general problems of the 2004 Toyota Sienna - part 2

The front passenger seat belt often gets folded and jammed and does not retract. It takes a lot of messing with to get it to retract. Today, I could not get it to retract, so it is extended all the way so noone can safely sit in the front seat.

The Sienna 2004 front seat belts are getting frequently jammed and folded and unable to fully retract. This is a problem that has been happening with alot of the Sienna owners. The belts are getting jammed, and unless you use a plier to twist to unfold to be able to get it to its retracting position. It is a driving hazard as there is alot of slack on the seat belt when the retraction is jammed. I took to dealer and said the whole seat belt system needs to be replaced. I feel this is a defect with the manufacturing and a recall needs to be made on this issue. It is happening on these vehicle after 4-5 years of use.

Passenger front seat belt is twisted and will not retract and is therefore unsafe for use. Since this is a safety concern, I asked Toyota dealership if there was any recall or service bulletin issued for this problem and I was told there is nothing they are aware of. Request Toyota to investigate this concern and take prompt action in resolving this safety issue. If there is a recall / service bulletin issued or in the works, please let us know.

Drivers seatbelt fold over and becomes stuck in its retraction slot. Seatbelt is unusable. I need to drive without a seatbelt. Unable to fix by self. I then need to take to dealer or mechanic to have seatbelt untwisted. This has occurred numerous times over the past 3-5 years. [internet search finds numerous persons complaining about this issue for 2004 Sienna].

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated the front driver's side seat belt webbing failed to retract and properly restrain the occupant. The excess webbing was hanging on the floor. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who performed a temporary repair. The technician stated the entire seat belt assembly needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.

Both the driver's and passenger's side seat belt repeatedly catch so that they are stuck and fully extended. Often it takes hours to wiggle the seat belts back into position so that they actually roll freely.

The front passenger seatbelt has a tendency to twist when retracting. I've seen online that this is a common problem with Toyota Siennas. I've read that some people iron and starch their seatbelts - but heat/melting is a terrible solution.

On passenger side, front seat belt folds and jams as it is being pulled out to be buckled. If the belt is pulled out further, it stays jammed and does not retract, thus creating a hazard for the passenger.

2004 Toyota Sienna. The driver's seat belt gets stuck in the bezzle and fails to retrack. This happens almost everytime I try to use the seat belt creating a serious safety concern. Many owners of the same vehicle reported the same problems. There was a recall on the seat belt for middle seats. The seat belt for driver's seat should be also recalled.

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the front seat belts failed and would become jammed when retracted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the dealer advised the contact that the seat belts for the front driver and passenger sides needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.

The front seat belts (both driver and passenger side) are easily jammed and getting folded over so that the seat belt neither retracts or pulls out. It is extremely difficult to unjam the belt, and often necessitates driving without the safety of an effective seat belt. This has never happened in any other make/model car I've driven - Toyota needs to address this safety issue promptly.

The drivers seat belt is stuck in the extended position and will not retract. Dealership said the retraction mechanism is broken and the part costs $400. I've read about many other owners having the same problem. When will something like this be recalled. It is a real safety issue.

The drivers seat belt jams and will not retract. Occasionally when pulled out, the drivers seat belt folds over and jams in the top most exit (roller) as it comes out of the pillar and into the drivers area. The belt will not retract without stopping the car and clearing the twist that results in the jam. Sometimes you have to remove the cover on the pillar that the belt retracts into. This effort takes longer and requires you to go into the back seat for access. This has happened 3 times in the last 30 days and 10 times in the last year. My wife has driven home each time this occurs with the seat belt "jammed" so I can make the repairs. She isn't strong enough to repair the car once the jam occurs.

The seatbelts in the middle row do not always work properly. They frequently lock up or don't flow smoothly from the belt case. It concerns me that the seat belts will not properly restrain my children in the event of an accident. This happens several times a week.

The seat belts on our 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan do not work properly. Approximately once every ten to twelve days, the belts will not retract properly to their original position. The belts currently not working properly are the driver side and the middle seat passenger side. We have taken the vehicle back to cobb county Toyota in georgia for repair. They claim it is "user error," a characterization I completely reject. I have driven several cars and have never had a problem like this. They have managed to return the belts to their original position but within a few days to a week, they are improperly working again. We all know that seat belts are one of the most important pieces of safety equipment in a vehicle. If they do not work properly, the evidence is clear that passengers in that vehicle are much more likely to die. I believe this is a manufacturer's defect which should be remedied immediately.

Driver side seat belt not easily released.

It happened twice during 2 weeks ago ( during heavy rain). I was driving my 2004 Toyota Sienna on a parking lot. The steering wheel is very hard to turn, it seems like I lost the power steering. After restarting the van, the problem disappeared. Next day, my wife encountered the same problem when she is picking up our kids from school. We believe there is a major problem with the electrical system or computer system. I have so many problem with this vans and the dealer refuse to fix it, I have seat belt problem, it is not easy to release after driving, dealer wants 300 to fix. Electrical sliding door problem etc.

The driver seat belt in my 2004 Toyota Sienna gets twisted and stuck where it retracts into the side panel. This continues to happen over and over and it is difficult to fix. Sometimes fixing it requires ripping apart the side panel. This has been happening since about 2007. We are often left without a working seat belt and even more often left with an ill fitting seat belt. The dealership want $500 to replace but I feel it was a defective design and is likely to happen again.

2004 Toyota Sienna. The passenger side automatic sliding door will not open automatically or from within. Children sitting in the back that could not open from the inside and had to crawl out over car seats to the other doors. Myself included when I shut the door to clean the interior. The passenger side seat belt (second row cabin chair) won't retract and was checked and found that the seat belt was not twisted to cause the malfunction, but with the device itself.

The front passenger seat belt has a tendency to jam whenever put on in a certain way. I have found a way to almost consistently repeat it and have found that it tends to happen with passengers of greater girth or stature. Definitely more likely to happen when the passenger pulls the seatbelt out forward towards the dashboard to put it on. What happens is the belt folds over due to the design of the pivot area and gets jammed in the gap resulting in an inoperative seatbelt. This has happened so many times that the seatbelt tension on the passenger side is now noticeably lower than the driver's side. Also reproducible on the driver's side but happens less frequently mostly due to a consistent driver. Definitely a hazard if it can't be unjammed as the seatbelt cannot be fastened or used properly. There is also a high chance of causing the belt to twist inside the pillar when trying to unjamming it thereby decreasing its strength. Have not found a way to consistently unjam it easily and usually just requires lots of manipulation.

The driver's seat belt continuously binds up in the re-tractor bezel. Because of this the re-tractor unit does not function properly. Some times if you do get it to come out, you can get it latched but the belt fails to tighten. In other cases it binds so badly that the side wall must be taken apart to free it.

I was driving with two of my boys in boosters in the 3rd row seat. The boy on the passenger side pulled the middle seat belt down from the ceiling and wrapped around his neck twice and then put the buckle in the lap clasp. I was driving and had the radio on. Luckily my 14 year old daughter noticed him struggling and began screaming, "he's choking, he's choking"; she immediately jumped over the seat and tried to free him while I stopped the car in traffic. She frantically tried to undo the belt; he was unable to make any noise. Anyone that has a Sienna knows that the middle seat belt on the third seat clips into a lap belt that you need a pen or key to release. As my son struggled, and wiggled to free himself the belt became tighter, locked in and was basically hanging him in his booster seat. I stopped in traffic, got in back and was able to lift the booster up in the air so that it wasn't choking him but couldn't release the belt. My 15 year old was in the front seat and I asked her to take the keys out of the ignition, which I used to release the buckle. My son is fine. Luckily my daughter saw what was happening.

Both front seatbelts in our 2004 Toyota Sienna have repeatedly jammed in the plastic bezel when retracted or extended, rendering them useless. With considerable effort the seatbelts have been loosened, however, they are now twisted inside. Having done a quick search online, this appears to be an ongoing source of frustration and hazard for a number of van owners.

Seat belt twists and jams extremely easily. Extends all the way, and will not retract. Sometimes it can be manipulated to straighten it and get it to retract, but it recurs regularly. The front passenger seat is not usable when it happens. It has happened once or twice on driver's side, but occurs at least once or twice a month on passenger side.

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While driving 40 mph, the contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle did not stop. There were 30-40 yards between the contact's vehicle and the preceding vehicle. The brake pedal extended to the floorboard. The brakes grabbed momentarily, but then became "mushy. " the contact crashed into the preceding vehicle and caused injuries to the occupant in the other vehicle. The passenger's seat belt did not engage properly, causing the passenger to strike the dashboard and sustain minor injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed from the scene. The failure and current mileages were less than 55,000.

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated the front driver's side seat belt webbing failed to retract or properly restrain her. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who stated that the entire seat belt assembly needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000. The current mileage was 140,000.

All seat belts sticking or not retracting.

3rd row middle seat is equipped with a ceiling drop down seat belt for the shoulder assembly. The assembly is to hook into a holder in the ceiling when not in use. When pulled from the ceiling it attaches to the lap belt for use by the rear middle occupant. The assembly does not stay hooked and will fall out of the ceiling holder after driving a mile or two, striking the outer rear (passenger side) occupant in the head. Happens constantly, dealer says there is no fix.

Front passenger seat belt folds over on itself when pulled to engage. This prohibits the use of the seatbelt. Does not happen every time but probably occurs 15 to 20 times a year. When it jams if the occupant does not know how to correct the problem they ride with no seatbelt protection. Toyota washes their hands and states that it is out of warranty.

Consumer has made numerous attempts to have seat belt recall (05v327000) work performed. Consumer has been told that the parts were not in or were used on another customer.

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated the front driver's seat belt intermittently jammed and became stuck whenever he attempted to buckle the belt. The seat belt would become stuck while partially removed from it's retractor. In order to remove the belt from the jammed position, the contact would need the assistance of a screw driver. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed the vehicle was operating as intended. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 25,000 and the current mileage was 65,000. The VIN was unavailable. Updated 06/08/lj.

Tl- the contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While parked the contact noticed the front driver side seat belt runs across her neck. The contact stated there was no option to adjust the seat belt. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated there was no repair available. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 2. Da.

Radiator ruptured and the engine overheated; hose replaced in steering column recall; rust protective tape recall; dvd screen replaced and the entire dvd player replaced(screen still not easily visible in middle row); passenger seat belt replaced; middle passenger seat belt failing; gasoline smell inside of car with ac on recirculation; driver's window fell inside door in snow storm and was not considered a safety issue to get a loaner vehicle even though the vehicle could not be locked; tires completely bald and leaking under 30,000 miles, dvd player must be at a high db volume and when returned to radio/cd will almost deafen you; interior lights have to be manually over ridden or will drain battery; car hesitates 1-2 seconds when trying to quickly accelerate and then lurches forward alarmingly; cruise control is not functioning; waiting to have fuel mixture sensor replaced. I was not informed of first 2 recalls until I my engine overheated. I did get the rust recall and a sticker on my sliding door informing user of danger of having middle windows open while opening the middle door could catch a head or other extremity. Toyota dealer service manager says mine is the only 04 Sienna experiencing any problems except for the recalls on the radiator; the steering hose; the rust tape; and the middle seat belt. Not so according to all I have read here. Most of the problems have occurred between 22,000 and 34,000 miles; the dvd screen always failed to lock into a good position for the middle row viewers.

Right side second row seat belt fails every 2000 to 3000 miles. Encasement is located on the seat itself instead of the roof of the vehicle. This clip holding the encasement together pops out allowing the seat belt to catch in opening below, causing the seat belt to fail. A child or passenger could be seriously hurt. Most people won't even realize there is a problem unless they check this belt regularly as child passengers generally won't tell you when the belt doesn't not operate correctly.

"clunking" noise noted on steering the 2004 Toyota Sienna just a few months after it was bought. It had gone through 3 recalls already when first the fuel tank, then the door sills, then the middle row seatbelt bezel, and finally recently, the rear hatch struts were all replaced. Vehicle was test driven, but no mention of "clunking" documented. However, all this time, the clunking had become more noticeable, and vehicle had gone through 2 alignments already, with only about 42,000 miles on it. Last serviced for alignment, dealer did note clunking and recommended replacement of intermediate steering shaft. It is now becoming more difficult to steer the vehicle, especially at low speeds, and "k-turns" now require more maneuvers, and the steering radius has increased potentially causing collisions with objects or pedestrians if compensatory action is not initiated. (steering output has sometimes been unpredictable). Second component is lack of tpms sensors when tires were changed at a facility, and I had the facility document the lack of sensors.