Toyota Sienna 2004+

alaput

thanks for the comments. Since we already have a laptop, wee're probably going with a laptop equipped with a GPS card and software for a little over $100. I like the ability to upgrade and the portability between vehicles. Here's a DeLorme w/Street Atlas 2004 I saw in Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3072714916- &category=4668&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBWA%3AIT&rd=1

If anyone has comparisons between the different GPS software that's available please post.

navyj

I had, noticed I said had, a 2001 Ford Windstar SE Sport. It was a great van until I drove it off of the lot. The van was painted six times. I had the gas tank replaced, my rear window fell out, and many other repairs. I was in PA at the time and they have a great Lemon Law program. I won at the trial. I had to keep the van, but they paid off the loan. It was not worth much when I traded it in this past December. They now have the new Freestar so the bluebook has gone down for the Windstar.
I can't say enough about the Toyota. It drives so much better than the Ford. The ride is also great. We have just over 900 miles on it, I'm sure there is something that will go wrong, but my wife and I love it. Not sure if you test drove one yet, but it drives so much different than the Ford. That's my two cents. Good luck.

jake696

Have you guys actaully DRIVEN a Tortoise? I mean not only a rattle box that can't get outta it's own way, but uncomfortable and just feels cheap! I'd swear it has a doggy 4 cyl. in it, I popped the hood the first time I drove the newer one off the rental lot, I still can't believe it was a 6! I took it back for the 4 cyl. Solara, that I can live with for 600+ miles of prairie.
I drive MANY miles in a vehicle when I hit the road. I'd take a Civic or Corolla over that Ford junk when I do windsheild time and I'm well over 6' tall!

My pitifully slow '90 Tortoise rode better that the new ones but required 3 trannys to get it to 100K.

I think the only vehicles we ever used in the courier busines that were undoubtably worse is the Neon line. They had trouble getting to 40 or 60K w/o trannys, radiators, waterpumps, or valvejobs. I've had Bic lighters last longer!!

andrewtran71

Now that's what I'm talking about :-)
In 10 years, I don't even want to be pressing any NAV buttons. I just want to say, "Destination: 1300 NW Expressway, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma", and the NAV 3-D hologram supermodel confirms it by repeating the address and I say, "Yes", and away we go!

andrewtran71

I have that DeLorme Earthmate for my laptop too, but it's slow as heck. And starting it up is slower than heck.
You better find a good strap for that laptop and the GPS receiver or you will be hurting someone, the laptop, and losing a lot of signals. And once you lose that GPS signal, yes, it is slower than heck to get it back.

I hate laptop GPS.

badgerfan

Jake696 does not know what he is talking about.

A current 2000 Taurus SES Duratech owner who previously owned a 1990 Taurus with Vulcan V-6(owned the 1990 ten years, bought new and also bought the 2000 Taurus new). Taurus is a good solid car, great value and much underappreciated. I have never had a rattle or squeak or engine or transmission problem in either one of them.

stever

This is not a Taurus board

Exactly... let's focus more on the Sienna and less on each other please.

Steve, Host

jake696

Go check the reliability record on the Tortoise, Consumer Reports (can I say that?) is a great non-biased source that doesn't accept industry advertising... or check and the moans and groans on the Tortoise problem board here at Edmunds. ... everything is relative.

However, if you're planning on buying a Tortoise, be warned!

bamacar

Consumer Reports says Taurus reliability is up to average and they now recommend it. Warning taken! or was that a recommendation?

minietal

i got my first opportunity to drive a suburban for a day (my '01 chrysler tc van was in the shop). my impression was drastically changed for the better. having never driven one before, i thought the suv was huge and must therefore has lots of room. nope! it is large but i think mostly taken up by the engine hood and the cargo area. the front seats were cramped due to an overside center console. the middle seats were big enough to accommodate three carseats but there was not much legrooms. furthermore the seats could not be slided forward nor their backrest reclined. the doors were narrowed making egress/ingress difficult to the second and third rows. of course the car height didn't help . getting back to the third row was difficult because the outerseat only slides forward and not tumbles forward. once an adult is back there, there is virtually no legroom (i am only 5'9") and the seat doesn't recline nor slide. for kiddie seats, there were only two latches (the one on the bottom of seats), one on the outer sliding seat and one on the middle part of the second row. for the life of me, i couldn't find the latch for the other outerseat. i didn't check the third row. cargo space was carvenous. the ride was surprising agile and nice. the steering was too light and the dash was so oh dated . i had high hope but was very dissapointed. i put the 'burb on my list because my in-law works for gm and he could get 15%off the haggle price which would put it around $30k. very competitively priced but suv was subpar

on the same day, i took the 'burb to the toyota dealer and looked at the le with 8-seats. wow! it was like day and night. of course the van was smaller but they did a remarkable work with the space. the second row was able to accommodate all three of my kidseats and each seat can slide and recline and has the latch. surprisingly, the third row was quite large and again the seat recline. i did fall in love with it just a little bit. for the price $30k with dvd and airbags (package 11), it seems they only stock this option and hubcaps, yike! it seems high. however i wish they offer 6-disc cd and power seats and rear sunshade and maybe even leather with the 8-seat. but i think i am sold on the le 8-seat.

sorry for the long post, does anyone know when the '04 came out. i hate to buy it toward the beginning of the van life. thanks --laura

kmead

The Sienna came out last March. The 2005 models won't be out until fall.

You can have a dealer order any combination of options you wish. It may take a bit until you get it (about 75 days in my caser) so choose what you want and then find the dealer that will get it for you.

The LE with CH is a good solution
LE Package #10 CM
Includes trip computer, Homelink universal transmitter, power right-hand sliding door, rear seat audio, JBL Synthesis AM/FM stereo, CD player, cassette player, 10 speakers, alloy wheels, front side airbags, front, rear and third row curtain airbags, stability control, traction control, brake assist, rear disc brakes, windshield wiper de-icer and daytime running lamps.

28745 msrp and at least a 1000 off with a bit of effort makes it a pretty good deal.

We have a LE8 with BW
LE Package #7 BW
Includes trip computer, Homelink universal transmitter, power right-hand sliding door, rear seat audio, front side airbags, front, rear, and third row curtain airbags, stability control, traction control, brake assist, rear disc brakes, windshield wiper de-icer, daytime running lamps and alloy wheels. We paid 26545.

We have 3 kids and are very happy with how they can all fit in the second row leaving lots of luggage space for trips. The seat arrangement has come in very handy when we have gone shopping as well as we were able to keep two in the second row and fold down the part of the rear seat for long items and still have room for 1 (or even 2) child in the third row.

Get one, you will glad you did. Good luck

jake696

Go for average, whatever you want man! Glad to be rid of that junk! Have you driven one? Yuck!

bamacar

Camry was average for 2002. Who knows Sienna may be average for 2004. My point was you sent him to Consumer Reports, and they recommend the Taurus. I have driven one and it is downright average that is why I drive an Accord.

jake696

Oh...OK...I follow that logic.

jake696

All Toyota models are not only listed as above average in reliability and all are recommended in Consumer Reports. In addition The Camry, Accord and Passat are 1,2,3 almost every year in that class. They may switch the order a bit, etc...

Same with Minivans. The Toyota and Ody are always 1 or 2. Nissan may have a player in these categories as well.

kmead

There are lots of nice forums about all these nice cars. How about moving there?

bamacar

The first year of the new Camry 2002 was only Average thus they recommended in 2003 the Camry but only showed average reliability. The rating improved this year to much better than average. It seems lately that Toyota and Honda have not gotten all that great of reliability ratings in their first year. See Camry in 2002, see Civic 2001, see Odyssey 1999-2000, and RAV-4 2001. All improved 1 or 2 years after introduction. Interested to see if Sienna gets only average for 2004 or better than that.

jmess

Has anybody done any towing yet? If so how much weight, how far, and what was the mpg?

If I get a van I am looking at towing a 15ft aluminum fishing boat with a 20 hp motor. My whole package with trailer should be about 1200LBs. Well under the 3500 LB max rating for the van.

piombo

We pulled a 2,500 lb trailer from Ohio to California. There was no sway or problems going up to 8,000' elevation. Trailer had electric brakes so braking was normal, too. If I remember, gas mileage was around 21 mpg. Hitch toungue would scrap on those California driveways that have steep gullies on the street (they have no storm sewers out in the LA area).
This year, were off to Nova Scotia with the trailer. We put AC/DC TV/VCR combo on floor between front seats so kids can watch movies all of the way. Sorry, couldn't afford installed DVD system unless I wanted to finance for more than six years.

minietal

so you say they DO negotiate that is very good news. i think i have to go with the le8 with package 11 (the one with the dvd player). we took lots of long trips and the vcp we have in the chrysler is a god-send --laura

kmead

We mainly drive locally but do take 1 long trip each year. We chose to buy a small 12v DVD player and two PS1s with the 5" LCD screens. I then modified a cable to split the signal to each PS1 screen. This allows my kids to play Playstation 1 games, listen to their own CDs or watch a DVD movie.

My total investment for this arrangement was under $400 bucks for this. We have used it for the last 3 years and in 3 different cars (the Sienna being the third). It works for us.

piwanowski

After owning thie car since the spring of '03, here goes...
Good- Engine power of the six cyl, AWD, all the cup holders/storage bins, flat folding seats and cargo space, and SUV/van styling, run flat tires eliminating the need for a spare tire.
Bad - the middle seat removal/replacement is cumbersome and a huge strain your back, all options cannot be ordered on LE AWD models and packages are confusing, could use another power outlet for kid's games.
Ugly - We've been back for Warranty fixes about 10 times: with less than 7K miles we had to replace the entire steering rack, with less than 18K miles we have to replace one of the front struts. Transmission shifting is extremely rough. The service people know this and are still waiting for Toyota to create a software fix to this. Phone calls to Toyota Cust Service re: xmission are meaningless and there was no followup.
RECOMMENDATION: wait for the kinks to get worked out, and buy an '05.

just4fun2

I would never allow anybody to replace only "one" strut/shock! This type of fix could cause an unbalanced handling condition and put your family at risk. As your van ages, 15k/20k more miles, the older strut will be weaker than the new one.

muwarrior

We have been going through a 1-2 week stretch of weather with temps below zero. It has become very noticeable to my six year old that sits with her feet in front of the rear "heat" vent that it isn't "heat" for 15-20 minutes into a given trip. Even then it doesn't get anywhere near the temperature of the air from the front dash vents.

Anyone else have this problem? I hope the A/C doesn't have the same problem when we get up into the 90's.

This is pretty much our only complaint after 3.5 months.

danthony75

Do the steering wheel controls on the Sienna light up? This feature is important to me. Are there any vans that do?

kmead

The audio controls light up. The cruise stalk, the wiper stalk and the turn/light stalks do not. Unfortunately.

dplachta

My steering wheel controls do not light up.

samnoe

...for the door locks / windows / mirrors. Do not light. A shame for Toyota.

Kirstie_H

A magazine reporter is looking to interview automotive technophiles who have DVD players, MP3 players, satellite radio and/or surround systems in their cars and cannot wait for the next big thing to come so they can add it to their rolling entertainment centers.
Please respond no later than Wednesday, February 4 to jfallon@edmunds.com with your daytime contact info, make/model of vehicle and a sense of the entertainment technology you have and aspire to own.
Thanks!
Jeannine Fallon
PR Director
Edmunds.com

minietal

well, we have finally bought the 8-seater with 5 miles on the odo didn't want to wait for the odyssey because of the time frame. the van was built in Jan '04. it is red with package 11 (dvd player). it was listed for around 30k including the floormats. we haggled him down to 28500 . the van drove very quiet but the power seems sluggish??? it seems hesitant offline. my previous van was a '01 chrysler with the 215hp and that van was very peppy...maybe we need more miles on it?? anyone has the same experience as we? --laura

andrewtran71

How do you adjust the telescopic steering wheel?
On my LS400, it's on the steering column and it's powered, but where is it on the Sienna? Is it powered on the Sienna?

minietal

on my le, it is under the steering wheel column. you pull the black lever down and adjust the wheel up/down and in/out to your desired position; push up the lever to lock. it is human powered --laura

piwanowski

Our 04 Sienna has some hesitation. The service people say this is from the electronic control connecting your gas pedal to the engine. There is no cable to do this, but electronics. The software for the controls for this are rough at best. My service tech, who also owns an 04 Sienna, said Toyota knows of the problem, but still had not issued a fix to smooth it out. Aside from the quick start/hesitation, I find the power of the engine to be very good.

lalalalala

this is the biggest complaint I have of the van so far. When I merge with traffic on the HOV, I have to slow to make a 90-degree turn to get to the acceleration lane, after that, I have a hard time getting the van to full speed at a short time/distance. All the cars behind me are getting too close for comfort. Toyota needs to come up with a fix soon. I read on the National Highway Safety website that this is one of the complaints cited & an accident had occurred because of the few seconds delay in acceleration.

kmead

Let your 5 mile new Sienna break in a bit before getting on it. One needs to get used to pushing the accelerator down a bit further/faster than you may be used to.

There is also the issue of the 5 speed and its programming, its set up for best economy, so it shifts into the highest gear for the speed it can when ever you let off. Then when you get back on it it may have to shift down to accelerate in the fashion you may be expecting.

But in any case, break it in and get used to a different vehicle and the way it works. I find it more than adequate, and don't notice any more hesitation with this automatic than any other slush box I have had the misfortune to drive.

ewt1

Are people who are having hesitation issues driving earlier build Siennas that haven't had the transmission TSB done?

I'm curious, because multiple Siennas I test drove when they first came out had a hesistation that was really annoying. If you did something like go around a corner at low speed, nothing would happen at first when you tried to accelerate, then after half a second or so, it would downshift to first and accelerate much harder than you intended. However, my 1/04 build Sienna doesn't have the problem at all. I'm wondering if the new and improved transmission programming was the fix, or if Toyota did something else to fix the problem on later production vehicles.

jake696

I think the van ('04 XLE-AWD Limited) has plenty of power, doesn't hesitate and shifts just fine! Am I doing something wrong?

andrewtran71

I test drove a Limited FWD the other day and did not notice any hesitation at various speeds and around corners.

dako_tian

Maybe you didn't read the manual well enough?!? But now that you're aware of it, surely you will see/hear/feel some problem! ;-)

Seriously, when the 1999 redesigned Odyssey came out there were this same strange mix of annoying problems for some with no problems at all experienced by others. All I can guess is that it is a combination of the manufacturer tweaking things on the fly (without telling anyone outside), varying perceptions/expectations of owners, and the occasional lemon-flavored individual vehicles that the "foreign" makers seem to have discovered how to make after opening their domestic manufacturing facilities.

alaput

I have a 04 LE and also noticed the acceleration lag when I tried to accelerate out of a turn. This was partly due to the fact that the throttle has to be pushed harder and travel further than the Elantra GT I normally drive. While the dealer was installing the DVD, I asked him to confirm that I have the latest program available and, unfortunately, I do. While I'm still getting used to drive by wire, the engine accelerates much better than the 95 Windstar we're retiring once I get on the pedal. While I'd like to see Toyota improve this, we'll live with the lag as my wife is the primary driver and is much easier on the engine than I am.

markhoot

Is there a big sound difference between the standard radio and the JBL? I hear a common complaint that the upgraded JBL radio does not sound that good....

andrewtran71

The JBL 10 Speaker system sounds better than a generic 4 or 6 speaker system, but I don't know how it stacks up to a Bose 10 Speaker system.

itsjude

I have an 8 pass, LE. Can I install a remote car starter?

Thank you

jude

andrewtran71

You can install one on any vehicle.
Altamere and other car shops that do window tinting, woodtrim, alarms, etc. can install them.

jm38

Does anyone know what time intervals are available for the headlights to turn off? The manual says they stay on for 30 seconds after turning off the engine and closing all the doors. This 30 second interval can be changed by the dealer. I wonder what it can be changed to. Also what choices are there for having the auto headlights turning on when it gets dark? Mine seem to come on when it is pretty dark. I would like them to come on earlier.

lalalalala

whether the sound is "good" or not is very subjective, it has more to do with how we perceive that sound, & different people perceive sounds differently. The best thing to do is to listen to it yourself to see how you like it at highway speed/local streets. We have the basic system that comes with the CE, my 13-yr old daughter who is a violinist at a local youth symphony enjoys the system very much. At times I find myself totally emerged in the music & forget that I'm in a van. We're more than pleased with that system. Another important factor to consider is the cabin noise, Honda has good engine but the cabin noise is terrible, it negates all the benefits of a premium sound system. The Sienna has a very quiet ride, making the sound system a lot more enjoyable.

wstumpff

Have about 2400 miles and generally am very pleased. But have the following comments.
1> Cornering lights would be a welcome addition.
2> Don't need those BIG numbers on the temp setting display. The Clock display should be the size of the temps and temps the size of the clock
3>Didn't appreciate having to pay $1000+ to get the same warranty that came with my wife's 02 Impalla.
4>Odometer numbers very hard to read under best conditions and impossible to read under some light conditions.
5> Ride and handling very good.
6> Noise level OK
7> Laser Cruise is EXCELLENT.
8> Sonar alert very good
9> Gas mileage somewhat disappointing but van is heavy. Trip of 950M 90% highway gave 23.3MPG speed max at 70. One trip all highway speed at 65 gave 27.2. Not bad if you are satisfied at 65

user777

if you're getting 27.2 MPH at 65, i think that's awesome.

question for you: is that the computer estimate or a manual computation: (gallons pumped / miles driven)?

jake696

Not sure why the warranty cost you 1k extra?? You wife's car will actually NEED the warranty, your van most likey, will not...

Also, some of us need the big numbers!

MPG still way better than an SUV...I just saw the CR report on the Armada, it gets 13 overall. What a pig! My AWD XLE limited can double that easily with more space inside and way more user friendly on the long haul.

ennisflyfisher

Toyota recommends premium gas for use in the Sienna, but they say that gas of 87 octane or higher can be used. How does the Sienna run on regular (87 octane)? Any experience out there on how it works on 85 octane at higher elevations. Thank