Problems with 2000 Toyota Sienna ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 toyota sienna. the contact stated while driving 55 mph with the brakes applied the vehicle would not stop. the contact drove onto the emergency lane and the vehicle towed to the dealer. the dealer diagnosed the failure and discovered that the engine mounts were broken. the contact took the vehicle to a different dealer for a second diagnostic test who did not state what caused the failure to occur. the contact stated the vehicle was unsafe to drive and could have caused a crash. the failure mileage was 219,000.

I own a 2000 toyota sienna which i have had for one year. to date, i have paid to repair the rear seat, as once it was taken out, the mechanism broke and it could not be put back in the car. also, we have replaced the drivers side seat belt (the whole thing) because the seat belt light would constantly blink. now the passenger side seat belt light blinks when the seat belt is latched and when nobody is sitting there. the power sliding door has been looked at and repaired three different times. it continues to open, but will never close all the way. both the drivers side and passengers side power windows will not roll down (or if they do, they will not go back up). there is a banging sound coming from the middle floor board by the gas pedal. the transmission has been replaced. finally, the rear door latch broke completely and there is no way to open the rear door - from the inside or out. all of this is with normal wear. *tr

2000 toyota sienna has an on/off engine light problem. *nj consumer is adding information. *nj 7/24/09 the consumer was told the ignition coil needed to be replaced, but after it was replaced, the engine light came back on. the spark plugs and wires were changed but to no avail. the consumer stated the vehicle runs poorly and it also stalls. the consumer discovered a website where other years of the toyota sienna were recalled for the same problem. recall 98e035000. *jb

Check engine light has come on for months and was told that it was an o2 sensor and not a severe problem, just won't get as good gas mileage. vehicle now smokes upon start up and is losing too much oil too quickly. toyota said to take vehicle to a toyota dealer and have them diagnose the problem. came back that the engine had "gel" and would cost $2700.00 to clean and repair. toyota district service manager denied the claim. said warranty only good for 8 years from date vehicle was purchased. now waiting to hear from case manager to see if she will o.k. the repairs to be paid for by toyota. we bought the sienna used in 2004 after the tsb was already established but were not made aware of this "gelling" problem. just had oil changed in november 2008 and now the oil level is barely registering on the stick. only 6 weeks after the last oil change!!! car is still at the toyota dealership. *tr

Noticed check engine light on and smoke on cold start up. called local toyota dealer and was told this would be a major "fix" and would cost at least $3,000.00 to repair. after doing a google search i realized my sienna most likely had oil gel and called tmsusa in california to report it. was told to take van to a local dealer and have diagnosed. took it in the very next day and oil gel was confirmed (in writing). was then told that the van was 90 days past coverage and it would cost $6,200.00 for a new engine. i tried to show documents of my oil changes and service manager said it would do no good. i refuse to drive this van for fear that the engine will seize! i am requesting that a second investigation be made into these vehicles. the class action lawsuit did no good for the toyota consumers! also, for the record, i took the van in when the engine light first came on (engine was not smoking yet) and the dealer told me it was probably just the gas cap and that the engine light comes on in these vehicles all the time. they never documented my visits to the service department. i would have been within the 8 year time frame if they would have checked the engine at that time! *tr

Car has oil sludge problem - toyota settled class action law suit - but i was never notified - and it appears a recall was never initiated? *tr

Engine light went on , checked water and oil, both levels were fine, engine just quit, van was towed to repair shop, i the owner was told that due to sludge in the engine the oil could not pass through so engine seized up, it was a 2000 sienna van, the oil was changed every 3000-4000 miles faithfully, the engine only had 107,000. original miles on it, a new engine would be 6,200.00 plus labor and a used engine would be 4,200.00 plus labor, so now my van had to be junked. *tr

The contact owns a 2000 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic and testing. the dealer advised that the vehicle converter for the exhaust system needed to be replaced at the owners expense. the dealer advised that the converter for the exhaust system can only be replaced in california. the vehicle was not repaired and the contact does not feel like traveling from florida to california. the contact stated that he has lower fuel mileage as a result of the exhaust system defect. the approximate failure mileage was 90,000. the approximate current mileage was 112,000. rg

Oil gelling related damage-2000 toyota sienna w/v6 with oil gelling. this engine was repaired under toyota's special repair program. the issue is that the repair does not include enough parts to properly return the unit into service without compramising the main and rod bearings, as well as the rear and front seals. i am now faced with a $1400 repair bill for the rear main seal at 65k miles. i beleive that this portion of the engine was comprimised do to lack of oil casued by the oil gelling. the screen was 85% blocked and since the main and rod bearings are the first to be fed oil from the pump, they have experienced accelerated wear. i base this on my discovery when at the dealer. i am an ase certified automotive technician with engine speciality ratings, so i can speak as an expert on this matter. i tried to discuss with toyota corp at the local level and they do not see any reason to continue the discussion. *nm

I put my car in the shop at coleman toyota telling them the car wouldn't start. they replaced the ignition chamber and then phoned to say the starter was bad too- they charged me about $575. i picked up the car wednesday march 15 and on march 16 the car just stopped as i was driving to work. the car had to be towed to coleman toyota. they phoned to tell me the engine had "locked" and the car was shot. they refuse to refund me the $575 for the unnecessary repairs and refuse to acknowledge that the engine failure due to "gelling" is a manufacturers defect. *nm

Engine oil light came on when driving, when taken to dealer, service rep. indicated this would potentially be a very expensive repair. after a quick search on the internet revealed an "issue" with this engine and a call to toyota national and some "discussions" with the dealer the car was taken for "desludging". proof of oil changes had to be provided, much discussion about how it was "our fault". since we are both engineers and typically keep our vehicles a very long time, this was insulting. van was returned, but oil light came on within 10 miles. it then stayed for quite a while (i think they said it had at least 6 oil changes). no offer of rental car was made. after it was returned within a month it blew a hole through the valve cover (mechanic forget to torque one of the head/cam bolts, bolt backed off and washer blew a small hole in valve cover).oil/smoke everywhere. it burned off oil for months afterward. it was towed back. hole was on extreme drivers side of engine. valve cover was replace, bolt/washer either replaced or retorqued. *nm

The engine in my 2000 toyota sienna has a defect that causes engine oil jelling and leads to a total failure of the engine. the problem first occurred at 38000 miles while still under the new car warranty. toyota fixed the problem by cleaning the sludge from the value area of the engine but this did not eliminate the problem. at 68000, there was a complete failure of the engine that was a result of engine oil gelling. a toyota technician who inspected the car stated that there is scaring of the internal engine parts that indicate a history of oil starvation. the oil starvation problem that caused the engine failure is due to oil gelling problem. toyota has agreed to extend the warranty on my vehicle to cover this problem for a period of eight years with unlimited mileage, however, they are now refusing to honor this warranty.*ak

2000 toyota sienna's engine was rebuilt last february/march 2004 due to engine oil gel. had an oil change at toyota dealership last june. had 82,500 maintenance done at another toyota dealership during the first week of september. it caught fire. droplets of fire seen falling underneath the engine. neighbor tried to extinguish the fire but to no avail. called 911 and they extinguished the fire.*ak

2000 toyota sienna experienced serious sludging problem and had "sludge/gel repair" done by toyota at 58k miles. service dates: oct 14 and 15, 2002. on july 18, 2004, the sienna (with 81k miles) broke down during a vacation trip. diagnosis: residual engine damage from sludge problem and inadequate repair led to failure of a thrust washer/bearing that caused extensive damage to the engine from metal fragments that spread throughout the engine. estimated repair cost: $7,300. i am currently trying to get toyota to repair the engine at their cost and to cover all of my related costs due to the failure (e.g. hotel costs, rental car). *jb

While driving between 60 to 65 mph, the vehicle intermittently stalled out without any warning, which caused loss of steering, and brakes. this incident happened three times on the same day while driving long hours. vehicle was taken to two different dealerships, and they couldn't find anything wrong with the vehicle. *la

Toyota sienna ls, year 2000, approx 73000 miles. always serviced by toyota, electrical system / engine not modified or altered. drove last friday morning (july 16, 2004) from nc to the dc area. just before dc, car completely stalled 3 times on i-95, at interstate speed, approx 15 to 20 minutes apart. each time, the _x001c_abs_x001d_ and _x001c_low tire pressure_x001d_ dashboard light came on. clock flashed. no _x001c_check engine light_x001d_ came on. the car recovered within 2 to 3 seconds while moving, but lost speed, as the engine was not running. radio was not turned on, not sure if it would have lost power also. could duplicate one stall by turning the headlights on while moving. again, engine stalled for 2 to 3 seconds, _x001c_abs_x001d_ and _x001c_low tire pressure_x001d_ dashboard light came on. i'm not totally sure, but i think that the rpm and the odometer needle went back to _x001c_0_x001d_ during the engine stalls. but again, i'm not 100% sure on the odometer needle going to "0" , as it all happened fairly fast. repair attempts: drove to the nearest toyota dealer in dc on the same day, car stalled again as we drove into the dealer ship and came to a complete stand still. (toyota of stafford, tel: 1-540-720-4700, repair ticket 16153) they test drove car for 2 x 20 mins, found no problem, computer did not log any error codes what so ever according to dealer. drove back to nc, went to toyota dealer in durham, nc today (july 19). dealer told me that there is nothing they can do, unless the car is stalling right now and told us to return once the "check engine" light is on. it is very disappointing for me that the dealers can not locate this problem and that there is apparently no procedure from toyota for finding critical problems that do not show up in the computer log. it is certainly no fun to have an engine stalling on i-95, while the 18 wheelers catch up with you. *jb

2001 toyota sienna had sludge problem. toyota fixed but still calls this an owner issue!?? have seen complaints that these engines have still failed a couple thousand miles after fix. toyota originally insisted people buy new engines but only cleans them now. what about their modifying this engine starting in july 2001? no problems with those engines. this v6 is in 9 models over 6 years and somehow it's the owners? they replaced my valve covers stating the pcv system is inetgrated into the valve covers. they get clogged and can't be cleaned. will it take an engine seizing up due to engine failure at highway speeds, and a fatality to get toyota's attention on this? i never received their "letter" of notification. i had owned it brand new off the lot. i can't afford to keep a ticking financial time bomb in my garage.*ak

At 107,000 miles while driving the motor just cut off. then would not start. i always have changed the oil at every 3000 miles. now my mechanic says that the camshaft broke. there can be no other answer than that this engine was a sludge defective motor from the manufacturer. *ak

I am not sure of dates, but our toyota dealer tried to blame us for the "smoking" problem due to the lack of oil changes. we did not slack off on the oil changes, and now they admit that the "smoking" problem is due to bad engine design, or whatever. we have had the van in for repairs several times, but i am not sure of dates, or how much we have spent. the problem has started again, and this time, not only is it smomking, and reads low oil (on the dip stick), but we are now going thru a quart of oil per tank of gas!!! i am about to deal with toyota, and see what they can/will do for us. they originally claimed we had to send them all kinds of info, now, what i am reading, is that they have (not quite) admitted the problem is due to a manufactureing defect, and they claim they will fix it. toyota has replaced our motor. we brought our van in on a wends, and had it back the following wends. it took them a week because we had some big storms in ga and the power went out for a full day. other wise, i believe we would have had the van back by tues. as of right now, the van seems to be fine. they had to replace the whole motor, because our old motor (116,000 miles, by the way) was shot. toyota also paid for a rental car the whole time our van was in the shop. our next step is to see if toyota holds true to their promise of reimbursing all the money we spent on oil and oil treatments.

Sludge in the engine. van is in the shop as we speak. dealer says the repairs will be covered but who is going to cover our lose when we try to sell this van with the pile of crap for an engine? i sat in the office of the service manager and listen to him side-step the problem unitl i could take no more. i then questioned him about any other issues with a 2000 sienna and he looked me right in the eyes and said no. no, until i questioned him about the addtional drive train problem at which time his response was, "oh, um, yeah we did just recieve a letter an that". toyota and the dealers should be held accountable like a low-life con artist that swindle and scam people. i paid my van off three weeks ago and i'm sitting here looking at a worthless document that is the title. as soon as my van gets out of the shop i'm fixing to spread the word around here about what a crappy deal this is. do the same in your town too.

There is an admitted defect in the design of the 1999-2001 toyota sienna and camry engines. the cooling chamber passages to the cylinders were reduced in size to reduce hazardous emissions which had the unanticipated side effect of causing the temperature of the cylinder heads to reach up to 130 degrees. for many owners, this has caused the oil to oxidize forming a sludge in the engine which in our case led to engine failure in our 2000 toyota sienna van requiring engine replacement at 59,000 miles costing over $8,000. the same situation occurred with our 1999 camry. toyota claims that this is due to not changing the oil frequently enough, and this may be true. however my brother's friend bought a toyota celica back in the 1970's and never changed the oil, never even opened the hood to add oil or maintenance it at all - just drove it until quit - at 80,000 miles. granted this is not advisable but evidence suggests that while less than optimal oil change frequencies may contribute to this engine failure problem in the 1999-2001 models, based on other research i have read with other owners having the same problem leading to engine failure in these models even with mileages as low as 29,000 miles, i don't buy toyota's argument. we owned 3 toyota's at the time, 2 camrys and 1 sienna. because toyota did not own up to this design defect and reimburse owners for the damage caused by their flawed engine design without their providing oil change receipts - (e.g. what if you don't save receipts and/or what if you change your oil yourself)? - for this reason i will never buy another toyota. i own a subaru wrx and am planning to purchase another subaru soon.

I own a 2000 toyota sienna le. i noticed a coolant leak. i took it in to a toyota dealer and discovered the problem was the leak from the cooling pipe. the cause of the problem was the cooling pipe was rubbing against the power steering line (according to the service advisor) and the cooling pipe wore out. i asked if it was a design flaw. he replied that he never saw this before, but there should be something between the cooling pipe and the power steering line to prevent the rubbing. this fix is $410 for parts and labor and is not cover under the extended warranty since it is a pipe that broke. i feel like this is a design flaw by toyota. *nlm

There were problems with transmission and tire equipment. mr the vehicle was on it's fourth set of tires due to a tracking problem. there was a whine coming from the torque converter pump. the transmission shifted to neutral on three occasions. dealer saw indications of early sludge build up in the oil. the engine made noises and vibrated. (dayton/goodyear) *scc *nlm *cb *jb

Dt: the caller states that the oil in vehicle was disappearing from the engine. he drove 800 miles to florida and had to put 4 or 5 quarts of oil. he has to put that much oil every 1500 miles. dealer had the vehicle since august 5, 2005 and they could not find the cause of the problem. manufacturer sent the caller a letter stating the engine could fail because of the oil problem. it was an oil consumption problem. *ak

engine sludge problem. toyota is fixing (although i think they should replace it) it one time. they will not fix it a second time regardless of service records. this is totally unacceptable. we are also concerned that the resale value of the van will be greatly reduced.

Ltr fwd fm fhwa re their defective 2000 toyota sienna xle, the van has problems with engine sludge...*mr the vehicle started to blow blue smoke and ran rough. the dealer discovered engine gel deposits. the malfunctioning light had come on due to the oxygen sensor per dealer, the brakes squealed when stopped at low speeds(problem continued), and pulled to the left. the dealer could not duplicate. the engine sludge had come back again due to a burnt hole in the valve which was in the piston. the tachometer illumination appeared to be out and the bulb was replaced. the consumer requested reimbursement for the hotel stay and the vehicle rental. *scc *jb

Engine has failed due to oil leaking at piston rings/sludge. toyota claiming improper maintenance. have maintenance records for oil changes at intervals better than recommended. toyota claims denied because service not performed at toyota. estimate from dealer for repair is $8,300. there appears to be some other problem with this engine but they won't investigate further due to sludge even though i can prove proper maintenance.*ak

A knocking sound can be heard coming from engine compartment. dealer has been contacted, please provide further details.*ak

Engine sludge @ 25000, oil changed every 3000-5000 miles, toyota not honoring warranty, contacted attorney.*ak

Another sienna sludge victim. toyota answers rehearsed. did not even question owner about maintenance history; therefore, obviously irrelevant to them. contacting attorney to inquire about class action lawsuit.no safety defect listed in summary. *ak

White smoke comes out of the tailpipe when the engine is started. toyota dealer says that the rings are bad due to sludge in the engine. they, and toyota corporate office, say that the sludge is due to negligent maintenance. however, oil changes were made at the proper intervals according to the owner's manual. the dealer says that repairs will cost between $2300 and $5700 and that the warranty is voided by the presence of sludge. i tried, unsuccessfully, to convince them that this level of sludge build-up was not reasonable for an engine of this age. i'm at a loss as to what to do to get toyota to honor their warranty. this seems like fraud to me. is there anything that nhtsa can do? given the number of complaint that i've seen on this site regarding this problem, i think some governmental pressure would help to get toyota to do the right thing.*ak

Consumer was pulling up in driveway and noticed that there was white smoke coming from underneath of vehicle. she took it to gas station, and mechanic told her that oil was less than three quarts low. dealership was aware of problem. *ak

Noticed white smoke upon starting car for a couple of days. the following sunday, the oil pressure light came on while traveling-stopped and put in 1 quart of oil, light went out. the following monday, the engine check light came on. the next morning, tuesday i took the car to the nearest toyota dealer and was told that our engine was full of sludge due to improper or lack of maintenance. the repairs were not covered under the warranty. was given an estimate of $9k to replace the engine or $5500 to rebuild the engine. we then took the car back to the dealer where we purchased the car, and was told the same thing, only this estimate was $2k to "clean" the engine. the service manager called the toyota rep on our behalf and was denied any help through the warranty. in filing a report with toyota was told my next step was arbitration - "the paperwork is in your warranty book". i had to have the engine cleaned at my own expense.*ak

The engine produce clouds of grey/white smoke for 5 to 10 seconds after a cold start up. upon checking, found the engine oil 1.5 to 2 quarts low. added oil and drove vehicle for a few days with similar symptoms - smoke after cold start of after being parked for more than 2 hours. on 7/3/01 brought the car in to dealer for diagnosis. the dealer looked under only one camshaft cover, found evidence of sludge and - even though i had receipts and proof of three prir oil & filter changes at 5800, 11000, and 16595 miles - declared my engine warranty null & void and made no other attempt to diagnose the problem. i am currently trying to get toyoata to honor my warranty and to have another dealer or mechanic diagnose the problem. however, research on the web indicates that toyota is stonewalling many customer like myself.

Upon starting up and normal operation of vehicle, smoke will come from exhaust. dealership examined vehicle, and determined there was oil all over and throughout engine, causing smoke. factory representative voided warranty, and informed consumer that repairs were at her expense, approximately $5000.00. *ak *slc

Desludge engine, replace valve stem seals and clean out oil pan. cleaned engine but my concern is that they have not fixed the root cause. want the engine problem fixed not just cleaned.

There was white smoke coming from exhaust at start up, vehicle was using 6-7 quarts of oil in a 10 week period. dealer determined there was sludge build up in engine, and engine needed to be replaced.*ak *slc

Engine had sludge build up that clogged engine and caused it to fail. smoke was coming out of exhaust. nothing lit up on dashboard, indicating a problem. consuemr went on a 300 mile trip and had to add 21/2 quarts of oil. dealer stated the only way it could have gotten like that was by not having oil changes. consumer has receipts for oil added to vehicle. *ak

I took my new toyota sienna to be repaired because it was smoking. i was told that the engine had sludge in it and toyota was denying any warranty claims. how does a brand new engine get sludge in it? there are literally hundreds of similar instances reported on various sites on the internet. the pattern is similar - low mileage toyota vehcles (especially siennas) suddenly smoking and having sludge in their engines, depsite proper maintenance and regular oil changes. there clearly is a coverup here by toyota. they are declining warranty claims rather than trying to deal with the problem.*ak

Transmission went out at 75 mph/tachometer went to zero, and engine kept running. dealer informed consumer that she was # 49 on waiting list for a transmission which was on back order. *ak

The vehicle cranks but does not start, the vehicle consumes excessive oil due to to the engine being sludged and the rings were bad, the dealer informed consumer that a short block assembly needed to be installed, and would could $6000 because the warranty was considered to be invalid due to improper maintenance.*yh

Have been told i have sludge build up in my engine due to lack of maintanance. i have receipts for 3 oil changes in the first 19000 miles, but they then tell me it must have been inferior oil. have found this to be problem with people nation wide, and toyota will not stand behind its warranty. there is no way that this problem has been caused solely due to a lack of maintanance to all the people having the same problem. toyota wants to rebuild the engine on a one year old van with 19000 miles for $2200, though it was properly maintained. will not accept receipts for service done as proof of maintanance. what else are we supposed to have to ensure proof?*ak

Sludge build up leading to camshaft failure - fast oil level drop. *ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

Told by toyota that sludge in the engine is our fault despite regular oil changes. we don't have all our recepts but changed the oil at least 4 times since we owned the car. impossible to believe that we were neglectful, especially when i am seeing so many other cases with the same thing happening. there needs to be an investigation here soon. *ak

While having cam seal/valve seal replaced due to an oil leak, mechanic noticed right front passenger tire had a bubble and was replaced by firestone, consumer states vehicle is going back for a 3rd time for the oil leak. *slc

We have to wait for the part(s) because every sienna has the same problem.

Several t/c defects on the 2000 toyota siennas... why arent they not being recalled by the manufacturer?

The check engine light coming on seems to be a common problem in siennas manufactured in june/july 2000. it has taken several weeks for the part to come in. i am told a transmission solenoid needs to be replaced, but they're really not sure. toyota service and dealership response has been poor.

The engine sludged at 23,000 miles.