Problems with 2004 Toyota Sienna STRUCTURE

Rear tailgate struts bind and fail to hold up tailgate. *jb

The driver side rear passenger sliding door motor burned up and destroyed the cable and the door hinges broke and went off track. we were told it was not under warranty and would be $1700 to fix. *tr

Tl* - the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. while driving the vehicle at various speeds the driver's side and passenger's side sliding doors will open without warning. the contact had not taken the vehicle to a repair shop for a diagnosis. the failure mileage was 130,000, and the current mileage was 142,000.*ak

In december, 2006, my tailgate closed on its own, injuring my wife. toyota replaced the rear stays (struts) under warranty, including the addition of some brackets. at first everything was fine. but when the weather turned colder (below 20f), the rear hatch would not open on its own unless opening under power. and then a couple of days ago (still very cold), the hatch closed on its own under power again. this time, my daughter and i were both in its path, but fortunately, so was a shopping cart. there were fortunately no injuries this time. i am frustrated that just 45 days after the problem was "repaired" it is already happening again.

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

The sliding doors on my 2004 toyota sienna freeze up in the winter. this concerns me because i can not open the doors. therefore my children need to climb into the front of the van to get out or climb in the back and exit the vehicle through the hatchback. they must also enter the van through the front driver's door or the front passenger door. in the event of an emergency, my children will be at risk because they are not able to exit the vehicle properly. *tr

Auto powered rear door; when powered opened will open all the way and a few seconds later suddenly close without warning. it has happened a few times, only in cold weather. this has happened after toyota fixed the hatch studdering problem. i was injured (bruised) in the head due the door hitting me as it automatically closed by itself (note it did not stop closing after it hit my head). *nm

The power door on our 2004 toyota sienna started failing before the vehicle was 4 years old. the door has difficulty opening and closing leaving us to face the possibility of driving with the door open and possibly having a child in the seat next to it. this is the primary vehicle for my wife and children and i am concerned they will be stranded or placed in an unsafe situation. toyota diagnosed it as needing a motor& cable assembly, center hinge and bracket. the repair estimate is $1,474.60. we have tried to work with toyota on this but have not had any satisfaction. *tr

2004 toyota sienna minivan: over a dozen times the automatic rear tail hitch has come down without warning and tried to close itself completely. the door traps you between it and the rear bumper, once hurting my child. toyota and the dealership said this was not under warranty and that there was no recall yet this seems to be a problem they are hearing more frequently. the dealership repaired the door at our cost. *jb

I have a toyota sienna 2004 xle. in late december 2006, we started having problems with the power rear door closing once opened. i just researched and learned of case ea06020 of the investigation into this problem. the door is completely non-functioning, sometimes closing slowly and sometimes slamming with such force we were afraid it would take off an arm or leg. the door came slamming down on our son's leg who luckily had a ski boot on which protected him from his foot being severely damaged. toyota says it needs new struts and will not pay to correct the problem. after my research it seems that even the new struts they are installing do not work. we have not had the struts replaced - we just don't use the door unless we have an adult to physically hold it open. we did see fluid leak from the struts when the problem started in december 2006. we are hoping toyota will have to recall this serious problem and fix it correctly. *jb

2004 toyota sienna minivan power lift gate closes in an uncommanded manner. this has happened with several times with myself and my wife while loading items in the rear of the van. i fear that it is a real safety issue if my wife or child would happen to be under there and not move out of the way fast enough. *nm

2004 toyota sienna lift-gate struts on the rear hatch failed. both struts leaked, then completely failed causing the lift gate to fall. lift gate no longer stays open, but completely drops. *jb

In the winter of 2006 the gas struts that supported the rear cargo door failed. the struts did not fail completely. it appears that some, but not all, of the gas that charges the struts has leaked out. the problem manifests only in the cold weather when the gas volume in the struts is less due to the cold. in the summer the struts perform normally. *tr

In december we took our 2004 sienna in because the rear liftgate began closing on us expectedly. we have 3 young children and fear they will be seriously injured or killed. i see there is an investigation into this exact problem. both toyota corporate & the dealership have refused to fix it because it is out of warranty. *nm

The power lift gate has twice reversed operation for no apparent reason and without warning. the first time i noticed and was able to move out of the way. the second time, my wife was about to walk under it and ended up hitting her head rather hard on it. the van is almost 3 years old. it is currently at the dealership service center, who initially suspected the cause to be some sensors within the liftgate. *jb

Intermittently the back lift door on our 2004 toyota sienna xle minivan closes unexpectedly. so far, no one had been injured by the closing door, but we have had a couple of very close calls. this happens when only the door has been raised using the remote control and most often on cool wet days.. *nm

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. while parked, the contact noticed a crack on the passenger side dashboard where the front air bag was located. the contact stated that pieces of the dashboard were detaching from the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing where the technicians stated to the contact that the dashboard would have to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 30,000.

Toyota sienna 2004 with power lift gate. opened the lift gate on the van we just purchased and the lift gate started to come back down hitting my wife in the head while she was trying to load something into the van. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated while the vehicle was parked in the driveway, the liftgate was opened but the door malfunctioned and closed hitting the contact on the head and the back of the shoulder. the impact of the liftgate knocked the contact halfway inside the vehicle. there were no warning signals prior to the incident. the vehicle was not taken to the service dealer for repairs. the manufacturer was alerted who provided a claim #.

The liftgate on my 2004 toyota sienna closes unintentionally and unexpectedly. this problem started a couple of months ago. it has trapped me several times now. i have to use the key (in my hand or pocket) to get it to reopen. it closes silently so that you don't know that it is happening until it is too late. it poses a very dangerous situation for my wife and kids (9 and 12) if they were to be trapped. i now am conscious of this failure and watch for the door closing and simply quickly move out of the way. *nm

Rear power hatch came down on my back 2 times about an 1 hour apart. about a month ago they replaced the rear struts for the same problem, the hatch came down on a car wash attendant. *nm

Back door (gate) started to fall down at colder temperatures (approx. 50 f). after couple of month the gate doesn't stay up anymore. it just falls down. also, whitish spots started to appear on the dashboard in the area where there is an airbag is located. *jb

My problem started approximately back in nov 2006. i have a 2004 toyota sienna that has it's driver side door hinge/latch defective. it started making a clicking sound when the door is opened almost as if it is getting caught. now that my wife has taken the car to the dealer she was informed that this is a rare occurrence on this model and that the only remedy is to get a new door at a cost of around $2300. i understand that although the car is passed the warranty period (i use my car for long family trips and therefore have high- highway mileage--around 65k) i feel that this is either a design defect or a structural problem since it started within 2.5 years of purchase. i had my wife contact an independent mechanic who actually pointed out the problem by showing us that the connecting area of the door is actually cracked!!! i proceeded to call toyota of na and they informed me that they've never heard of such a thing and that my car was out of warranty. a search at your site uncovered what i feel is a similar complaint (odi id number 10167890). like that person i feel that this is a structure defect and it has nothing to do with the high mileage of my car. i have owned over 18 cars of all classes, mileage, and ages and have never experienced this or even heard of such a thing. i'm not a structural engineer but it seems to me that this is a case of metal fatigue. could you please contact me as i'm concerned that this will only worsen with time to the point that this door will not be usable or actually become a hazard. what actions can i take to get the manufacturer to at least acknowledge this defect? what's worse, now that my car has this defect i feel my vehicle's resale value is significantly reduced. thank you for your help! *tr

The sliding door on the driver's side of my 2004 sienna has failed repeatedly in the last two years. the full assembly for the door mechanism (cable and motor) have already been replaced twice, and it is already breaking again. once the system fails, the door becomes fully inoperable and cannot be opened/closed manually. from what i have observed directly, it seems that something along the cable track is wearing away the plastic coating on the cable (i know because the plastic is partially dangling off the cable below the rear window, just like it did last time). the last time the cable assembly was replaced, a large portion of the plastic had peeled away leaving the cable stripped bare. fortunately, the door failed before the cable actually snapped from wear-down as i have read in other cases. it just doesn't seem right that the door assembly continues to fail every 6 to 8 months. there definitely has to be a manufacturer defect. *tr

Dashboard cracked on the right side. dealership arranged repair at my expense. six months later another crack of a 18" in length appeared in front of the passenger side above the glove box. old crack is also visible again. *tr

Dt*: the contact stated the rear lift gate malfunctioned on a worsening basis and almost closed on the contact's head. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined the rear support device of the liftgate failed and needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was contacted and stated the vehicle was not included in any recall due to the vin. the vehicle was currently at the dealers for further repairs.

Liftgate closes unexpected without any input after being opened. it has closed on my wife's head, my 4 yr old, the bagger at the grocery store, and myself. my 4 yr old had a bruise on her head. this has been happening for about 2 months. it was just once in a while at first, but now it won't stay open at all without being supported by hand. i've gone to the local toyota dealer and they want to replace the "stays" at a cost to me of several hundreds of dollars. no repair has been made yet. *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated that when the liftgate was power-opened, it unexpectedly power-closed on its own. the door would re-open if it met resistance; however, it would continue to close. as of november 30, 2007, the dealer had not inspected the vehicle. there is an engineering analysis open (nhtsa action number ea06020). the failure mileage was 35,000 and current mileage was 45,000.

Right sliding door cable snapped and stopped opening automatically. this happen right after warrranty ended and they would only repair it for 2000 +. *tr

1. opened rear door on 2004 toyota sienna. 2. the hydraulic struts failed and door fell on my head. no severe injury. 3. at this point, i'm looking to replace the struts but the cost is about $450. *nm

The liftgate struts on my 2004 toyota sienna minivan failed. the liftgate (manual, not power) slammed down with no warning while i was putting groceries in the back. if i had been in the way, i could easily have been injured. if either of my children had been helping me, they certainly would have been hurt! *jb

My 4 year old daughter had her hand caught and held in the trailing edge (rear edge) of the power sliding door on our 2004 toyota sienna lx we reversed the door as soon as possible, but she was held for about 10 seconds with the door totally closed over her mid palm. this led to a cut over the palm, but she is now using the hand normally. i do not think there is any long term damage. i am a hand surgeon by profession and am concerned that the door has no sensors for reversal when closing against resistance, other than some sensors on the front edge of the door in the molding. in my opinion, serious injury could occur to any limb that gets caught in the trailing edge since there is nothing to sense or prevent the door closing on a limb. i would hope some sort of sensor could be placed at the motor level similar to the anti pinch mechanism of power windows. i described the problem to toyota and their response was less than encouraging or helpful. the door is functioning normally and this is just how the design works. the design needs help imo. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated the hydraulics that held the hatch open failed and caused the hatch to fall. the dealership replaced the hydraulic assembly.*ak updated 1/25/2006 - *nm

Rear hatch struts failed on 2004 toyota sienna, causing rear hatch to slam shut. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated while the lift gate was opened automatically with the keyless remote, it fell downward without warning. no injuries were sustained. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer who determined the hydraulic lift gate arm support device needed to be replaced. after the replacement, the problem later returned. the manufacturer was not alerted.

Rear lift gate of 2004 toyota sienna van upon reaching full open position using the automatic opener will reverse itself and close. this event occurs when the outside temperature is below 50 deg f. the latest event was 8/29/06 this event has occurred numerous times in the past year. the dealer could not duplicate the problem in the shop. there have been no injuries involved, but the liftgate has hit me on the back of the head several times. *nm

Rear hatch unexpectedly fell onto head. *jb

The right rear automatic door closure mechanism exploded sending plastic shrapnel forwards hitting my wife in the face. she was sitting sideways with her feet out of the van she reached backwards and pressed the close button located on the pillar. there was a big noise that sounded like a rock hitting the van. we looked for damage to van then discovered the broken cable dangling and the door would not close. luckily my wife had sunglasses on. *nm

I own a 2004 toyota sienna and the liftgate struts have failed. no injuries as of 8/27/06. *jb

2004 toyota sienna rear hatch hydraulics no longer hold up the hatch. the cost to replace these is $167.71 each!! i have had numerous other problems already with the vehicle in the two years i have owned it....crack in radiator, failed motor on automatic window, drive shaft had to be replaced...wand with wipers etc..had to be replaced. i am beginning to think i got a lemon. but the hydraulics on the hatch...after only two years. found an article that this was being investigated by you guys involving approximately 400,000 vehicles. has there been any resolution to this? *nm

July 15, 2006 noted that rear hatch would not rise when commanded nor would it stay up when opened manually. took to authorized dealer shop and was told that both rear hatch stays (struts) had leaks and would need to be replaced. quote was 430$+ for repair. vehicle is less than 36 months old, but has more than 36,000 miles. found sienna owners website on internet which directed me to toyota technical service bulletin #bo003-4. identifies this part as a known design deficiency. *jb

The power sliding door does not stay open when on a downhill slope - the door opens fully then closes immediately. the dealer has tried to fix it three times without success. *nm

After picking up our vehicle from naperville toyota service on june 20th, 2006, where it was brought in for an oil change and check-up, it was discovered the rear hatch struts had failed overnight, simultaneously, and without warning. this failure caused the rear door to open as usual but subsequently slam down on the vehicle owner with full force onto their head. although the injury sustained was minor, the rear door was unable to operated automatically and had to be physically held open to load or unload any cargo in the back. both the dealership and the national toyota consumer service hotline were informed of the safety issue. the repairs to the vehicle were quoted at $430.00 because the warranty was over by only 431 miles. ( case # 200607080129). there was an offer of a 50 dollar labor discount upon complaint. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated the button on the key to open the hatch was depressed and the hatch went up, then immediately went down and would not stay open. to ensure the hatch would stay open, the contact had to hold it up. the dealership determined the shocks were defective and the shocks were replaced.

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact heard a loud popping noise when he opened the drive side door. the dealer stated that the door hinge caused the failure and they replaced the hinges. approximately one year later, the noise recurred. the dealer stated that the hinge caused the failure again. as of september 14, 2007, the dealer had not repaired the vehicle. the failure mileage was 29,879 and current mileage was 32,000.

2004 sienna hatch failing (lift-gate struts). *nm

1. power sliding door worked. 2. went to operate power door, loud sound of plastic breaking, door would not open or close completely. 3. at home saw that cable to operate power sliding door had snapped. called dealer said they wouldn't do anything, out of warranty. called toyota said isolated case sorry can't do anything. cut cable so i was able operate door manually. approx. 1 year later cable on other door snapped. same process, same response. *tr

I am original owner of 2004 toyota sienna xle limited and been always garaged started developing cracks on dashboard on the driver's side by the ac vent and above steering wheel. i am concerned about this cracks as potentially preventing airbags from deploying properly or may be deploying prematurely. *this is safety problem! dashboard cracks was noticed at 60,000 mileage and the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a complaint was filed. thousands owners of toyota sienna 2004 have same problem with cracks on dashboard with spreading all over to passenger side in airbag area- ?manufacturer told me that i am only one have this and van is out of warranty?. http://www.automotiveforums.com/t959673-discuss2004_sienna_cracked_dashboard.html * squeaking noise coming from under van or motor - gasket for center pipe was replaced but problem came back and now also when the air conditioning in use more nose -the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing the technician advised the contact that the air conditioning compressor would have to be replaced -$1500. * the rear driver and passenger side sliding doors is scratching the upper right corner of body when closing and its started when mileage was only 9,177. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the hinges was replaced. the sliding door failure recurred shortly after and recommended again to replace hinges. also power door cable assemblies did fail and was replaced i paid for the install and reimbursed later , but manufacturer do not want to replace hinges what should be part of power door warranty enhancement . again thousands toyota sienna owners have problem with sliding doors scratching upper corner with body rust later as result ,transmission leaks and ac failure but manufacturer denied the defects.the approximate current mileage on this is vehicle 72,000.this is a $38k lemon ! *tr

Right now our middle row seatbelt is not retracting. i see the recall notice and am taking it in. our other issue is this. about a year ago, when the car was only two years old but over 36,000 mile warranty, our automatic sliding side doors began to malfunction. the one on the driver's side has to be manually closed and the one on the passenger side is sluggish to respond. we thought it was a battery or alternator problem. both were replaced. the problem remained so we took the sienna in to the dealer. the dealer reported that both door motors would need to be replaced at a cost of over $6,000. *tr

Headlight, hid, passenger side. lens filled with water (condensation?) and would not dry. water would actually stream down the inside of the lens. soon my hid bulb stopped working. dealer wanted $350.00 for a new bulb. i told the dealer i had switched the driver and passenger bulbs and they both worked on the driver side and neither worked on passenger side. dealer then quoted $1,000 for new headlight assembly. dealer told me the water in the passenger side lens was normal but had no explanation for why the driver side was dry. i did an internet search and also checked siennaclub.org and found very many complaints about wet passenger side lenses and passenger side failed hid bulbs. by the way, i bought a new sylvania hid bulb, new in the box on e-bay for $45.00 (dealer wanted $350.00 for the bulb!) toyota care denied my request for no-charge replacement of the passenger side headlight lens assembly. *tr