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Comments
The Sienna had a recall because of a gas tank problem. The dealer replaced tank but I now have a rumble back there we cannot pin point. The LED readout giving gas mileage does not jive with the real #'s. When I divide miles driven by gallons used I come up with a lot less than what the computer says. Other than that, it handles very well, has plenty of power, is a little noisier than I expected but not bad and the stereo is wonderful in surround sound. No NAV or baby seat but has everything else & so far no problems at all. The only thing I am having difficulty with is trying 2 find snow tires, or any tires the exact size as what's on there. I have 225/60R17 on there & the closest I get is 225/55R17. The only 60 series tires I have found in that size is made by Pirelli & they R $250 EACH!! I got Blizak's 4 $115 each but they R 55's.
I have made a couple of trips 2 FLA. & suffer from a back injury thanx 2 a drunk driver. I saw a post from someone wondering about seat comfort. I am only 5'3" but I drive with seat all the way back & up (High) & I am VERY comfortable. There is excellent lumbar support & the heated seats R fantastic. Being short I find all the controls within reach & find driving this vehicle very relaxing. I am an ex teamster & have logged over 1.5 million miles so I am used 2 driving & love this vehicle. I loved the Previa 2 & thought it was also very comfortable for all 237K miles. That vehicle gave me no problems at all. Gas & oil changes, a couple of brake pads & that's about it. The Previa is the reason why I bought the Sienna.
The Sienna has much more hip and shoulder room than the Avalon (Toyota's 6 passenger family car)
From the Toyota web site:
Head room
40.2
Shoulder room
64.9
Hip room
67.5
Leg room
39.6
Car and Driver included a pic of 3 adults in the second row seats in their review. (its not on the web site) and did comment that putting the center seat in the "front and center" position gave more room for the three adults shoulders. Sort of a staggered arrangement as shown by these bars: __--__ . The center seat is narrow without doubt but with the above arrangement it can be pretty comfy.
I swear that the sales and dealer force are sometimes Toyota's worst enemy.
They have gotten great reviews and being up in Canada I want the best tires for winter
We just purchased the 8 seater and love it. We love the fact that the front adult passenger can move and tend to the two kids in the second row during a trip due to the extra seat.
Our two issues with buying the 8 seater were armrests and 3rd row access.
1) No Armrests on 8 model in 2nd row --- But with two kids under the age of two, we were most concerned with family seating options. Actually the outside passengers can rest one arm on the window sill, but it is a little high. Additionally, the slightly larger two seats in the 7 passenger were not an issue for us as we are not supersized ourselves and are not going to be routinely transporting friends or family that large either. If passengers really want/need an armrest, they can sit in the 3rd row which has an armrest molded into the body panel for the outside arm of the rear passengers.
2) Back row access--- Until we looked closely at the 7 pass, we did not realize that you really have to go through the middle to get to the back on the 7 passenger. Yes, on the 7 pass, you can move one of the outside seats to the center, but a person entering on the other side then even has a harder time getting to the back. The real selling point to us was access to the back simply by flipping the back seat forward. In 1 second, the seat is up with almost no effort (spring loaded)...this is soooo easy to do and not a problem at all getting into the back with EITHER THE 8 OR THE 7 PASSENGER.
('04 Sienna @ 13,500 miles by turdfergusson2)
I suspect your mileage calculation differs from the trip computer's because you used a different size tire. Hence, the odometer reading will be incorrect because your Blizak 55R17s are a slightly smaller diameter (and hence circumference) than the standard 60R17. For each rotation of the wheel, your vehicle travels a slightly shorter distance than what your trip computer is expecting.
Haven't heard of replacing the tranny fluid so early. But, I'm not a tranny expert.
When you have the DVD playing with the headphones in use, the radio will still play on all speakers in the van--which is annoying for my children, so I use the fader to move the radio to the front of the van only.
OK, I'll let those who've gotten it respond, but I've not seen any posts complaining about blocking the view.
Locking up or "overdrive" as some manufacturers erroneously (marketing) term locking the torque converter into direct drive is a different issue. When the Sienna is in D it can shift into 5th and also lockup the torque converter into a "overdrive" mode.
From the 04 Sienna owners manual:
(shifting into overdrive possible)
4: Engine braking
(shifting into overdrive not possible)
Torque converters only work with the input shaft turning (slightly) faster than the output shaft. If you want the engine to turn slower than the driveline, "overdrive", then the torque converter MUST be locked.
Yes, I changed it myself. I used an "offset" filter wrench (offset might be the wrong term) - the type that compresses against the filter as you turn it and the handle can change the angle. This was the hardest part by far (getting a good grip on the filter & turning). The oil drain plug was _easy_. You do not need to remove any of the plastic "shielding" under the car.
Under the filter, there is a neat little channel for the oil. What I did was first loosen the filter, then put a plastic bag over top of the filter as I removed it. I let the oil leak into the plastic bag (I still had the oil pan underneath "just in case").
For my next filter change, I got what is called a "cap wrench" which sort of looks like a giant socket wrench that fits over the end of the filter. This should make it trivial to remove. Overall, an easy car to change the oil on (not the easiest, but certainly "doable" for anyone with the inclination).
Please note - the cap wrench filter ONLY appears to fit Toyota's filter - NOT the Fram filter. As someone else pointed out - it "almost" fits the Fram filter, but can get jammed on. This is a shame, since Fram (IMHO) makes the best filters around. I am hoping that Fram (or SOMEONE) releases a cap wrench that fits the Fram filters. I think the Fram has one more (or less) "Flutes" (the flat sides that allow the wrench to get a grip). For now, I'll stick to the Toyota filters.
"4" allows the transmission to use only gears 1-4.
The rest of the discussion is simply transmission minutia. I'm beginning to feel my eyes glaze over.....
That being said, I still don't understand the relevancy of wwest's statement. In a torque converter, the output will always turn slower than the input because of loss of efficiency, except when it is locked, when it will turn at the same speed. Not sure how it could ever turn faster.
Anyway, sorry . . . back to relevant Toyota talk.
Tom
Often times the top two gears are overdriven (when you have 5 or more speeds) such as .91 for 4 and .76 or so for 5th.
In the past, such as on MGs and others, the transmission gears topped out at 1:1 and they then had a second gearbox inline that was an overdrive and often worked in the top two gears.
Plymouth and Dodge used to offer a small front wheel drive car called the Colt that offered a twin stick tranny that was a standard 4 speed with a mechanical overdrive that gave you in effect an 8 speed tranny. Most of the ratios were not of much use, but it did give you an acceleration set of gears and a economy set of gears.
I also use Fram on all my cars.
You indicated Toyota filters is probably the easiest filters to use for the 04 Sienna currently. I should follow your advice. Therefore, where can I buy the Toyota filters, besides the dealer. I'm open to purchasing these wholesale, if possible. And where to buy the cap wrench?
TIA.
Also (I'll mention this just to be careful) make sure you get the new gaskets for the oil drain plug. I bought 12. The parts guy threw in a few extra. Then threw in one per filter I bought - so I have lots of gaskets! They are expensive though. I don't recall exactly, but it might have been close to $1 each (though a lot less considering the freebies and a discount he gave me).
I found my cap wrench in a regular car parts store (Western Auto, Pep Boys has them too). Take your new Toyota filter with you to make sure you get a good fit. Also, just for ha-ha's, take a Fram filter out and try it in the same cap wrench. It _almost_ fits....! DON'T TRY IT ON YOUR CAR!!! BTW, when attaching the new filter either do not use the cap wrench or use it gently. The filter should not be jammed on too tight.
Re buying vast quantities of filters - I wouldn't do that unless you have a good environment to store them in (e.g. not a garage with temperature extremes) and you drive a LOT of miles (and change filters often). There is a paper element in the filter that could absorb moisture (I am theorizing on that, I'm no expert!!).
I also will try to get Fram filters to work. In my 1990 Camry, I usually use an oil filter wrench to remove old filters and my bare hands to tighten the new filters 1 to 1.25 turns. Perhaps in the 04 Sienna and 04 Camry may be a challenge if I cannot grab the filter with my hands due to engine compartment constraints.
I just received an email back from Fram. They do offer their own filter cap wrench - part SP3574. You will almost certainly need to special order that part. I have looked in about 6 different parts stores, none have had them. BTW, Fram called it a "cup wrench" (vs cap). If you can't get someone to special order it for you, contact Fram customer service. I'll try to order mine shortly (no rush, it'll probably be at least 5-6 months before I need it).
Oh well 2 Toyota filters to burn through before I go back to Fram. :-)
Re drain plug gaskets - I always use them. When I have copper gaskets, I flip'em over and re-use. Most can be re-used, but I don't know about these Toyota gaskets. Personally, I'll just use'em once and toss it. I figure I'll do between 40 and 50 oil changes over the life of the vehicle 200-250k miles (@5,000 miles per interval), so the cost is low overall. My big cost is the oil (Synthetic only). I stick to 3000 mile intervals if using conventional oil.
You can tighten the filter only so far by hand. I'm not particularly strong, so I like to tighten it just a _little_ further w/ a wrench. This is the first car where I could not use a conventional oil filter wrench to remove the filter (easily - I did get the first one off w/ the conventional wrench, but it was not fun!).
The tools available to do the job have been improving over the years (and maybe I've learned a few things)!
I went to FRAM's website to search info on their cup wrench. I came across their oil filters with their SureGrip feature. I wonder if we can do away with a wrench and use bare hands to install and remove the oil filters. Provided we can get a strong hold on the filter from above the engine for our Sienna.
In their accessories list, I found their SureDRAIN oil change system. I wonder if this is good to use.
If it is, it may cut 10-15 minutes from our total time in our oil changes.
Re the SureGrip filters - yes, this does help and sometimes I can get filters off (99 Passat) with no wrench. You need to weigh ease of removal vs chance of a leak (if the filter is not tight enough). You always want to have the appropriate wrench around in case you can't get the filter off.
I didn't time my Sienna oil change but it is the second fastest procedurally (my VW Golf & GTI were faster - the filter was 100% visible and very accessible).
I am sure the 05 Ody will apply significant pressure on the Sienna as well as the DC vans.
Either way, wait and see. Honda is always tight lipped so we likely will not see much from them until the intro. The Accord and Pilot were both intro'd at odd times so maybe late spring or early summer will bring the new Ody.
DC's has always had and will continue to have a price advantage and the Ody will still be the closest competitor to the Sienna. Although the Sienna outsold the Ody last month, the Ody is still doing OK. Toyota is not the fastest company to incorperate changes (slow and steady progress is their moto). I doubt Honda will completly re-invent the minivan this time around (we'll give that honour to Nissan). If Honda decides to lower the Ody's price, then consumer's should be able to negotiate lower prices for the Sienna. Advantage... the buyer.
* Powerful engine with 5 speed auto tranny.
* Good looking dash instrument panel with blue light on.
* Daytime running light automatically on. There is a DRL switch on my '03 Camry.
* Doors are automatically lock and open when shifting gear. My Camry can only lock doors, not open.
* Power sliding passenger door will not open when the car is in gear. But door can be closed with a beeping tone when car is in gear.
* Where is the button for heated side mirrors and windshield de-icer? And I don't see any heating elements at the base of the windshield. My sale rep told it is the same button as the rear window defroster.
Steve, Host
My 2003 Yukon XL has, I believe,...
...3 unlocking options:
1. No automatic unlocking at all,
2. Automatically unlock when put into Park,
3. Automatically unlock only when the key is removed from the ignition
I chose the last option, #3.
...and 4 locking options:
1. No automatic locking at all,
2. Automatically lock when taken out of Park,
3. Automatically lock when reaching 8 mph.
4. Automatically lock a certain time (30 seconds?) after the engine is started.
However, checking the online owner's manual from mygmlink.com, I see that they must have changed it for later build dates to always lock and unlock when coming out of Park and into Park, respectively. You can program which doors automatically unlock or have no doors automatically lock/unlock at all. But you can no longer tell it when to do so. I'm glad mine is different.
In any case, it might be worth a gander at your manual to see what, if any, options Toyota provided to you.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Thanks
Steve, Host
Like lok888, my wife wanted to turn off the auto unlock function when shifting to park. Several different settings are in the Sienna's manual, and we set it up so that the doors automatically lock when shifting out of park, stay locked when shifting into park, and all unlock when the vehicle is turned off (and/or key removed) and the driver's door is opened. Some of the functions may take a few attempts to get just right, or at least it took me (quite) a few tries. Good luck.
1. Forget using "regular" gas, especially in the winter. The car is very sluggish when cold and does some hesitating upon acceleration. I knew that a less than peppy engine was the one downside to the Sienna as opposed to the Odyssey, but it really was beginning to bug me when every little friggin' rattletrap (and Odyssey, SUV and EVERYONE) was zipping along ahead of me after the signal turned green. Me, I was 0 to 60 in about 10 minutes. I would slowly get up to speed while everyone else seemed to get up to speed so quickly after being stopped. I kept reminding myself of all the wonderful things this car has that the others don't - but it was still bugging me. Once the car warmed up it was better. So, as a last resort, I decided to try a higher octane gas. This made a BIG difference. Even when cold, it is not sluggish and doesn't do the small hesitation it did before. But, I still feel the engine is underpowered for this car. I think they should forget the 1 mpg more that this car is rated at over the Odyssey - I'd rather get a little less gas mileage than suffer with an underpowered engine. They should certainly make a car that runs well on regular gas. This would be my biggest complaint so far on the car.
2. I wish they had another horizontal bar across the front of the roof rack (near where the roof meets the upper windshield). We have had a lot of snow, and it's already a problem the way the snow gets trapped up there with the roof being so long, but if it's gonna stay up there, make it ALL stay up there. After a few miles of driving, you come to a stop and a huge unexpected avalanche comes crashing down in front of your eyes - and when it happened to me last, I had my wipers on, so you can imagine what that did to them - the snow was so heavy, they couldn't move - and I couldn't see anything. Had to pull over and get out and remove it with my hands (with no gloves!). Had there been an extra bar there, it would have held the majority of it back till it melted. I'd love some kind of lip up there t keep water and snow from dripping down.
3. I wish it had a seperate temp control knob(cold-med-hot dial) for the rear that could be conrolled from the FRONT. I have dogs in the back, and sometimes I need the temp different back there or they are hot and I need to turn it down, but I am cold up front. Can't control the back from the second row while driving, so am stuck with a compromise.
4. When you stop the car, put it in park and turn off the engine - then let your foot off the brake, the car rolls (lurches) forward quite a bit more than it should - I feel like I have to apply the brake again!
5. The driver's side door swings open a little too easily, so you have to grab for the door quickly before it flies open too far and hits another car.
6. I have already gotten a couple of chips in the paint - one on the hood (no stone ever hit it that I saw) and one on the body side molding. I think the paint could be better - it shouldn't chip so easily.
7. There is a sour smell outside the car when it is running - anyone know what this might be? It's not from the back exhaust pipe, but from under the sides of the car.
8. The thing I still appreciate the most, one of the reasons we bought it - is that tight turning circle. I cannot imagine how I could get in and out of the spaces I have been able to if I had an Odyssey - with something this long, that tight turning radius is a necessity and I am always amazed at what I can do in the Sienna.
9. It's still the BEST looking minivan out there. The 2004 shed the dowdy look, and I don't feel as "uncool" in it as I thought I would ;-) Have you seen that hideous new Nissan Quest??? What an embarassment!
Everything else I LOVE and is just perfect. Each time I drive and discover new things I like, I am reminded of how well-thought-out this car was - they thought of ALMOST everything.
Has anyone else NOT experienced some of problems I mentioned above? Anyone have anything to add?
Wendy
The van has done very well but I have missed the AWD a bit (this is the first non-4WD vehicle I have ever owned.) I have not yet needed a push to get up my street (unlike my wife's Accord) but there is some spinning while climbing that hill.
Anywhere but that hill and the FWD really does a great job. The VSC did kick in once when I took a corner too fast and I see that little "tires spinning" dip light that pops on my dash.