Body problems of the 2008 Toyota Sienna - part 2

Tl-the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated vehicle hatch door sensor was inoperable as the hatch dropped down without recognizing someone was within the entry of the hatch. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000. Lb.

Passenger side power slide door does not work by pressing the button on the central console, on the side of door or the key fob. The slide doors do work by pulling the handles from the outsides. I was told this was the override procedure. This is a big concern with this being a family vehicle.

The passenger side automatic door cable snapped. The car is only 6 years old. I did some research on the internet and there are widespread reports of this being a common design flaw with Toyota Sienna automatic doors. I called the dealership and they indicated it was $1600 to repair the cable. That is outrageous! I wrote to Toyota through their customer support site inquiring about an extended warranty I read about regarding this issue, however they opted to ignore me and not respond.

My wife was parking our 2008 Toyota Sienna with our 3 young boys in the automobile. She slowly brought the vehicle to a complete stop; never using gas, just covering and tapping lightly on the brake. Once the automobile came to a stop my wife pressed the brake a little more in order to put the vehicle in park. At that moment the vehicle accelerated incredible fast, jumped over an 8 inch concrete parking lot divider and crashed into a tree about 10 - 15 feet from the concrete divider. We are certain that this was a "sudden unintended acceleration" incident caused by some mechanical, electrical, programming or other defect in the '08 Sienna. This was not "driver error"! my wife did not confuse the gas pedal and the brake. This was not caused by a floor mat obstructing the gas pedal. This was caused by some type of a design or component defect. How can w be so certain? my wife and I have parked in this parking spot (located in our apartment complex) hundreds of times. To park in this parking spot you first have to make a left hand turn at a stop sign. This stop sign is about 30 - 40 feet from the parking spot, which requires that you make a sharp right turn. Once you press the accelerator slightly to make the left at the stop sign, you do not use the gas again. You simply tap and cover your brake until you make the right into the parking spot. Our vehicle came to a stop. In fact, upon "stopping" one of our 3 boys removed his seat belt immediately before the vehicle accelerated out of control. I'm asking for assistance from someone within Toyota or the NHTSA with knowledge of this flaw. My wife and kids were "fortunate". But this is a "fatal flaw" and something must be done.

My 2008 Toyota Sienna has power rear sliding doors. While the driver side rear door was opening, the cable for the door mechanism snapped and would not close completely. After investigating the situation, the broken cable was jammed in the door mechanism, preventing the door from closing. As a result, the door now does not fully open, and will not hold in the open position. If parked on a hill, the door will close if not held open. Looking at the cable, the plastic sheathing around the cable had many cracks causing the cable itself to rust and fail. The passenger side door cable has similar cracks but has not failed yet. I brought the vehicle to our local Toyota dealer. They mentioned this cable failure was a known problem and previous model years were covered under an extended warranty program. However, the 2008 model year was not covered.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact was attempting to open the rear driver's side door the but the door only opened six inches wide while using the fob, then shut independently and without warning. The contact stated that she had to manually pry the door open. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for inspection where the contact was informed that the door cable had snapped and wrapped around the motor. The motor and the cables would need to be replaced, the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the incident. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that upon inspection, the trunk door unexpectedly closed without any warnings. The contact also mentioned that the trunk door landed on her back and caused a bruise, which was a recurring injury. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 85,000.

When operating the rear lift gate (trunk) on this 2008 Toyota Sienna minivan, we have noticed the lift gate does not open all the way up, causing an average height adults to bump their heads on the lift gate. But worse, this happens on several occasions, the lift gate comes falling down, hitting an adult on the head, causing a head injury. Worse yet, if a child happens to be standing under the lift gate, the heavy trunk can cause a major injury or death! this is happening on a number of occasions, and should be covered by Toyota as this is not acceptable for a family minivan with less than 5 years old. I would like to see a safety recall issued on this type of malfunction and have this repaired or replaced free of charge by Toyota dealers.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the spare tire became detached from the vehicle causing the contact to drive over the tire and experience a failure with the brakes. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The mechanic stated that the spare tire cable was corroded and consequently caused damage to the braking system. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 10v160000 (structure) but was advised by the manufacturer that the recall had expired and they would not honor the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 82,000.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the dashboard had began to deteriorate and she was concerned that the air bags could possibly deploy independently. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection or repairs. The failure and current mileage was 55,000.

While backing the car in my driveway it suddenly accelerated and could not be stopped by braking before it struck stone wall, blowing the right rear tire, damaging the underbody and damaging the stone wall. Very scary!.

Power lift function of rear door malfunction. Upon engaging the power door, it immediately started going down once it reached the top. The struts or brackets are not able to keep the door open making the mechanism automatically shut the door. Extremely dangerous.

Both sliding doors on our van started to slow when opening and closing and began to make a clicking or crackling noise. We took it to the dealer for inspection and were told that the frames were bent on both sides and we were responsible for the repair. The vehicle has never been in an accident and has low miles on it. There is no reason for the door frames to bend other than a manufacturer defect. I have read several complaints about the same problem on the 2008 Sienna. Toyota needs to be held accountable for this problem. There have been internet reports of doors coming open while driving. Our car is still under warranty and we are being told it is not covered.

Inside dashboard is very sticky and always shows a glare onto the windshield while driving (safety issue); the dashboard during the summer time is very malleable, if you gently press on it, it moves as if it was melting slowly. This has been like this for a few years, when I contacted Toyota they said there was a replcement program for this in which owners were notified in 2015 and expired on 2018, I explained we never received this notice as we are at the same address since 2000 and are the original new owners of the van, they did not agree to replace as the program had expired. I explained the safety risk not to mention its a know issue, they said you didn't respond in time so they will not pay to have it replaced. The supervisor was rude and said the same thing.

Last June 2012 I was backing my vehicle in my home driveway when the rear hatch window suddenly exploded, showering large and small shards of glass outwards with enough force that glass particles were found approx. 15 ft. Behind the vehicle! the inside rear of the vehicle was filled with large and small shards, and broken and hanging glass was left in the window frame. When this was reported to the Toyota dealer, their rep replied that he had never heard of such an event occurring with a Toyota, and implied that I had broken the window by accident. Since my warranty doesn't cover glass, I turned in a claim to allstate insurance($100 deductible) and the window was repaired. On 11/08/2012 I was driving approx. 25 mph on a city street when the same window exploded with enough energy to produce a loud "bang!" I again turned in a claim to allstate($100 deductible, again!) and the window was repaired. While waiting at the repair shop, I asked the glass technician if he was aware of any similar incidents with Toyota windows. He replied, "OH yes," and told me that he had just repaired a similar window on a Toyota owned by a kirtland, ohio police officer, among others! I feel that this is a serious safety defect that should be investigated immediately, before someone gets severely injured!.

Tl-the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the passenger front and rear doors locked failed. The doors could not be unlocked from the inside the doors only unlocked from the outside. The vehicle was taken to the dealer advised that the doors electric cable had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000 and the current 126,600. Li.

Could not stop after my abs brakes locked up then were soft/absent, drove up on the center median, got back on the road attempting to go around the car infront on the right side couldn't due to other traffic then went back to the left got back up on the median. My passenger side front bumper corner went under the other driver's driver's side rear bumper corner lifting her car up into the air causing it to fall on top of the passenger side of my hood and front right fender crushing them, resulting in over 10000 dollars damage. No one was seriously hurt and neither car's airbags deployed.

Son opened power sliding drivers side passanger door. Upon closing, door would not latch shut. Door had to be held shut by adult. Dealer has quoted $995 at this point just to get door to close, stating a "rusty cable" is causing the issue. Representative at Toyota customer care advised that vehicle is beyond warranty and Toyota will provide no relief.

The exposed cable of the automatic sliding door on passenger side snapped while the door was in motion.

The driver side passenger sliding door would not lock open. I was on a slight decline. My daughter was getting out of the car and the sliding door was pushed open but did not lock and slid back and slammed into my daughters hand. When trying to re-open the sliding door, it would not lock open, it would continue to slide forward. Since that day, the problem has persisted sporadically. The vehicle can be on a flat surface, incline, decline etc, it does not seem to matter. Each time when the door is slid open it, the locking mechanism is not working. The door will not stay open. The vehicle was brought to the dealership in July 2011 and I was told they could not duplicate the problem, so it was not fixed. The problem continued. In 2013 I received a voluntary recall notice on the non-power sliding doors were not locking shut and could open during operation (which was also happening with my vehicle) so I brought the vehicle to another dealership in October 2013 and asked for them to fix the door since I was having both the recall problem and the other problem. That dealership stated they could not duplicate the problem and they "greased" the mechanism. That did not resolve the issue and it was increasingly happening. In September 2014 I brought the vehicle back to the original dealership and asked for the vehicle to be repaired or the mechanism replaced. I stated I was concerned for the safety of my 3 year old son who goes in and out of the door and I did not want the door to slam into his hand or head and cause serious injury. I had taken video during one of the times that the door was malfunctioning. I showed it to the service rep hoping it would help with the problem. Again, they stated they could not duplicate the problem and it went unrepaired. The problem has continued and it will only be a matter of time that it will cause serious injury.

The sliding doors, passenger and driver are now closed. Passenger side door was automatic and closing on my children when they would enter or exit. Doors would stop in middle and then refuse to open or close. As I stated now they can not be opened. Dealer said it is $400 to fix manual and $1500 for autodoor.

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.

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. . . .

Tl-the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while driving 10 mph, the passenger side sliding door comes open. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and repaired but the failure recurred several times. The vehicles passenger side sliding door also when parked, will not close. It slides like it is going to close and opens back up again. While driving, the open door warning light is always illuminated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 5,000. Ed.

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 to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).