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Sienna sliding doors freezing shut- HELP PLEASE

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

You are in the Toyota Sienna Forum.

What is this discussion about? Toyota Sienna, Van

Messages Page 2 of 2

#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!

Messages Page 2 of 2

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