Problems with 2008 Toyota Sienna STRUCTURE

We bought a new-to-us 2008 toyota sienna with a power operated passenger door. within 2 weeks of purchase we parked in our church parking lot (not on an obvious incline) and pushed the internal button for the power door. i went to take my child out of her car seat and the door automatically closed on me. it took all my force to keep it open. i let it shut, then reopened it and it would not latch and kept forcibly shutting. i literally propped the door open against its will to close while my child exited. the dealer cannot duplicate the problem and doesn't believe it happened. we are very concerned about this especially because there is no way to manually disengage the motor and stop it from forcing itself closed. *tr

Rubber on the trunk release hatch melts and sometimes causes the trunk to unlatch by itself. contacted 2 local dealerships and no recall has been issued and they want about $300 to replace. *tr

Within the last couple months both of the rear sliding doors on my 2008 toyota sienna le have malfunctioned in a way that i believe could jeopardize the safety of the passengers. yesterday, the left hand rear door got stuck midway between open and closed and only after exerting great force on the door and breaking the cable along which the door travels, was i able to close the door. the right hand rear door, for the last couple months, has been irregularly getting stuck midway through closing and reversing back to an open position. if one turns off the automatic door function and attempts to close the door manually, it can only be opened and closed if a great deal of force is exerted on it, much more than a child would be able to summon. *tr

Sliding doors failed. less than one year old at 34,9k miles, brought to dealer indicating both doors intermittently partially open or close during power operation. dealer found both rear latches were not holding and were replaced. two weeks later, at 35,2 miles problem has reoccurred and dealer cannot duplicate problem. another 2 weeks later at 35,3k miles, late sunday night 60 miles from home, the passenger door get stuck open in a rest area. we spend an hour fussing with the door and finally forced it shut, and drove the 60 mileshome with fingers crossed and 2 kids in the car, hoping that we have not caused a problem forcing it shut and it would not fly open on the rest of the trip. another trip to the dealer, and they state they cannot duplicate the problem we then deferred to routine manual operation. the problem continues, and we have to open or close by forcing them. usually, the passenger cannot let themself out, it must be opened by someone using the handle outside of the car. at 53,2k miles we can no longer manage with the malfunction. there are two weeks left on the warranty of the previous repair. dealer states we will need to take the car to a body shop for a re-alignment at our own expense. not having the funds to do so,we continue to deal with the problem. finally we take it to a different dealer for a second opinion. surprise-the latches need to be replaced. the one door is so bad the front & rear latches must be replaced at my cost of $800! we need at least one door to work so we'll do it. the other door needs it too at add'l $, as well as a visit to the body shop for 'realignment', but can't afford it. meanwhile-the original dealer should have replaced this part at 53,2k miles when it was covered, but ithey sent us packing. no faith that this $800 repair will fix it. 3 sets of latches in 3 years? they need to identify the problem and do right by customers. this is our 6th and last toyota. maybe a death related incident will help. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the trunk handle was melting. there was no warning indicator illuminated. the vehicle was taken to a local dealer who stated that nothing could be done except to replace the handle at a cost. the failure was not remedied. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 80,000.

2009 non power slider door transmission replaced by dealership i paid for labor since i was out of warranty......2012 @ 99000 miles same door doing same thing...will not latch . dealer got it to close but says that it needs a new latch system at a cost of $700.00 this door is rarely used.........might be opened once every two or three months......this seems to be a defect.... *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the passenger and driver side electronic sliding doors were inoperable. the dealer advised that the failure occurred due to dust in between the door panels. the door panels were cleaned yet the failure persisted. the manufacturer advised the contact that she was responsible for maintaining clean door panels. the failure mileage was 28,000 and the current mileage was 48,000.

My husband was driving in florida in our rented toyota sienna minivan, and five family members were in the car, on a highway. suddenly the engine hood came unhooked and flew up, hitting the front windshield. the glass shattered and we were showered with glass, but the bigger problem was that the view out the front was almost totally obstructed. we managed to see through a small crevice underneath the hood, which was now upright and covering almost all the windshield. we were able to pull off the highway without further incident. please note i am not the owner of this automobile, but rather my husband yonathan epelbaum had rented it from national car company. the car has been returned to national, and the incident was reported to the police at the time of the incident. we were very lucky to have escaped serious injury. the incident happened during daylight, which helped, as at least the daylight helped with visibility through the very small opening under the hood, from which we were able to steer and change lanes safely while exiting the highway. injuries were fortunately very minor so i am recording as "no injuries" but there was an issue with glass. considering we might have been killed, we feel very fortunate my husband managed to steer us out of it without hitting anything or being hit. other cars around us were going very fast so the situation was exceedingly dangerous. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. the contact stated that while driving at 10 mph, the passenger side sliding door opened independently. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was repaired, but the failure recurred several times. the details of the repairs were unknown. the vehicles passenger side sliding door also opened independently when parked and failed to close. in addition, the door ajar warning light illuminated. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 5,000. updated 2/4/16 *cn.....updated 02/10/16 *bf *cn

The sliding door opened when the car was moving,then failed to be able to close by power or manually. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. the vehicle does not come equipped with automatic sliding side doors. the doors must be manually opened. on most occasions when the sliding side doors are opened, they make a clicking sound. oftentimes, the doors fail to remain open and slide shut. the contact is concerned that the doors may close while occupants are entering or exiting the vehicle, causing them to be injured. he called the dealer and was informed that the failure needed to occur in their presence because it was difficult to duplicate. the defect occurs on both rear passenger and driver side sliding doors. the failure mileage was 2,000 and current mileage was 7,200. updated 11/6/08 *cn

I have had problems with my 2008 toyota sienna van pretty much the whole time of ownership. (bought new feb 2008). the passenger side sliding pwr door sticks closed. i would take it to the dealer, and it wouldn't do it, and they couldn't find a problem. they just kept telling me it was because i live down a dirt rd. i have had it in the shop numerous times. my car now has 46,000 miles on it, and they are finally acknowledging there is an issue other than my dirt road. when you turn the pwr switch for the doors off on the dash, a strong grown man cannot even get the door open, and the driver's side opens easily with just a finger. it makes horrible sounds when it does open. i had 5 kids in my van the other day, and i was an hour from home. my door opened that day, and then it would not close back. that is the fourth time i have had to drive with my door open! i took it back to the dealer, and they sent me home, saying it was the dirt road, and they cleaned the tracks. they instructed me to clean and grease the tracks at least once a week! i went up the rd and tried it, and it did not work. i am supposed to take it in tomorrow, but have read thousands of complaints. just google, "sienna power sliding door problems". you will be astonished like i was! it is awful that they are not taking responsibility for this problem! i don't feel i should have to pay to repair this, especially since i have had it in the shop many times before my warranty went out. i feel it is a safety hazard. the other day my son was sick, and i could not get the door open, so he ended up puking all over my car. i worry about my car being on fire and me not being able to get the kids out of their carseats! it is also a danger when you are in a busy parking lot or something and cannot get your car door open so your kids can get in. it is a huge problem that needs to be addressed by toyota immediately! thank you for your time and consideration. [xxx] information redacted pursuant ...

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota sienna. the contact stated that there was a rattling noise in the passengers side sliding door. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who installed a rubber lining but that did not resolve the failure. the contact stated that the doors were not properly aligned. the throttle control has also malfunctioned. the contact stated that when the accelerator pedal was depressed the vehicle accelerated uncontrollably. the dealer stated that the vehicle was functioning normally. the contact stated that the vehicle also began pulling to the left, but that has not been diagnosed by the dealer at this time. the current mileage was 83,000.

2008 sienna drivers door stuck open, started making a groaning sound, cable snapped. now toyota wants 1700 bucks to fix it. my van is 2 years old, mileage has it out of warranty. the cable snapped, you cannot purchase the cable you have to purchase the motor also... *tr