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Toyota Sienna Power Rear Hatch

77 messages,  Last post on Jan 18, 2013 at 6:12 AM

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What is this discussion about? Toyota Sienna, Van

Messages Page 1 of 8

#1 of 77 Power Rear Hatch not retracting correctly by hondaoddity

Dec 08, 2006 (10:09 pm)

I've got a 2005 XLE with the power rear hatch. I think I've verified (and repeated) the problem with the hatch not retracting when it encounters an obstacle.
 
Just a little background: Last year (first year of ownership) the hatch closed on me and would not retract. And, I was pushing back on this thing by arching my back. I'm not sure how I got out from under it but I did. It pretty much freaked me out. It was cold, and there was snow on the van. There was also an ice damn in the gap at the top of the door. I originally attributed my incident to this ice damn. (BTW - Chryslers don't have this problem because they have a piece of plastic attached to the door that prevents ice from getting into this opening.)
 
Over the summer I found this website and began reading about this same problem of the hatch closing on people.
 
I continued to test my hatch on occasion from then on. It worked just fine until today.
 
Today the temperature dropped to 33 degrees farenheit. It was a clear day. There was no snow.
 
Sure enough, that thing would not retract when I pulled back on it. It closed - even though I began applying upward pressure while it was still 90% open. If I had been between the closing hatch and bumper, I could have been badly hurt. If my children were there, it could have been worse.
 
I am pretty well convinced that whatever is being used as a sensor in the door mechanism loses sensitivity during freezing temperatures.
 
I'm making a WAG here by suggesting that the reason that it can't be replicated at the service centers is because the car has warmed up enough by the time it gets there, or when it is worked on in a heated garage, the sensor then begins to work correctly because it is now "warm".
 
Each time I've had the problem, my car was stone cold. It sat out overnight in my drive way. The engine had not even been started. I was using my rear hatch to load/unload the van only.
 
Not sure what I want to accomplish by this other than to let people know of this possible problem.
I'm going to continue to monitor my hatch.

#2 of 77 Re: Power Rear Hatch not retracting correctly [hondaoddity] by divddsky

Feb 10, 2007 (5:12 pm)

Replying to: hondaoddity (Dec 08, 2006 10:09 pm)
There has been a problem with the rear liftgate of the 2004s autopowering down after being powered up. I have had this problem since I bought the van. The National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. has opened and engineering investigation over the issue due to numerous injuries. There IS a TSB out that is supposed to take care of the problem but it only serves as a temporary solution. Every winter the problem returns. Apparently Toyota feels that the struts on the door should only last 1 year or so. Check out Siennaclub.org to learn more.

#3 of 77 TSBs by claires HOST

Feb 12, 2007 (1:55 pm)

Here's a List of TSBs for the 2004 Sienna.

#4 of 77 Opens but doesn't close by bladex

Mar 17, 2007 (9:16 am)

We just picked up our 2007 XLE from the dealer and trying to figure out why the power back door will open without any problem, however, it will only close manually, neither the keyfob, button inside, or pushing down on the door will get it to close on it's own. Can anyone provide help?

#5 of 77 Rear power back door by siennasweden

Jun 03, 2007 (10:12 pm)

Hi!
One of ours 2007 siennas canot open the back door.
If you open it from inside handle(the only way)and then closes it it will close but then you canot open it again.
Could it be water in the doorhandle switch or were do we start,the dealer have change the lock but no difference,do you need to restart the ecm after changing the lock?
Thanks for replays.

#6 of 77 2005 Sienna Power Rear Door Closes Without Warning by raj41

Aug 18, 2007 (3:12 pm)

Last week, my wife opened the power rear door of our 2005 Sienna XLE to get some items from the inside of the van. As the door got to the apex, she started to reach into the car, but the door slammed down violently barely missing her. We had never had a problem before so she tried it again, but stood back this time. The power door slowly lifted up and then suddenly slamed down. This is a heavy door so you would not want to be hit in the head or body when it slams down. I got the same results when I tried it. Since that time, we have only used the side doors. I have notified NHTS and Toyota of America. It am taking it into the Toyota dealer on Monday. We are located near Phoenix, so it is not a cold weather issue.

#7 of 77 Back door danger by banovich

Oct 11, 2007 (2:42 pm)

Its getting to be that time of year again when my back door closes on my back almost everytime I reach in my van. I agree with 1 and 2, I thought it was the snow but it happens when it is really cold. Toyota replaced it but it still happens. I paid a lot for that thing and I have to worry about my kids around my van! Is there anything else we can do but wait to see if the The National Highway Traffic Safety Admin agrees with us. Banovich

#8 of 77 Sienna 2007 XLE AWD by pg2002

Oct 21, 2007 (10:46 pm)

October 21, 2007, I'm experienced the same problem that you guys having. MY Sienna power rear door WON'T close by using the remote or at the front. I'm in Seattle, WA, it is 51 F here.

#9 of 77 Re: Power Rear Hatch not retracting correctly [hondaoddity] by cjsmom

Nov 24, 2007 (10:43 am)

Replying to: hondaoddity (Dec 08, 2006 10:09 pm)
I have a 2004 Sienna xle. I waited many months before bringing it in. I might have thought it was the cold weather; but got sick of loading my groceries in the side sliding door-which by the way hurt when they close on you.
I haven't tested to see if that is a normal thing or not. At least the doors slide open on 'command and shut ln command.The same thing happened with mine.
 
I brought the car to the dealer to ask the price ( no warrantee left) and they fixed it in September.
The hatch door hydrolic someting or other was replaced in September (free of charge since I do all my maintenance at Toyota-they said).
  I asked if it could be a recalled part and they said no.
 
Less than a month later, I was putting bags into the back and the door came down unexpectedly on my head; and pushed my head into my neck/shoulders. I still hurt from that. I brought my car back in; and because it was intermittent, they couldn't fix what worked when there.
It is happening more often and I have to wait til it's doing it all the time before bringing it in.
Last night, I was picking up my aunt at the airport; and I was telling her about the door closing, and hadn't finished telling her that it was broken again; but saw it come down on her and I caught it on time. My aunt is 75. She just missed getting injured.
So, how do we get this problem on the toyota recall list?

#10 of 77 Re: Power Rear Hatch not retracting correctly [cjsmom] by ateixeira

Nov 26, 2007 (9:42 am)

Replying to: cjsmom (Nov 24, 2007 10:43 am)
Did you try replacing the remote? Or at least the battery in it?
 
It could be a bad remote, or maybe some interference from some other source.

Messages Page 1 of 8

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