Problems with 2004 Toyota Sienna STRUCTURE

Upon trying to open the manual, rear sliding door on the driver's side, it only open a few inches. almost felt like it was hitting something, preventing it from fully opening. took it to a local, reputable mechanic, who tried to "feel" if anything was stuck in the track. did not see or feel anything in the track. after reading several toyota blogs, including this site, it seems that a safety feature has malfunctioned. there is a safety feature which prevents the door from opening completely when the fuel door is open. the mechanic said that the entire door would have to be taken off, accessing it by removing the center seats and going in from the opposite sliding door. a costly job. this is apparently a manufacturer defect. i have two 9 year old boys, and if we were involved in a accident, one of them would not be able to get out from his side...this poses a great danger to my child. this needs further investigation by the nhtsa.gov and a recall issued by toyota! *tr

I am having trouble with the side power sliding door. *tr

The electric sliding door cable is fraying and the door does not open or close properly. *tr

We tried to close the automatic sliding door, but it remained stuck open. we had to drive the vehicle with the door open to a service station and get the cable cut in order to be able to shut the door. researched the issue on the internet and found it is a common problem. service bulletin number : sb-0280-10 date of bulletin : oct 04, 2010 nhtsa item number : 10036906 component : structure:body:hatchback/liftgate toyota: some vehicles may exhibit a condition where one or both sliding doors do not open or close smoothly. inspect the sliding door lock assemblies and replace the affected components as needed, according to the listed instructions. *tr

The driver door makes a double clicking sound either on opening or closing. tried putting dw40, but did not work. after "googling" the problem, discovered that many other toyota sienna owners have the same problem. it seems an issue with the way the welding is done on the door. some bloggers have said that the dealer fixed it at no charge. others state that the dealer and/or toyota will not address the issue because the vehicle is outside the warranty. my deepest fear is that many drivers have stated that the door has not opened at all and that they need to exit the car from the passenger side. this is obviously a manufacturers defect and definitely poses a danger if the driver cannot exit the car, especially if there is an emergency. thank you! *tr

The cables on both the left and right side automated sliding passenger doors have snapped within a 4 months of one another (right side on 8/24 and the left side on 12/26) and now i am unable to open either door. the doors will not operate even manually so the only way for a passenger to get in our out of the car is through the rear lift tailgate or the front doors of the vehicle. this is not acceptable in the case of an emergency or accident. toyota extended the warranty on these components to 120k miles but this was announced after my vehicle passed that mileage. toyota is charging customers to allow the doors to be operated manually even with this being a clear safety issue. toyota needs to recall these vehicles for this condition based on the safety issues this creates for passengers. toyota service bulletin number (sb-0280-10) date of bulletin : oct 04, 2010 nhtsa item number : 10036906 component : structure:body:door summary : toyota: some vehicles may exhibit a condition where one or both sliding doors do not open or close smoothly. inspect the sliding door lock assemblies and replace the affected components as needed, according to the listed instructions. *pe *tr

The automatic sliding passenger doors on both sides of my toyota sienna xle have stopped working. i first reported a problem to toyota in 2011 when the sliding door behind the driver seat stopped working. toyota refused to cover the repair (my van had 129,000 miles on it). due to the $1,500 cost to replace the whole motor assembly, i had the cable cut by a repair specialist so the door could be operated manually. last week, the other passenger door stopped working and will not open at all. toyota informed me today that, although they recently extended the warranty to 120,000 / 9 years; my vehicle was outside that warranty as well. the fact that the doors become inoperable (once the cable stops working one cannot open or close the door without great effort - and even then it may not work) is an unacceptable defect and a safety hazard. the one door that is now on manual mode (since the cable was disconnected) is still cumbersome to open and close. if my children were younger, it would definitely be a safety hazard because they would not be able to do it independently (too heavy). toyota needs to acknowledge and recall the vehicles with this safety hazard. based on the reported number of complaints, it appears the issue is caused or exacerbated by poor design of the mechanism. *tr

I have a 2004 sienna le that has always been garage kept and very well taken care of. the dash on the driver, center and 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 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

Driver's side door with loud popping noise with every opening and closing and jar of the door with these noises. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the front driver side door would exhibit a popping noise when opened. the dealer inspected the vehicle and found that the door weld failed. the manufacturer advised the contact that the extended warranty was expired and denied assistance with the repair. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 113,440.

While the car was parked on a flat road, we were trying to open the power sliding door. it was supposed to be opened by one push of a button, however, it did not. so we had to manually open it. now the door is so heavy to use it manually. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the vehicle had developed a crack in the center of the dashboard. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 60,300 and the current mileage was 61,100.

Door check broken on drivers side door. i am told this requires the door to be replaced at a cost of $2,000. as a result, i have an unsafe situation since i had to remove the door check. *tr

Our local toyota dealer replaced the lift gate struts due to a recall even though the original struts were fine. after the replacement, the new struts do not work properly during warm weather. the lift gate will partially go down and then the lift gate jerks back up and does not close. the dealer was contacted about this problem and the car was taken back in. dealer said they "didn't know what to do" and would contact toyota and call us back. they never did. *tr

Power sliding door cable broke. confirmed with toyota dealer that breaking cable caused power door motor to fail. toyota has warranty enhancement to cover cable, but will not cover motor. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated there was a clunking noise when closing or opening the front driver's side door. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. the technician stated that the door had to be re-welded. after the repair the failure continued. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the technician stated the door would have to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 93,000. *tr

The vehicle dash is cracking. *tr

Toyota sienna automatic sliding door failed. the door is unable to be opened even in manual mode. used the key fob and the cable just snapped. this is a design flaw and a serious safety issue as my children need to climb over seats to exit through the only door that works as my babies car seat was in that spot. in an emergency this is a serious hazard and is just waiting for disaster to happen. *tr

Driver side door started making load popping and creaking noises when opening and closing. brought the van to the dealer for service and was told that the welds inside the door were broken. service manager informed me that it was a manufacturing defect and recommended i call toyota customer service. toyota admitted it was due to a defect but since i was out of warranty they would do nothing to fix it. doors should last for the lifetime of a car and don't break from normal wear and tear. toyota had extended the warranty for the doors but my car is still past that period. by extending the warranty toyota has already admitted that the doors are defective. just because it took mine 8 years to break, they are telling me that i need to spend over $2000 to replace the door. toyota should be forced to repair these doors. no reasonable consumer would buy a vehicle with the knowledge that a basic, yet hugely expensive part, such as a door could likely break irreparably in the normal lifetime of a car. this is not one of the expensive automatic sliding doors (although those also seem to break). this is the basic driver side door like the ones that have been put in cars for the last hundred years. toyota needs to address this problem for their customers. *tr

The cable on my passenger side sliding door broke, rendering my door inoperable. it will open 8 inches at most, which prevented me access to my child's car seat. i inquired with toyota after learning online that there has been a warranty extension for this problem, since it seems that it has been a pervasive issue with the siennas. the dealership informed me that the limit for the warranty extension is 9 years or 120,000 miles. since my car has 130,000 miles (i bought it used in 2011 with 123,000 miles), i do not qualify for the warranty extension. the estimate provided to me was $1500 to repair it. if the other door's cable snaps, which seems likely given the plethora of personal accounts of this problem you'll find with a google search, it will cost another $1500. i cannot afford $1500 to fix one door, much less a double when the other door cable goes. this is a safety issue. although it will not open, my door closed just fine. i understand there are many others who are not as lucky and get stuck away from home with a sliding door that will not close. toyota has acknowledged that there is a big problem with these vans, as evidenced by the warranty extension for this issue. why are they being allowed to limit the fixing of this safety issue to only vehicles under a certain mileage? *js

Driver side sliding door is broken. dealer says weld is broken requiring complete door replacement at a cost of $2000. the driver door was replaced years ago under a recall because it too had a broken weld. *tr this sliding door problem is not an isolated issue. the dealers are well aware of the problem on these vans. *tr

The problem is with our front drivers door. it started out closing on my leg and squeaking. since my driveway is on a slight hill, i attributed it to this. i never received the warranty enhancement? regarding this or i would have known these were due to a defect with the car door hinge welding and we would have brought it in for repairs. since then, the door started to make a very loud clicking and squeaking noise. toyota??s repair, as i have read, was to replace the door completely. it said that re-welding would not hold. when asking about repairing it at the walnut creek dealership, i was told to bring it to a welding place. i called toyota corporate several times. case #[xxx]-i spoke with [xxx] when asking her why we never received this notice, she stated that ??she could not guarantee that one was mailed to us. i asked her how we were supposed to know that this was a problem and her response was that if i always brought my car to the toyota dealership that i could rely on them to diagnose the problem. first, toyota should fix it under the warranty since they never notified me and second, shouldn't a door be on properly for safety? information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Passenger door makes noise (hinges) and toyota don't cover it. i did received a notice from toyota that they cover 120k mileage / 9 years for sliding door problem not for driver door. the dealer is asking me about $2,500 to change the door. it's not fair. toyota need to fix their problem!!! *tr

Sienna is experiencing the broken welds on the drivers side door check pocket. the pocket although repaired once has now fractured / cracked. *tr

Our 2004 sienna van was at the dealership for a repair under warranty enhancement. in the past, the door had closed on my child numerous times due to a defect. after that the door did not close at all unless we went out of our van and pushed up on it as it was closing. a mechanic at toyota pointed out to me chipped paint above the door which we were told indicated that the door was sagging due to the hinge not being strong enough to hold the door properly & that the hinge needed to be replaced. when our van was in for the recent enhanced warranty repair, we were told that all of the repair was covered except the hinge, which costs us $224.05. we were told the hinge needed to be replaced or we would continue to have the door go out on us.!this is the cause of the problem according to several toyota maintenance techs, but they are charging customers to pay for something that should be part of the warranty. in addition, on our invoice it stated that our passenger sliding door the cables are also fraid and the hinge has play. when asking why they did not do the warranty enhancement on this door, we were told that because the door is not totally non-functioning, they will not repair it even thought they stated the parts are bad! we questioned both toyota walnut creek and toyota corporate (case # [xxx] and several other case #'s) several times each and got no help from either! information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Dashboard has multiple hairline cracks. a lot of 2004 toyota sienna have the same issues when i made an online research about the problem. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated that he noticed a fracture along the dashboard near the air conditioning vents, leading to where the air bags were located. the vehicle was later taken to the dealer where they advised him that they would have to replace the entire dash board. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and advised him that the vehicle was not recalled and was no longer under warranty. the failure mileage was approximately 144,000. the current mileage was approximately 150,000. updated 12/19/12 *cn

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the driver side door weld had fractured which caused the door to crack and move out of place. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for a diagnosis. the technician stated that the hinges needed to be replaced and welded. the vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 65,000. the vin was unavailable.

Tl* the contact owns 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the driver side door failed and when opening or closing the door, there was a loud grinding noise, followed by a loud pop. in addition, the door was extremely hard to push open or close. the contact stated that she sprained her left leg while attempting to open the door. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that the door well was fractured and the entire door would need to be replaced. there were no recalls or for the failure. the manufacturer was notified of the issue who offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 55,500.

The driver side door stop started making a noise when we open and close the door. the window stopped opening completely. toyota has extended the warranty to 6 years or 100k miles for this defect. they won't repair my vehicle because it is beyond the extension. the cost is over $2,000. now the door stop has broken off completely and door swings wide. this creates a dangerous situation every time we use the car. my understanding is that the welds were defected and toyota didn't want to spend 2k per vehicle to repair all the defected cars. car doors are a major component of any vehicle and shouldn't fail. *tr

Door check assembly welds broke. this is a known toyota problem which was supposed to be covered under tsb nv003-007. however, toyota has limited their fixing of this problem by a mileage and years cap. many original owners like myself are now left holding the bag. toyota has rejected my request to have this factory defect fixed at their cost. the ntsb should investigate this factory defect problem in 2004 through 2006 toyota siennas and help the consumer get the relief they deserve for repairing the defect. i am not sure but believe that in some cases the toyota tsb repair could not be done and entire doors were replaced. please at least help us original out. thanks *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact noticed that the passenger side sliding door was malfunctioning due to the henge failing. the vehicle had not been diagnosed and had not repaired. the current and failure mielages were 92,000.

To begin with, the window on the driver side rear sliding door has not opened all the way for many years. in addition, during the winter, the rear sliding doors freeze shut to the point where my children have to climb through the rear hatch to get into the car. last year, my husband attempted to open the driver side sliding door and pulled the handle off. there are several cracks in the dashboard that developed about 2 years ago. and, on the front passenger side door, the clips that hold the interior of the door to the frame have broken off and that portion of the door gets caught on the rubber gasket of the car frame. now, the gasket is tearing so we have to be extremely careful in closing the door to keep it from getting hung up or else it will break and tear more. we also experienced having the cable to the passenger side sliding door fray and jam in 2008. after having the dealer initially offer to repair it first for $2600, then $1500 with toyota paying for the part, we were able to get it repaired 4 years later in the recall. *tr

Tail gate dropped without warning falling 4 times and striking operator on head. item was recalled in 2008 and toyota is failing to make the repair under the recall. this recall should cover this incident as it is still the same problem and is dangerous. the fix was not performed properly otherwise the safety would work and the tail gait would not drop onto the operators head. *tr

I tool my car last april to get my recall done on my lift gate and ever since that my lift gate is not working.. i have called them several times and have filed a complaint with toyota as well but it seems no one is listening to me. please help. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact was driving 15 mph when the rear passenger door opened independently. the contact closed the door and the door remained shut until later recurring. the contact called the dealer and was advised that there were no recalls for the vehicle. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified and informed the contact take the vehicle to the dealer for inspection. the failure mileage was 110,000. the vin was not available.

Cable on sienna driver side power sliding door frayed and broke. door is now stuck closed. passenger side sliding door is now grinding and i am afraid the same thing will happen. this should be a recall due to the cost and number of issues! *tr

Driver side door's started making a popping noise around 2012, with only 60,095 miles on the vehicle. the door became unwieldy and did not "check" itself when opening and closing, which resulted in bruised legs, but no serious injuries (thus far). my local toyota dealer in puyallup, wa indicated it would cost $2000 to replace the door. i opted to have a weld performed on the door for $200 by a certified auto body repair shop. the weld held until just recently (circa 2/2015), and the issues resurfaced. once again, the door is unwieldy and doesn't "check" itself when opening and closing, resulting in bruised legs and safety & property concerns. i did some internet research into this problem and, unbeknownst to me, toyota had offered a "warranty enhancement" for this issue. this is documented in toyota technical service bulletin tsbnv003-07. however, i never received any notification of this warranty enhancement from toyota. i am fastidious about processing & saving paperwork of this kind. we are the original owners of the vehicle and have not moved since the vehicle purchase date. moreover, our toyota dealership failed to make mention of the warranty enhancement as well, when we asked for a quote to repair the problem. i called toyota corp today, and it is unwilling to extend the warranty enhancement any further to address this specific issue. it seems that we didn't use the car often enough for this defect to become manifest during the enhanced warranty period. nor were we ever notified of the problem by toyota corp. the salient point here is... it doesn't seem right that a consumer is burdened with a costly repair for an admitted and obvious safety defect that is a potential source of injury to persons and property, as a consequence of "light vehicle use" and insufficient communication by toyota. *tr

Door hinges are falling off of vehicle. both my driver side and passenger side front doors and now my drivers side slider door hinges have fallen off. the door hinges are literally fallen off of the vehicle! my last visit to dealer 4/2017 was for yet another slider door motor repair (2x one side/ 3x the other at $1200 each). but, this time was different they told me i was lucky the slider door did not fall off driving down the road because the hinge was completely broken off!! this is now the 3rd broken hinge all on different doors. i called toyota and they said they have met their obligation on a 14 year old vehicle. name one other make/model/year of any manufactures vehicle that the door hinges fall off. they know, and have known for a long time, there is a problem with door hinges on sienna 04-06 vehicle - hence their " limited warranty enhancement" issued for these problem. this is manufacturers recall not a limited warranty enhancement. you must look into to this and force toyota to make this right! it is dangerous! most kids sit in those back seats with the slider doors. thank goodness no one fell out of my door while driving down the road.

The passenger side automatic sliding door opening mechanism does not properly open the door. pushing the open button produces a whirring noise of the door motor and a single jerky response of the door, but not an actual opening of the door. the happens in the both open and close positions. with the inside handle cover removed, i could see that pushing the open button did not actuate the latch fully. "manually assisting" by pulling the handle (both inside and out) did manage to actuate the door opening mechanism. *tr

Recently purchased a used 04 toyota sienna and the passenger power sliding door does not work and sticks when using the exterior handle. this should be considered a safety issue as in an emergency its a gamble whether or not the door could open. we currently just use the manual driver side door as the fix fir this from the dealership is between $1000 - $2000... *tr

The rear power door hatch wont stay open in cold weather, it will open and then immediately start to close causing several heads to be hit. this happens everytime it is cold. also now my remote and the interior button wont open the door at all, it has to be done manually. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. while parked, the contact noticed a clicking sound when opening the front driver side door. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics. the technician stated the driver side door check mounting panel weld spot would have to be replaced. the contact began to notice a clicking sound when opening the front passenger side door as well.the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 112,000.

On march 13, 2012, the driver's side sliding door was seriously stuck in the open position. it would start to close, but then pop back. it would not close in manual mode either. since then, it's happened one additional time. eventually, we were able to forcefully shut the door. today, may 17, 2012, the dealer (tansky toyota in columbus, ohio) inspected the door but didn't do anything because it wasn't symptomatic at the time of my appointment. i'm left hoping that the door will get stuck again (and when i'm near the dealer) before the new limited warranty extension (a toyota customer support program) expires for my vehicle. given the safety issues, i suggest a forced recall to best protect the owners for the life of the car. *tr

Our passenger side rear door stopped opening and closing with the remote or inside buttons 3 days ago but we could open and close it manually. as of this morning it will no longer unlock, therefore we can not even get the door open. my children are required to exit that side of the car at school drop off so this is now a dangerous for them to have to get out on the driver side and walk around the car. *tr

Our passenger side rear door stopped opening and closing with the remote or inside buttons 4 days ago but we could open and close it manually. as of this morning it will no longer unlock to allow us to open the door. my children are required to exit that side of the car at school drop off so this is now dangerous for them to have to get out on the driver side and walk around the car. i also worry that if we were in an accident my children would not be able to exit the car from the right side. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the door cables for both the driver and passenger sides failed without warning. the contact had to enter the vehicle through the front doors or rear hatch. the dealer stated that the cables to the doors would have to be replaced but it was not covered under warranty. the failure and the current mileages were 109,182.

About 5 months ago i realized the driver's side door started making a clicking noise when opening and closing. last week i learned it was the welding that cracked inside the door frame. as per all the complaints on the internet i believe toyota needs to reissue an extended warranty on this part. *tr

Passenger door does not work. we purchased vehicle used and they said they had the door disconnected from the electrical buttons so it is manual only. i see resources online that say there is a cable that frays making the door unable to open or close. march 2012 is when we purchased vehicle from previous owner. door was not working at that time.

The cable on my 2004 toyota sienna sliding door snapped. first the remote buttons failed to open the door and then shortly after the door will not open at all either from the outside or the inside because the cable snapped. i can see the broken cable underneath the rear window. toyota is telling me they want about $2k to fix the problem. i have read that this is a pretty common problem for this vehicle and am surprised that the manufacturer is not offering to have the repair fully or at least partially paid for by them. *tr