Check Engine Light On problems of the 2001 Toyota Sienna

The engine failed and had to be replaced at a cost of $5,000 due to oil sludge buildup. Traveling on I-4 from tampa to orlando the check engine light appeared then we heard a tapping from the engine,. I pulled off the road and aaa towed the vehicle and a rental car company picked us up. I had two elderly passengers (in their 80's) with walkers who had to traverse the grass along the interstate to get to the rental car and were nearly blown over by passing trucks. Toyota refused to honor a claim for repairs although they had agreed in a recent louisiana lawsuit to cover said repairs for 8 years from date of purchase. My failure was 8 years and 10 months from purchase. The sludge took much longer than 8 months to build up but Toyota refused to honor their stated commitment to assist all affected by oil sludge damage (over 3,000 complaints). Their product was defective and dangerous and their denial to assist was dishonorable.

Engine oil light came on, then check engine light came on, engine shut off, no oil present in engine.

We own a 2001 Toyota Sienna van, we purchased it in 2001 but it was used with 18,000 miles on it. Since purchasing the vehicle, several things have gone wrong. #1- passenger side power window had a defective motor and would not go back up. Took it to the dealer who said it was not covered under warranty, so we had to pay out of pocket for that repair. #2- driver's side sliding door would not latch shut. The button got stuck from the inside which prevented the door from latching shut. This had happened many times before but we were able to get the button popped out and the door would shut. But on one occasion the button popped out and the door still would not shut. We had to drive home holding the door shut the entire way! of course, this is a huge safety issue with our 2 young children in the car. The problem was fixed at the dealer (again not under warranty), but the door still can not be opened from the inside, or the button gets stuck in. #3- check engine light came on and a diagnostic test revealed the following problems- idle air control, bank 1 sensor (most likely oxygen sensor), leaky charcoal canister. We fixed the idle air control since that was causing the van to not start and stall. This repair was almost $700, and not covered under warranty because we had gone over 36,000 miles. We did not fix the other two problems last month due to cost. The van overheats and can not be driven. We wrote a letter to Toyota and talked to them via phone. They told us there is nothing they can do because our van is not a legal us van- it is was built in canada. We bought it at a Toyota dealer in rochester, NY and were never told it was canadian. We were also told that no warranty would ever be covered in the us because it is canadian. Carfax. Com says it was built in the united states however. We tried to go the route of the lemon law, but could not.

Consumer stated engine sensor light continued to come on. Consumer was concerned that engine will fail while driving.