Sign In Join 



Toyota Sienna Sliding Door Problems

326 messages,  Last post on Nov 26, 2009 at 9:46 AM

You are in the Toyota Sienna Forum. Your Host is Karens

What is this discussion about? Toyota Sienna, Car Safety, Van


Messages Page 22 of 34
1
...
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
...
34
Prev
Next
Last
Go To Msg #
Search This Discussion

#204 of 326
Re: Reviews of Sienna, Odyssee, Grand Caravan [ateixeira] by jrmac
Dec 29, 2008 (10:43 am)
Reply

Replying to: ateixeira (Dec 29, 2008 10:28 am)

There are 5 operating doors for a very specific reason, safety. The van gets its safety rating based on all of the doors operating. Take away one door and the van can no longer get that same safety rating.
 
My Sienna was purchased in part by the safety rating. If this van can not live up to that rating, then Toyota should be on the hook to repair it at their cost.
#205 of 326
Re: Reviews of Sienna, Odyssee, Grand Caravan [jrmac] by ateixeira
Dec 29, 2008 (10:48 am)
Reply

Replying to: jrmac (Dec 29, 2008 10:43 am)

I don't see how that's unsafe?
 
In a crash you're better off with all doors closed, locked even.
 
The van gets its safety rating based on all of the doors operating
 
That's more than a stretch. IIHS and NHTSA/NCAP give out safety ratings that would not at all be affected by a door that didn't operate properly.
 
It's very inconvenient, yes. But unsafe? How will someone be harmed by a non-moving door?
 
If it were pinching body parts, that would be a different story.
#206 of 326
Re: Reviews of Sienna, Odyssee, Grand Caravan [ateixeira] by Violaisabelle
Dec 29, 2008 (12:47 pm)
Reply

Replying to: ateixeira (Dec 29, 2008 10:48 am)

We have had THREE doors frozen shut at one time. Both the sliding doors and the back door.
 
I have, personally, been in a car accident where the front passenger door would not open because of the electronic locking system. The driver's door was hit, but the passenger side was not. We were unable to get out the passenger side, leaving us to crawl to the back to get out. Fortunately, the car did not catch fire and we got out safely. We were not hauling babies around, so we didn't have that issue to deal with, thankfully.
 
If you are unable to get back into your vehicle, in -20 to -40 C temperatures, because your doors have frozen shut, and it's nearly impossible to crawl over the front seat to buckle babies into their spots, it is a safety issue. If you have gotten into a vehicle accident, and you can't get out of your seat to get your children out of their buckled in seats, and those standing by trying to help can't climb over you to get to your children....that's a safety issue.
 
If you have a child who gets car sick and you need to pull over, it is possibly not a safety issue, but it's a very inconvenient issue to not be able to get them out of the vehicle. Yes, we carry a bucket with us and know the routine, but it's not necessary to be so inconvenienced by our doors locking us to the point we can't get out of the vehicle.
 
At this point in time, all our issues have been covered by our dealer. As I said earlier, we have a great dealership we are working with and I am very grateful for that.
 
Carol
#207 of 326
Re: Reviews of Sienna, Odyssee, Grand Caravan [Violaisabelle] by ateixeira
Jan 09, 2009 (11:42 am)
Reply

Replying to: Violaisabelle (Dec 29, 2008 12:47 pm)

If that happens again, and you get hit on *both* sides, closing all 5 doors, you're in trouble.
 
Unless you have a moonroof, then you could still get out.
 
Obviously I'm teasing, but I still don't see this as a safety issue.
 
It definitely is a *major* inconvenience.
 
If you've been driving, the heat from within the car would likely have the doors unfrozen.
 
The doors on my Miata freeze every day in the winter, including today. I could tear through the vinyl top so I guess I could still save myself.
#208 of 326
Frozen sliding doors by slider13
Jan 15, 2009 (4:09 pm)
Reply
We almost bought a Sienna, but in the end bought a Kia Sedona, and guess what? The sliding doors freeze shut every time it is below freezing!! This is not just a Sienna problem, although I do wonder about the comment about the compound used in the rubber seals. We still have our 13 year old Plymouth minivan (310,000k) and have not had the sliding doors freeze even once on it. Mind you, nothing on it fits as snugly and tightly either! I'll watch your blog with interest.
#209 of 326
Re: Frozen sliding doors [slider13] by ateixeira
Feb 03, 2009 (11:52 am)
Reply

Replying to: slider13 (Jan 15, 2009 4:09 pm)

Knock on wood but my Sienna has been fine.
 
My 93 Miata's doors freeze shut all the time. I've had to open the passenger door, then push out the driver's door to get it open.
 
It has those tiny little art-deco door handles. Cute but no leverage to pull at all.
#210 of 326
Cable Problem on Sienna Sliding Door by brucehaywood
Feb 03, 2009 (12:13 pm)
Reply
Does anyone know if Toyota is "fessing up" yet that they have a serious product flaw in the cables on the sliding door? Again, ours snapped in the mid 40's. Their customer orientation was to want $1,800 to fix it. DO NOT BUY A SIENNA
#211 of 326
Re: 2005 Toyota Sienna won't start drained battery--seat sensor? electrical [znet] by creeboat
Feb 06, 2009 (4:23 pm)
Reply

Replying to: znet (Jan 22, 2008 9:25 pm)

If you have "auto running head lights" they will not go off until she opens the door.
Same experience.
#212 of 326
Re: Toyota Sienna Sliding Door Problems [socal13] by bvmurphy
Feb 26, 2009 (10:58 am)
Reply

Replying to: socal13 (Sep 29, 2008 2:00 pm)

Starting about a month ago (right when it turned 100k miles) the driver's side power door started getting stuck closed and would not open. It made a clicking sound like it was trying to open but it was like it wouldn't unlock (even though the orange part of the level still moved inside to indicate it was unlocked). At first locking and unlocking the door a few times would solve the problem and then it would open fine. The problem has become increasingly frequent and now the door won't open at all. Once the door was open it always worked fine and I'm no expert but the cable looked okay to me. I took it to the dealer and they couldn't get it to open and said that everyone with this model has this problem and quoted me $1600+ dollars to fix it - and that's if the door will open again. They also showed me how the replacement motor is a re-engineered part which is further indicative of the defectiveness of the original. I called the 800.331.4331customer service and they just kept saying it has a hundred thousand miles and tough luck. They said I'd have to meet with the District Manager who'd made this decision and that there was no possible way to ever escalate this matter above that individual. I don't buy that. They also refused to give me this individual's contact information. This is wholly unacceptable. I currently own 3 toyotas, the '04 Sienna being the oldest, and have owned a total of 7 of their vehicles. I purposely did not buy a Chrysler because I didn't want to have to deal with this. I have many more cars to purchase in my lifetime and they won't be Toyota's if this is how they're going to treat their customers. I think the time has come for a class action law suit - I don't know how that works, just that I'd like to be a part of it. In the mean time I'll lodge my complaint with the DOT. It seems as though they have no incentive to address this issue as the $3,000 it sounds like everyone is having to spend on their defectice doors is a mighty lucrative income source for them.
 
Shame on Toyota!
#213 of 326
04 sienna sliding door freezes shut. by craighere
Mar 03, 2009 (4:31 pm)
Reply
for those who have had the incredible inconvenience of having their sliding doors frozen shut upon attempting entry, i have a solution.
having tried every lubricant without success, the only solution was the replacing of the door seals with a re engineered part i believe available on 05 models and later.
the new seals work perfectly, but they must be the upgraded ones that toyota came up with in response to the obvious problem.
there should be a toyota campaign for this issue, but there isn't.
i complained to head office, but received no compensation.
here in ontario, canada, the cost was appro. $150 including labour.
not bad, but still, the problem should never have existed in the first place.
maybe if more people contact head office with similar complaints, toyota will listen, and a campaign will surface.
anyways, now that the new seals have been exposed to temps well below freezing for over 2 months now, i'm happy to report that they are doing the job, no stuck doors anymore!

Messages Page 22 of 34
1
...
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
...
34
Prev
Next
Last
Go To Msg #
Search This Discussion
To POST a message, please Sign In.

New? Join Now!

Forum Tools

Please sign in.
Email Address:

Password:

Forgot Password?

Search Forums

Enter Keyword(s)

Advanced Search

Browse by Vehicle



View All Vehicles
Advertisement
Ask the Community
See What People Are Asking

Browse by Board

Browse by Topic


View All Topics

Today's Chats

Advertisement