Toyota Sienna Maintenance and Repair (2003 earlier)

lsac · August 2002

Recently, my 98 Sienna LE (43000 miles) dies during startup. It has happened in or after a raining day. The engine would start but idle speed quickly drops to 0. On second crank, engine starts normally. The odd thing is the stall happens after 2-3 startups which means engine is already at its normal operating temperature. I change my engine oil religiously.

innovations2 · August 2002

.
Cliffy, You mentioned that the rebuilds are now getting the new valve cover... "You will also get the new valve cover which has a different part to reduce the chances of a recurrence"..

I'd be willing to pay for the part for my (non-sludged) Toyota since it's now available for rebuilds. I bought my Toyota because of it's reputation for reliability and would like to try to prevent any potential problems with the engine if that's an option.

Do you happen to know what the dealer price would be if I ordered one?

Thx.

.

cliffy1 · August 2002

I don't know what the cost involved would be. I had not thought to ask. I understand your concern, but I also seem to remember that you are pretty religious about oil changes (correct me if I am wrong). Because of the SPA, you have the protection and with religious maintenance, it shouldn't come up anyway.

That said, I'll try to remember to ask my shop guys tomorrow.

hoze1 · August 2002

Anybody have a similar problem or solution:
At 16,500 miles, dealer rotated tires. First trip thereafter I experienced shimmy at about 70 mph. After stopping and inspecting tires, continued on with no problem until ten minutes later and same problem.
Returned to dealer and balanced all tires.
At 17,000 miles, same problem on family vacation. Problem is intermittent and stops when vehicle stops. Noticeable bad vibration in steering wheel and entire car. When brake is depressed, same shimmy felt in pedal.

Help...

Thanks

railroad17 · August 2002

I have a 1998 Sienna and I have been using the regular(87 octane) gasoline for about 3 years now. I've been told that I should be using the Premium gas(91 octane) since its has 6 cylinder. I wonder if I could mix them up so that I would use premium in one week and regular for the next two weeks.

Also, lately we have been hearing what seems like a bird chirping each time we turned on the AC from a cold start. It does go away after about 10 seconds but we weren't hearing it before.

jeprox · August 2002

just because your car have 6 cylinders doesn't mean you need to use premium unleaded. it depends on your engine and what the manufacturer recommends. if you read your owners manual, i believe it states that your sienna will run ok with regular unleaded but 91 octane or higher is recommended. sienna engines have knock sensors so regular unleaded is ok. my suggestion to you is to read your manual and follow the book.
i've been running 91 octane or higher since day 1. with 91 octane, you will get more mileage and maybe a little bit more power. you can mix up the type of gas but it's best to stick to one kind.

the chirping you hear could be coming from your belt or bearing. during cold weather, moisture forms around your pulleys/belt - when you fire up the engine, it takes a a few seconds to dry up the moisture on the belt as it rubs against the pulley. so u get this squeak/chirp. it could be also coz' your belt needs to be tightened up a bit. if the chirp sound is constantly there, then it's probably the bearing.

i also wait until the engine is at normal operating temp. before i turn on the a/c. i never turn it on as soon as the engine fires up.

railroad17 · August 2002

The manual does say regular is fine but premium is recommended. I thought maybe I could do it halfway by mixing it up.

We don't hear the chirping sound during cold weather. It only started this summer and with the hot weather we've been getting lately, we need to turn on the AC before everybody jumps in because the inside is way too hot. I guess I could wait a few minutes before we turn it on and just leave the windows open for a while to cool the interior.

Thanks for the info.

jeprox · August 2002

normally, it's the balancing of the tires that would cause the vibration or maybe the one of the tires is not completely round.

another reason could be your brakes. you may want to ask them to check your front brakes.

deg856 · August 2002

Whoever told you 6 cylinder engines need 91 octane is clueless. It has absolutely nothing to do with the number of cylinders. It has to do with the engine's design, it's condition, and the operating conditions. For a Sienna and 99.9% of the new cars out there, 87 octane is perfectly fine. Also, octane rating has nothing to do with fuel economy, as many mistaken the octane rating as an indicator of energy content of the gas. It's not. Octane rating is a measure of the fuel's anti-knock property. Think of it as medication for the engine - if your engine is in poor condition and knocks with 87 Octane fuel, you need to pay more to get fuel with higher octane rating to suppress that knock. However, if your engine does not knock with 87 octane fuel, paying more for higher octane rating accomplishes absolutely nothing. Some expensive sports cars have the capability to adjust engine operating parameters based on octane ratings to boost power slightly (a few HP at the most) at the top of the rev range, but you'd only get that benefit if you run your engine near the red line. Who drives a minivan like that, especially when we don't even have stick shift to hold the engine to run near the red line constantly like you would in a race in a sports car? Do some research and you will find all the auto experts say using higher octane for new cars is a big waste of money. Some even call it the greatest scam from the gas company to profit from the uneducated public.

San Jose, CA

jeprox · August 2002

"91 octane or higher is recomended because motors nowadays are higher in compression than they were before. You get more power and torque with higher compression but that also increases the chance of detonation. knock sensors detect this knocking/pinging that leads to detonation and retards the timing of the motor to make it safer. the lower the octane gas you go, the more prone you are to knock, but since the computer will retard the timing, the car will still run, just not as powerfull as if you were using 91+ octane.
this is why both reg. and 91+ octane can be used, although the maximum performance will be gained by using 91+ octane so computer doesn't have to retard the timing. retarding timing loses performance. the octane of the gas itself has no bearing on performance. its ability to reduce knock in relation to compression is what make higher octane gas special."

so to sum it up, there is a reason why some car makers recommends 91+ octane for their engines. 91+ is not a waste of money if used properly.

railroad17 · August 2002

The premium gas was recommended after I went through an emmisions test and the van just barely passed the hydrocarbons level. This is all too technical to me and I could not repeat what the explanation was. He suggested using the premium gas since the 6 cyl engine will benefit from it.

Now, for a really stupid question. If I mix 87 octane with a 91 octane, would the mix result in an 89 octane gas rating?

stever · August 2002

The Gasoline Faq hasn't been updated for a few years, but may be of interest.

Steve

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rward99 · August 2002

If I read section 6.13 correctly, it is saying that in older cars that have no engine management system, you must use the fuel that doesn't cause the engine to knock under *your* most severe driving conditions, because knock is extremely damaging to engines. So if your engine knocks, either increase the octane or retard the spark.

But for newer engines equipped with an engine management system, for *your* driving conditions you can use different octanes to find the one that gives you the best power and fuel economy. If the engine is already at that peak, increasing the octane beyond that will only cause your wallet to get thinner, since you are wasting your money.

As I read it, start with the 87 octane as a benchmark. Then move to 89 octane for a while. If you do not notice any increase in mileage or performance, return to 87 octane as that will be the 'peak' setting for *your* driving conditions.

If you do notice a difference, proceed to 92 octane and re-evaluate in the same manner. Then decide whether to stay at 92 or return to 89.

jhulett · August 2002

Hello Folks,

Well, its going to take a month and a half to get the 1999 Sludged Sienna (68,000 miles) in for a "rebuild." My Toyota dealer said I was 6th in line for the work.

Anyone have there 3.0 V6 engine rebuilt because of sludge? How did it go? Hows it run? What was the warranty on the rebuild engine? Did they use different parts to help prevent engine sludge from coming back? And if it does, will Toyota cover another "rebuild?"

Love our Sienna, even though its smoking now and then on startup it, runs smooth as silk.

Jason

pjksr · August 2002

RR: We've discussed the octane question before. I used to believe that higher octane was a waste of money. Then I tried it on my '02 Sienna; my gas mileage did increase in a non-scientifically significant way. Try it yourself to reach your own conclusions. Mixing octanes is probably a waste, though... BTW, the Sienna's engine has a compression ratio of 10.4:1...rather high.

As far as high-octane for emissions tests, in our state (CT), the word is to use Mobil Super + (93 octane) to clean your valves a little to pass your test. You can also use some Chevron Techron (which has a Porsche part number!) to clean your injectors and valves.

If I lived where it was available, I'd use Chevron fuels, which contain Techron; here, I use Mobil Super +...

davemm · August 2002

I use the high octane fuel in my Sienna here in CT also.

My reasoning is due to the variable timing in the engine (VVT-i). The engine should sense knock and move the cam shafts accordingly (along with spark) to allow the engine to run with the timing advanced. This would allow for more power with less gas. The high octane allows the timing to be advanced without knock longer than regular gas.

thewolverine · August 2002

Another high octane customer from CT - just following the manuals recommendation.

Not sure of the technical reasons but I get 24 - 25 mpg with it. Usually Gulf 93 octane - with the Fleet Gulf card discount it comes out to be around the same as the mid-level juice.

deg856 · August 2002

Many people are aware in concept of a modern engine's ability to adjust itself based on octane rating and use that as the reason for using higher octane. However, the key questions is - how much difference does it actually make, i.e., what is the range of that adjustability in a given engine? Let's say 91 Octane cost 15-20% more than 87 octane. Unless you gain that much (15-20%, or close to it) in performance/economy by using the higher cost 91 octane, then essentially you're wasting the difference between the extra cost and the performance/economy gain.

% waste = % of extra cost - % of performance/economy gain

In November 2001 issue of Car and Driver, an article titled "Regular or premium" looked at this issue by doing comparison tests on five different vehicles using 87 vs. 91 Octane, plus some good technical explanation on what Octane rating is all about. Below is the web link for the article; the hardcopy has more charts, which are not shown on the web.

http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caranddriver/keyword_searchresults.xml

Two things to keep in mind when interpreting and relating the results:

1. Performance variability - Even under identical test conditions, the performance of a simply electrical/mechanical device often vary slightly during different test runs, or even during the same test run as the system heats up, which can be observed easily with accurate test instruments. An engine behaves much the same way. If you tests a engine and measured 200 HP and you repeat the test five more times, you should be in the neighborhood of 200 HP, but you may get a slightly higher or lower result (by a few percents) each time. The Honda Accord (V6 with VTEC, probably the one most similar to Sienna's engine in application) tested actually lost a little performance when 91 Octane was used instead of 87 Octane. The Mustang and the Ram gained a little. In each case, the small measured differences could easily be due to the natural performance variability between test runs, rather than the result of the Octane rating change.

2. Test condition vs. normal driving condition - The fairly small performance difference reported in the article is based on the maximum power condition - you floor it and keep it there. The performance difference at "normal" speed that 99% of us drive at 99% of the time would be much smaller still.

Why would a reasonable person want to consistently pay 15-20% more for anything and get not much benefit in return?

San Jose, CA

deg856 · August 2002

This may have more to do with the extra additives they put in the premium gas (which varies from brand to brand) than the Octane rating. As a short term fix, you may be able to do the same thing with a can of those engine treatment solutions they sell in auto parts stores. In any case, it's like taking pain killers when you're sick - you're just masking the symptoms temporarily, but you're not necessarily fixing the root problem.

San Jose, CA

railroad17 · August 2002

The term "engine knock" have been mentioned quite a bit in this discussion. Is it something that you hear while driving or after you've come to a stop?

jeprox · August 2002

engine knock/ping can heard usually when you step on the gas (accelerate). depending on how bad it is, it can be heard as well even if
your engine is idling.

rward99 · August 2002

I've heard it described as a knock and a ping, but I believe a better description is a rattle. It's kind of like dice being shaken in a bottle.

jeprox is right about it happening at any speed, but my experience is that it usually happens on acceleration. My truck was doing it when I kept a steady 73 MPH also. If I accelerated or took my foot off the gas it went away. (That's because those things change the conditions that cause the ping in the first place.)

Everything I've been able to dig up on pinging has told me that there are several causes, but the damage can be extremely severe. All the sources said to get it taken care of, or suffer major engine damage.

Here are the things I found out:

Improper fuel - octane too low
Ignition timing - Timing set too advanced
Spark plugs - old and/or not properly gapped
Overheating - bad thermostat, ignition timing off, bad water pump, clogged passageway
Wrong oil - Oil viscosity is too low; getting past the rings, burns in the engine, creating deposits
(that was my problem. I put the 5W30 meant for the Sienna into the truck, which should have had 10W40. D'oh!)

jci1 · August 2002

If the car runs fine on 87 why upgrade to 91? I would not do it myself, and using higher octane will NOT increase mileage. It will allow the engine to make maximum power by adjusting the timing, advanced timing however will not increase your MPG, just your power, and even then probably minimally.

If your engine knocks you would know it, and with the VVTI it shouldn't, EVER! You cannot justify an add'l 25 cents plus per gallon to me to run 91+ octane gas.

I used to race, we went with the highest compression we could, The higher the compression the higher the octane necessary to control detonation. Timing also plays a factor here in controlling detonation but on this vehicle mostly with power and at certain engine loads, more timing on acceleration, less at cruising.

If you drive your Sienna like a drag racer, you might like what 91 octane can do, if you drive like a civilized human being you will probably never know the difference.

Gas in southeast Texas is $1.16 for 87 octane and $1.40+ for high octane. Maybe you wish you could buy premium for $1.40 up north, but no matter what you pay for it, premium gas costs too much for the benefit.

railroad17 · August 2002

I do feel some kind of a vibration on the gas pedal when I'm accelerating. I had brought the issue with Toyota and they said it was normal for the van to do that. I'm not sure if that's what you meant by knocking during acceleration.

I don't hear any other sound when cruising and iddling. I have actually re-started the var when the engine is already running coz it was just too quite.

deepan · August 2002

I think the vibration (on the gas pedal) you mentioned (discussed probably an yr ago) happens while on the highway and want to suddenly accelerate. I have experienced it sometimes and some posters have to.

The pinging/knocking is quite different. If you have a older vehicle try accelerating rapidly and you might here the sound. You shouldnt hear it on the sienna which has the knock sensor. I have a 87 camry which pings if i accelerate rapidly and i have lived with this for atleast 4 yrs. I use 89 octane and since its an around the town car i will not bother with 91 octane.

rward99 · August 2002

Deepan is right; the foot massage vibration is not pinging. My '99 does it from time to time.

I run 87 octane in my Sienna, and it runs fine. I get 24 mpg highway, and it runs very quietly. I've been very pleased with it.

deg856 · August 2002

At the Union 76 Station across the street from work:

$1.56 for regular (87 Octane); $1.78 for super (91 Octane).

San Jose, CA

bobsmith3 · August 2002

I am pleased to report that after having some initial skepticism regarding wear issues of my 1999 OEM Firestone Affinitys, they have actually worn fairly well. They do seem a bit puncture-prone (4 nail punctures since new), and somewhat noisy; but the fact is, I have 48k on them and I should easily get to 50,000 mi before replacement.
Question is-----what is recommended. I do a city/highway mix of driving, I favor a smooth, quiet ride. Weather is NOT really a factor in Central California. The size 215/65x15 seems to limit choices. I am specifically considering Michelin Symmmetrys. Any suggestions??? Thanks!

pjksr · August 2002

Those of us in the East using premium fuel are seeing much smaller differences in prices between grades. In our town, at the Mobil station, the price is 15 cents more for 93 octane than 87 (today $1.54 and $1.69).

Now the comment: if the price difference was as great as elsewhere, I'd re-evaluate my choice to use the fuel for which the engine was designed, namely 91 octane fuel.

jci1 · August 2002

Symmetry's are great tires! I think you would be very happy with them, you can count on a smooth and quiet ride with an improvement in handling as well. I put them on my last car and I would again in a snap!

If you want better treadwear (longer life) take a look at the X-One or equivilant, they are rated even higher and can be had for about $115 each. The Michelin.com website gives some good facts. Note that Michelin makes essentially the same tire for Sears, Sams, and tire dealers, but calls them different names to make prices shopping more difficult.

10svan · August 2002

I have a 2002 Sienna XLE. Door makes a creaking and popping noise when the body is torqued as in backing out a driveway or and uneven surface. Dealer tightened loose latch and straightened lock rods. That was done 7/02 and now the sound is back. Body shop manager won't do anything til a tech rides and listens for noise. Said may not be able to fix problem if it even exists. Thinks a new latch will do the same thing. What is up with this door?

miltone · August 2002

I have a 2000 sienna that I bought in Florida at Jimmy Brian Toyota. I live in N.J. and drove 1200 mi. uptown. Was purchased brandy new and after about 3000 miles it needed the torque converter changed. I had taken it in to the dealer because the check engine light was on and that is what they found. On another occasion that the check engine light turned on the dealer told me to make sure the gas cap was screwed on tightly. I did and I havent had a problem since. The car has 23000 miles on it and it still runs great. I do my own oil changes now. I was taking to the dealer every 5000 miles for an oil change but at 15000 miles the toyota dealer in New Brunswick told me that I needed an engine flush because much of the oil stayed in the engine. I declined the engine flush and decided that subsequent oil changes would be done by me. I figured that by the time they had come around to changing my oil it had been standing in line for over an hour hence the oil gets cold and doesnt drain very well. Oil is best changed when its very hot like after a long drive. Brakes squeal a little but that problem began at about 19000, I checked the front pads and the rear shoes and they are still good. I'm not a mechanic but after many years of working on my own cars I've learned a few things and I'm confident that if I change the oil every 3000~3500 miles the engine should be find. Regarding tire rotation. NEVER DO IT. NO need to. When front tires wear out just replace them. All tires on a car travel over a different path of the road therefore the tire wear is different for each one. The front right gets accostumed to wearing a different way than the back rear. When you rotates the back to front it will traumatize the front end of the car.

jeprox · August 2002

"Regarding tire rotation. NEVER DO IT. NO need to. When front tires wear out just replace them. All tires on a car travel over a different path of the road therefore the tire wear is different for each one. The front right gets accostumed to wearing a different way than the back rear. When you rotates the back to front it will traumatize the front end of the car."

this is the first time i heard an explanation like yours! do u ever get your wheels aligned every few thousand miles/kms.?

truckdude · August 2002

I just took my 2000 LE in yesterday for 30k service and have them once again try and fix the creaking and popping sliding doors. Service manager said they just needed greased. Well, the minute I start driving home, they both started creaking loudly again, even worse since it was 90+ degrees out. 3 times they have tried to fix to no avail. These have been creaking since the day we bought it.

Anyway, does anyone have a fix for these creaking and popping sliding doors?!?!?!? We love this van but his is the one thing that really irritates us. 5 previous Toyotas with no rattles at all and this thing sounds like a 10 year old Dodge. Any suggestions appreciated!

flyrod1869 · August 2002

1999 Toytota Sienna minivan. Possessed! it locks the doors by itself, sometimes it unlocks, then locks the doors repeatedly, even when nobody is in it! It started a few months ago, then quit for a while and is now back with a vengeance. The good news is that I do not have to ever lock it! But when I unlock the doors, with a remote or the key, it activates the "theft deterrent system". 1999 Toyota Sienna minivan. Possessed! it locks the doors by itself, sometimes it unlocks, then locks the doors repeatedly, even when nobody is in it! It started a few months ago, then quit for a while and is now back with a vengeance. The good news is that I do not have to ever lock it! But when I unlock the doors, with a remote or the key, it activates the "theft deterrent system". This always gets looks in the parking lot. No help in the owners manual or from the dealers (on the telephone).
Please advise on what may be causing it, how to fix it, or at least how to temporarily "deactivate" the alarm system.

Sure I can take it into the shop, but I am asking for help BEFORE I take it in so I do not have to pay an excessive labor charge to pinpoint the problem.
I am sincerely grateful for your help, thanks!

rudy2000 · August 2002

We took our 2001 XLE six hundred miles round trip. 100+ degrees, both A/C blasting. No problems what so ever. The three liter has more than enough passing power. Even with a 6% grade, the van would go 80 MPH. The temp gage never moved. Our van is coming up on its first birthday, with just 3200 miles on the clock. Rudy

my381catnip · August 2002

Has anyone else had this problem with their sun visors.

On my 2001, when the sun visor is down and to the side - that is when blocking sun coming in the side window, the visor pivot is too loose. When I make a left turn, the visor swings around and hits me in the head. On one occasion making a hard left at a traffic light, my head was in just the right position where the visor swung around, knocked my clip-on sun glasses off, and knocked my eye glasses out of position. It's lucky that the shock and sudden reduction in vision due to suddenly looking out the wrong part of my glasses lens didn't cause me to mess up the turn and plow into the curb.

The passenger side has the same problem, though at least it only hits the passenger during right turns and is less of a safety hazard.

I did see any other entries on this subject in this message board, but with over 2,000 messages, it would be easy to miss, so if this is "old news" I appologise.

The dealer, Miller Toyota in Mannassas VA, has said that they will order new visors and replace them (no argument there), but the service folks do not think that will solve the problem as all of the new Sienna's on the lot seem to have much the same problem.

While this is not a busted suspension, fire hazard, etc., it would seem like a potential safety recall issue as the distraction and potential for knocking a driver's eye glasses off their face could potentially cause the driver to mess-up a turn and take out a pedestrian or another car.

It would also seem like a simple thing to fix - less lubrication, a tighter pivot tube (or however the pivot works), or maybe even a little goop stuffed into the pivit to increase friction.

Any comments, thoughts, suggestions?

I will probably have the dealer replace the visors as I did not notice the problem until the van was > 1 year old, so maybe the new visors will work better for a year. Then I may have to consider a home-grown solution such as trying to clog the mechanism with dust or using a tiny piece of velcro to hold the visor in place with pushed against the door frame area.

Thank you.

cliffy1 · August 2002

Let me guess... there is a non-Toyota alarm installed in this van right? I'm betting that is the culprit in your possessed van. Exorcism will require removing the offending hardware.

jeprox · August 2002

cliffy1, i have a question for u and its got nothing to do with siennas. coz u work for a dealer so i'm asking u!

hope it's ok.

i was told that toyota is limiting its dealers as to how many vehicles the dealer can order each month and this is creating a very long wait list for customers! the vehicles i'm referring to are the 03' corolla and matrix.

thank u.

cliffy1 · August 2002

Dealers have never been able to tell Toyota how many cars they want. Well, we can but it doesn't do much good. Toyota builds as many vehciles as they think there is a demand for or, as in the case of the Matrix and Corolla, as many as they can and allocates them to the dealers based upon each dealer's turn rate and units available. If a dealer has had a very slow turn rate relative to the rest of the region on Corollas, they will get very few allocated to them.

This is not a new situation. The Siennas used to be like this, as did the '96 and '97 4Runners. Toyota built them as quickly as they could but demand out paced production. Smaller dealers and dealers that didn't turn them quickly ended up with virtually nothing to sell.

flyrod1869 · August 2002

Hi, thanks for your reply, I wish it were an aftermarket alarm, but it came from the Toyota factory-- do you know how to "disarm" the factory alarm?
Thanks again, Flyrod

cliffy1 · August 2002

Are you sure its a genuine Toyota alarm? The reason I ask is because if you live in the Southeast, the regional distributor is not owned by Toyota and often installs aftermarket equipment. This equipment is included on the MSRP label so it looks like factory stuff. It isn't.

If not, I'm as stumped as you are.

jeprox · August 2002

thanks for the info.

deg856 · August 2002

I know what you mean. Our 2001 Sienna is my wife's daily driver, and I only drive it on the weekend. One time I drove the van with the visor deployed to block the sun coming in from the driver side window, and my wife warned me about the visor being loose enough to swing over in a turn. Being an all-knowing guy that I am, I immediately replied, "Nah, that CAN'T happen." Well, the visor swung over and hit me on the side of the head as soon as I made a turn! It did kind of startle me, but it didn't knock off my glasses. I don't if the passenger side visor does this since I've never used it. Somehow we never thought of getting that fixed.

San Jose, CA

sienna147 · August 2002

Sun visor pivots in my 2002 xle are also too loose. They were replaced by service-but no improvement. The dealer does not know anything else to do. Any suggestions?

flyrod1869 · August 2002

HI Cliffy1, thanks for your reply, I appreciate it. I checked the 1999 Sienna brochure, it states that a theft deterrent system is standard on the XLE, which is what I have. I bought it from a dealer in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Would it do anything to remove the battery terminals and then re-attach them?

By the way, today the demon is gone! My Sienna is very well behaved currently. I am sure it will come back to possess my Sienna very soon, as it has before.
Thanks again, Flyrod

cliffy1 · August 2002

I missed that fact that you have the XLE. Unfortunately, I have no suggestions.

eomckamey · August 2002

Every Toyota Service Dept. has a "manual" rel. VIP that details programing options for your syst. I recently installed a VIP (Toyota parts) in a 2002 Tacoma and there are all kinds of options/choices to be made...rel. how your system works. If you unlock/turn off the VIP armed system....via key or remote....and then you don't enter vehicle within about 15 secs....the doors will automatically relock themselves. In a nutshell, I recommend you go see a Toyota Service Dept. and ask to see their instructions rel. programing the various features on your system. They shouldn't charge you to look at the info and may even allow you to copy same....so you will have your own means to change some things. Good Luck.

carmi1 · August 2002

Our Toyota Sienna is less than 1 week old. Sometimes, when we start the engine and the a/c is on, we hear a 'crunching'/creaking type sound. Or when we turn the engine on and then we turn on the a/c, we hear that sound. It doesn't happen all the time, maybe once a day.
Does anyone know what is happening here?
Also, I've read a couple of people's comments regarding the loose visor. Can anyone point me to an answer to this problem as well? What message number? Thanks.

cliffy1 · August 2002

Its the AC starting up. I don't know why it only seems to do this upon start up, but it is normal.

Toyota Sienna Maintenance and Repair (2003 earlier)

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