I thought my wife was kidding, but I saw it with my own eyes!
I even put the car in the driveway, started the engine with the door OPEN (and my finger on the door switch), and fiddled with the switch until I replicated both the "unlock" and interior lights problem.
Solution: I added a ~1/8" thick x 1" x 3" piece of adhesive-backed rubber over the part of the door that triggers the switch. No. More. Problem. Our problem was with RIGHT hand turns, so I found some VERY aggressive right hand turns to test it out...all is good!
Thanks for the post, this really helped me focus in and solve the problem!!
@martin152 said:
I solved my electrical mystery, perhaps this will help someone else.
I have a 2000 Sienna XLE. Whenever I turned left my dome lights/map lights would turn on and the door ajar light would come on. After I completed the turn, all would go back to normal.
The solution was really too simple. On the inside of the passenger door there is "bump" or protrusion that makes contact with the rubber covered switch that turns the map lights on. At some point in time, someone must have slammed the door on the metal seat belt latch and dented the protrusion. When the door closes it still makes contact with the switch to turn of the lights and the "open door" warning, but when turning left the centripetal force of gravity allows just enough pressure to be removed from the contact of the switch to turn the lights on.
I fixed it by taking a small piece of cardboard and folding it over a couple of times to thicken it up, then I took a piece of "Gorrilla Tape" and taped the piece of cardboard on top of the "protrusion" on the door.
It sounds silly, I know, but I've never had the problem since.
At some point in time I might screw a thick washer onto the "Bump", but for now cardboard and gorilla tape seems to work just fine.
My non-profit organization has a Toyota Sienna 2006. All of a sudden when starting the car, it didn't start right away. When trying to start it, all the lights and all electrical come on but no noises of it trying to start, so definitely not the battery. It takes about 3-5 times to start, and we think it helps to pump the brakes and move the wheel. Not sure if that actually helps though. We thought it was the starter or the ignition. We took it into our local Toyota dealership (I know way overpriced, but we have to since it is a non-profit organization vehicle, and we are in a small town). At the dealership they said that we installed an alarm system that is faulting/not working correctly and effecting how the car starts. We definitely did not install an alarm system in the car, because that is too expensive for our non-profit wallet and we bought it used. So unsure how the alarm magically was installed without us knowing, but they said it would cost $300 to uninstall it. They said it might be an easy fix, just changing the battery of the electronic keys, but that didn't seem to work. I am pretty sure they just have to press a button to turn the alarm system off, they don't physically take out the alarm system, or do they? Does anyone know how we can fix this without spending $300 or just not fixing it and being a pain to start everyday?
2006 Sienna. Recently we have been replacing headlamps every 8 months. Today,10/31/16 the mechanic put in new battery and stated that he cannot fix the electrical problem with the headlamps. He replaced them for free and suggested an auto electric repairman. How do you find a specialist for this problem or has anyone else had this problem? Thanks
Comments
We had this problem, too. 1998 Sienna.
I thought my wife was kidding, but I saw it with my own eyes!
I even put the car in the driveway, started the engine with the door OPEN (and my finger on the door switch), and fiddled with the switch until I replicated both the "unlock" and interior lights problem.
Solution: I added a ~1/8" thick x 1" x 3" piece of adhesive-backed rubber over the part of the door that triggers the switch. No. More. Problem. Our problem was with RIGHT hand turns, so I found some VERY aggressive right hand turns to test it out...all is good!
Thanks for the post, this really helped me focus in and solve the problem!!
My non-profit organization has a Toyota Sienna 2006. All of a sudden when starting the car, it didn't start right away. When trying to start it, all the lights and all electrical come on but no noises of it trying to start, so definitely not the battery. It takes about 3-5 times to start, and we think it helps to pump the brakes and move the wheel. Not sure if that actually helps though. We thought it was the starter or the ignition. We took it into our local Toyota dealership (I know way overpriced, but we have to since it is a non-profit organization vehicle, and we are in a small town). At the dealership they said that we installed an alarm system that is faulting/not working correctly and effecting how the car starts. We definitely did not install an alarm system in the car, because that is too expensive for our non-profit wallet and we bought it used. So unsure how the alarm magically was installed without us knowing, but they said it would cost $300 to uninstall it. They said it might be an easy fix, just changing the battery of the electronic keys, but that didn't seem to work. I am pretty sure they just have to press a button to turn the alarm system off, they don't physically take out the alarm system, or do they? Does anyone know how we can fix this without spending $300 or just not fixing it and being a pain to start everyday?
Thanks,
Your Friendly Non-Profit Friends