Problems with 2004 Toyota Sienna STRUCTURE

Passenger side power sliding door is jammed shut. toyota is offering to fix with a new redesigned motor for $3,000. if toyota redesigned the motor they knew there was an issue and this should be a recall. toyota new about this issue as they issued a tsb on this exact problem which only covered vehicles within 3 years or 36,000 miles. the toyota tsb number is el004-04. i'm adding my vin here since i'm unable to enter it later on. *tr

Multiple problems with minivan doors since purchase in 2004. sliding doors freeze shut every winter, only opening after car warms up for 20-30 minutes. driver side door weld broke after 3 years and needed repair. front passenger door latch broke requiring use of bungee cords to keep door closed until repair part could be obtained. power sliding door and manual sliding door also do not stay open at times creating dangerous situation for people entering and exiting the vehicle. now, warning light comes on showing door open, driver side manual sliding door does not seem to close completely. while driving, door open light and interior lights are constantly activated. i have turned off interior lights to prevent battery drain from door staying slightly open when parked. dealership will perform diagnostic and repair work but advised since there is no recall issued that cost will be mine. the sheer number of reports of sliding door issues should be enough to warrant a response from toyota. *tr

2004 toyota sienna within one year, both automatic sliding doors have become inoperable first (passenger side) locking sensor failed, resulting in inability to use automatic (motorized) closing system second (driver's side) failed on 2/11/10. door cable got jammed in center hinge, resulting in inability to close door. had to drive to dealership with door fully open. both cases were estimated to cost almost $4000 total. first issue was resolved by just using door manually. second issue was resolved by cutting cable and using door manually. can not afford to fix both issues at $4000. many web searches have found same/similar issues on this van. *tr

Power sliding door stuck partially open. several attempts to open or close it with the remote resulted in two cables snapping and the power door motor breaking into several pieces. when i removed the inside panel, several broken parts fell out. the dealer charges approximately $1800. *tr

2004 toyota mini van sliding doors freeze shut. i owed two other mini vans without this problem. they have frozen shut every winter. *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

Crack developed on dash in an area between instrument cluster and radio. this is an area not exposed to elements (sun, heat, etc.). vehicle is garaged and maintained and would not be susceptible to a crack. *tr

Passenger side, automatic door stopped working. can not close the door completely causing a safety hazard. went to dealer ... dealer mentioned there is a known issue but they will fix it only if the vehicle has less than 36k miles ... problem was caused due to the sliding door motor, cable assembly and hitch which holds the door. dealer's estimate to fix the problem $2000. *tr

The passenger side automatic sliding door has been touchy with its ability to open and close and to indicate to the car whether it is opened or closed. yesterday, the door ceased to operate. upon further investigation, it appears that a cable has snapped in the door and will need to be replaced. i feel that this is ridiculous for a 5 year old car. it is also very expensive, from $700 to $1800, with toyota dealers being the most expensive. *tr

Toyota has issued an "enhanced warranty" (technical service bulletin #07017, nhtsa item # 10023697) to cover a known quality defect. the front door-check weld may fail and allow the door to move freely over its entire range of motion without any resistance. there are only two ways to fix the problem: 1) if the break is not too bad you can re-weld the broken piece; 2) or, if the break is too bad then you must replace the entire door. the location of the break (internal to the door) has absolutely nothing to do with mileage and is not a load-bearing point beyond providing resistance to the movement of the door. failure of this weld is not a warranty issue but is a known quality defect on the 2004-2007 sienna. failure of this weld completely removes the resistance to the movement of the door. based on the size and free-swinging weight of the door, there is the increased likelihood of additional body damage and this is a safety hazard. the weld on my driver's side door failed around 115,000 miles on my 2004 sienna. this mileage was beyond the "enhanced warranty" period of up to 100,000 miles. i contacted my local dealer who said it was out of warranty. i then contacted toyota customer service (1-800-331-4331) to explain my situation and requested them to fix the door. i explained that i only want my door fixed, not a new car. they told me it was "out of the extended warranty" so there was nothing they could do. warranties are for unknown problems, not a known, well-documented, and recurring defect. *tr

I have a 2004 toyota sienna with power liftgate. on number of occasions, starting on the jan 29,2010, the lift gate would go up and rather than staying up, it start closing. when this initially happened, i was getting under the liftgate as it opened to grab a bag and quickly moved out of the way when i realized that the liftgate was starting close. on number of times, i had to manually push the gate up as it was closing to getting it to stay open. today on feb 4th, i took the sienna to the dealer at morristown, nj and they told me that there was nothing wrong. when i relayed to him that there was a recall regarding this incident, they looked it up tin their system and told me that my car was not the right model. i subsequently, checked my service record and indeed the struts for the liftgate were recalled and replaced by the same dealer in dec.,2008. now, a little over a year and 15,000 miles of driving, this problem is happening as described per recall message. i am worried that this issue has not been resolved or the struts that they replaced may be defective. *jb

The passenger power sliding door on my 2004 toyota sienna xle has failed resulting in the door being inoperable. no extraordinary events lead up to the failure, just normal use. the failure, in this case the motor failed, renders the door completely inoperable, meaning it cannot be opened or closed. in order to operate it manually, the cable connected to the motor must be cut, and in order to operate the door automatically, the motor must be replaced at a cost of $2,019 for parts and labor. additionally, the vehicle was taken to the local toyota dealer who also checked the driver side sliding door and noted this door, in addition to the passenger door, was getting ready to fail too. i found online a toyota technical service bulletin el004-04, not a recall, but clearly states the failure problem and the ensuing production design change. *tr

The drivers side sliding door on my 2004 sienna xle would not operate.the opening cable had frayed. the toyota dealer wanted $1,700. to repair this which is way too much for a problem i didn't cause. the dealer cut the cable and it now works manually but i can't open the door from the inside. this is a serious defect . i can't use the door in an accident. toyota should fix this. *tr

Contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna le with manual liftgate. the liftgate used to work properly - suddenly on a cold winter day it stops working anymore, contact can hear a hiss and the door falls down. contact can see visible oil leak around the gas strut. after that, it's heavy to open the door. *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

The cable to the automatic passenger side sliding door rusted and snapped. we pushed the button by the steering wheel to make it a manual door since it was going to cost between 1,400 and 1,600 dollars depending on the dealership we asked. however the only way to close the door once fully opened is to reach inside the door and pull the inside handle to unlock the holding mechanism to keep the door from sliding shut. my 10 year old son was getting out of the car and shutting the door by using the inside handle to unlatch the door when his fingers were smashed in the door. *tr

Driver side automatic sliding door cable broke. the door has to be opened and closed manually. sienna is no longer under the secret warranty and toyota wants to charge me $3000 for the repair. also door would freeze easily during winter time and becomes very hard to open. *tr

2004 toyota sienna passenger side sliding door mechanism failed and automatically shut without warning, hitting a passenger who was reaching into the back seat. it did not spring back. the door wouldn't open again. we took it to the rudy luther dealership in golden valley, mn and were told that it would cost $2,000 to fix. rather than pay this, we elected to pay $112 to have the cables cut and the switch unplugged. we are extremely disappointed in this failure and in the dealerships response. the car only had 51,641 miles on it when this occurred. *tr

When it is cold outside the sliding doors on the 2004 toyota sienna seem to "freeze" shut. they do not open from the inside or outside. this happens to both the power and non-power door. *tr

1. no events lead to the failure. 2. the driver's side rear sliding door cable and motor of a 2004 toyota sienna xle limited quit working, broken cable. now we are unable to open / close sliding door on driver's side. 3. having cable/motor replaced est cost $1000. *tr

One side automatic sliding doors on my toyota sienna won't open and you cannot manually override without losing function of the other door and we have found site after site where this is happening to more than just us and we are concerned for our safety in a vehicle where the door won't open. the fix according to the dealer is anywhere from 1200.00 to 1800.00 and we feel as though that is steep and they should recall this since it is not just one family reporting this problem. *tr

I have a 2004 sienna xle limited that has always been garage kept and very well taken care of. the dash on the passenger side above the airbag has been cracking for sometime now and what once started as a small crack, is now a spiderweb of cracks that extends over the entire passenger side of the dash. when searching on the internet for a used dash i came across the following thread: http://www.automotiveforums.com/t959673-discuss2004_sienna_cracked_dashboard.html and discovered this is not an isolated incident, that it has, in fact, occurred in many 04 sienna's. i, along with many others feel this is a safety hazard due to what would happen to the already cracked dash if the airbag were to deploy. i have called toyota and registered a complaint and was assigned case #: 1207232487. i have also emailed toyota with a complaint as well. because of the number of incidents, i believe toyota should issue a recall. i need a new dash, and because it's obviously a manufacturer's defect. *tr

My 2004 toyota sienna minivan sliding door freeze shut or partially open. sometimes i can not get the doors open to get my kids in or out in freezing weather. also, they freeze partially open and won't safely lock!! *tr

Toyota sienna '04 driver side door has a loud clunking sound when opening and closing doors. toyota issued a letter to customers to get the door fixed but i never got a letter. why did toyota sent out letter to fix the problem and not call it a recall. please help to get my door fix. *tr

Our 2004 toyota sienna xle, power sliding doors will not open, or latch closed all the way. it occurred during a cold spell in our area, and we haven't been able to fix it yet. it is a safety hazard, and extremely difficult to get my infant and my other children in and out of the van when both doors won't open. neither will open with the power buttons in the car, the buttons on our keys, or manually. there has been no way to get them open, and since they aren't latched closed, the van can't be locked, and when i drive it continuously beeps, alerting me to the "open" doors while i am driving. once again, i would like to emphasize how unsafe this is, as if there was an emergency, there would be no quick way that i, or any emergency personnel could get any passengers out of the back seats quickly and efficiently. apparently it costs more than $1200 per door for the dealer to fix the problem. *tr

2004 sienna xle power sliding door fell off. the power sliding function has been a troublesome issue with this door for over 2 years but since it did not start to fail until just after the warranty period ended toyota insists that there is no issue for them to address. we having been using this door in manual opening mode with power assisted closing for 2 years. last week the cable became snagged in the mechanism but the door still worked in full manual mode. 3 days ago my wife placed our daughter in the vehicle and went to close the door. when the door was nearly closed the top and center rollers came out of their tracks and the door fell off the vehicle in her hand. the sharp bottom edge of the door nearly hit her toes and could easily have severed the end of her foot. the bottom hinge bracket is now bent and the back corner of the door is damaged from striking the ground. dealer quote for the repairs is over $4000. from reading various posts on the internet this would appear to be a common defect with this vehicle which i consider to be a serious safety issue. i count us fortunate that neither my wife nor my daughter were seriously injured by this occurrence. had she not caught the door before it struck the vehicle beside her or swung inwards toward my daughter who was sitting right beside it, the situation could have been much worse. *tr

During normal operations of this 2004 toyota sienna xle van. right side powered door seized. door failed to open completely, and then it was difficult to shut and lock. i took the sienna to the local toyota dealership (heartland toyota, bremerton, washington) on 13jan10, and they diagnosed the problem as a failed motor, control cable, and computer (ecu). they also informed me it would cost $3,050 to repair. i was in shock. i checked online and there seems to be a chronic failure with the 'automatic' doors of toyota vans. toyota corporate instructed me to work with the local toyota dealer to arbitrate repairs since the door is not covered under warranty, or recall. i urge the nhtsa to investigate these doors. they should not fail and seize after 5 years of normal wear. *tr updated 03/10/10 *bf updated 10/05/10

2004 toyota sienna automatic passenger side sliding door stopped working and wouldn't shut. this door also came open without warning, presenting a safety hazard to children riding in car. *tr

2004 toyota sienna minivan, sliding doors freeze shut all winter, my three kids cannot rely on what door to exit, especially in an emergency. one sliding door has now stopped working, cable snapped and bolts sheared, likely due to the extra force needed to work the frequently frozen doors. perhaps these vans should not be allowed in climates under 32 degrees. i have already needed to have front doors and rear door mechanism repaired(recalls). this seems to be a common problem. *tr

I have a 2004 toyota sienna xle. the passenger right power slider door has stopped working abruptly on 1/1/2010 while driving. the daughter was sitting right next to the door. dealer quote is 1400 dollars to fix it. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the entire dashboard became fractured. the vehicle was taken to an authorized the dealer for inspection. the dealer advised that the dashboard material was defective needed to be replaced. the dashboard was not replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 80,000.

I have a 2004 toyota sienna minivan. every year when the temperature is below freezing and there is even slight precipitation, my sliding doors freeze so i am not able to open them at all or even close them completely. i have been to the dealer repeatedly. they have lubricated the seals but it has not solved the problem. the dealer acknowledges this is a design problem with this model and that toyota is aware but will do nothing about it. my daughter was recently injured getting into the rear door when she slipped. i live in fear there will be a car accident or emergency where my children will not be able to exit the van. please help me with this problem. *tr

Sliding side doors freeze shut and can not be opened when temperature drops below freezing. *tr

Automatic sliding door on toyota sienna freezes in cold weather and the cable broke making the door inoperable. dealer states the repair cost is between 2-3k. unable to just buy the cable part without the motor. van is a 2004 model. cable broke on 12/30/2009. *tr

My 2004 toyota sienna has had issues with the sliding doors ever since i have owned it. a couple of years into ownership the cable on the motorized door (passenger side) became slipped off its track, making closing the door impossible. the cable had to be snapped, converting the door to a manual door, so that the car could be locked and secured. the cost of repair was excessive (for me), thereby making this temporary solution a permanent one. the greater problem resides in operation of both rear sliding doors in cold weather. whenever it's cold, the doors stick and cannot be opened. the safety concerns are twofold. primarily, i am concerned that my children cannot be efficiently removed from the car, in the event of an accident. the other day, it was so cold, i actually snapped the door handle off the vehicle, attempting to open it. indirectly, i am also concerned about instructing my children to enter the car, via the front doors, and to climb over the front seats. without adult presence, any child could inadvertently kick the (automatic) gear shifter into reverse or drive, thereby endangering an person who might be in front or in back of the vehicle. in areas where one is accustomed to start a vehicle and leave it running to warm up, albeit it's very remotely possible, there could be a tragic outcome. personally, i will take steps to prevent this, but i can see others not anticipating this outcome. i have become aware of a number of sienna owners who have experienced various problems with these doors, and i am greatly concerned about not being able to open doors that have been frozen shut. i have to think there is a design flaw here that needs to be remedied by toyota. yet, other sienna owners hear the same thing that i do, specifically that we need to keep throwing money at the problem to keep the cars maintained and that it's not toyota's responsibility. *tr

The cable on the automatic drivers side sliding door of our 2004 toyota sienna snapped. this rendered the door unable to close until getting it to the dealership. *tr

Power sliding door cable snapped on a 2004 toyota sienna xle. due to this issue we can not open or close the driver side sliding door. in order to fix the problem, we are taking to the dealership and estimated cost to fix is $500.00 and $100.00 to identify the issue. *tr

I wish to complain about the toyota sienna 2004 driver door. there is a door check popping noise which can lead to the driver door falling off. i believe this ought to be recalled by toyota and repaired in all vechicles. *tr

Im writing about my safety concerns about the 2004 toyota sienna xle i recently purchased this summer. i live in a climate where it is below freezing four months out of the year. the have been several occasions since the temperature has drop where the sliding passenger doors have froze shut and i could not get them open. i have owned several different models of van and i have never had this issue. this is not just happening when there's freezing rain, its seems to be whenever there is any sort of moisture between the door and the weatherstriping. thank you *tr

The weld that secures the door check mounting panel to the driver door is failing on my 2004 sienna le. i get the dreaded popping noises when the door is opened and closed. the door check is the device that holds the door open halfway or fully open. this device provides resistance so the door does not swing freely. toyota is aware of the issue (toyota service bulletin nv003-07) and extended the regular warranty to 5 years and 1000,000 miles for this situation (toyota motor sales usa letter to me in ~ 2008). stevinson toyota (lakewood co) told me the repair would be at my expense. my car is only 6 years old and has 111,000 miles. if toyota was concerned enough to extend the warranty and cover the repair, why not issue a recall for all vehicles that experience the problem? just because my car is 6 years old doesn't mean the safety issue due to a failed door check went away. when the retaining mechanism weld fails completely, the door will swing freely and could close suddenly without any resistance. any person in the way could be hit and any limbs/fingers could be trapped between the door and frame. this vehicle provides the family transportation so there are kids involved here. *tr

We have a 2004 sienna ce that we bought new. since owning the car (it has 125,000 miles on it) the sliding doors have frozen shut whenever the weather is cold. living in vermont, i thought that this issue was isolated. however, when my son tried to open the door and the handle snapped off because the door was frozen shut once again, i decided to check to see if there were other complaints. yes there were...many. i had to pay to have the handle replaced but was told that the door freezing shut was a typical complaint. *tr

2004 toyota sienna sliding doors get stuck and stop working when there is cold weather, snow. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. while the vehicle was parked during inclement weather the contact stated the rear driver and passenger side automatic power sliding doors would not open automatically or manually. the seals on the door were frozen shut. while the vehicle was parked on an incline the doors would automatically close on their own while exiting the vehicle. the contact noticed a cable on the automatic sliding doors snapped on the rear drivers side. the passengers in the rear seat had to enter and exit the vehicle from the lift gate. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the motor was disconnected and the wires were removed. the automatic feature was also disconnected and the doors were opened manually. the vehicle was repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 50,000. updated 07/08/11 *bf the consumer stated the cable snapped on both sliding doors, which disabled automatically. even manually, there was no way to open or close the doors. updated 11/23/11

The trunk gate of my toyota sienna does not open fully and sometimes goes down during cold weather. *tr

My door has the door check issue to the point it will not hardly close, and toyota feels since it was 5 years , 3 months from date of purchase, they are not responsible for it. i suspect this was present and all affected toyotas should be recalled to fix both this driver door, but the passenger door as well. make : toyota model : sienna year : 2004 manufacturer : toyota motor corporation service bulletin number : 07017 date of bulletin : oct 23, 2007 nhtsa item number : 10023697 component : structure:body:door summary : customer support program - warranty coverage extension for the front door check on certain 2004-2007 my sienna vehicles. *nj *tr

I have a 2004 toyota sienna with electric sliding side doors. the passenger side sliding door locked open today and would not move. my wife was taking children to school. it was very cold. i took the van to the toyota dealer and they said it would be near $2000 to repair it. they had to cut the door cable so we could operate it manually. this is unacceptable. i own two toyota's and was planning to buy more. they need to recall this issue as i have read many similar stories. *tr

Sliding side doors freeze shut and can not be opened when temperature drops below freezing. *tr

I have a 2004 sienna xle in which the cable on the driver's side sliding door snapped. this is the 4th door to have safety issues. the cable has snapped and is hanging from the back rear window. it's frayed and rusty! the door now will not open.....very scary in the case of having to exit the vehicle quickly!!when i purchased a toyota (at a premium cost , i believed that i was paying for quality!). this vehicle's door issues are a time bomb! i have read enough to know that this is a common problem among sienna owners yet there is no recall! unbelievable! shame on toyota for not standing by their "quality" product! *tr

Sliding passenger door prone to freezing and squeaking in cold weather. *tr

Right power sliding door is completely inoperative. unable to open the door with either the manual handles (inside or outside) or the power switch. *tr