then the brakes will suddenly engage, causing the car to pull one way or the other (often left towards oncoming traffic). As soon as you exit the curve, the light goes off and you can accelerate back to speed.
My dealership in San Luis Obispo is stumped. They do not know what to do and will not warranty work that involves guessing and trying to fixthe issue by replacing parts that they do not know are not working. We have driven the car with them and a data logger, got the VSC to go off and they sent the data to Toyota headquarters for analysis to see if they could determine where the problem is. Toyota headquarters said, "You are drivng too fast, and should slow down on corners.".... I'm driving a reasonable amount of speed at the speed of traffic at no more than 0-10 over the speed limit. I am so pissed by that response.
So it seems my options are:
1. Replace Yaw Sensor
2. Replace steering sensor
3. Replace Steering rack
I too am an engineer with an understanding of instrument errors, control logic, mechanical wear, and troubleshooting. It's interesting to me that the issue is repeatable, (right hand turns only), happening more often, seems to be happening at a lower and lower mph threshold.
Any ideas on where I should start throwing money?
I also have a issue where the sliding doors appear unlocked but you cannot get out from the inside or in from the outside randomly. Noting like feeling like I am driving around in a DEATH BOX. If enough reports are made they will force Toyota to do a recall.
I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna we have had since 2007. 255K miles on it, we have taken good care of it & it has been a very reliable vehicle. Until 2017. We were on a road trip through the redwoods & the VSC went off, alarm sounding, VSC light flashing on dash, steering wheel pulling & brakes gently pumping themselves. It lasts 3-5 seconds. It is really frightening when this happens out of nowhere. We were on a windy road, traveling under the speed limit. It didn't happen again for at least 6 months. Each time we are shocked, since we aren't driving fast & the road conditions are dry. And this has never happened in expected conditions, even driving in snow, very bad weather, etc. Fast forward to our 25th anniversary trip to Caramel Valley July 2018. We had been on the road close to 4 hours, mostly straight freeway driving. As we were driving Laureles Grade, barely 20 minutes from our destination, the VSC went off, pulling the steering wheel & pumping the brakes. This is a very windy road, but we were going pretty slow. We have to, because I get car sick if we go through the turns fast. It's frightening, there were cars behind us, tail gating because we weren't speeding through. This happened repeatedly as we were trying to get to our destination. We tried driving at 15mph, but every time we turned it went off. We tried braking when it started, slowing down more, nothing stopped the process. We finally made it to our destination. The problem couldn't be found at a local shop so we had to have our vehicle brought back home on a flat bed tow truck.
So to date we have replaced the YAW sensor & replaced lower control arms. Our vehicle has been to 3 different shops & no one can figure out what is wrong. They can't even get it to go off when they drive it. One mechanic said he was practically spinning donuts & nothing. But I take it home & it does it again. One replaced the YAW on our request, but warned us it was a 50/50 chance of being the problem. I have shared all the info from this thread with the shop(s). There are no codes to read, and all components are in good working order.
We really like our van, and it is in great condition. But now we can't drive it because of an undetectable electronic malfunction. Hubby is not willing to spend any more money on it.
Professional scan tool? Nope.
Another issue here is that if the light goes on and then the problem disappears, then it may be necessary for diagnostic equipment to be hooked up at the time the problem is occurring. If the codes clear, then there's no freeze frame or real time data for the scan tool to read.
Once a car has exceeded its statistical lifespan, as yours has, that's another set of variables in the mix, as the source of the issue could be very peculiar, like deterioration of wiring harness, rodent damage, intrusion of moisture into fuse boxes or modules.
Chasing a "ghost" like this isn't easy, and is very frustrating for owners.
I take this issue VERY seriously. I kept the car for several days each time and each time I was able to reproduce the problem several times. Each time that it happened it was a serious risk.
If steering rack bushings were causing this I would be easy to show the customer. Also, I've never seen steering rack bushings cause this, (though it might theoretically be possible, it's seems like a reach)
I've advised each and every customer that experienced this to seek an attorney.