Problems with 2008 Toyota Sienna STRUCTURE

When i open the lift gate from the console or key fob and the outside temperature is about 32 degrees or less the lift gate goes up then comes right back down. if i repeat the opening process several times it finally stays up. i have been hit several time by the lift gate when i thought it was open, it takes a lot of strength to stop it enough to get out of the way. what would it do to a child? this happens when the vehicle is stopped and in park or if the engine is not running at all. in my garage, parking lots, etc, wherever the vehicle is parked. this started happening about 2011 and continues getting worse each year.

My sienna side door cannot open. my son would not be able to escape the vehicle if a problem in an accident. dealer said there is no recall but the door cannot even be opened manually. this would be a $1500-2000 repair which as a single mom is not an option for me. i do not feel something as significant as ability to escape a vehicle should fall on the consumer.

My wife and i have five lovely small children. we own a 2008 toyota sienna xle. some years ago, the "power" aspect of the sliding doors stopped working. since then, we have been using the van by sliding the doors open and shut manually. recently, while my wife was driving, the passenger sliding door unexpectedly came open while the vehicle was moving at a high rate of speed. this was traumatic for her and for my 5 children. also recently, the driver side passenger door became completely non-functional. the local dealership, mark miller toyota, has been working diligently and expertly to try to repair both sliding doors. they appear to have been able to repair the passenger sliding door, at substantial expense to me. however, mark miller toyota is presently unable to repair the drivers sliding door, and the vehicle has been non-operational for weeks now.

Both automatic side doors broke at 120,000 miles. doors are unsafe and opened on their own while driving down the highway at 60 mph with grandson in backseat. now that the automatic door function is broke on both doors they both won't close completely anymore and don't latch completely. they are unsafe.

Dear madame/sir, i own a toyota sienna (2008). the driver side sliding door cable just got cut-off last week while my kid was trying to open the door and get in and the passenger side door moves very slowly. i went to the toyota dealer(s) and they said they had a fix at no cost only for vehicles which are 9 years/120,000 miles and if the customer came with a problem (not a recall) and i do not qualify as it has been 10 years (how did toyota come-up with this number?). i went online and found that many people have reported a similar issue and looks like toyota did not take care of them either. from the dealer i understand toyota was aware of the problem and did not take care of the issue or did not do enough to resolve this problem. i sincerely request you to provide necessary directions/action taken against manufacturer so that 1000s of customers like me will get their car fixed. thank you for your valuable time *tr

The automatic rear lift-gate/door when opened either via remote or driver overhead back-door opener, opens all the way up and closes immediately. the door not stay open. this appears to be a recall issue in older sienna model (2006) but dealer could not fix my model (2008) as a recall issue as this is not listed under my model for recall. the problem symptoms are exactly similar to the recall issue. i would like to fix it as a recall issue for my vehicle from toyota. please help. thanks.

Sliding door cable snapped. this left us with a heavy door to manually open/close which creates a safety concern (trapped) for children and elderly passengers.

Rear sliding doors fail to close fully resulting in the door opening while driving.

Vehicle was parked and turned off parked in parking lot. opened side door with automatic key fob and the door opened halfway then started making a weird noise. it would not close or open manually no matter what i did. i had to drive myself and 5 kids across town with the door open, car beeping because door was open. my husband finally got the door to close after i got home but there was a severed cable that now hangs under the rear window. the door will not open manually or automatically now. so i can't use the door at all. if you even try to touch or open the door then the system thinks the door is open and beeps the whole time you are driving and you can't lock the door. i'm worried it will open while driving. from research it appears to be an all too common issue with toyota vans and should be a recall or covered for the life of the vehicle in my opinion. the auto opening door was the only reason we purchased a van and not a suv.

Passenger side power sliding door cable snapped. cable hanging out side of vehicle. very difficult to open door since cable always gets tangled. concerned for my children.

The drivers side sliding rear door will not latch closed. while driving,the door will slide open when accelerating. i called toyota about this and they said there's nothing they can do unless i pay for repairs. they have extended the factory warranty specifically for the sliding doors to 9 years/ 120k mi. my vehicle is 11 days past the 9 years but under the 120k mi. i cannot get the door to latch closed, a toyota supervisor informed me there was a recall to keep the door latched closed but my vehicle wasn't covered under that recall. this problem happened 4/12/2017 while parked at my kids soccer practice. after reading how many complaints have been filed against toyota for their sliding door problems, i'm not sure why this wouldn't be classified as a recall. driving with a door that won't stay shut is not very safe.

Slide door cable snapped leaving door non functional.

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the automatic closed door operating cable experienced severe corrosion and fractured in the vehicle. the contact stated that the automatic opening feature did not work and would only operate if opened manually. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the power sliding door cable and motor were defective and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the contact was made aware of nhtsa campaign number: 16v858000 (structure); however, the vin was not included. the failure mileage was approximately 105,000. updated 04/06/17 lj updated 08/07/2017*js

This car is experiencing sua. it happened in a parking lot an resulted in a crash into a cement wall. it also happened on a winding mountain road.

Passenger side sliding door has snapped cable. van was parked and button was used to open door. heard pop/crunch sound. was able to force door shut. door is unable to be opened and remains closed; even when power sliding door option is turned off. no damage seen inside or outside of vehicle.

Powered passenger doors on both sides of the van malfunctioned and then cable system broke and locked the doors in the closed position. this happened one after the other in about a three-week period. the cable is clearly rusted and shredded on the one side. i cannot tell why the cable pulled out and stopped working on the other side. as i transport 3 or more children at a time, it is a huge safety issue that the only way out of the car in case of emergency is through one of the front doors or the back trunk hatch. i have owned this vehicle since it was new and i am told this is out of warranty/isn't covered and will cost at least $6,000 to fix. i cannot drive the vehicle like this and i can't afford to fix it. i am apparently not the only one who's had this problem with the van, yet toyota is doing nothing about it for their customers.

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. the contact took the vehicle to capistrano toyota (33395 camino capistrano, san juan capistrano, ca 92675, (949) 276-6886) to be repaired per nhtsa campaign number: 16v858000 (structure). the contact stated that the sliding door malfunctioned and could be opened while the vehicle was in motion. the vehicle was taken to the same dealer multiple times, but the failure continued. the dealer stated that the recent failures were not related to the original recall, but the contact disagreed. the manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact back to the dealer. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the failure mileage was 85,000.

Power sliding door cable broke. door was very difficult to open manually until i cut the cables. vehicle was stationary.

The sliding door cables have broken just like in the 2007 models that a recall has already been done. toyota has refused to fix this on my 2008 model because the nhtsa has not requested it and because they supposedly have not had enough reports of failures. now our door does not completely seal shut and going done the road, the door alarm goes off indicating a door is open that has nearly caused my wife to jump out of her skin thinking that our autistic son is opening the door while she is driving down the road. it doesn't make sense that this defect has been recalled in 2007 but not in the 2008 which is the same problem. cables are dangling out the side of the van whipping in the wind.

Our left rear sliding door won't function or open any more. the cable broke. then 2 days later the right rear sliding door won't function or open anymore. same problem. cable was severed or snapped. looks like it was rusted on both cables, both sides, and severed in the same position or length. so, both rear sliding doors do not function. they only open to about 1 foot, and no further. extremely difficult to close or open doors at all. the minivan was stationary both times while opening doors for my kids to get in. i was parked on a street. the left side broke on july 1, 2016, and the right side broke 2 days later on july 3, 2016.

Toyota cable frayed on automatic sliding door (it was fine one open then had a terrible sound the next and we could visually see the frayed cable from the outside), however the 2008 is not in the designated years (2004-2007) to have it fixed under extended warranty. originally 3 calls to toyota customer service provided me that it was covered but i had to speak to a supervisor after reading the paperwork online to explain that although i was part of the extended warranty for cable and latch mechanisms, that the latch mechanism is the only part that applies to the 2008. it's so confusing, the customer service agents can't figure it out. taking it to the dealership to have them tell the 2008 cable isn't covered would have cost me $110. the repair is $1500-2000 on a car only work 8k or so. being that this has been an issue in the past is upsetting. and the fact that the warranty enhancement bulletin is so confusing their own employees don't understand it is also ridiculous. from reading online it seems others are still having this issue.

Power sliding doors have a common problem of the cable breaking and the power sliding feature stops working. the door can still be used in manual operation, which is just an inconvenience. the power rear latch is a safety issue as the door can suddenly open while driving, or other times remain locked so as the door cannot be opened. this problem is compounded when both doors are affected, and i have had multiple repairs done to both doors to a point where i cannot keep up with the frequency of how often the doors fail. to summarize, power sliding function granted is a luxury though an expensive one when toyota does not warrantee the repair. the latching problem is most certainly a safey issue as the doors either do not stay closed, or are stuck shut forcing the rear passengers to climb over the front seat to exit the vehicle. imagine what would happen in an emergency.

Automatic sliding door cable snapped when children were exiting the van. a known issue that was covered by csp for years 2004-2007, but not 2008. same exact problem.

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the trunk failed to stop when the contact depressed the trunk release button. the contact stated that the trunk hit her in the head. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the hatch strut failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 92,000.

Sliding door on our 2008 sienna stopped opening or closing. we can not get in our get out off the car on driver side. we are glad it happened on parked position. it is not working electrical or manual mode. toyota is asking about $1600-3000 for repair. we are trying to use the van with one sliding door and it is nor practical or safe.

In very cold weather (approximately 20 degrees or colder), the automatic tailgate on the back of the minivan malfunctions while parked. it will go up but as soon as it gets to the full open position, it comes back down and will not stop, even if you have your hand or body in the path of the tailgate door. this has happened to me numerous times over the last seven years (the last time being on the evening of 2/12/16 in bloomington il) and the first time i barely was able to pull back before the tailgate would have crushed me. in summary, the tailgate door malfunctions in very cold weather (as it won't stay open) and it appears the sensor that detects something in the path of the tailgate door also is malfunctioning since it will not stop if something is in its path. i have submitted this to toyota via occasional user panel email surveys they send, but i don't know if they are looking into it. this needs to be investigated before someone gets crushed, injured, or killed.

Rear power sliding door issues. hard to open and close toyota has csp that only completely covers the issues to year 2007 but 2008-2010 the cable assembly is excluded. these models and years are having the same problem i don't understand why it's only partially covered.

The passenger side of the powered sliding door stuck open during a cold winter night and we were lucky we were at the parking lot not on highway for an emergency stop (which is possible with two little ones on board sometimes). we did a little research and found out that this is due to an known faulty sliding cable assembly and toyota already had a a customer support program which extends the warranty of the cable assembly for model years of 2004 to 2007. unfortunately, our car is 2008 and the local dealer asked for $2000 to change the cable assembly. since this issue is the same as the previous model years for the second generation sienna, this should have been covered by the same program. due to the potential risk of door stuck open on highway during emergency stop, toyota should have included this as a recall campaign.

The power sliding door fails. it has to be opened and closed manually. this is a common problem for this model.

The door check on the driver side breaks prematurely. each time i open the door, it clacks. instead of holding the door in position which is designed to do, it moves and sometimes it can be dangerous.

The door latch assembly is a defected part admitted by toyota. this defected part caused the sliding door cable to break. toyota has sent out an extended warrenty to fix the door latch but not the sliding door cable. i can now open up the door but without the cable the door will not stay open if on a grade. this is a major saferty hazard as the door could shut on a person including my four children. i have contacted toyota about the issue and it is noted. i feel that if they have admitted to a defective part and that part caused another issue, it should be replaced.

Driver side rear sliding door cable broke. toyota said it is not covered! door will not even open manually. i feel this to be a huge safety factor being that children are in the back and in case of emergency it would be hard to get them out!. the problem occurred wile my wife was picking the kids up from school!

The power sliding doors mechanism broke and i was available to open the door, was parked.

When opening driver side door, 2 loud clicking/popping noises occur. from what i have gathered, it is a faulty door check.

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 14v273000 (tires); however, the part was unavailable to perform the repair. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the manufacturer was notified of the issue. the contact had not experienced a failure. ma 09/03/15

The cable for the passenger side power sliding door broke when the door was closing.

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. when the vehicle was started, the power sliding door on the passenger side failed and would not open. the contact stated that the door could be opened manually with force. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the power door cable needed to be replaced. the failure recurred with the driver side power sliding door also; however, the door could not be opened at all. the manufacturer was made aware of the failures. the approximate failure mileage was 103,000.

I was getting things out of back with power lift gate up. while leaning in vehicle the power lift gate came down without warning and caught me. it did not continue to crush me but it did not reverse so i had to use a pretty good force to push it up (my wife probably would not have been able to do it). it did it a second time a week or so later. when i took it to toyota they said the struts were bad and replaced them. when i asked why there was no warning they just shrugged their shoulders and said do not know and insinuated they would not know what to do so it would not happen again without warning. how was i to know the struts were bad since it is a power lift gate had been working just fine? it seems to me if this is not something toyota can fix so it cannot come down without warning they at least need to install warning labels in an obvious place that the lift gate can close without warning. i really think my wife would not been able to push it up as i did. she would have needed assistance. *tr

Power sliding door cable got rusted and snapped. jammed the door. toyota covers the door latch but not the cable. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the rear hatch door sensor malfunctioned and failed to recognize when someone was within the entry of the hatch. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

The power liftgate wont stay open and closes on people, repeatedly. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the sliding doors cable fractured causing the automatic opening and closing of the door to fail. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 112,000.

The dashboard is sticky and produces a glare. it gets stickier when it's hot. the sun seems to be melting it. it causes a glare while you're driving that is dangerous. i have researched this and it is happening to other toyota dashboards pre 2009, especially in the state of florida, which is where we live. there needs to be a recall before someone gets hurt. thank you. *tr

Passenger side power slide door does not work by pressing the button on the central console, on the side of door or the key fob. the slide doors do work by pulling the handles from the outsides. i was told this was the override procedure. this is a big concern with this being a family vehicle. *tr

I pressed the button to open the automatic rear passenger sliding door to put in a shopping bag after leaving a store. the door open, then when i pressed to close the door, it started to close bumped and clanked and reopened and would not close. i had to drive the 16 miles home with the door open. i took it to chatham parkway toyota in savannah, ga who inspected it and had me retrieve it to take to a collision center for repair. they wouldn't touch it and told me to take it back to the dealer. i took it to savannah toyota who repaired it at a cost of over $1400 to replace the rear slider assembly and cable assembly. they also advised me that the rear main seal and sub oil pan gasket needed to be replaced, i checked online to see if this was a recall for any reason after hearing of that other's had experienced this problem. this is a documented problem with toyota with a warranty or recall for model years up to 2007. i called toyota on october 17th to ask about a reimbursement since the problem is still an existing one with my 2008. obviously the problem has not been corrected or my van was built using prior years parts. they told me my van was not part of the warranty even though it is the exact same problem as previous years. they offered me $1000 that can be used on another repair which i will need to pay out of pocket then ask for reimbursement. i do need that to help pay the $2400 repair for the real main seal repair. the malfunctioning rear sliding door is a safety concern especially if there are children in the rear seats. toyota needs to extend this warranty because they have not fixed this problem. i have grandchildren, and a child could unhook their seat belt with the door open and fall out in traffic. i was also exposed to a possible carjacking with no protection. toyota need to take ownership of this for the safety of their loyal customers. *tr

My dashboard is melting and it gives a very bad glare of brake lights, traffic lights and the sun. it also has a very bad glare when raining and reflects tail lights at night. it is extremely difficult to see. when i reported this to toyota they said it would not be covered by my warranty. *tr

The passenger side automatic door cable snapped. the car is only 6 years old. i did some research on the internet and there are widespread reports of this being a common design flaw with toyota sienna automatic doors. i called the dealership and they indicated it was $1600 to repair the cable. that is outrageous! i wrote to toyota through their customer support site inquiring about an extended warranty i read about regarding this issue, however they opted to ignore me and not respond. *tr

Received letter,7/24/14, advising that my 2008 toyota sienna had a potential problem with the cable, holding the spare tire underneath the vehicle, which needed to be replaced. on 8/26/14, my spare tire was relocated to the luggage compartment of my van which rendered the area unusable for folding the rear seats down to use that area for transporting larger items, etc! i checked several times with my local dealer regarding a permanent solution/repair and was told they had not yet received notice of and/or repair parts for the identified problem.on 11/20/14, i contacted the toyota customer experience center and spoke, at length, with a representative who stated that they had been receiving numerous calls regarding this issue and that she was aware of several meetings regarding the issue but no resolution as yet and no idea when a resolution will occur. it would seem that by now, if the situation is being actively worked on, an acceptable repair would be available! i am frustrated and disappointed with toyota for their seeming indifference to those of us waiting for their action on this matter. thank you for your prompt attention to this situation. *tr

While parked in my driveway and seated in the drivers' seat, i activated the rear lift-gate via the center roof console button. i exited the drivers' side door and proceeded toward the rear of the vehicle. at this time the lift-gate was still rising, and to all observance, acting normally. as i got to the rear of the vehicle the door was almost at its apex. while standing outside the vehicle, i bent down to get something out of the rear cargo area. i have done this hundreds of times with no concern because the lift-gate is designed to stay open once it reaches the top of its opening cycle. as i stood up to leave the area of the vehicle, the lift-gate came down without warning or activation on my part and hit me on my head and shoulder. i had not pulled down on the manually retraction handle on the inside of the lift-gate and no one had activated the button inside the vehicle at the console. after tending to my bleeding head and sore shoulder, i returned to the vehicle to try and duplicate the event. i am able to duplicate the event each time the lift-gate is activated. it does not matter whether the lift-gate is activated by the remote control fob, the console, or the manual lever on the door. any time the door is opened, it reaches its apex and automatically and immediately retracts down to the closed position. i contacted the dealership where i purchased the vehicle and they told me that since my warranty has ended, i would need to pay a "diagnostic fee" of $118/hour. i thought this was unfair so i contacted the manufacturer's customer relations department. i was also told that since there were not recalls on this part of this vehicle, they "could not help with the repairs." after encountering my second dead-end for assistance, i did a simple google search to see if anyone else has had this problem. hundreds have, which is why i decided to contact nhtsa. updated 08/21/14*lj updated 5/22/2015 *js

The dashboard seems to be melting, is sticky and is cracked in several places. *tr