Hatchback/liftgate Problems of Toyota Sienna - part 1

The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the hatch on the rear of the vehicle closed independently without warning. The failure occurred twice. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000.

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The engine was off. I opened the rear hatch, while I was under the hatch placing items in the back of the car my husband not realizing I had already opened it and was under it pushed the button to open the hatch but since it was already open it started to close on me. Upon meeting resistance from me (substantial I might add) it did not stop closing and I had to jump into the rear of the vehicle to prevent being seriously injured. Either there is no sensor to sense an obstruction in the door or the sensor is faulty. We will notify the dealer of this but this is a sensor that should not fail, this door is big enough to seriously injure someone or kill a child. I was not injured seriously but my neck and shoulder are sore at this point from pushing back on the door and time will tell if it is more than a minor strain.

See all problems of the 2012 Toyota Sienna 🔎.

The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the automatic rear door failed to open. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not notified of this issue. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.

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The rear lift gate is not staying in place when lifted, it falls about 10 inches and then the automatic door close engages. If you turn off the automatic door, then it slams shut. The struts were already replaced once under the first recall.

See all problems of the 2004 Toyota Sienna 🔎.

The rear lift door of the 2009 Sienna has the power lift. I hit the fob to open the door to load items into the back of the van. It opened normally and my wife and I leaned into the van to put items in. As the door reached the top, it suddenly started closing while we were standing under it. I had to use quite a bit of force to slow it down enough so we could get out of the way. And even with me being 6'1 and 195 lbs, it was not easy to do. My wife who is 5'1 and 110 lbs could not have stopped it. If I opened the door manually, there was nothing to assist me with the weight of the door, so I had to continually hold it up. Since this incident, it happened every time until I got it fixed at a Toyota dealership. They said the hatch stays were leaking, it cost me $327 for them to install a back door stay kit. In researching this on the internet, I noticed there was a recall for older model years, but not for 2009. It seems like the same exact problem, and feel the recall should be extended to newer model years.

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The rear lift gate will not stay open causing potential for injury. There was a safety recall in 2008 and the rear hatch struts had a design flaw and they were replaced. This is a second failure of these struts. A small child can easily be crushed under the hatch if it comes down without warning.

See all problems of the 2006 Toyota Sienna 🔎.

2004 Toyota Sienna xle limited. Consumer writes in regards to problems with doors on vehicle. The consumer stated the rear lift gate was repaired several times. The consumer was informed there was a recall involving a particular part on the vehicle, and she has been having problems ever since. The consumer stated when she opened the liftgate, it would fly open too quickly and when she closed it, it would essentially crush someone until it finally re-opened. The consumer stated the safety mechanism was clearly faulty. Approximately two weeks ago, the left rear sliding door became difficult to open and close.

The struts of the door(liftgate) is not holding the door properly when it is opened. So there is a possibility the person who opens the door will hit their head. The failure started @ 70k.

Regarding NHTSA id# 08v244000 aloha I have a 2005 Toyota Sienna which had the gas struts recall for my power tailgate which was done on 04/13/2009 work order# 656115 from servco Toyota in hawaii. However its been only 3 years and the gas struts are failing again. It seems to need a new pair every 3 years. I hope you can have Toyota recall the newly designed struts because according to Toyota they are supposed to have a longer life than the original but after reading some comments online I noticed I am not the only one who has the same problem with new struts failing again. Mahalo for your time.

I opened the automatic liftgate to my 2007 Toyota Sienna and upon it reaching the fully open position at the top, it immediately dropped and started to close automatically, which may have caused me an injury if I hadn't quickly moved out of the way. Every time I open the liftgate, whether I do it using my key fob, from the interior of the car, or by lifting the handle, the same thing happens causing risk of injury to me and my children. Toyota refuses to acknowledge responsibility for this defect despite similar issues being reported with 2004 to 2006 Toyota Siennas, which ultimately resulted in the issuance of NHTSA campaign 08v244000.

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Struts on the rear power lift gate have failed and rear gate will open and immediately start closing with no way to stop it. This occurs when using interior button or remote key fob. If opened manually, the gate slams closed with the potential for significant injury due to the force of the dropping gate. Research indicates this was a problem with 2004-2006 models and struts were replaced free of charge. Apparently the same struts were used on 2007 models, however the dealer would not warranty replacement. It took about 15 minutes for them to install two new struts for $362. 00. The 2004-2006 recall is listed under NHTSA campaign # 08v244000. This is the exact issue I experienced.

I tool my car last April to get my recall done on my lift gate and ever since that my lift gate is not working. . I have called them several times and have filed a complaint with Toyota as well but it seems no one is listening to me. Please help.

My Toyota Sienna 2007 limited it fail its hatch door closes its own and it hit my head I'm afraid that by accident my kids might do the same, when they open the hatch door. I read about 2004-2006 recall and had Toyota technical service bulletin March 14,2007 model 04-07 this regards the lift gate not properly working. On the 04-06 recall why not the 07 recall not included. While I got the same problem and the same parts that causes the problem.

The rear power door hatch wont stay open in cold weather, it will open and then immediately start to close causing several heads to be hit. This happens everytime it is cold. Also now my remote and the interior button wont open the door at all, it has to be done manually.

The rear hatch on my 2006 Toyota Sienna fails to stay up. The hatch didn't stay open and I was hit on the head and almost stuck with the hatch ontop of me. I took the minivan in to get it fixed but was told that I would have to pay for it seeing as the recall did not cover my manual hatch. I fail to understand how if there was a recall it would only be for an automatic hatch . . . . If the struts fail for automatic hatches, then wouldn't they fail for manual hatches??? I'm very upset that the ntsb wouldn't have made Toyota include all models not just automatic hatches.

We have a 2008 Toyota Sienna with an automatic lift gate. When you push a button on the overhead console or on the remote it opens the rear lift gate, push again and it closes and latches automatically. However, the mechanism(s) that holds it open has failed. Similar to failure on the 2004-2006 Sienna that forced a Toyota recall. If you open it automatically it starts closing immediately after you open it without warning, no alerts. If you open it manually it will not stay open and the weight is unsupported meaning it will close on anything in its way. A child could be crushed/injured from the weight/force of the door.

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My 2008 Toyota Sienna has an automatic lift gate. You push a button on the overhead console or on the key fob and it opens the rear lift gate, push again and it closes and latches automatically. However, the mechanism(s) that holds it open has failed. Similar to failure on the 2004-2006 Sienna that forced a Toyota recall. If you open it automatically it starts closing immediately after you open it without warning, no alerts. If you open it manually it will not stay open and the weight is unsupported meaning it will crush anything in its way.

The rear gate struts / suspension have completely failed. The struts will not hold open the rear gate at all. My wife and children have great difficulty (in many instances it is impossible and / or dangerous) holding open the gate with one hand or head and trying to load or unload simultaneously. It appears that there was a partial recall for Siennas with the power liftgate, but we do not have a power liftgate.

The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Sienna. The vehicle was parked with the rear lift gate open; however, the contact pressed the button to close the lift gate and she attempted to take an item from inside the vehicle and nearly sustained an injury when the lift gate continued to close. The contact thought there would be an automatic override system in place to stop the lift gate from closing if an object was obstructing its path. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified and advised the contact that the vehicle was not equipped with a feature to automatically stop the door from closing. The failure and current mileages were 6,400. The VIN was unavailable.

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Sienna rear lift gate opens up about 95%, sits there for a moment and then closes. This is no big deal if you are just watching it, but if you start to load or unload during the process the door will hit you in the head. This has happened to me several times in the last few weeks. I understand the lift gate struts were recalled on my vehicle, service records indicate they were replaced in December 2008 (I did not own the vehicle at the time. The safety issue is partly the week struts, seems to fail due to cold temperatures. The real safety issue is that there is no warning sound that the door is deciding to close itself.

The liftgate struts were replaced under the recall in October 2008. Rear liftgate struts do not work now. The liftgate will not stay open. We have to hold it open while another person retrieves items from the rear cargo area. The struts began failing intermittently in the winter of 2010. I complained to my dealership, but the liftgate worked for them, so they would grease them. In the winter of 2011, liftgate struts quit working. The struts don't work in hot and cold climates. I've shown this to my dealership again this year and they referred me to Toyota customer care. Customer care issued a case number and said they can't help me, but my dealership would contact me. I never was contacted and had to contact them myself. They refused to replace for free, but quoted me an outrageous amount. I haven't replaced the struts yet. I have 3 young children which could be seriously injured by the liftgate falling. It has already bumped my husband and I in the head.

My wife parked our 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan and opened the rear liftgate from the console above the rearview mirror. She exited the vehicle and walked to the rear of the vehicle. As she turned to the open rear area the liftgate descended and struck her, causing her to fall to the ground and opening a gash in her scalp that bled profusely and required three staples to close. Our vehicle had been recalled to address this issue in 2008, but we have experienced similar intermittent and unpredictable instances since. Although a 2008 recall notice calls for the replacement of the struts that support the liftgate, and although our records show that our vehicle was serviced under that notice, our local Toyota dealer declined to take any action, stating that their service department was unable to replicate the event and further stating that had they been able to replicate the event their next step would have been to try to determine the cause. These responses are inconsistent with the clear directions of the 2008 recall. Assuming that the servicing was carried out in 2008 under the 2008 notice, we do not know whether it was incorrectly performed, or whether the deterioration of the struts that led to the notice has continued with the replacement struts.

I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna xle. The rear lift gate sometime does not provide enough support and fall down and bump into people's head cause head injury. Toyota has issued a recall and did a replacement but the new part is sub-standard and failed just after a year. They need to issue another recall and provide a better/longer term solution.

The handle on the lift gate for my 2003 Toyota Sienna broke off right in my hand. The gate remains locked and unable to open it.

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The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that on occasion the rear hatchback door would not close with the electronic remote or manually. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for the failure, however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The dealer replaced the sensor strip and re-initialized the remote, but the failure was not corrected and the rear hatchback door would still intermittently not close. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and they advised that they could not replace any additional parts. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 30,000 and the current mileage was 34,000.

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I have a 2006 Toyota Sienna xle. In the last year, when my car has been out in the sun, the rear hatch will not close using the power buttons on the key fob or on the front console. The hatch will close about 10 degrees and then go back up. My neighbor has a 2007 Toyota Sienna and hers does the exact same thing. I brought my van to the Toyota dealership when the rear hatch recall happened, but that replacement did not do anything for my car. I took it back recently and had new sensors put it, but again, no improvement.

My son was opening the rear hatchback of my 2005 Toyota Sienna, he opened it fully and without warning it closed almost injuring my 3 year old who was climbing in the trunk and hitting my older son who was opening it on the back. Now the hatchback closes without being propped up. It is very difficult to load groceries and you need two adults to do this one to prop up the door and one to load the groceries. My main concern is having one of my five children get hurt or killed. The door is heavy enough to seriously injured or killed.

Back hatch on Toyota Sienna xle (2006) will not close automatically (via buttons or fob) in warm weather (I. E. Over approx. 83 degrees). Must be closed manually. Only happens when vehicle has been sitting in sun. Have heard same complaint from numerous other owners of same make and model and later models. Started occurring shortly after new struts were installed to address recall for hatchback unexpectedly falling down without warning. Several engineers have suggested the new struts are too strong for existing hatchback motor (stronger strut mechanism used to prevent hatchback from falling). Recommend new motor to match strength of recall replacement struts.

Rear manual liftgate on 2004 Toyota Sienna unexpectedly closes. Toyota was supposed to have extended the warranty on liftgate to 6 years unlimited mileage but now refuse to correct problem. Contacted them before the 6 years had ended but they never returned calls until 6 year limit had passed. Liftgate has fallen on people 2-3 times and has to be manually held open to use rear compartment.

Liftgate struts have suddnely failed.

I had by 2005 Toyota Sienna fixed the recall letter I had regarding back hydraulic strut on my back door. This was done on last week of March this year(2010) at penske Toyota. After 3 months of using the back door, 1. It intermittently will go down half way and will go back to open position. 2. When opening the door manually, it will snap open wildly almost to the point of injuring your face. Note-these 2 conditions never happened prior to the recalled replacement.

2006 Toyota Sienna rear hatchback shock failure causing rear door to slam down so hard it shattered the glass. Toyota said the shocks are defective and will be replaced for 6 years unlimited miles. This is a major hazard as the door is very heavy! all units should be replaced before people are hurt or killed. Toyota #[xxx] they refuse to pay for the damaged window but will replace the shocks. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Toyota Sienna 2008 lift gate fell on head of child- the lift gate is now unsteady all the time and will not hold the weight of the gate up.

The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Sienna. When the contact opened the hatchback, it closed with force on her back. She was not injured. She also allowed the hatchback to close when the complaint was filed in order to demonstrate the sound of it closing. She notified Toyota regarding a previous recall for the hydraulic lift and was informed that was not related to her year, make and model vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 55,793.

2006 Sienna manual rear hatch lift\struts are no longer working. Have to manually hold the door up, which is very heavy. Was told it would cost $270 for one side.