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Dealer suggested I just remove everything power in the door and convert to manual for $200. , which is what I chose. I have already left a complaint on the DOT site. My car is a Florida car, kept in clean environment, but subject to the humidity that is north Florida.
Thanks for all of the postings! I traded the Sienna in before the doors all fell off. Best of luck in your trials with the Toyota Customer Appreciation Program.
Palmers' Airport Toyota Scion Tundra Tacoma Sequoia Land Cruiser Highlander FJ Cruiser Mobile Alabama
Our van is only three years old / 50K miles, and on the drivers side the door seal came off completely and landed on my daughter as she was getting out. On the passenger side, it's just falling off in bits here and there so that you can hear lots of wind noise while driving.
We have 100,000 b2b and it's not covered because "it is part of the trim," it's "only cosmetic" and "not a safety issue."
:P
I looked recently and noticed Lambda pricing (that's the Enclave plus it's 3 siblings) have not dropped as much as some competitors.
If you're shopping in that segment check out the Subaru Tribeca, Mazda CX9, and Hyundai Veracruz. Their prices have dropped dramatically.
Best of luck.
Thanks.
Toyota seems no more interested in taking responsibility for this issue than they did in the rear hatch struts problem, but persistent complaints did eventually result in a recall on that, and I'm hoping the same might apply here. I encourage everyone having this issue to call Toyota Customer Service (1-800-331-4331) to lodge a complaint -- that gets it documented with the company -- and also file a report with the NHTSA (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov) to increase the likelihood that a recall will be issued. (If you haven't had a repair done yet with 'courtesy assistance' from Toyota -- ie, they pay a portion of your repair bill for an out-of-warranty repair -- they might be willing to pay up to 50% of the cost of this repair, so it's worth asking about that when you call their customer service #. They wouldn't do it for me since we already had 'courtesy assistance' with the hatch repair issue prior to its recall -- which seems more than a bit absurd to me, given that it wouldn't have counted against us if we had just put up with the hatch crushing us for 2 years until they got around to issuing a recall -- but it's worth asking.)
The following day, the driver side refused to open, but unlike the passenger side, there isn't any sound or attempt made to open. I tried pushing on the opener button on the b post and it pushed in and remains in. Neither door now opens electronically. I can muscle them both open, but would like to get them fixed. I'm sure it's a pricey fix. Any thoughts?
Ironically, I was greeted at the dealership with a large poster: "Quality -- Durability -- Reliability -- Toyota! Ask Someone Who Drives One!" Nice slogan -- now if only they'd live up to it. :sick:
Thanks for your reply. Actually I've taken my van to two dealerships. The first was where a friend of mine works in parts. His master mechanic right away mentioned the mid center hinge was worn out. Which is a fact. At this point I can't afford not to replace the hinge. Even if I left the door to operate in manual mode my issue would still be the mid center hinge. The hinge needs to be replaced no mattter what ! Is just unfortunate that after 40K miles the wear/tear on this hinge would be so apparent. It's my belief that toyota failed to use the proper metal treatment and type of metal for the hinge. In your case it seems that your hinges are still in good shape, which will allow you to operate the door manually.
I completely agree that Toyota appears to have cut too many corners on the materials and structural designs used, both here and elsewhere, as evidenced by the string of early failures associated with this van. It's particularly a shame because until the last few years I would have been the first to praise Toyota's consistent durability, reliability, and stellar customer service. I don't think my family has ever owned a Toyota we didn't easily get 250k+ miles out of with minimal major service issues aside from the routine repairs and maintenance you'd expect (brakes, etc) in a high-mileage vehicle. I bought this van hoping to drive it myself for 10 years as our main family vehicle and then use it to teach my daughter to drive (what safer vehicle than one this size, with side air bags!) But at this point I'm skeptical that it'll last that long, unfortunately.
PLease submit a complaint to the NHTSA. This is the only way something will be done.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/index.cfm
Last year dealer told us that it happens once in a while and it happened only 3 times. so far this year it has happened 3 times in the last month, it appears to be getting worse.
Dealer is now telling me i need new weatherstripping around the doors. If this works great, if not its a waste of money.
I claimed lemon law, for safety issues but by the time it got around to court, it was summer time and I gid not have issues in summer time, only winter when it froze.
So my attorney said court would win because as of sept my "problem was fixed" and it had not occurred since my February repair.
SOOOOO with $2,500 to attorny and $500 for my HASSLE,
The passenger side door cable that broke was quoted by the dealer (Schaumburg Toyota) as $1,389 plus tax to fix. I called Toyota customer care again to complain about spending $3,200 in 60 days on repairing these doors. Toyota offered to give me a one time Courteously credit of 50% of the cost of the door repair. I have to pay Schaumburg Toyota the full amount and then fax in the receipts and 6-8 weeks later, I will get a check back from Toyota. This is still not satisfactory but it at least is better than paying the full amount. In addition to the door problems the ignition coils must be replace at a cost of $700.00. All this expense $4,000.00 in the last 60 days for a car with 51K. Not what I was expecting from Toyota!!!
Let me know if this works. I have given up hope but I think we all should file formal complaints with Toyota and the NHTSA.
but with Toyota, you never can never believe what the serbvice people tell you./
So far I have not had any problems, but then again,,, we are just getting into the cold weather in New jersey.
The other thing I'm changing is my tires for 3rd time after 38,000 miles, the AWD is $$$ a $1,000 + to change all my tires
automatic door would not work. They wanted to replace the latch mechinisim for $800 cdn. I looked at the latch and found a small plastic bushing had broke. This
bushing pulls a cable (inside the door) that releases the rear of the door permiting it to open the door. When the bushing is broken the door cycles to open but
since the rear latch has not been released the door stays shut. After a
number of tries the thin open/close cable ends up snapping. Watch out for flying parts when this cable breaks as they will take an eye out should they hit you. see my earlier posts. I am very suprised that this rear latch is not interlocked so that the door would not cycle unless that latch has been confirmed to have been released but obviously they tried to save a few bucks. I am going to fix the latch myself and save the $800 bucks. Right now I have the small latch cover off and can
open the door using a screw driver to release the rear latch and then
pressing the door open button. When they say they adjusted the door latch I
really dont know whats inside to adjust. Take a look at the bolts at the rear of the door when open. make sure they are not loose as if they are the cable will break. These bolts secure a small pulley that the open/close cable runs around out of the door.
I'm just a bit upset about this.. Do I remove the latch to open this thing to see for myself what is wrong with this door? Is it possible a fuse is out?
thank you in advance....
I just wanted to let everyone here, especially the Canadians, know that we too, have had some major issues with the doors freezing shut. We are dealing with an excellent dealer and are trying to move this forward. A meeting in January will be taking place and we want to make sure Toyota hears this message. I have just started a blog to discuss this and collect information. I would greatly appreciate it if the Canadians would go to this blog, read what's happening and please leave a comment regarding your complaint.
We have seals that are going to be replace in the next week or two. I'm crossing my fingers, but I'm not so sure that's going to be a permanent fix. Fortunately, our dealer witnessed all the problems we were having and they are being great in getting this worked on. Here is the link to the blog: http://toyotasiennafrozendoors.blogspot.com/
Let's see how many people can express their stories, before the meeting in January.
Thank you very much for your help and cooperation in getting this dealt with, quickly.....I hope.
Carol
Here are 1693 posts about transmission problems for the Grand Caravan:
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ee93e7a/0
If you read enough of these threads, you may end up buying tennis shoes!
This is a safety issue. Not being able to access your babies in the back of the vehicle, or able to get them into a vehicle with freezing temperatures outside, is truly a safety issue.
Once again, for those wanting to make a difference, please stop by the blog. link title
Thank you,
Carol
Major inconvenience? Yes. Unsafe? Not really.
My Sienna was purchased in part by the safety rating. If this van can not live up to that rating, then Toyota should be on the hook to repair it at their cost.
In a crash you're better off with all doors closed, locked even.
The van gets its safety rating based on all of the doors operating
That's more than a stretch. IIHS and NHTSA/NCAP give out safety ratings that would not at all be affected by a door that didn't operate properly.
It's very inconvenient, yes. But unsafe? How will someone be harmed by a non-moving door?
If it were pinching body parts, that would be a different story.
I have, personally, been in a car accident where the front passenger door would not open because of the electronic locking system. The driver's door was hit, but the passenger side was not. We were unable to get out the passenger side, leaving us to crawl to the back to get out. Fortunately, the car did not catch fire and we got out safely. We were not hauling babies around, so we didn't have that issue to deal with, thankfully.
If you are unable to get back into your vehicle, in -20 to -40 C temperatures, because your doors have frozen shut, and it's nearly impossible to crawl over the front seat to buckle babies into their spots, it is a safety issue. If you have gotten into a vehicle accident, and you can't get out of your seat to get your children out of their buckled in seats, and those standing by trying to help can't climb over you to get to your children....that's a safety issue.
If you have a child who gets car sick and you need to pull over, it is possibly not a safety issue, but it's a very inconvenient issue to not be able to get them out of the vehicle. Yes, we carry a bucket with us and know the routine, but it's not necessary to be so inconvenienced by our doors locking us to the point we can't get out of the vehicle.
At this point in time, all our issues have been covered by our dealer. As I said earlier, we have a great dealership we are working with and I am very grateful for that.
Carol