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If you have an extended warranty, it should be covered. If you don't you might be stuck. In my mind, parts like this should fail only after many, many years of service, and $900 to replace the struts is a total rip off. Find out what the parts cost at the service counter at your Toyota dealership, then visit another dealership and see what their parts cost. At most, with a novice mechanic, it should take no longer than an hour of billable time to replace the struts.
Filing the report with nhtsa is the first step. Just because the campaign was only for the power hatch does not mean the struts in your vehicle can't have the same defect. This would be a latent defect, BTW, and ultimately should be covered free of charge. Because Toyota had the problem with power hatch cars, they should anticipate the problem with all vehicles using the same pressure cartridge.
Good luck.
you can also go to different toyota dealers - if there are more in your area.
good luck!
Try another dealer?
The warranty is good for another year but it seems to be a delay for getting an expensive repair done. What could this problem be? Should I go to another Toyota dealer? Anyone else have a problem like this?
I would at least save the documentation that says you reported the problem while still under warranty.
I suspect the new struts have an "extra" oomph to keep them from failing as soon as the earlier ones. When the weather gets hot, the cartridges get hot and the fluid inside expands causing them to put out more force than normal. Whether the motor is too weak, or the new cartridges are too strong is a matter of semantics because depending on how you look at it, both statements are true.
Best thing you can do is contact the NHTSA site and file a complaint. The more inquiries they get, the more likely Toyota will fix it under a recall. This is what happened with the struts in the first place.
Good luck.
I have documentation that I reported the hatch problem.
I am going to try another dealer.
I will certainly complain to NHTSA and the Toyota zone people.
I live in Florida and by mid day the hatch not closing properly is very consistant. When they pull the van into an air conditioned shop the problem goes away but when they see the problem outside they tell me they have to take it inside to diagnose the problem and then they can not do so.
Will report back on this later. Thanks for the replies.
I remember receiving the recall notice or safety advisory (or something similar) two years ago and unfortunately cannot find it now...I also ignored it because we weren't experiencing a problem.
I called the Toyota recall number and they did confirm there was a recall on the hatch rear strut supports but said it didn't apply to my VIN and wouldn't give me any additional info about the recall. They recommended calling a dealer to see if it was still under warranty. My nearest dealer said the part was no longer covered because my extended warranty applies to power train only. Another service station will fix it for $350 parts/labor, Toyota wanted just over $400.
Go to the NHTSA website and look up action number EA06020, related to the investigation they did on the automatic hatches. They closed the investigation because Toyota did the recall. I will be filing a complaint with the NHTSA...it is ridiculous that the recall only affected the auto-hatches, as it is the same part that is going out on the Sienna's without the auto-hatch.
Catch 22 here. When it was cold the struts would not hold up the rear door. Replace that and then the motors were too weak to overcome the gas struts but only above 80 - 85. Worked fine in the 70's or below. I would have lived with the problem instead of even paying even for the correct fix for the $750. But with the extended warranty I had to stand up for my rights and I got them eventually.
The rear hatch now opens uncontrolled. It opens all the way relatively faster now and stops with couple of thuds. I believe this is not normal stopping but the service person is insists that this is normal with the new strut.
I looked at the new Sienna at the dealers lot. In the new van, the hatch initially opens rather quickly but it slows down towards the end.
Can someone guide me if the service guy is right or wrong?
We purchased our 2008 Sienna LE in November when temperatures were between mid 70's to low 80's in the Houston area. As temperatures warmed up in the following months to mid/upper 90's we noted that every time we touched this "rubber-like" handle our fingers came back with a black and sticky residue that could only be removed with soap and water.
It would seem- just like asphalt on a road in the heat of the summer- this handle is simply becoming a gel during the hot summer months. Wonder if this design was considered only in northern portions of the country.
Just found the time to visit with a local Toyota parts department about the issue and surprisingly, while they have had customers come in with similar complaints, they truly do not have a remedy or alternative available. While in the showroom, I decided to inspect the handle on a 2011 Sienna, and low and behold, it is the same material.
Am I to presume that all Sienna owners out there (primarily those with manually opened hatch doors) simply accept this and go about the rest of their day with black and sticky fingers?
Just wondering how many of you in this forum have experienced this and what remedies you may have come across if any. I'm thinking about installing a strip of cloth or something similar that can withstand the outdoor environment but think this remedy is a bit overboard given the value of this vehicle.
I have an 07 LE, for reference.
I am putting Velcro over the rubber strip in hopes it will stick and keep my fingers clean for a while. This is a much cheaper alternative to a replacement of the entire latch mechanism. Hope it works. Have lots of Velcro.
I have a 2004 Sienna and has the same hatch rear strut supports problem as your (without auto-hatch) . How did you get it resolve?
I went to another dealer, almost 30 miles away. The service guy took the part number of the strut installed in my Sienna and then compared the part with the parts department. He told me that the Strut installed in my sienna is wrong one, the first dealer has installed the strut for 2009+ sienna.
He asked me to go back to the first dealer to get the correct part installed. I will provide update next week.
I