Did you recently rush to buy a new vehicle before tariff-related price hikes? A reporter is looking to speak with shoppers who felt pressure to act quickly due to expected cost increases; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com for more details by 4/24.
Toyota Sienna Maintenance and Repair (2004+)
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Dealer should check to be sure the electric radiator cooling fan(s) are working, and at full speed, and I would change out the thermostat and the water jacket temperature sensor just for grins.
If the radiator cooling fans don't come on early enough in the engine (over) heating cycle the water temperature will go into overheat just as you describe.
About 1 month ago, the transmission problem happened again and the car could not shift properly since then. And the second day, engine light turned on. I drove the car to a close Toyota dealer (Toyota on Front in Toronto), they spend a whole day to diagnose the car, and said Pressure Control Solenoid needs to be replace, and they ordered it from Japan and might take more than 1 week to be delivered. I asked for the option of getting a loaner car from them. They refused to do so, I called Toyota Canada, and got the same answer. So I waited for 10 days to get the Solenoid delivered from Japan, and had to pay car rental fees by myself. After they replaced the Solenoid, nothing changed, the car still had problem. So they ordered another part from another dealer from Toronto, after they replaced that part, the transmission was still not working. So they finally got approval from Toyota Canada to go ahead to replace the Transmission. I have been really disappointed with the service from Toyota on Front, their altitude (especially the manager), and the quality of the new Sienna.
The most important thing is to collect and organize all the document and evidences. I had all the service records and few pictures that proves how lousy the warranty services, performed by their dealership, were. After settling, I ordered a new van from the other dealership and received a new van few months later. It takes a lot of patience, effort and time to go through the process. The Dodge was about 3 years old and had about 38000 miles by the time we got the new exchange.
Good luck.
Regarding the solenoid valve replacement, someone in the Engine Hesitation forum is getting ready to have the same thing done. We were counting on this being a real fix of the problem, so your experience is a little disappointing. I wonder if something else more serious was involved with your transmission that led them to repalce the whole thing? What exactly were the conditions you were experiencing when you took it in after the solenoid replacement? Let us know how the new tranny works.
Take a look at how the seats are hooked into the floor at the front of the seats before you remove them so you'll know how to put them back. The instructions you need are on pages 74 through 79 of the 2005 manual.
We also have 4 other MAJOR additional problems with this car and have Arbitration scheduled for tomorrow. WIsh us luck!
Nov 21, 2003, TSB TC007-03 TC3001 .8 T1 26 T2 99 89661-09101
April 18, 2005, TSB 1307 (ECM Calibration Update - Shifting Enhancement)
I wondered the TSB they applied on April 18, 2005 might be the new one, which is the same or similar to the one applied to Lexus ES330? I hope there will be somebody who can confirm this.
If so, I got a new Transmission and new TSB applied, I hope I will be OK for a while.
There is no solution to any of the problems!
The service is horrible.
The transmission has problems, the heating and a/c, the doors and liftgate, the tires, the moonroof, the dvd player, the seats(casing,seatbelt,and strength), the dashboard, the normal doors, the trim, and even the glove box!
The only thing they have done is change the oil and fix the 3rd row!
This is service you'd expect from a $100 used car not a $40k plus car
It is coming time to just ditch it before it ditches us!
Toyota has do perform a miracle for us to keep this car, or to even think of getting a car from either Lexus or Toyota.
They have lost every once of respect from us and might never get it back!
Major :lemon:
Two days before I put it in the shop the emission light came on. Need a new catalytic converter........In the shop it goes they found "additional codes" and not only does it need the hydrolic brake booster but the accuator. Additional $1100.00. Will it be the computer next? How could it show one code than another? I'd like to get rid of this lemon!!! I'll never buy another Toyota again.
Thanks for letting me vent. I feel better
Don't spend the extra bucks for the traction control.
If you value your life and that of your passengers.
My biggest complaints about all this is I specifically asked the dealer before I leased this van (4 year lease) what my maitenance expenses would be and at no time was I told that the I would need a new set of tires ever 2 years. And the fact that the Toyato dealership who performed all the maitenance never told me my tires were wearing out until they were shot. Now Toyota has washed their hands and said it is Dunlop's problem. Is this part of this famous Toyota quality and service that I always heard about ?? I know this is my first and last Toyota product.
We've ignored the tinny front doors as "cheap materials".
The known transmission hesitation, which by the way is extremely irritating, is chalked up to poor design.
Terrible run flat tires, trade off for AWD.
Gas mileage WELL below sticker listings and far worse than the 2001 Chrysler Town & Country AWD it replaced.
But now with 16,400 miles we have had:
* The rear A/C failed last year and had to be repaired
* Sliding doors have had issues
* HID headlight failed
* Center speaker AMP failed and had to replaced
* Transmission shifting very rough. Dealer tried to update software and the engine control module failed and had to be replaced.
* Now the Rear A/C has failed again. The dealer now needs to rip out all of the a/c tubing and replace.
This is the 4th time in a year that the vehicle has been out of service for 2 days or more. As of tomorrow it will be out of service 6 of the last 30 days, and it looks like it will be there AT LEAST one more day past tomorrow. :lemon:
The dealer has been trying to get things fixed but the fact is we shouldn't be having this level of issues at this point. My late 80's Chrylser K car was more reliable if you can believe that.
I registered a complaint with Toyota today and they are looking into it. Toyota had better be careful. In their quest to beat GM in volume, they better not develop GM's 80's Quality cars.
Has anyone tried to get Toyota to give them a NEW door? We've had the van for 8 months, it's basically new, and I feel that the dealer's solution to just scrape and repaint is not adequate. Won't the rust just keep returning until after the 5 year warrantee is done and then my door will develop holes?
Thanks to anyone who would like to comment!
Oh well, at least that means that not everyone is experiencing the same level of frustration which is some level of comfort I guess.
leaney, so how did it go?
Thanks for any info.
Jeff
The 1997 - 2002 models have a special policy to cover a problem called oil sludge - it may appear that you are burning or leaking oil, but in reality it has turned into a black goo that coats the inside of your engine instead of circulating. The policy is for 8 years, unlimited miles, so if you have one of these years, you could be covered for a free engine repair. You will need to prove that you performed reasonable maintenance. You can find a lot of information on this problem by doing a web search for "Toyota Engine Sludge". It also affected the 4 and 6 cyl. Camry, Highlander, Avalon, Celica, Lexus ES300, and Lexus RX300 for the same model years.
If you own a newer model, then I don't know if you will be covered, even under warranty (I think there is some statement in the car papers that engine sludge is not covered), but I would raise cain about it -- that is if you can prove you changed the oil on time in accordance with the manual.
I need rotors & pads on the front. They want $410. I said that I heard that the dealers charge more. He replied "a little bigger, a little better, better trained, genuine Toyota parts (is that last one always a good thing?..the first one should imply the ability to be less expensive..but that's nonproductive). He didn't mention a warranty on the work. I said no & am shopping warranties & prices.
Looks like Firestone has a lifetime warranty on all aspects of the brakes except rotors. They expressed surprise at my "pattern" (as did several other brake shops) & said that often the calipers are misaligned/rubbing & cause premature brake wear.
Well, I'm going to go :confuse: see, but why didn't Toyota look for the cause-especially since they were nice enough to replace pads 2x & rotors 1x? They matter of factly told me that it was my pattern. Since it's not covered on my extended warranty, I'm going elsewhere...Just wondering if any of this sounds familiar.
The T&C went through all kind of repairs but not because of the basic problems that I am experiencing with the new Toyota Sienna. The sole purpose of having a worry free vehicle (after going through all the headaches on Chrysler Minivans - 96 Caravan & 2000 T&C) by purchasing a reputable Toyota van was too much of a dream after all. Unfortunately, the choice of having an AWD minivan was extremely limited at the time of purchase.
Also, disappointed is that the Toyota dealer do not to want to honor the premium prepaid Toyota Maintenance Contract. They said that the prepaid plan is worth only $20 out of their $70 charges. When I argued about the plan he said that the ticket is worth $30 rather than $20. It looks like that the CS at the maintenance contract department of the Toyota thinks it the same way. I cannot understand on what basis they can charge $70 each for the 5k & 10k new car services. I was not aware of this kind of tricky gimmicks they have. I am wondering if others experience similar problem.
Recently, I filed a complaint to the Toyota CS about all the problems I am experiencing, including the problems with the vehicle itself and the service gimmicks their authorized dealer uses, wondering if the service manager will have the same sayings on my extended service contract in the future. My Chrysler dealer was very honest about honoring the extended service contract that I had with the vehicle. I hope that Toyota provides solutions right away so that I don't have to worry about going through their arbitration process.
After trial and error, it seems to happen after running it up over 70 kph and then gently riding the brake to slow down to a stop. On hard braking, there is no jerk/bump.
I had the shop foreman at my dealer drive the van after the first oil change and he thought it was the transmission coming out of overdrive. He said to mention it on the next oil change. I should have had him note it in my file but I did not - Silly me.
Now every time I have them check it out, the problem does not happen.
This problem also happens when my wife drives the van so I know I am not going crazy.
The shop foreman said it would not affect the operation of the car but it is an annoyance on a $40,000 van.
Any help to solve the problem would be appreciated.
Any problems from other owners?
I checked with one dealer and they did not stock it because of this fault.
Need to know before my trip at the end of July.
Ken
I share your frustration that we have these types of problems on a $40,000 car, we bought a Toyota to avoid this!
Thanks
What mileage was on the van when the valve body went out?
Sorry to hear there is now an electrical problem.
What kind of problem is it?
that are over the passenger side REAR wheel area! It is covered under warranty, and
parts are on order. I picked up the car to drive it home (can't go anywhere this weekend),
and I had 3 idiot lights on, that were not on when I dropped off the car. Check engine, trac off, and vsc off. I ended up talking to the mechanic and he reported that during the
air conditioning debug procedure, the oxygen sensor failed! Huh? 15k miles? What a lemon
this car is. An oxygen sensor is on order. I was told that it was okay for me to drive the car
during the next week, but I am not going to. Thank goodness I have a second vehicle- a Honda. This car was mfg in Jan 04. It has had the power steering recall, but not the radiator recall (yet).
I am in the midst of a very similar experience. 2004 XLE fwd. 18K. Air conditioning sporadic and then non-existant (only hot air)...so scheduled service call for today. On the way to the dealership, same 3 idot lights came on as you saw (CE, Track off, VSC off) but car was driving fine. Stopped by my office 2 miles later to pick up some paperwork to do while waiting for the car and steam started pouring out from under the hood. So, didn't drive any further and had it towed. Still waiting to hear the diagnosis from Toyota dealer.
I am looking to replace my dunlop run flats with the avid trz. can you provide me with info from your experience with the TRZ.
Thanks