Problems with 2004 Toyota Sienna ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Failure of electric sliding door cable. cable that pulls electric sliding door open rusted, failed and snapped in half. failed cable now hangs outside the vehicle (below the rear passenger's side window) dangling from the door track. *kb

Power sliding door cable broke due to the fact it is exposed to the elements of the rain and snow and ice causing the cable to rust and break door will not open this is a safety issue toyota needs to address this issue if there was an accident this could be deadly for my family if they can't get out!!!!!!! *kb

Most recently, passenger side automatic door stopped mid-way, i closed it manually, drove a couple of feet and turned off the car. then the car would not start. door is not working automatically only manually. started easily with jumper cables but continues to not start on its own most of the time, usually when engine is cold it won't start on its won. this happened about 8 months ago and dealer said it needed a starter even though i showed printout from tow truck showing it wasn't the starter. this also happened some time before that and dealer said i needed a new battery and that seemed to fix the problem temporarily. this has been a problem since i first purchased the car and the dealer did not fix the problem. *tr

6/13/2011 i brought my 2004 toyota sienna to the cedar rapids toyota to check the electrical right sliding door as it was hard to open using the electrical system and manually. toyota applied white grease and the door was less hard to open. no electrical check was performed. 7/9/2011 that same door would not open electrically and, while opening it manually, the door made a strange noise; then, the rear quarter glass of the wing window shattered. the electrical sliding door stayed stuck in a semi-open position. being late saturday, it could not be repaired and had to drive home with that door open, shattered glass all over the floor and seats and the deafening beeping automatic sound/signal that indicating a door is open. 7/11/2011 the car is taken to toyota of fort worth. a supervisor was called in and, despite no investigation whatsoever, the conclusion was that nothing could be done and that i should bring the car to a body shop because it didn''t look like a mechanical/electrical failure. i took the car to the body shop (sterling fort worth.) once the door was stripped of its components, the body shop found that the door''s power slide control motor was noticeably chafed with cables linking the motor to the door all twisted. the motor was replaced but the issue recurred and also the second motor showed chafing and twisting, not allowing the door to work. the body shop concluded that the cause of the problem is the sliding door control module which controls the motor. for safety reasons i agreed with the body shop to disconnect the motor to allow the manual use of the door. both body shop and toyota conclude that the issue cannot be resolved because of a design flaw which does not allow for the installation holes of the module to line-up with the door. toyota specified it does not have a manual or a design to share with anyone to fix the issue. *tr

Passenger side automatic sliding door failed to open when using remote as well as when it was manually attempted to open. good thing we have one manual sliding door...though this door is automatically locked when gas tank door is open. updated 08-29-11 *bf updated 3/08/2012 *ln

Passenger sliding door failure. cable compromised due to design flaw that stripped it of its insulation. despite being garaged, this caused the cable to fray and then rust, making the door inoperable. this includes manually, as the cable catches on a roller at the door hinge in the sliding track. additional fear is that consequent motor strain may cause additional failure/expense/fire. the cable failure causes it to bind on the hinge roller and prevents the door from both opening *and* closing. in an accident, you will not be able to exit the vehicle from that side if necessary. door did open partially and then would not close without great exertion. thankfully, my wife was able to force it closed before having to take the highway with our children inside and an open door. once the part fails, the door can not be made operable without major repair. toyota has tsb el004-004 on this issue that covers our particular vin, but will not cover the repair out of warranty. cost of repair is approximately $2,000 and the fear is that many, like us, will not have the part repaired due to this cost (and anger over *acknowledged* design flaw). *tr

Sienna 2004 has had a defective door from about 40-45,000miles. it was intermittent for years until on 3/30/11 it totally quit working. i could never diagnose the reason why it would only work sometimes. was it related to heat, moisture.... there was no correlation. it quit working. there needs to be a recall not an "extended warranty campaign" but a recall. also my hatch rear struts that hold up the rear hatch have failed. hit me in the head failed. i did get those fixed and again there was an extended warranty "campaign" which means select vans are repaired but not all of them. if you look through the complaints that have come in (and can you imagine all that have not even been documented?) then you will see that those sienna 2004s that have the vin # that begins: 5tdza23c... have numerous complaints on the same issues that being the electric door assembly and/or the rear struts on the hatch. now instead of an "extended warranty campaign" toyota needs to recall and open up the repair to all vehicles. i was told that i should get a new vehicle because they didn't want to repair my old one or deal with the van. my van lies outside of the warranty by 11,000 miles that is it. even though i have documentation that the door was not working at 126,000 miles they will not repair because it is over 120,000 miles. today my van has 131,000 and they will not consider unless it is a recall. please review and categorize these complaints. if you need me to analyze them i will. contact me. toyota has unsafe vehicles . *tr

2004 driver's side sliding door cable broke, causing the door to be unable to close. due to severely cold weather in iowa, the door was forced shut to allow the vehicle to be operable. door motor replacement cost estimates range from $1300-1500. a few months later the passenger side door started exhibiting problems opening and closing. turned off the motors from the inside compartment. one time when the drivers side door was opened, a piece of the door assembly shattered the rear 3/4 glass panel. *tr

Power sliding door of toyota sienna le 2004 fails to open. happened when car battery ran out of power. after battery was charged by an aaa mechanic with jumper cables, power door could open and close again. after driving the van for a few miles, power door started opening and closing by itself. very, very dangerous as van was being driven on a busy highway. after i pulled up on the side road, power door kept opening and closing, but not getting successfully closed by itself. i helped the door close successfully by pushing it fully to closed position. door is stuck in closed position since. electronic controls and manual knobs don't manage to open the door. *tr

The 2004 toyota sienna xle van that we own has two power sliding doors. the cable to the passenger door snapped preventing the door from functioning as it should. the motor on the door is still in working order, but you cannot replace just the cable, you must replace the entire unit including the motor at $1200. we converted the door to a manual door and that worked for about 2 weeks. the door stopped functioning entirely and we are no longer able to open the passenger sliding door on our vehicle. this is a potential safety risk to us as we haul our 3 children in the back of the van. for example, when fueling the vehicle, the driver side sliding door is inoperable and in the event of a fire, the children would be trapped in the back of the vehicle. we have had very little luck in finding a used part and will hopefully be getting a new part to fix the problem in the near future. *tr

The electrical doors fail due to cable issues. the repair estimates exceed $1500. we fixed one door only to have the second door fail and jam close completely. now we only have one sliding door that can open which seems very unsafe. after looking on line to see more than 900 complaints for this item, thought i would report. customers are frustrated with the lack of help from dealers and toyota. *tr

The automatic door failed and almost crushed my 21 month old. it opened and as she was getting out it started closing. it did not detect her and i had to forcefully push it open before it closed her in it. then again the same thing happened with my 10 year old luckily she thought to get out of the way. *tr

In early january 2011, the heater for the passenger car seat in my toyota sienna burned through the leather, through my 12 year old daughter's dress and superficially burned her leg. i believe the seat is defective as a fuse or other safety feature should have prevented such an injury/event. *tr

I started having problems with the power doors and hatch in 2010. i was never informed by toyota of the tsb-0085-09 and have had to do research myself on the problem. the problem was intermittent and dealerships would not address it. on 5/12 2014 was driving on an interstate at 60 miles an hour in the rain when my power door kept opening and would not close. someone could have been seriously injured. i had to find a safe place to pull over. it would not manually close. i had to strap the door shut. i feel this is a safety issue that should be fixed by recall. *tr

The doors on our 2004 sienna frequently "freeze" shut and we are unable to open them automatically or manually. this happens routinely when the temperatures are at or below freezing and are not resolved with turning off the power, doors, lubricating the tracks or warming up the car. the doors spontaneously unlock when we have been driving the car for 15min-1hour. the unlocking occurs while driving and bells sound, dash lights come on. we've taken it to the dealer, but they are not able to replicate the problem, because the issue is intermittent and temperature and time dependent. this is a tremendous inconvenience as we have a newborn, toddler and two school children and a serious safety issue. *tr

The dash has developed several long cracks and the material is deteriorating, the vehicle has been kept garaged. i am concerned about the air bags or other dash components being effected. ## vin passed ## toyota sienna le 2004 ##. *tr

Rear passenger side power sliding door stops working once in a while. it won't open or close when the power door button is pressed. *tr

The rear passenger power sliding door failed. the cable that opens and closes the door snapped and then bound up jamming the door open about 3 inches. my children could not exit the vehicle on that side if there was an accident and i had to dissasemble the door just to close it. *tr

2004 toyota sienna's automatic sliding door mechanism jammed preventing door closure. the door could not be closed automatically or manually. circumstances forced passengers, including 4 small children, to travel several highway miles with that door open. in april 2004 toyota modified that door mechanism for new product and issued technical service bulletin el004-04 "power sliding door inoperative" to correct existing product. sienna's early 2004 sliding door is a defective product. the sienna product is a minivan marketed to families and children. as such it is designed to be a closed vehicle. the defective door should be considered a child restraint failure because closed doors are, in fact, the primary protective restraint in a family vehicle. corrective action we elected is to cut the automatic door's tractor cable. that frees the door to close and permanently disengages the defective door mechanism. *tr

We had used the automatic overhead button to open the rear driver's sliding door. after our children got in the car, we tried to use the button again to close the door, however the door stopped midway because the cable came off it's track. we were not able to close the door while the cable was off the track, so we had to cut the cable and remove it in order to shut the door. we can only use the door manually now, however, it is extremely difficult to open and close, especially on the slightest incline. this is a safety issue for whoever is sitting in the rear seats, typically my children, for if there is an accident, it would be extremely difficult for them to get out. apparently this has been an ongoing problem for years with the toyota sienna's and toyota will not fix the problem.

This vehicle has two electric side doors, move the two wires running out the door. in states where a lot of snow, salt destroys the cables and they break easily. when i try to buy the cables, it's almost impossible because the toyota dealer only sell the complete electrical machinery. *tr

I have 2 different complaints. driver side seat heater burned legs of 3 different drivers before complete failure. heat was not adjustable. driver and passenger heaters stopped working at same time. took to dealer, recommended new heating element ($1000+). opted not to fix. 2nd complaint, check engine, vsc, and trac off lights illuminated. the van has been sent to the dealer on at least 3 occasions. gas cap has been replaced several times, spark plugs changed. will go off for brief periods, but always to return. this has been going on for at least 30,000 miles. i could live with the check engine light on, but if the other lights are illuminated, that indicates these components are not working-kind of important-skid control & traction control!! there are many complaints out there on blogs, doesn't look like anyone has filed any reports with your office regarding this same problem, which is too bad because it's obviously a problem not with just sienna but several other models as well. extremely frustrating when even the dealer can't determine what the problem really is!! we purchased this vehicle because of the safety features. not so sure about it if their safety features malfunction! *tr

No prior problems. the automatic door and it's safety feature of not closing when something is in the way stopped working. the door will not open completely and when closing it closes on anything in it's way. sometimes it will not close or open at all. if the button is engaged to turn the automatic door off the door will not budge. it will not work in manual mode. nothing has been done to correct the failure as of yet, as the expense is prohibitive. *tr

I drive a 2004 toyota sienna xle. on 3/4/10 at 1030 am, i was coming to a stop light on broken land pkwy. as i completed a full stop, my sienna tried to accelerate while my foot was depressing the brake pedal. the vehicle lurched but did not stall out and i was able to continue on my way. during the rest of the morning, i did not experience any more acceleration trouble the rest of the day. i did inform my husband and he suggested i research 2004 toyota sienna acceleration. i did that and found a variety of complaints from 2004 toyota sienna owners on several internet auto web sites. *tr

Normal use of the automatic passenger sliding door of the 2004 toyota sienna resulted in cable breaking at 82,000 miles. have not repaired due to high cost $1,700. known problem at time of my vehicle's manufacture, tsb issued (el004-04), but failed outside of warranty. door is no longer operational which is the safety issue. children must now exit the vehicle on the street side, instead of the curb side. *tr

It happened twice during 2 weeks ago ( during heavy rain). i was driving my 2004 toyota sienna on a parking lot. the steering wheel is very hard to turn, it seems like i lost the power steering. after restarting the van, the problem disappeared. next day, my wife encountered the same problem when she is picking up our kids from school. we believe there is a major problem with the electrical system or computer system. i have so many problem with this vans and the dealer refuse to fix it, i have seat belt problem, it is not easy to release after driving, dealer wants 300 to fix. electrical sliding door problem etc. *tr

Power sliding door on my van quit working. door is stuck half opened. took to toyota said it was a common problem but the warranty wont cover. they said it was due to door sag due to hinge but this is not the case i cut a steel cable and was able to close the door manually. it works fine manually you would think it was due to what they said it wouldn't close at all. many people are having this problem and toyota is doing nothing about it. *tr

2004 toyota sienna the ac began to work intermittently and now stopped blowing cold air at around 75,000 miles. initial diagnostics indicated that the gauges and climate controls inside the cabin were causing this problem. freon levels appear to be at adequate levels. *ln

Toyota (2004 sienna) seat heater burned a hole through the leather on drivers seat. toyota (judy faul) interviewed me/my case and submitted to terrence chu (regulatory affairs). he wrote me a letter 3 months later and said toyota was not at fault because i had a towel (8"x8" baby burp cloth) adjacent to my leg (left outer thigh) and the owners manual states "not to use an insulating object" with the seat heater operating. he never contacted me for clarification on the incident. i have been denied access to anyone at toyota. the dealer (peoria, il) said they will repair for $1337, but will not support me to repair the damage the faulty heater created. i can see their logic if sitting on a stack of towles, but not a rag, of which the consistency is less than the ski pants worn (with the heater operating) or my wife sweater dresses in the same manner. personal friends (torry olsen) had the same year van and the same problem. toyota repaired theirs as it was under warranty. the heater element is still hooked up (and dangerous) and toyota will not service unless we pay. *tr

The sliding doors will not open when outside temperature is below freezing. if you need to enter and exit the vehicle you must crawl through the front seat. the automatic door will sometimes open without being manually activated. the air in the rear will automatically come on and shut off after a few seconds without being manually activated. *tr

Under normal operating conditions, 2004 toyota sienna xle limited with hid headlights, had premature headlight failure. mechanic diagnosed the problem as a faulty transformer and replaced it under warranty. within a few weeks, the other side transformer failed. mechanic replaced that transformer. within a few days, that transformer failed too. issue currently under investigation with toyota. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the passenger side power sliding door failed. the dealer stated that the entire motor assembly for the door needed to be replaced at the cost of $1,000. there were no recalls for this component. the failure mileage was 60,000.

No pertinent events other than pressing the button to open the automatic right passenger door, the cable wire broke. we brought to the toyota dealership and we were told that it will cost about $1500 to fix it. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact has not been able to use the door locks in her vehicle for several months. the dealer was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. recently, while attempting to stop the vehicle, the rear passenger side door opened. in addition, the battery failed and was replaced twice by the dealer. the failure was not corrected and the dealer stated that they could not determine the cause of the failure. the contact replaced the battery herself with a heavy duty battery. she took the vehicle back to the dealer and they stated that the door motor failed, and that the door was an inch off the door track. the estimated cost of repair was $1,800. the failure mileage was 62,000 and current mileage was 64,000.

Tire pressure monitoring system is not working and toyota has made up various excuses as to why the light does not go off during a flat or "blow out" or that it is working properly. recently i was extremely nervous during driving and found after pulling off and stopping at a honda dealership that i had an undriveable tire. honda was not sure why the light did not go on but said it was unsafe to drive and would not hold air so i could not get to toyota. beside the 9 tires i have replaced the latest tire cost me a rim also. i am assuming that this was due to the flat that i did not know that i had. something needs to be done about the run flats and especially the tire pressure monitoring system before someone is killed or severely injured. please do something about this very serious problem. *tr

1. no unusual events to vehicle. usual school drop off of passenger. powered sliding door was activated for opening on nov. 5th 2008. door is well lubricated and no other symptoms of failure were noticed before failure. 2. powered, rear, sliding, passenger side door (rh) will not open fully. door cannot be opened in manual over-ride. door only opens 4 inches, then jams. difficult to close after jam. 3. root cause of failure is shedding cable jacket jamming door center hinge pulleys. door will require a new motor, cable assembly, center bracket no 1, and center hinge. *tr

The left power sliding door on my sienna failed. while out on errand with a friend's child, i could not shut the power sliding door. had to drive to my home with the child strapped into their carseat in the back and the door open. took it to dealership and they said the motor failed and it would cost $1900+ to fix the power or $300 to turn in into manual door. husband looked on internet, found instructions to take door apart and fixed himself as this was a very, very common problem. sure enough, the problem was not the motor, you can hear it run to this day, and it was the cable used to slide the door - there was stripped plastic shielding bunched up on the cable which kept the door from running on the cable. this is very dangerous as the door did not respond to the power button and would trap a child in it. second issue is the weld on the driver's side door making popping sounds. my husband looked and the weld was coming off and the metal underneath the weld had actually torn!! he took the welded piece off so that the door would be operational. once again, the door can close unexpectedly on a small child without warning without door being replaced. third issue is the sonar which comes and goes without warning. i try to leave my sonar on all the time, but in process of backing up, will realize the sonar has turned itself off. it comes and goes-sometimes will just beep on and off and on and off while driving down the street without anyone else around the car. fourth issue is when the car is cold, the back hatch door will rise and then immediately come down forcefully on your head (it runs with a motor). all of these issues are listed all over the internet as problems with this car and everyone is told by toyota that is you don't have a current warranty, they will not fix it for free. these are design flaws and safety issues!!!! *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the motor for the driver's side sliding door failed. as a result, the door can no longer be shut and the vehicle cannot be driven. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and will be repaired at the cost of $1,600. the failure and current mileages were 58,000.

Right side power sliding door sticking. must manually pull handle to get door to unlatch. once the door is in motion, you can control(open/close) with key chain controller or both power buttons inside vehicle. same problem if the door is in open position, door latch will not released with any power buttons, must manually pull handle to get door to unlatched. dealer cleaned and lubed door on 8-29-2008 at 84,734 miles. charged $21 for service. later in evening same problem occured, i took the sienna back to dealership the next day. service technician said it needed a new(door) motor and would cost $1,500. i was shocked since the day before they had claimed everything was ok and it was only $21. needless to say, the door has not been fixed, i feel it is a major safety concern and it is sad to learn that there are a lot of people having the same problem. the problem seems to be consistent between 75,000 to 85,000 miles. would appreciate if you could look into this problem.

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the air bag warning indicator flashes intermittently on the instrument panel. the vehicle was taken to the dealer approximately three times and they stated that the wiring in the seat back needed to be replaced. the current mileage was 52,622 and failure mileage was 47,000.

The right power sliding door cable on the 2004 toyota sienna le broke. the car was 5.1 years old, bought new in 2003, and had 69,000 ml. on the day of problem. no indications on a sliding mechanism were prior to the incident. as always the door was activated by the remote control. it did not open on several attempts. when i approached it and tried to open by the handle i saw the cable being rusty and broken. the dealer worked with toyota on the issue and toyota offered to pay 50% of parts and labor, but my fee is still above $800. toyota refused to cover it entirely, although the problem is well known to them. http://toyota.justanswer.com/uploads/snd27613/2008-07-05_074916_sienna_sliding_door_inop.pdf . no extended warranty on this part was offered by toyota. i can not use this door in any way until is repaired, even if i set it to act manually, it won't open more than 1/2 ft. the only way my two children can get in/out the car is from the left side door. where one's car seat is installed. needless to say this is a serious safety issue as the left side is the one to the road and children jump out or run to the car in a blink of an eye. *tr

My 2004 toyota sienna xle limited's alternator belt got cut and the vehicle immediately stopped on the road and had to be taken to a toyota dealer. the dealer says my vehicle had a "catastrophic ac failure" which caused the belt to break and says it will cost $2400 in parts and $1600 in labor. he then contacted toyota and said that toyota will pay for the parts. this problem seems to happen a lot on this model, i searched on the internet and could find a lot of people with the same issues and toyota has still not done any recall on the ac unit. since this seems to a total design flaw, i would like toyota to pick up the full tab for this repair. any help in this regard will be appreciated. *tr

Initially the dr side low beam headlight would not light. dealer replaced bulb and ecu module. warranty replacement. cause was reported the ecu failed. months later the dr side low beam headlight failed again but after the one year repair work warranty. this time it was reported to be the bulb and was replaced, dlr. would not warrant the work, even the extended warranty supposedly did not cover. cost to cust. was $395. currently the passenger side low beam headlight has quit working, several months ago and cust. bought direct replacement bulb and installed it. that did not remedy the problem. it appears that the ecu for the passenger side low beam headlight may be faulty. it has been reported that costs for the ecu and dlr labor to replace would cost about $800. this seems to fall in the safety category and should be a recall and warranty work. different dlr states that they can diagnose for $125 and determine the problem. oh what to do! please help. all for seemingly a burned out headlamp. the service attitude and associated costs by the mfr. and dealers are piracy to say the least. i wouldn't mind paying my way but this seems to be a problem that is more widespread than just a few. even in some other models. unconscionable policy! *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the rear side door was inoperable due to rusted guide wires. the dealer stated that normal wear and tear caused the failure. as of december 27, 2007, the dealer had not repaired the vehicle. the current and failure mileages were 101,000. the engine size and vin were unavailable.

Battery dead. *tr

Very common problem: power sliding door cable broke stranding the owner with a half opened door. the internet is filled full of people with the same problem.

We noticed that the steering for the 2004 toyota sienna was beginning to get hard. sometimes it felt like there was no power steeing, then it would become easier. i thought it was a lack of power steering fluid, but found out it was the intermediate steering shaft. the switching from hard-to-turn steering to regular power steering made driving difficult and unpredictable. toyota issued two tsb's on this steering shaft component, and, i understood had recalled the same component in its prius model. something should be done about this danger. *ak

power sliding door inoperative stopped working not really sure of the date it stopped working(our lease was approaching the end) as we found sliding door to be too slow and not safe therefore we turned it off. we leased vehicle and therefore returned it. toyota parkway in hamilton,ontario,canada service performed a diagnostic test to tell me the cable and motor on the power door needed replacing. we were informed it would cost over $2,000 to fix the door(cable and motor) i was given the option to take elsewhere for a quote. where i had it fixed said there was nothing wrong with the motor it did not cost me $2,000. i returned it to toyota with the door working. i spoke to the general manager (parkway toyota) and he mentioned there were problems with the power doors. he refused to cover my costs as i did not have it fixed at toyota. i was not told that they would take care of it in the beginning. both sliding doors freezing shut in cold weather- passengers had to go out the hatch door i have heard of melting ice pooling on the door but nothing done to correct. we returned vehicle fed up by this point. too many recalls and issues for a toyota. *tr

Tl*- the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna mini van. while driving at 15 mph the contact experienced the following failure: intermittent vsc activation after starting the engine and driving straight from a stop position. this failure was always accompanied by the instrument panel vsc light and an audible warning buzzer. the current and failure mileage were 47,000. *ak the consumer sated the abs would activate. the consumer sold the vehicle. updated 03/30/07. *jb

Tl*- the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact explained that the rear door liftgate did not stay open when used. the contact would push the key fob to open the automatic rear door and the door would open. after a short period of time they would close without warning. the door normally has a chime to alert the contact when the door is closing, but when it closes in error there isn't a chime to alert the contact of the closing. the contact has been hit several times because of this failure. *ak updated 2/27/2007 -over the past few weeks the rear door would close immediately after being opened. the vehicle was taken to the dealer but hey did not fix it. *nm