general problems of the 2004 Toyota Sienna - part 2

I was making a right hand turn from a highway onto a side street; my passenger side front tire and hub cap scraped the curb when the steering suddenly became stiff, making the turn difficult. The steering fluid level was checked and was within the normal range; we topped it off anyway, in case that was an issue.

I have been noticing that my 04 Sienna is very had to steer, it seems that steering is getting stuck if I try to change lane I have to pull steering.

I took my 2004 Sienna in for two recalls to a Toyota dealership last Saturday. Upon doing their standard inspection on the entire vehicle, the service advisor informed me of a serious safety issue with a corroded universal joint on the steering shaft that could seize. I declined this service and am investigating what to do. I came across Toyota TSB st001-07 that states 'in areas where road salt is used during winter months, some customers may experience a slight increase in steering effort, which may gradually become more noticeable over time'. This describes my Sienna's operation for past winters, but I never gave it much thought. What troubles me is that the service adviser insisted I replace the shaft right away, whereas NHTSA action number pe08041 states that 'Toyota has not determined that a safety defect exists in the steering system of the Toyota Sienna vehicles and provided test data showing that the effect on the steering effort is minimal, even for parts with relatively severe corrosion. ' as an interim solution, I will spray the universal joint with a penetrant, a recommendation I read online.

Beginning in winter of 2014, my steering wheel began to squeak when I turned it and seemed harder to turn. My steering wheel did the same thing this past winter,2015. Noticed squeaking and more difficulty turning when just beginning to back out and beginning to drive forward and for a few blocks after.

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while driving at 5 mph through water, the steering wheel seized. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact stated that the failure only occurred when the vehicle was driven through standing water. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure was 140,000.

The steering on my 2004 Toyota Sienna was not working correctly. The steering was binding, requiring an increased effort to turn the steering wheel from neutral or return to neutral after turning. I checked the power steering fluid. It was fine. I looked up the issue and realized that this has been investigated. According to the report, my problem has been caused by the steering intermediate shaft. It is binding/locking because of the corrosion of the steering intermediate shaft universal joint.

While driving on interstate vsc warning light came on, beeping and alarms heard. Engine slowed down and I felt like the vehicle was out of control. The vehicle swerved like it was hydroplaning on a dry highway. Called our repair shop immediately. Car was towed and research was done on the history of the problem in other Toyota Mini vans. I was told there were reports of this happening in other vehicles but not enough for a recall to be issued by Toyota, recommendation by the report they found was to replace a sensor which is what was done. That was just over a month ago and the same problem occurred again tonight on a side road going approx 30 mph on dry road. Van is back at shop again tonight. I will be calling the 1-800 number for Toyota, I do not understand why there is not a recall on this issue. Both incidences could have resulted in an accident. Tonight I was driving with my child in the van. This issue could have placed her life in danger had there been an accident.

My 2004 Sienna is experiencing the exact same issues as described in the 11/09/2011 voluntary safety recall. The belts have been squealing and the steering becomes difficult to turn at slow speeds. The recall applies to certain Sienna models but my specific VIN is not included in the recall. All new belts have been replace and the issue continues. . Read more...

The steering became difficult at times. It was almost like loosing your power steering from time to time. Intermediate steering shaft was replaced which corrected the problem.

Steering became very jerky and tight while driving van with family. Problem got worse over the course of 2 days and I had to stop driving the vehicle because it became dangerous. Mechanic told me it was problem steering intermediate shaft.

Tl-the contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stability control warning light and trac warning light illuminated intermittently. As a result, the vehicle was decelerating independently. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the cable needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000. Ak.

In this initial incident, I was travelling on a curvy road at posted speed limit of 30mph. My vehicle suddenly slowed, as if I was applying the brakes, which I was not, and my steering was compromised. In addition the vsc indicator and symbol flashed on my dashed and beeped. The road was dry. This has occured 10+ times since. I have brought it to my mechanic, without turning the engine off after the occurance so that he could "read" the computer but there is no evidence available. We have brought it to the Toyota dealer. They "rebooted" the sensors and said it should be fine. It has continued to happen, on the freeway going uphill at 55 mph, going downhill at 60 mph and has been close to causing a rear end collision each time.

Steering shaft intermediate shaft steering & suspension power steering not working all the time. Seems to get tighter and tighter from time to time. Very difficult making left or right turn. . .

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while turing the vehicle at 20 mph or when parking, the steering wheel would seize. The contact did not take the vehicle to a dealer or local mechanic. The contact did not call the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 190,000.

Start having problems with the car steering wheel, it is hard to move while moving and it doesn't go back to straight position by itself. Have to move the steering by force to get it to the right position. This is dangerous and can cause an accident.

Our 2004 Toyota Sienna began having difficulty steering while my wife was driving our kids to an event in October 2013. She stated the steering felt "lumpy" or intermittently difficult. The effect was more pronounced when the car was cold, but improved somewhat when warmed up. Now in December, the steering problem is such she will not drive the van anymore for safety reasons. The van was difficult to maneuver in traffic and posed a danger to my wife and other vehicles. I drove the van and confirmed this problem and do not want her driving the van either, as the steering was difficult for me and keeping the vehicle in the traffic lane was hard to do at times. Research on line indicates this is a known problem. Not sure what to do now except have the steering component replaced so van is drivable again.

In the early summer of 2013, I was traveling north on I-15, approx 5 minutes to st. George, utah on a beautiful clear day when the car began to swerve and the yellow skid light came on and the emergency beeping sound alarmed and the car slows down on its own--I no longer have control over accelerating the speed of the car. It frightened and alarmed me and my passengers. Within about 5 seconds the light went off and the alarming beeping sound stopped and now I have control of the speed of the car. I have traveled that road several times since and the same incident has occurred at approx the same spot. However, in 2014, during my travels to and fro on this same highway where the speed limit is 65-75mph, the incident occurs in several other spots along I-15 north and southbound. The skid light and the alarming beeping sound even went off when coming to a stop going approx. 5mph. The indicator light and alarm sound seems to be getting more and more sensitive. The same incident has been occurring this year every day on my way home from work at the same spot on I-215. Even though the speed limit is 65mph, I have to slow down to less than 50mph in order to avoid this occurrence. This creates a very hazardous situation since I am slowing down for apparently no reason to the cars behind me who are traveling at the speed limit.

Intermittent hard steering. Will be driving around even slight corner will be fine then steer hard and be fine again around same corner. Or, will steer very hard around one corner then steer ok around the next.

Complete loss of power while in motion entering freeway. Previously had noticed steering difficulty at times and engine light going on, but had always stopped after a short while. After the failure it was diagnosed as failure of crank shaft pulley. We found that Toyota had done a recall for this issue, but had not included our vehicle in the recall or notified us. Toyota denied coverage of the required repair. Driver and two small children in care at time of failure, just about to enter freeway. Over $800 in repairs.

I was driving 10 mph towards the grocery store parking lot when suddenly the steering wheel will not turn. I almost hit a tree since the car went over the curb. I had to stop the engine. This happened again on my way home that night. It was very dangerous. I immediately called Toyota the following day (1-800-331-4331) and was told that there had never been no record of any complaint with a similar issue on the 2004 Siennas. But tonight , I am so surprised that there had been a lot of complaints about this.

Toyota is not reliable anymore like it used to. One problem after another not covered by warranties and too expensive to fix. There should be strict laws to force Toyota to fix loads of design issues for free independent of warranties. Big companies like Toyota always find work arounds and play with words in order to escape. My steering wheel started making screaching sound everytime I turn. The power steering fluid level is fine. Its hard to turn the steering. This is a safety issue and can cause an accident on the road or highway. These types of minivans are occupied by families and toddlers where multiple deaths can occur if a parent is not able to turn the steering freely to escape an accident. There should be a safety recall and have Toyota fix this for free without any deadlines and independent of warranties where they say this part is covered and this part is not.

On freeway interchanges, entrances and exits vsc and abs suddenly engagess. Van is not aggressively driven and when turning on mountain roads and switch backs vsc and abs engages despite the slow and controled steering.

Tl-the contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna . The contact stated that while driving 45 mph the brakes started to engage. There was a beeping sound and the traction warning indicator illuminated. The problem had recurred approximatley ten times. The dealer was notified of the problem and informed the contact that the steering angle sensor had to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000. An.

Steering wheel became hard to turn and erratically jumped when turned. Dealer replace steering shaft and indicated it was close to a catastrophic failure.

2004 Sienna failure of driver side front suspension spring in January 2012, passenger side in January 2013. Each spring cracked causing vehicle to drop while in motion. Metal in cracked areas appeared porous possibly suggesting flaws in metal during manufacture. 2013 failure included crack near middle of spring, with a sharp broken piece sticking out close to tire. Thankfully occurred while parking/at low speed; failure at high speed may have resulted in puncture of tire/loss of vehicle control. 2012 failure included crack near top. Photographs of the 2012 spring are available upon request. Vehicle is in good condition, with only ~65,000 mi at time of first incident. Driven on paved roads, light loads. Body rust free with minimal surface corrosion of unpainted/undercarriage items. Contacted Toyota in 2012, filed case. Was informed similar issues had not been reported, failure was not covered. Noting extreme hazard posed by broken spring puncturing tire, encouraged further evaluation. Obtained/replaced at my cost spring from local Toyota dealer, had aligned. Contacted Toyota in 2013 regarding second failure. Noted was second occurrence/extreme hazard posed by puncturing tire, encouraged further evaluation. Obtained replacement/had aligned at my cost. Recently contacted Toyota; no new information available. Broken springs can result in loss of vehicle control as can tire puncture. Failures I experienced occurred at low speeds; if at higher speeds, results may have been catastrophic. Noting light use and excellent condition of vehicle as well as appearance of the broken springs, Toyota parts staff and outside mechanics indicated that manufacturing issues may be cause of failures. Replacement springs included different color coding; parts staff indicated this may correspond to more recent production, suggested that new parts may be of better quality.

Hard to steer and steering will not turn back. Very dangerous when turning and not being able to go back into the lane. No recall notice yet for steering shaft. Spoke to rep from Toyota service dept. , said no one has reported such problem yet.

Steering binds when making turns. This happens at all speeds and compromises my ability to safely maneuver the vehicle.

Loss of power to steering wheel making it difficult to turn corners, park, etc.

This is most likely a known problem. I have spent thousands of dollars trying to get it fixed, and it has been in the shop numerous time, including a Toyota dealership service department. Problem: very unpredictable traction control problem which is getting worse. Whether driving down the interstate, going around a curve, or just driving on slower city roads, the traction control light and sensor will go off - frequently locking up the steering, breaking, and causing loss of control of the vehicle. This often causes the vehicle to shake violently, and it has even caused the rear of the vehicle to slide. The only way I have found to manage this is to coast until it clears out. I am fearful every time I drive it, especially on the highway. I feel it is only a matter of time before I am involved in an accident, especially if the roads happen to be wet or icy. I have seen numerous complaints on the internet, and I have filed a case with Toyota. Back on 6-26-14 when I first contacted Toyota after nothing seemed to fix the problem, I was told they had no knowledge of the problem, and there were no reported problems from dealerships. I just spoke with them again without any success or new information.

The steering wheel on my 2004 Toyota seinna is stiff and it is hard to control the vehicle. Took the vehicle for inspection at the Toyota dealership and they were unable to diagnose the problem. Now the vehicle is not in a driveable condition and will have to be towed another Toyota dealership. Talked to Toyota customer service about the TSB's posted on-line realted to the steering problem issue. Reviewed the details about NHTSA campaiign id number: pe08041. Also noticed that other Sienna owners have also experienced similar problems with the vehicle.

2004 Toyota Sienna: having trouble with steering system: knocking noise while turning left. Also, a vibration like feel at the steering wheel while driving slowly.

Without warning steering on 2004 Toyota Sienna became extremely difficult to steer. It felt as if power steering was not functioning. Van was able to be driven to garage for service. The sudden change in steering was extreme. Garage found service bulletin for steering component corrosion issue and confirmed problem. Cost is estimated at $500. Part will be retained.

Tl- the contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph the vehicle was hard to steer and no warning lamps illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 83,000 and current mileage was 94,000. Pm.

Failure of intermediate steering shaft due to corrosion. Car became extremely difficult to steer, especially rapid changes.

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While driving 25 mph the traction control system light illuminated on the dashboard. The vehicle lunged forward and made a noise, the brakes surged and locked the wheels. The vehicle pulled to the left and drove across the yellow line into on coming traffic. The vehicle then continued to accelerate to the right and into another lane but there was no traffic. The contact was able to regain control of the vehicle. The vehicle was driven to the dealer and the failure recurred 2 to 3 times on the way to the dealer. The dealer replaced the steering angle sensor assembly. The failure mileage was 80,436 and the current mileage was 80,466. Updated 02/03/lj updated 03/18/11.