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Toyota Sienna Electrical Problems

2

Comments

  • hershghershg Member Posts: 2
    No, but, this sounds crazy, rapping your knuckles on the display when the radio gets into a bad state seems to "fix" it.
  • toyotagtstoyotagts Member Posts: 1
    It sounds like you need to replace the light bulbs in the dash. It is not that hard. There are about 3 screws that you have to take out, one to the left of the steering, look up, and 2 over by the radio, in which you have to pull the plastic off there. Then the rest of the dash pops out. Then you will remove 4 screws to the display. The light bulbs that light the display are the large green screws like fixtures. The bulbs are haligens that pull out of the fixtures. There are 4 bulbs total for this area. The Air flow area is a bit more tricky. You have to remove the screws for control area, the dash will already be out of your way if you do both at the same time. There are 3 bulbs, smaller, in this area. The little push button switches have their own bulbs that you have to purchase at the dealer. The other bulbs you can buy at any auto parts store and at wal mart. Let me know if you have any trouble with this and I will be glad to help.
  • ukmommaukmomma Member Posts: 1
    My 2005 Sienna's inside lights stopped working in the van- except the front ones - but none work any longer when doors open.
    Husband tried fuse - it is ok.
    Any other ideas?
  • lovemysienna2lovemysienna2 Member Posts: 1
    All other lights work. The 10 amp fuse under the steering wheel blows immediately when I put in a new fuse.

    Any advice on what to look for or change?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    There must be a short in the wiring that goes to that light.

    Take it (the taillight) out and clean it up, see if there's any dampness there. Check the bulb itself as well.

    I'm far from an electrical expert but I had a radio that kept doing that, and the solution was to replace the radio.
  • ccity1ccity1 Member Posts: 1
    My front speakers blew out a few months ago... It wasn't a volume issue, they just slowly - and seperately - chose to go... I had them replaced, and soon after my radio decided to work sometimes and then cut out (although the display stays on as if it is working fine).

    But now I can't get any sound at all (though still the same situation with the display) ... The radio 1 and 2 fuses behind the ashtray are fine... could the amp be blown?
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    That might mean you had DC, Direct Current, flowing through the speakers as the amp was in the process of failing.
  • druzilla1977druzilla1977 Member Posts: 1
    So over the past year or so, my wife and I have noticed a problem with the radio volume. Occasionally, the volume will increase on its own and can not be turned down using the knob on the radio itself. You must use the volume control on the steering wheel. The dealership can not duplicate the problem and says that they've checked all the wiring and it seems to be hooked up correctly. I've talked to others in the waiting room at the dealership with the same issue and results. Any suggestions on how to go about fixing this problem?
  • regina92regina92 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2000 sienna and the problem started about a year ago, when I would turn my headlights on with the switch ob the column, I got nothing, but if I turned it back one click they would turn on fully, i just did not have any bright lights,but then all of a sudden it stopped working out of the blue.... the headlights do not come on at all......what do I do???
  • momstruck1momstruck1 Member Posts: 206
    I have a 2004 sienna and the lights in the rear dont go on when opening the power door but only on the passengers side . When I open the doors on the drivers side they work fine .. Any idea what that is all about ??
  • rkamath1rkamath1 Member Posts: 1
    cassiejane,

    Thank you so much!!! Your info on the odometer switch saved me a lot of stress and money.

    I used to wonder a lot of times why people put in so much time and effort in posting on forums. Today, it actually ended up helping me (thanks to you)!
  • walebankwalebank Member Posts: 3
    I think my wife left the headlights or door out for hours and the our 1999 Toyota Sienna van would not start. I took the battery out to recharge at Autozone. Put back the battery and the car started but all dashboard lights including the gauges (speed, fuel) are not working. My wife took it to a mechanic and he tried to replace some fuses (10. 30) in the engine fusebox but the kept blowing up. He told us to take it to check wiring? Can have some suggestions on what to do before I get over charges? Thanks and God bless.
  • walebankwalebank Member Posts: 3
    Need to add that the AC, power windows, Radio are not working as well. The vehicle also lost power as I was exiting from freeway. I had it in park and it started again. But signal, dashboard lights, AC, radio, power windows etc are not working. Alternator problem?
  • batavia02batavia02 Member Posts: 38
    edited June 2011
    we have a 2010 sienna purchased 11-09 brand new 2 months agothe power door locks on drivers door quit, now we have a dead battery,my wife jumped it from our other car let it run for 20 mins charging came back home last nite and it was dead again, it has 38000 miles on it dealer said it is battery,i should not have to replace a battery at 38000 miles so much for toyota reliabilty i am going back to gm , has anyone else had a battery issue
  • blarablara Member Posts: 1
    Can you please detail the steps to remove the fuse block? I am having exactly the same problem with my 99 Sienna. I have removed the knee bolster and can see the fuse block, but am not sure how to remove the fuse block to access the relay integration attached at the back of the fuse block.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    In favor of FE newer design batteries are made as light and small as reasonably possible, so 38,000 miles of service might be as expected. Also depends largely on the number and depth of charge/discharge cycles.

    New battery is ~$80 at Costco.
  • isabella3isabella3 Member Posts: 1
    A couple of weeks ago my dash light went off but headlights etc were on. Now - thanks to a fuse the dash lights are on. Now the headlights won't come on. two relays next to battery were changes, fuses checked - ok headlamps replaced - ok but no lights. Is thre another resistor to check yet
    Sincerely
    Eileen Rutledge
  • jclarkclocksjclarkclocks Member Posts: 2
    The lights on the cluster do not work correctly with the headlight switch in the auto position. The speedometer pointer lights up firts and the background lights up slowly and stays on for about two seconds then goes off. Sometimes with the headlight switch in the manual on position the backlight on the cluster is on-sometimes not. Is this likely a problem on the cluster board or a problem with the headlight switch?
  • jclarkclocksjclarkclocks Member Posts: 2
    The trip odometer is also a dimmer for the instrument cluster. I was surprised that the dash lights came full on at start then dimmed. Works fine now.
  • aman2aman2 Member Posts: 1
    Hi,
    my 03 sienna stopped a few days ago, i had jump started it. it stopped again yesterday, couldn't jump start it. the lights inside are turning on and off very fast (flickering) and something in the tape players making noise (sounds like it is running). i replaced a 15amp fuse (power outlet), but no change. the battery is less than a year old. any idea what i should do?
    Thanks
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Sounds like the alternator is bad - not re-charging the battery.

    Once you start it, drive it for a while, to give it time to recharge. Also check to see if the fluid levels in the battery itself are good, and if not, add distilled water.

    I topped off the battery on my '07, took a long drive, and a similar issue disappeared completely.
  • sneidfeldtsneidfeldt Member Posts: 2
    This has happened several times now. We start up the car and everything starts up fine, but our radio and air conditioning doesn't turn on for about a minute or two. We haven't checked the lights or wipers during the delay, but will do so next time. Any ideas as to what could be the problem?

    It only happens when the car is started up.
  • teenage_carteenage_car Member Posts: 1
    1998 toyota sienna, about 220k miles. Intermittently, the van would not start, not crank, no nothing (for the last ~3 mos). Now it's not starting any more at all. Battery is good. Shop says that the starter motor is not getting power, not sure why still investigating... (broken cables?)
    Symptoms: Control lights come on when I turn the key, but not the "check engine" light. Also out is the little light circle around the gear you are in (like "P"). Other electrical issues have been creeping up over the years, not sure if related? Driver side power window will sometimes get stuck, have to wait 3-5 minutes and then it will pull all the way up. Light on the speedometer (right side) of dashboard has been out for about 2 years, 12V power connectors (front middle and back on the side of car) will no longer charge reliably, again this is about 2-3 yr old issue, ... The other day I dropped off sth at a friends house, had car idling in driveway and when I shut the tail gate, the motor stuttered and stopped.
    It's been a reliable car and I want it back in business! Is this something that a dealer shop needs to look at? Where can I get a wiring diagram? Thanks for your consideration!!!
  • sopmansopman Member Posts: 46
    edited October 2011
    I have a 2006 Sienna. There are two power adapters on the dash and one in the back. One of the two on the dash and the back power adapters do not work. Does anyone know where the fuse is located?
  • toyotafan86toyotafan86 Member Posts: 1
    I have the same problem on my 2004 Sienna. Did anyone offer suggestions?
  • sneidfeldtsneidfeldt Member Posts: 2
    No one responded. But the Toyota dealership ended up finding it. I don't know the precise relay switch but it was a relay switch under the hood that connected the radio and heat. The crazy thing is just a few weeks ago our dashboard was flipping out. That was another relay switch that needed to be replaced - one that was under the dashboard making a clicking sound.
  • sopmansopman Member Posts: 46
    You're right no one responded.
    A switch that connects the radio and heater has something to do with the power adpter?
  • chanlichanli Member Posts: 1
    Hello,

    There is a continuous clicking sound from my 2000 sienna when it's parked in garage, engine is off, key is out and doors are closed. At the same time I found I can not start the car, and the door light is quite dim.
    Later I found the sound is from Head Relay, and if I turn the headlight switch to 'off', the sound will be gone.

    What could be the root cause of this? The battery is about 4 years old, and I think it's time to replace, but is the dead battery causing the click, or the click causes the dead battery?

    Thanks,
    chan
  • rav4pdxrav4pdx Member Posts: 1
    edited August 2012
    I have encountered the same issue with my 2010 Rav4. Every now and then, the volume will increase for no reason. The times I have noticed this is when I'm shifting into reverse from being in either Park or Drive. My RAV4 does not have steering wheel controls for the radio, so I'm not sure what might be causing the conflict.

    My pre-owned RAV4 was a rental car for a year, so I thought maybe there were some restrictions put on the volume of the radio (as it seems to be fairly quiet even with the volume cranked to 20+). But I find it interesting that there are others out there with similar issues.
  • bobsurfshopbobsurfshop Member Posts: 1
    replace the starter contacts, no need to remove the complete starter, just the head.
  • szinkieszinkie Member Posts: 3
    Did you happen to get your Sienna Van left turn issue resolved?? I have a 1998 Toyota Sienna van also and when I turn left the map lights come on, the panel shows door ajar (LED) and if the doors were locked, they become unlocked (click noise). Once you straighten wheel and go straight all becomes normal and map lights turn off, etc. This NEVER happens when turning RIGHT.

    Any ideas for fixes out there ??????

    THanks,

    Z
  • szinkieszinkie Member Posts: 3
    Did you happen to get your Sienna Van left turn issue resolved?? I have a 1998 Toyota Sienna van also and when I turn left the map lights come on, the panel shows door ajar (LED) and if the doors were locked, they become unlocked (click noise). Once you straighten wheel and go straight all becomes normal and map lights turn off, etc. This NEVER happens when turning RIGHT.

    Any ideas for fixes out there ??????

    THanks,

    Z
  • martin152martin152 Member Posts: 2
    edited December 2012
    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.

    I hope this helps someone.
  • szinkieszinkie Member Posts: 3
    Hey Martin152..

    Thank you very much for your reply. I just went out to our van to look at the doors (driver/passenger) and i see the 1/2" protrusion of the metal on the doors.. One of the protrusions I think "may" be slightly dented in. I will also take a look at the sliding doors.

    From another posting, since my issue is on the left turns, the other poster seemed to think the issue may be on the passenger side to the centrifical force .. He thought with the left turn, the driver side would probably not be the problem as this side would have more force on the door itself.

    I guess for all that matters I could do your solution on every door just to see if this fixes the problem. If it does i could start to take off cardboard from one door at a time..

    Thanks for the time man..

    Z
  • northbrook4northbrook4 Member Posts: 3
    We've had issues with our 2011 Sienna and the battery being drained. Problems have ocurred for over a year. The first battery went bad at 10K miles. The dealer said it was just a bad cell but even since then we've had to have the van jumped 5 times. We are conscious to not leave anything on after the engine is turned off but it seems like it takes very little to drain the battery (Opened the back hatch and side doors to load the van for an hour and it wouldn't start this week). Took it to the dealer and they checked the battery and alternator and both were fine. They hooked a voltage meter to see if any of the electrical systems were not shutting down properly and that was not the issue. Dealer states you can't leave the doors open for any length of time (Even to pack the van for a vacation) or even run the radio for 30 minutes with out the engine on. This seems rediculous. The 2 year old van with 20K miles has proven to be very unreliable and the dealer has no solutions.

    Has anyone run into similar problems or solutions?
  • honyokerhonyoker Member Posts: 6
    Hey Northbrook4...I just started searching on behalf of my son, he has an '11 Sienna and the battery's getting drained, so I thought I'd do some online searching for others with the same problem. Caveat...they got an after-market remote start system installed and I suspect the problem MAY lay therein, but they've got an appt. at the Toyota dealership this week to get it diagnosed/fixed. I'll post here any solutions they discover.
  • northbrook4northbrook4 Member Posts: 3
    Thanks honyoker, we don't have an engine starter. We have the van back and the dealer couldn't find any issues. We even had them keep it over the weekend to see if it would drain. Even with zero degrees overnight it started. The service manager did admit that this was not the first complaint on this issue with newer loaded sienna's......good luck!
  • jkozachekjkozachek Member Posts: 1
    We have also had similar problems with our 2008 Toyota Sienna. I would certainly appreciate hearing any ideas anyone may have. We've been through 4 or 5 batteries and the car is so unreliable that my wife will no longer drive it.
  • walebankwalebank Member Posts: 3
    If your battery is draining and you went to Autozone or similar places and they tell you nothing is wrong with your battery, then it might be the alternator. You can always have autozone or Oreilly check your vehicle to see if they can diagonize the problem. It is free!
  • honyokerhonyoker Member Posts: 6
    Update today 1/23...the dealership (whom I trust, they're VERY knowledgeable, thorough, been with them for years, I know the service writers, etc. etc.) said they could not find anything wrong with the battery or diagnose any problem or defect in the van, so we're still hanging. They did put a new battery in at no charge.
    The next things we'll look at are:
    #1. When I went to my son's house to get the van to take it to Toyota, I found one of the little ceiling-mounted courtesy lights on, right above where the 2 year old sits in his booster seat. THAT would do it, but he wasn't big/tall enough to get to that light when they had the first battery drain issue 6 months ago. Toyota put in a new battery at that time.
    #2. I'm going to try to find a meter that I can hook-up at the battery to show how much current is being drawn from the battery at any given time when the engine is turned off. There will be some parasitic draw what with the computers in it and I'll find out from Toyota if there's a standard range of amp-hours that they expect. Then I'll be able to tell if there's a greater draw, hopefully even if it's intermittent, and go from there.

    I'll post anything I come up with .
  • honyokerhonyoker Member Posts: 6
    edited January 2013
    Another update, found link title

    It also refers to 2 TSB's that might apply. I'm going to check if they apply to junior's van and if the Toyota guys were aware of these.
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    I'm going to try to find a meter that I can hook-up at the battery to show how much current is being drawn from the battery at any given time when the engine is turned off.

    Unfortunately, this is not an easy task. Ammeters need to be in SERIES with the circuit in order to read current draw. If you simply put this at the battery terminal, you will subject the meter to the full several hundred amp draw of the starter. Tough finding a meter that can handle that, yet still read fine scale milliamps for an overnight test. Same with a shunt type arrangement that's typically used for starter motor testing.

    The better way is to not include the heavy wire that goes to the starter motor, and only tap into the wiring that goes to the underhood junction box and beyond. Now at least you keep the peak current down below 100 amps (below 50 if you are careful what you turn on in your testing).

    What you want to avoid is any meter arrangement where you have to break the circuit in order to insert the meter, as this interruption will no doubt change the very nature of what you are trying to test. For instance, if it's a subsystem on-board computer issue and you turn it off and back on, it might not now respond as it might have thru the course of a normal engine shutdown.

    As you are probably aware, there are certain systems that act in a 'stepdown' mode after shutdown. Some things don't go to sleep for 20 minutes or so. Other things, like the Evap Monitor (an OBD-II test), don't come alive until approximately 5 hours after shutdown. Unless you put a chart recorder on the ammeter, it's unlikely you will see all that is going on.
  • honyokerhonyoker Member Posts: 6
    Hey fibber2, thank you very much for the head-up's.
    Here's my plan for the ammeter...all testing to be done with the engine off, disconnect the negative battery terminal, apply the contact probes of the ammeter to get a baseline amps reading. If things are working correctly, there should be a minimum specified/acceptable range of draw for the computer(s) as long as nothing unexpected is pulling current. I'll get a idea of that baseline from the Toyota techs.
    If the draw is greater than it should be, we start individually pulling fuses and cateloging the readings for each one, hopefully narrowing down the circuit that's affected.
    And yes, I'm aware of the evap monitor and the "step-down" modes (i.e. some Ford trucks have 30 minute step-downs), and planned on having the van shut-off and untouched for an hour before we start.
    Again, thanks so much, and any other thoughts and advice are appreciated. Regards, honyoker
  • northbrook4northbrook4 Member Posts: 3
    Update: After getting the all clear (Battery, Alternator & slow drag) from the Dealer last weekend I was especially cognizant to make sure all lights were off this week and that the fans and stereo were turned off before I turned off the engine. Van started struggling to start by thursday and by the time we tried to start the van up on Saturday morning it was dead yet again. I only drive about 3.5 miles one way to drop off kids and head to work so I don't know if I'm just not giving the alternator enough time to re-charge the battery?....Still Frustrated and starting to wish I had bought the Honda.

    P.S. My dealer did test to see if there was any battery draw after it was shutdown and mentioned that a certain draw was normal and that my van was in the normal range.

    Z
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Depending on the exact conditions of those cold starts and that short 3.5 mile drive, you may indeed be guilty of taking out more than you are putting in.

    A cold start load could pull up to 400 amps. Accepted, it's a brief duration at that draw rate, but it's from a chemical conversion and not an unlimited current source.

    While your alternator may be rated at a lofty 130-150 amps, that assumes the engine is spinning at 2k RPM or so. If it is a low speed drive with some stop & go, and you have lights and fans running, you might not be putting much back into the battery at all. Plus, given that you have to put back something like 2-3X or more to equal what you took out (energy conversion efficiency), you might be running in depletion mode all the time.

    Experiment. Drive a few extra miles each night before coming home. Some high speed driving would be a plus. Do this for a week and see if things are any better.
  • honyokerhonyoker Member Posts: 6
    Have you checked the water level in the battery...if necessary add distilled water, NOT tap or bottled water. Just a thought.
  • jhogejhoge Member Posts: 3
    I came across this forum when I was doing a search on issues that I am having with my vehicle. I have a 2006 Sienna with automatic sliding doors. I have been having battery draining issues and dome lights that are on even when the switch at the front is set to OFF. I actually leave that switch to off permanently because I've been through 2 batteries in 2 years due to the battery draining when I didn't realize the dome lights and the running lights were staying on. I pulled the lightbulb out of the running lights so it wouldn't be on all the time.

    In November of last year, the sliding doors malfunctioned and injured by 8 year old. The retraction system was not working and it hit her waist/hip, her shoulder, and then hit her face, ending up with a gash above her eye, needing stitches. (I created a blog about it here: http://toyotamalfunction.blogspot.com)

    I didn't think that the electrical issues could have been related to the malfunction on the retraction system. Something to consider.
  • jhogejhoge Member Posts: 3
    ...and after reading all of the posts here, I went to check the radio. The radio works fine, but the DVD player button won't work. It won't switch to DVD from the radio.
  • honyokerhonyoker Member Posts: 6
    northbrook4 you still here?
    My son's van, like your, checked-out "OK" with the dealer AGAIN, but we didn't get any specifics as usual. He's asked for a "file" to be opened with Toyota (a specific process for unresolvable complaints/problems) wherein eventually Toyota will assign some sort of "master mechanic" who will come in, examine every test the dealer's done and dig further into the matter to get it corrected. In the meantime, son and I will be doing our own disagnostics with my new multimeter. We'll keep you posted.
  • brywybrywy Member Posts: 2
    Had a hole in signal lens on right signal light burned out socket for bulb ...replaced socket still no signal lights checked fuses. Signal lights do not come on flashers do not work. Indicator lights in dash do not work. Cannot even hear clicking noise.
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