Body problems of the 2004 Toyota Sienna - part 2

When opening the power/sliding door, passenger side, a wire snapped and the door got stuck in an almost closed position and would not budge. I am told this is a known problem at Toyota. The cable used is very thin for the load it bears. Poor design, which apparently they have fixed in later models.

When opening the door at the driver side (left), a big popping sound can be heard. TSB: nv003-07 door check popping noise this is a known problem for all the car made during the time.

Both sliding doors broke within 6 months of one another; one still operates manually, the other cannot be opened at all. Toyota states the $3000 repair will not be converted under warranty though this appears to a very frequent problem discussed on online chatrooms.

The driver's side door hinge is broken and makes opening and closing of the door difficult and seems unsafe. We took it too the dealer and they told us it's not covered and will cost too much money for us to repair.

After driving the minivan to drop off the children at daycare, the driver side power door was open automatically but afterward, would not close. The motor that opens and closes the door would not respond to the button that opens and closes the door. It would not respond to the remote control button that open and closes the door. That driver side door stayed stuck in the open position. I attempted but could not push it to get it close. I attempted to press and use the button on the dashboard that would make the door go into manual mode but once the motor is engage to drive open the door, it seems that it would not disengaged. Again, the door just stay stuck in the open position. I ended up driving the minivan slowly on the side roads for about 5 miles to get back home with the driver side door open and park it back in my garage. I called Toyota headquarter today (2-9-2015) to file my safety concern/complaint and am given a complaint #1502090707. Toyota will not help me rectify the safety defect, they said it was out of warrantee. I would have to take care of the safety defect myself. Please look into this matter. Luckily, this incident happened in phoenix, arizona where weather is usually not an issue. I use to live in minneapolis, minnesota. This van was purchase there in minnesota in fact. I can imagine a scenario where if the door would not close during winter with children in it, it could be dangerous and catastrophic in terms of exposing the passengers to the harsh elements.

Drivers door shell ripped from the door check mount when opening. The drivers side front door previously made loud snap noise, found problem, check mount was replaced in Apr 2012 at 43500mi. Mid Dec 2014 same noise returned, only this time, the door shell ripped and swung very wide open from a light gust of wind. The door sheet metal is nearly torn completely away, and the door check mount is just barely hanging on. If any one had been standing there it would have knocked them down, or worse. Sorry for the rant. Now, I've learned that Toyota has known about this specific problem with this vehicle year and model, but they refused to take adequate action, only informing some, and calling it a minor problem. Its going to cost over $2000 to replace the door. Minor? and that won't fix the design problem. It'll likely happen again in another 20k+ miles. Thank you for your concern.

The automatic doors do not function. It is impossible to open one and the other only from outside. I brought this in after the cable snapped and was told the recall on the cable was only good up to 100000 mies not the 150000 I had. They then told me it was an old car what did I expect. I would like my passengers to be able to exit the van if something were to happen to me. This van has had 3 radiators the last one costing over $600 to replace. When does Toyota need to take responsibility for building a $38000 dead trap?.

The front driver side entry door makes a popping noise when it is opened and closed. After looking at several on-line resources I found it is caused by a faulty spot weld where the door check strap attaches to the door. When viewed you can see door check strap mount move and flex as the door is opened and closed.

There was a recall on the back hatch door. I reported to the dealership of purchase and complained that the back door hatch sometimes did not close properly and in the midst or opening whether electronically or manually would come down again while putting groceries etc in the back and several times was hit on the head or back and also my grandson. Vehicle was parked in a parking lot and/or at my house. It happens 1 out of 10-20 times opening back hatch.

The metal cord that is part of the automatic door mechanism frayed. This morning, the door would try to auto close but it got hung up and returned to full open position. We turned off the the automatic door feature and attempted to manually close the sliding door. When my husband tried to close it manually, the rollers in the track hit the damaged part in the wire, the slide pushed out of the track breaking the window out that is positioned just in front of the track that the slide rolls in. The sliding door was hanging off the vehicle in a 45 degree angle and the driver side rear quarter window was shattered all over inside and outside of the van. My husband and I both got cuts on our hands from broken glass while we put the sliding door back on its track and covered the window opening to protect it from the weather. There is glass in my baby's car seat, stroller, and back seat where my older children normally sit. After I purchased the Sienna I checked the reviews online and this frayed wire on the automatic doors seemed to be a reoccurring problem that Toyota has known to be a defect but has not issued a recall for because no injuries have been reported. I was very thankful that my children weren't in the vehicle at the time that this all occurred because whoever was in the back seat as well as in the car seat near the slide door would have been hurt by the shattered glass. I called the local Toyota dealership and I was told that this is not an issue they see often and all the reviews I read online were false. I was told I would have to bring it in to the dealership to assess the damages and repair it at my expense. We have no option but to leave the automatic door feature turned off and use the door manually now that my husband has been returned to its track. The glass will be replace at our expense on 9/19/14.

Can not close rear sliding door or driver it has 2 latches the front one locks and the rear one does not because of the weld braking loose also the rear hatch door where the latch holds on the braket the weld came loose can not keep door closed I took it the dealer and they said that no recall has been on file.

When open or close the driver side front door, there is a loud popping sound. The weld-on hinge between the door and the body is broken. Toyota dealership informed us that the problem will deteriorate in the coming days. The door will swing freely when open, potentially hit people and other cars near by. The window on the door may get stuck and not able to be opened or closed. Toyota was aware of this problem as early as 2007. It issued two warranty extensions but told the owners to keep the warranty letter in file if the problem did not occur. I followed Toyota's instruction and kept my warranty extension in file since the symptom in my car did not occur at the time. However, when the problem did occur last month, Toyota refused to honor it, claiming the warranty has expired and I am no longer covered. They did offer $350 towards the repair but I would like to get your help to cover the full repair cost. This is a crystal clear case of a problem caused by an inherit manufacture defect. Toyota should have issued an unconditional recall and fixed it for all impacted customers because of its safety consequences. Instead, they kept extending the warranty, hoping older cars expires before this problem was uncovered. . Read more...

The passenger side sliding door of my Toyota 2004 Sienna le suddenly could not close suddenly. The power closing tries and then reverses to open. I followed the menu instruction to turn off the power door and tried to close it manually but failed. It won't move at all. I spread some lubricant and was able to make it close about 1/5. So I called the dealer and was told there was no recall. I then called Toyota directly and was told that there was an "enhanced warranty" for 9 years/120k miles. But mine is expired since it was bought 11/2003 even though it has only 58400 miles on it. I had it fixed now by a Toyota dealer for about $1352. I searched on line and found a lot of people have the same problem. Some could not open the doors. But the cause is the same. It is not just limited to 2004 model. It certainly a safety issue and Toyota should recall and fix at its cost.

About a month ago, while trying to open the passenger side power sliding door on our 2004 Sienna fwd xle, the cable snapped when the door was half way open, rending the door inoperable. Took us a great deal of effort to disentangle part of the broken cable clear of the exterior slider track. Fortunately after turning off the power slider switch under the dash, the door could be closed manually. We are out of luck as far as Toyota warranty enhancement is concerned, even though our van has very low mileage for its age. Toyota refused to offer anything helpful when I contacted them, and a local dealer quoted me over three thousand dollar parts and labor for the repair! it is a serious safety issue! we were just lucky that the door could be closed manually after the cable broke, not subjecting my family to having to travel in a vehicle whose door became inoperable suddenly, due to a widely publicized, correctable defect of a major power component. Toyota can do more for its unlucky customers than feeding them unhelpful platitudes about such a costly component failure.

The front doors on Siennas have a well known problem of welds failing in the door opening mechanism. Toyota recognized this and extended the warranty on the door hardware for 5 years 100k miles. I had both my front doors fixed under this extended warranty. It was known at the time (not to me) that this was another temporary fix as this is a design flaw that Toyota knew about but did not try to address with a permanent solution or an overall product recall. And, they apparently have gotten away with that due to the number of owners that have not gotten their doors fixed. The problem is that while there is just a "popping" sound due to the failure of the welds right now, it may lead to a situation where the doors will either not open or open without any control as they'd be held by the hinges only. Either situation presents the owners with inherent dangers- one from not being able to exit the vehicle in an emergency and the other where a door could open suddenly and injure anyone near the vehicle when being opened. I did register my complaint with the dealer and Toyota who both told me that any inspection or repair was solely the responsibility of me (the original) owner of the vehicle. My Toyota case number is 1406161930.

Driver's door check broken loose from a spot weld on 2004 Sienna xle van. Toyota issued a technical service bulletin, nv003-07 revised on it. Toyota will only fix it for 5 years or 100,000 miles. Because it is a structual defect it should be covered by their liftime warranty. The remedy is to replace the entire door.

Tl- the contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the drivers door hinge failed to keep the door open when getting in and out of the vehicle. The failure caused the door to close or swing open abruptly. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 115,000. Pam.

On my 2004 Sienna le the driver side door check has broken and as a result the power window will only go down approximately halfway. I have since learned that this was due to a know defect by Toyota that they covered for 5 years. This defect is related to the structural integrity of the vehicle as it has to do with welding failures in the door hinge system itself. This should be a vehicle lifetime recall.

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the driver side door spring became fractured. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated the door would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 114,855.

The front of the door latched just fine. The back of the door stopped latching about a week ago leaving the door open light on all the time. I poked around a bit and discovered the rear latch on the driver's side sliding door was loose inside the door. Since I had to take the van to the dealer for a recall repair anyway I asked them to take a look at the door. The dealer informed me that the latch was broken off inside the door and there was nothing they could do about it. They told me that they would not charge the $60 diagnosis fee and told me to take the van to a body shop for repair. While I was there the tech told me that there are 3 bolts that hold the latch to the door. In my case 2 of the 3 had broken through the metal on the door! this is a result of the way the door is manufactured. How is it not a safety recall when the door latch can break through the door leaving the door unlatched? this happened from normal where and tear not an accident, deffer maintenance, or anything else.

Due to a failure in the moonroof system in the vehicle (rubber seal and two drains on either side), rain water seeped into the air bag system resulting in mold-build up and serious damange to the vehicle and possible malfunction of the air bags and breathing of dangerous mold/fungi. All the passengers in the vehicle got nauseous in 1-hour journey and the future consequence of such fungi build up and potential failure of the air-bag could be life threatening.

Driver side door weld has failed on the hinge. This causes the door to extend beyond the intended range of motion.

I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna le purchased used with a power sliding rear passenger door. In March of this year, 2014, the door starting making a grinding noise when opening and closing the door and needed assistance when closing. Within two days the door failed an would not open or close either electronically or manually. We were informed this was a motor failure and would cost $1,800 to $2,000 to repair. The three mechanics we asked all were aware of problem being the door motor and/or broken door cable. Not having use of the passenger door was a major problem and a real concern in case of an accident. After doing some research it became clear that this is a design flaw with the car that Toyota ultimately issued an extended warranty of 9 years or 120,000 miles. Fortunately, I have been able to removed the cable and disassemble enough of the motor so that the door works manually. Given the critical need for a family passenger vehicle to have a working passenger side rear door this warranty should have been for the life of the vehicle. At the very least they should have offered the opportunity to make the door a manually operating door after the 9 years, 120,000 mile warranty extension.

In grocery store parking lot ,put groceries in driver side back power sliding door . Went to shut and door would not shut all the way . It was stuck . Finely got it shut after ,about 30 minutes . Got home power cable had broken rusted and frayed . Recall was found ,but Toyota will not fix !!! this happen 2yrs. Ago 2014 & still trying to get this recall fixed . . They said I had to many miles on the van ,that I got in 2011. . It had 146,892 miles when the door cable broke & was inspected . This is very dangerous . I will not let any children sit next to that broken powered back driver sliding door !! this should be a mandatory recall !! miles should not be a concern ! life of a person should be . I'm still fighting to get this fixed & it's 2016 . . Broken ,rusted & frayed power cable not functional & inoperative & can be very dangerous ! because it's powered with or without the automatic door feature . Toyota needs to up date this recall to a safety mandatory recall with no limits !!!!.

While I was climbing to the back of the car, (the car being parked, ever-so-slightly inclined to the back), the left back side-door shut close and trapped my right hand (which I was using for support to climb up), for about two minutes. I couldn't get it to open. . ! under excrutiating pain, I tried unsuccessfully to open the door. Nothing worked. The retractable cable had popped out two years before, so the beeper didn't respond adequately. After many attempts I was finally able to get it to open. I believe I had already filed a complaint to the NHTSA about the the power-sliding door. The mechanical failure on my car's power sliding-door is the same as described by many disgruntled Sienna owners, on various websites. Neither Toyota USA, nor Toyota puerto rico, has assumed responsibility. They've acted negligently. As I must've described in my previous complaint, they've obviously acknowledged a factory malfunction --inasmuch as they have conducted a recall campaign--. However, the campaign wasn't carried out responsibly. Despite their having my telephone number, email address and physical address, they failed to contact me. I found out by a third party (an auto-body shop). When I confronted the dealership, they said the campaign had expired. This situation is shameful.

The rear hatch is powered on this model. The gas springs that hold the door in the upright (open) position don't provide enough force to keep the door in the open position. When the hatch drops approximately 10 inches, the power function activates automatically, closing the hatch. This powered closing operation frequently occurs when someone is trying to load or unload items from the rear of the vehicle. The hatch comes down with surprising force and has knocked some family members to the ground and actually pinned my 8-year-old in a prone position with his head in the vehicle and his feet on the ground. The safety and mental anguish concerns are obvious, and Toyota has issued a recall for "certain 2004 to 2006 vehicles. " checking with Toyota, the recall does not cover my VIN, even though we are seeing the exact same problem for which the recall was issued. Is there some way to redress this problem, or do I have to wait for the door to actually injure someone and get a lawyer?.

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the spare tire became detached from the vehicle without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the spare tire carrier assembly was corroded and causing the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 70,000.

Passenger side sliding door cable snapped and will not open. Passengers can be trapped in the van and not able to get out. This is a known problem with Toyota Sienna minivans with electric doors. In addition, the motor is often known to fail. The the cable has a black sheathing that is inadequate and wears causing it to jam in the pulley and break or exposing it to later corrosion and then it will break as well. Toyota has known of this problem for years and does not issue a recall. You only need to check the Toyota forum to confirm the problem with many owners reports. Repairs run $1,200 to $2,000 at the Toyota dealer.

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that there was a popping sound every time the driver's side door was opened or closed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the door hinge needed to be replaced due to a fractured well. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 140,000. Updated 12/30/cn.

Recently started hearing a popping noise when opening drivers side door. My husband, a mechanic, inspected door and noted the welding around the door check on the drivers side door is cracked 3/4 way around and needs to be repaired. Called the dealership where we purchased the van to get more info and was told that they have seen lots of Toyota Sienna vans with this problem. They stated there was a special service bulletin in 2007 but it was now expired and there wasn't anything they could do. Was advised to contact Toyota customer service in torrance California. Was advised to get it fixed as the door check could break loose damaging my van, other vehicles and possible injuring someone. Called Toyota customer service and was told there was a service bulletin regarding the faulty welding on the drivers door check, but that was expired. I stated I never received such a bulletin or I would have been made aware of this problem and would have tended to it. Was told they were not responsible if I got the bulletin or not. I asked what I had done wrong in the care and keeping of the vehicle. They answered nothing. I asked what I should have done different regarding the van's drivers side door and he answered . . . Nothing. I took van to body shop and they can weld it for $650, but it will just crack out again. New door will be $2000+. I don't see how the consumer should eat the cost of Toyota's faulty welding/manufacturing, when there are thousands of vehicles having this same exact problem.

The driver side power sliding door cable snapped, nearly hitting a child. Upon inspection, it was noticed that the plastic covering over the wire had disintegrated and the bare cable was exposed.

Driver's side sliding door cable broke. The hinge came off the track dropping the door and scratching the body panel. Door will no longer close.

After pressing the button to open the power sliding doors, the cable snapped and whipped.

Tl-the contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that when the front driver side door was opened, the door swung wide open and the hinge fractured without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the front driver side door hinge needed to be welded. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred two times. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000. Ss.

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the door hinge fractured from the weld. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer for diagnostic testing and was advised that the door hinge needed to be replaced. The contact did not have the door hinge replaced. The failure mileage was 130,000. The VIN was not available.