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Sienna sliding doors freezing shut- HELP PLEASE

8 messages,  Last post on Jul 16, 2012 at 4:10 PM

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What is this discussion about? Toyota Sienna, Van

Messages Page 2 of 2

#3 of 8 Re: Sienna sliding doors freezing shut- HELP PLEASE [leh39] by adiehl13

Dec 25, 2011 (1:28 am)

Replying to: leh39 (Nov 21, 2011 1:11 pm)
I'm not exactly sure what they did besides replace the cable (i'll see if I can find the service receipt. It was done at the dealership. I was traveling and my husband just told me that he nearly had a heart attack when they told him it was a ~1900k repair that was covered under warranty. Was there a recall on this part though or just the door welds? I had read that some people were getting letters about the faulty door welds. I'd be interested to see if the same was happening with the cables. Seems like an obvious safety issue if you can't get the door open.
 
One thing I Do know- anyone who buys a Toyota should be prepared to shell out more money for the 8 yr/ 100,000. All of our problems started after 50k (except we did have a cooling issue early on).

#4 of 8 WOULD NEVER BUY THIS VAN AGAIN by kk147

Jan 06, 2012 (9:29 pm)

I have had so many problems with my 2004 Toyota Sienna. The electric slider door passenger side started intermittantly working. There was no real rhyme or reason: cold, hot, ice, not. Could not figure. Last year when I was clicking unlock and my daughter was starting to open it - it stopped working forever. Of course when we were on vacation in NYC. It started by not being able to use the outdoor handle to open the door, but eventually whole thing stopped. Other issues: the light that illuminates the button for opening a garage - by the front windshield went out like at 37,000 and was so costly I didn't bother to fix. The rear tail light on the driver's side has been replaced multiple times and I gave up, there must be a short. Bulb goes out quickly after replacing. The CLICKER no longer works. Many battery replacements, but no longer working. Driver's door is hard to manually lock with a key, must use passenger lock. Oh this is the newest at 126,000 miles the hydraulic lift on my trunk is gone. You will be instantly killed if you lift the door and let go - SLAM. Did I talk about the rear fan going on randomly. Again an electrical short. I have to switch it off. It goes on high by itself. So basically to get in or out of this van is a total pain. I can't even load groceries. ANy little thing I tried to replace or have repaired was a major cost. I did have to have my leaking radiator replaced, tires wear out after 30,000. I pretty much get tires every 1 1/2 years. OOHHH AND I ALMOST FORGOT BECAUSE IT IS WINTER... MY A/C NO LONGER WORKS. YES THAT IS THE LATEST. I forgot about that one. I really need to get a new car before summer. I but if I wanted to repair everything I would be well over $5000. The electric door is like $1500, the door clickers hundreds, A/C probably over 1000. RIDICULOUS NOT TO MENTION the numerous recalls the van has had.

#5 of 8 Re: WOULD NEVER BUY THIS VAN AGAIN [kk147] by fibber2

Jan 07, 2012 (8:29 pm)

Replying to: kk147 (Jan 06, 2012 9:29 pm)
I learned the painful lesson many years back to NEVER buy the first year of a new model. Just listen to the guys with the 2011's and look at all the recalls and TSB's related to that model. In another year or two the new model will settle in and be as rock solid reliable at the 2007-2010 vans from the Gen-2 body style.

#6 of 8 Re: Sienna sliding doors freezing shut- HELP PLEASE [adiehl13] by tabitron19

Jan 14, 2012 (6:27 am)

Replying to: adiehl13 (Nov 18, 2011 9:02 pm)
I had the same problems with my 2004 Toyota Sienna. I actually bought it used last June and had problems such as the sliding doors freezing, driver's door weld making the popping noise, and the trunk randomly closing on me while I was unloading groceries! After reading many posts online about this, I became very discouraged that it was going to be expensive and a pain to solve. NOT TRUE. I went directly to the closest Toyota dealership (Toyota Vanderstyne on Ridge Rd, Rochester NY) and they were excellent!
 They were polite & honest. My Toyota had passed the time limit for the recall (Othere was a recall on a part for the rear trunk & driver/pass. door welds). However, I bought extended EasyCare warranty with the car and it covered everything! The problem with the sliding doors was that they were freezing up due to cold weather. They gave me a free can of silicone spray, put it on, washed my car and gave me a bill for $100. My warranty covered $1100 worth of work! Toyota took care of the legwork for me, made me feel valued, and had my car up & running in a day. My advice is to stay positive, go directly to a Toyota dealership, be polite & honest. You could also just go ahead and put silicone spray on it, hope this helps. I still love my Sienna and Toyota hasn't screwed me yet, so stay positive.

#7 of 8 Re: Sienna sliding doors freezing shut- HELP PLEASE [adiehl13] by kitcloudkick3r

May 10, 2012 (9:51 am)

Replying to: adiehl13 (Nov 18, 2011 9:02 pm)
I have a 2001 that had a similar issue, i took the door completely off the van, and took the door completely apart in my garage.. What i found was that the cable (like most cables) stretches over time.. I purchased an adjuster and welded the adjuster in place.. It cost me about 8.00US plus 1.00 shipping to fix the door.. It took about 6 hours to fix both doors.. you will need a garage, patients, a welder, two cable stretcher adjusters (Bike shop) and a can of lithium Grease.. Fixed.. Beats the 2K dollar price the dealer game me.. HA!

#8 of 8 Freezing door warranty extension NEEDS RECALL! by indysgyz

Jul 16, 2012 (4:10 pm)

Our 2004 Sienna has been great, up until 6'ish months ago when the driver's side sliding door started making a terrible noise, and the passenger side door handle stopped working intermittently. We took it to Toyota, and they said the cable was bad and in order to fix it, the entire "assembly" needed to be replace.....to the tune of $2k!!!....OR, they could cut the cable, turning into a manually operated door for $100.....guess which one we chose. Same thing with the passenger side door....but since that one still works most of the time, we chose not to do anything yet.....now, that door does not work at all, in any weather.
 
Last week, I received a "warranty extension" letter from Toyota on this exact issue. They've extended the warranty to 9 years or 120k miles, whichever comes first. Well, we are in the DC area, and 120k miles on a 2004 vehicle is simply not realistic.....and especially since it's a DOOR!!....if it were the engine, I'd be more understanding. Anyway, I contacted Toyota Corporate, and all they will do is recite the warranty to me, and will not even consider an exception to the mileage limit (oh, ours has about 210k miles). OH...and GET THIS!!....one guy I spoke to said that since we do not get our vehicle serviced AT Toyota, they would not consider a Goodwill adjustment to the mileage limit.
 
Needless to say I am thoroughly disgusted with Toyota over this.....the guy at Corporate said that until it is turned into a Recall, there was nothing he could do. Perhaps if EVERYONE with this issue called corporate to complain, we could get a recall!! Please call their Customer Experience Center at 800-331-4331, and go through the menu until you get a live person. Then, when they tell you that you are over the mileage limit (if you indeed are....otherwise, go get the service covered under the extended warranty), insist on escalating the issue and request to speak to a manager.....they'll tell you "he/she is not available", but insist on a call back. And if you really want to ensure the message is getting through, everyone should ask for the same manger, Steve Gardner.
 
Ok....let's get to work!....call, call, call!!!....let's get this escalated to a Recall and all get our doors fixed!

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