Toyota Sienna Sliding Door Problems

755 messages,  Last post on May 16, 2013 at 1:30 PM

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


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#693 of 755 Re: Passenger sliding door actuator [easyas123] by 54marty

Jul 18, 2012 (11:24 am)

Replying to: easyas123 (Jul 13, 2012 12:44 pm)
I received the warranty enhancement letter on 07/16/12. The letter is titled Certain 2004 to 2007 Model Year Sienna Rear Sliding Door Latch Assemblies and Power Sliding Door Cable Assemblies Warranty Enhancement Notice.
 
Purchased new 2004 XLE Limited: May 2003. Mileage: 220K+
 
The driver side (L) door stopped opening and closing a long time ago, at least 2 years ago, maybe longer. After about 1 week of operating in manually it got stuck in the open position! The dealer (Miller Toyota in Culver City, CA) told me cost would be around $1500 and recommended I let them fix both sides. I didn't have $1500 so I cut the cable and now the door operates just fine manually. Funny thing: when I push the automatic button I can hear the motor working, so the problem was clearly the tangled up / seized up cable.
 
I'm about 2 months beyond the 9 years and well past the 120K miles of the enhanced warranty. I have zero expectation Toyota will do anything for me. I base that on my previous experience with them and their refusal to help me with problems it turns out they knew about for a long time but kept secret, such as:
 
Laser cruise control failures / alignment issues ($700). Not repaired.
Electric seat heater element failures: replace with new design: $750 each (x2). Not repaired.
HID headlights attracting moisture resulting in control unit failure: replace with same design: $1000 each (x2). Not repaired.
Rear hatch lift failure: This one they fixed AFTER I reported to NTSA and other agencies.
 
I paid $35K for an XLE Limited and ended up with the same features as the $17k base model. All this happened just outside the 3 year / 36K warranty period except for the rear hatch, which was just outside the years but well outside the mileage.

#694 of 755 Re: Customer Support Program for Power Door Failures [nana1427] by benini

Jul 18, 2012 (2:10 pm)

Replying to: nana1427 (Apr 28, 2012 4:06 pm)
I would very much appreciate whatever you have in writing about this failure.
This has happened to us and the dealer is asking for $1600. I would like something in writing about the warranty extension we can show the Toyota dealer here.
Thanks so much.
Lorraine Benini

#695 of 755 Re: no luck with door recall [slyons] by gundosienna

Jul 21, 2012 (8:16 am)

Replying to: slyons (Jun 29, 2012 8:24 pm)
Received the enhanced warranty notice 7/17/12; car was purchased 5/17/03. 2 months OUTSIDE the enhanced warranty period. Toyota refuses to honor the enhanced warranty, only 75,000 on car. Door originally failed in 2008 and we reported to Toyota in 1/09. Curious to see if anyone had any luck with getting Toyota to honor outside of the 9 years. These vans went on sale in March of 2003.

#696 of 755 Toyota Customer Service by chilcote

Aug 03, 2012 (2:51 pm)

I had 155,000 miles on my 2005 Toyota Sienna. I got the letter indicating that they would extend my warranty for the Power Sliding Door Assembly. However, when I called Toyota's Customer Service to discuss this issue, they informed me that my car was over the mileage limit. The customer service representative was able to pull up how many miles I had on my car at my last service visit. So I wonder if Toyota only sent letters to people that they knew would not be covered. I am irate. I asked to speak with upper management (the people that make the decisions) I was told that I was not allowed to do that. Again, I am the customer and I want answers as to why this problem was recognized by Toyota as an issue and not fixed as a recall. I will be writing a letter to upper management. There are 77 pages of complaints on rear sliding doors on Toyota. Feel free to write to them at Toyota Motor Sales USA, National Customer Relations, 19001 Southwestern Avenue, Dept WC11, Torrance CA 90501. I would appreciate better customer service from such a large company.

#697 of 755 Lost the letter... can somebody help? by antoinedeux

Aug 03, 2012 (6:39 pm)

Received this letter a few weeks ago, and that was very timely since the cable broke 3 months ago. Unfortunately I lost the letter (ironically the Toyota dealer lost it, it was in the car and vanished...) and I still need it, to claim reimbursement for the expenses occured to un-jam the door when the cable failed. And despite the time spent with the customer service on the phone, they won't send me a duplicate or anything. Can somebody be kind enough to scan this letter and email it to me? Or simply type the paragraph regarding the reimbursement at the bottom, that would be very helpful. Many thanks!
Antoine (Sienna 2004)

#698 of 755 Re: Lost the letter... can somebody help? [antoinedeux] by ckirk

Aug 04, 2012 (11:37 am)

Replying to: antoinedeux (Aug 03, 2012 6:39 pm)
I scanned as PDF, copied and pasted and below is what came up, but I think the section about "If you have previously paid..." is clear at the bottom. Good luck.
 

 
Teei
y.o.Yf product expectations, Toyota would like to advise you o"f an exiension to portions of your Sienna's New Vehicle
Limited Warranty.
Toyota cares about our customers
Toyota has received reports of customer concerns regarding rear sliding doors that gradually become difficult to open or
close in certain 20041o 2007 model year Sienna vehicles.
-
Although the Rear Sliding Door Latch Assemblies and Power Sliding Door Cable Assemblies are covered by Toyota,s
New Vehicle Limited Warianty for 3 years or 36,000 miles (whicheueicomes tiriti *" at Toyota care about your overall
ownership experience. To assure our customers'satisfaction with that ownership eiperience, we are offering an extension
of the warranty coverage {or your vehicle's Rear Sliding Door Latch Assemblies and
powe,
Sliding Door Cable Assembly.
Please see your Toyota dealer for additional details.
ThswarrantyeXtenSionisforyourvehicle,s.RearSlidingoooi1atcrrAssembIies"no
Cable Assembly for a period of 9 years from the vehicle's"date of first use or 12O,O0O miles, whichever comes first.
This offer is limited to your specific Sienna whose VIN is provided above and is subject to the same conditions and
exclusions set forth in your owner's Warranty lnformation booklet. Tnis coverag;l;'f,or warranty work performed at
an authorized Toyota dealer only.
Please note that, as specified in the New Vehicte Limited Warranty, damage incurred from abuse, an accident, theft,
vandalism, or other similar event is not covered by this warranty Extensioh.
What should you do?
It you have not experienced this condition, please insert this tetter into your Sienna,s Owner,s Warranty
lnformation Booktet for future reference.
lf you experience a difficult to operate rear sliding door, please contact any authorized Toyota dealer and make arrange-
ments for diagnosis and, if.covered,
1epair,.9qu:19
repairs for the near'SitJinj ooor r-itcn or the power
Stioing Door
Cable Assembly will be performed at NO CHARGE tor up to s years from the ueiicle's date of first use or 120,000 miles,
whichever occurs first. Please present this notice to the Toyota bealer when you-biing ihe vehicle in toryour appointment.
l1,ll9
Rgar Sli-ding Door Latch Assembly requires reptacement, the repair witl tat<e ipproximately one hour. lf the power ,t,#iq:"::^c,:1,1" f:"t"Tlry:lr'l:sl9nt19emenf the repail *rr ta[e "pp';;i;#r! tow hours; however, dependins Certain 2OO4 to 2007 Model year Sienna Rear Sliding Door Latch Assemblies and Power Sliding Door Cable Assemblies i?il,"t1:-o*:j;: y"^'l ,::fg*,_'l:ly_g:-n_?."::3ry, io make tne vbhicre "uairlor" to;-; i;ft;;;;il;i'i,.;;: We wanted to advise you.of this warranty.extension and provide reimbursement instructions in the event you have incurred expenses for previous repairs to help minimize the inconvenience to you. lf you would like to update yourvehicleownership-orontactinfgrmation, pleasego towww.teyota.eom/ownersupdate, You will need your fult 17-digit Vehicle ldentification Number (vlN) to inpuiirre n-ew"intormation. lf,you have previously paid.for the repair or replacement of the Rear Sliding Door Latch Assembly and/or the power Sliding Door Cable Assembly and/or the Motor and Power Sliding Door bable Assembly to address the covered condition, please mail a copy of your repair order, proof-of-paymentl and proof-of-ownership to the following address for reimbursement consideraiion: - Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., lnc., Toyota Customer Experience, WC10 19001 South Western Avenue, Torrance, CA 90509 lnclude your name, address, and telephone number(s) in your request. Please allow 6 to g weeks to process your request. We have sent this notice in the interest of your continued satisfaction with our products. Sincerely, TOYOTA MOTOR SALES, U.S.A., INC.

#699 of 755 The ID TOYOTASUCKS was already taken! by toyotasucks2

Aug 05, 2012 (6:14 pm)

I had such a great experience with my old Toyota Sienna that I didn't even shop for anything else before I bought my 2008 model...big mistake. Today the 2nd of the two automatic doors failed - $1,700 each to repair. The first time I chose the manual door instead of the automatic door (less than $300) and now whenever I park on a downward incline the manual door doesn't lock open and comes slamming closed - great safety for a family vehicle, right? Toyota is no longer the company they once were and are continuing to limp along on a no longer deserved reputation. I wouldn't take another Toyota if you gave it to me. As soon as I figure out how to file a complaint with the DOT I will do so. When I made my profile in order to post to this website, the ID TOYOTASUCKS was already taken and I had to settle for TOYOTASUCKS2!

#700 of 755 Sienna Warranty "Enhancement" Notice by toyotasucks4

Aug 08, 2012 (1:38 pm)

I too was told I do NOT qualify for the Warranty Extension for the Sienna sliding doors. (I miss the cutoff by a few months). I had the car in for service on FOUR previous occasions for these door problems but decided NOT to fix them due to the high cost for repair. Now Toyota is saying that if I HAD them fixed they would have reimbursed me.... !!!??? If I had a CRYSTAL BALL I would have had the repairs done, but who knew Toyota would FINALLY FESS UP to a known problem with the doors ! They need to issue a RECALL, not an Warranty extension (which most people do NOT qualify for!) Toyota is showing a lack of integrity.
I will NEVER buy a Toyota again.

#701 of 755 Re: The ID TOYOTASUCKS was already taken! [toyotasucks2] by toyotasucks2

Aug 10, 2012 (11:20 am)

Replying to: toyotasucks2 (Aug 05, 2012 6:14 pm)
I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG IN MY PREVIOUS POSTING! I marched myself into my Toyota dealer today ready to rant about the failed sliding doors only to learn that Toyota has extended the warranty on the doors to 120K miles! Now, this is the type of thing I have always expected from Toyota but had mistakenly thought was a thing of the past. Both doors will be repaired at no cost to me. I couldn't be more satisfied!

#702 of 755 Re: The ID TOYOTASUCKS was already taken! [toyotasucks2] by larz5

Aug 11, 2012 (6:24 am)

Replying to: toyotasucks2 (Aug 10, 2012 11:20 am)
Yea, that's what I thought until they actually looked at my Sienna and informed me that the part needed to fix my door wasn't covered under the warranty extension. And by the way, they charged me $80 to let me know that. Good luck. I have since traded for a new Explorer
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