Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | |||
| 12/13/2001 | 8000 | ||
| I purchased a brand new 2001 toyota sienna xle in 2001. the passenger side power sliding door and the drivers side power slliding door has given us problems since we purchased the car. we had it back to the dealer for the same power door issue at least 11 times. they now want to charge me. the ntsb should force a recall to fix this issue. the door will not open or close and now it will not move at all either by remote or manually. we purchased the dual power sliders as a convience and now we have inconvienence. we have not be able to use the door properly for years, we have never had the benefit of the power sliding doors that we paid for. i would request the the government investigate the numerous complaints on the various blogs for the same issue described here. we have had this problem for over ten years without a resolution provided by toyota. the doors still do not function. toyota does not care. | |||
| 03/13/2001 | 8000 | ||
| I purchased a brand new 2001 toyota sienna xle in 2001. the passenger side power sliding door has given us problem since we purchased the car. we had it back to the dealer for the same power door issue at least 11 times. they now want to charge me. the ntsb should force a recall to fix this issue. the door will not open or close and now it will not move at all either by remote or manually | |||
| 12/13/2001 | 8000 | ||
| I purchased a brand new 2001 toyota sienna xle in 2001. the passenger side power sliding door and the drivers side power slliding door has given us problems since we purchased the car. we had it back to the dealer for the same power door issue at least 11 times. they now want to charge me. the ntsb should force a recall to fix this issue. the door will not open or close and now it will not move at all either by remote or manually. we purchased the dual power sliders as a convience and now we have inconvienence. we have not be able to use the door properly for years, we have never had the benefit of the power sliding doors that we paid for. i would request the the government investigate the numerous complaints on the various blogs for the same issue described here. we have had this problem for over ten years without a resolution provided by toyota. the doors still do not function. toyota does not care. | |||
| 03/13/2001 | 8000 | ||
| I purchased a brand new 2001 toyota sienna xle in 2001. the passenger side power sliding door has given us problem since we purchased the car. we had it back to the dealer for the same power door issue at least 11 times. they now want to charge me. the ntsb should force a recall to fix this issue. the door will not open or close and now it will not move at all either by remote or manually | |||
| 12/13/2001 | 8000 | ||
| I purchased a brand new 2001 toyota sienna xle in 2001. the passenger side power sliding door and the drivers side power slliding door has given us problems since we purchased the car. we had it back to the dealer for the same power door issue at least 11 times. they now want to charge me. the ntsb should force a recall to fix this issue. the door will not open or close and now it will not move at all either by remote or manually. we purchased the dual power sliders as a convience and now we have inconvienence. we have not be able to use the door properly for years, we have never had the benefit of the power sliding doors that we paid for. i would request the the government investigate the numerous complaints on the various blogs for the same issue described here. we have had this problem for over ten years without a resolution provided by toyota. the doors still do not function. toyota does not care. | |||
| 03/13/2001 | 8000 | ||
| I purchased a brand new 2001 toyota sienna xle in 2001. the passenger side power sliding door has given us problem since we purchased the car. we had it back to the dealer for the same power door issue at least 11 times. they now want to charge me. the ntsb should force a recall to fix this issue. the door will not open or close and now it will not move at all either by remote or manually | |||
| 12/13/2001 | 8000 | ||
| I purchased a brand new 2001 toyota sienna xle in 2001. the passenger side power sliding door and the drivers side power slliding door has given us problems since we purchased the car. we had it back to the dealer for the same power door issue at least 11 times. they now want to charge me. the ntsb should force a recall to fix this issue. the door will not open or close and now it will not move at all either by remote or manually. we purchased the dual power sliders as a convience and now we have inconvienence. we have not be able to use the door properly for years, we have never had the benefit of the power sliding doors that we paid for. i would request the the government investigate the numerous complaints on the various blogs for the same issue described here. we have had this problem for over ten years without a resolution provided by toyota. the doors still do not function. toyota does not care. | |||
| 03/13/2001 | 8000 | ||
| I purchased a brand new 2001 toyota sienna xle in 2001. the passenger side power sliding door has given us problem since we purchased the car. we had it back to the dealer for the same power door issue at least 11 times. they now want to charge me. the ntsb should force a recall to fix this issue. the door will not open or close and now it will not move at all either by remote or manually | |||
| 06/26/2011 | 57000 | ||
| Tltl-the contact owns 2001 toyota sienna. the contact stated both the left and right passenger side door handle broke. the tail gate door handle also broke. the power motor was taken out of the doors due to previous failure on the sliding doors. this caused the plastic handles for the doors to be thin and the handles are too thin to open and close the doors. due to the power motor that was taken out of both doors. the manufacturer was contacted who stated to replace the handles the contact had to pay $350 for each door handle. there are no recalls or warranty for this repair. the vehicle was not repair. the failure mileage was 57,000...mw | |||
| 05/19/2011 | |||
| {much of this content is copied from another complaint, but we are experiencing the same problems} sliding door latches get stuck sometimes in the open and sometimes in the closed position. when doors are closed we are unable to push the button inside or use the outside handle to release the latch and open the door. if the door is open when this happens we are then unable to close the door as it will not latch. when the door remains open this is an obvious safety issue and the van is undriveable as doing so would put the passengers at risk. when the door is stuck in a close position it makes exiting the vehicle difficult which would be a safety issue if there were an emergency and a quick exit were necessary. the back hatch latch has also broken. we have removed the cover from the back hatch and with a great deal of manipulation we can usually make this door work. the power sliding door is now stuck open and will not close. the outside handle has completely broken off. the handle on the manual sliding door is going to break off soon. please note the vehicle is in good shape otherwise and has never been in an accident. 2001 toyota sienna le/xle | |||
| 03/03/2011 | 155000 | ||
| Rear taligate latch broke. beacause there's no remote way to open the latch (either wireless or wired), it's necessary to climb inside the vehicle remove and disassemble the interior rear-hatach door paneling and manually engage the release cable. this is the third time this has happended with this vehicle. | |||
| 06/10/2010 | 115000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns 2001 toyota sienna. the contact stated the door latches have broken on the front driver side, passenger and passenger side sliding door. the driver side sliding passenger door is stuck and will not open. the contact is only able to enter the vehicle from the rear hatch. the manufacturer stated that sense the latches are not under warranty or recall; they could not assist in any repair. the failure mileage was 115000 and the current mileage was 118000.rl | |||
| 10/09/2007 | 60000 | ||
| 2001 toyota sienna... the plastic door handles are breaking off... the right, rear slider handle broke off in 2007. .next the left, rear slider handle broke off... this was dangerous since the child lock was on preventing opening the door from either inside or outside the vehicle with the children trapped inside...now the front passenger door handle has broken.....toyota dealership charges $89.73 for each handle not including installation....it is obvious to me plastic fatigue is the problem...3 of 4 handles have failed in past 3 years...i contend these handles as well as the fourth remaining were and are defective. | |||
| 06/14/2008 | 100000 | ||
| I own a 2001 toyota sienna van ce. in the past 1.5 years all door handles have separated from the car. this includes the driver, passenger, rear driver, rear passenger and tailgate doors handles. these handles are made from plastic and crack and break off at the hinge point. i don't believe the number of breakages of these handles can be caused by normal wear and tear and certainly with two small children and two adults making use of the vehicle would constitute normal wear and tear. this problem is a defect of design or workmanship of the handle and the cost to repair is approximately $350 per handle. it is a serious threat should they break at the improper time or for emergency access to the automobile. i have addressed my concerns with toyota and they don't believe there is a need to correct. please investigate and respond. duggerp@hotmail.com | |||
| 04/01/2009 | 84000 | 1 | |
| Passenger sliding door would not close/open electronically or manually. the button to turn off the electronic open/close did not work. toyota service could not fix. had them cut cable so can close and open door manually. until the cable was cut, door could not be used to exit van. *tr | |||
| 12/01/2003 | 15000 | 1 | |
| I have a 2001 toyota sienna and the both the rear sliding doors have had intermittent issues with either opening or closing since around 2003 (although more often seen with driver side). when the issues is present the doors work fine when the automatic open/close is turned off. the issue may occur more often when raining then when dry. one observance of issue is that when auto open is engaged the door makes a clicking sound but doesn't open. the other observance of issue is when the door is open and the auto close is engaged the door starts to close (maybe an inch) and then re-opens...the only way to get the door closed is to turn off the auto open/close. while under warranty i took the van to be serviced twice, but was not able to re-produce the issue at the dealership...as such they would not even look at it. *tr | |||
| 11/12/2009 | 79000 | 1 | |
| The door latch on the passenger side sliding door has failed on two occasions. the first time was in september 2007. we had it replaced at the dealership at our own expense. then it failed again last week. the dealership tells us it needs to be replaced again. the latch on the rear door has also failed and been repaired at our expense. *tr | |||
| 12/27/2008 | 1 | ||
| We own a 2001 toyota sienna van. all but 1 of 5 door handles on this van have broken and the door handles on each of the 4 doors (except passenger front) have cracked and broken clean off the door. currently, the driver side is taped on. i feel that this could have happened to 1 by user wear. however, i'm not inclined to believe that all could break so easily from user wear and tear. this creates a significant safety hazard in accessing the vehicle in emergency situations as clearly the only access will be through windows at some point. *tr | |||
| 08/10/2009 | 110000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2001 toyota sienna. while changing the rear light bulb, the contact noticed that there was no safety latch to release an occupant if they became trapped in the rear of the vehicle. the contact feels that this is a safety issue in the event of an emergency. she is in the process of taking the vehicle to the dealer for further inspection. the manufacturer stated that the vehicle was not designed with that feature; therefore, no compensation would be provided. the failure mileage was 110,000 and current mileage was 111,000. | |||
| 01/15/2009 | 100000 | 1 | |
| The passenger-side sliding door (manual) on our 2001 sienna began having problems approx. 6 mo. ago, with the inside button to open the door intermittently sticking - happened both in open & closed positions. obviously a safety concern, both for being able to close the door in order to drive, and for opening the door particularly in case of an emergency. at the beginning, a good whack on the door would usually release the button, and the door would function. now, the door is not working at all - thankfully, it is in the closed position, but it is totally non-functional as we cannot open it at all. had one or two episodes of the driver-side door getting stuck open - the latch had a problem that prevented closure (seemed that the latch got into the locked position somehow when door was open, and then wouldn't release in order to close it). now, the rear hatch lock/latch is not working either. we cannot open the hatch, which is extremely inconvenient and also another safety concern. if any emergency would happen which would require us to exit the vehicle quickly (or if we needed to be rescued from the vehicle), the only doors that actually work all the time are the two front doors. this is a huge concern to me, particularly if we have passengers riding in the 3rd row seats. we have not yet taken it to a dealer for repair - have not heard of good outcomes for this particular problem, and don't want to spend a ton of money. *tr | |||
| 01/15/2005 | 65000 | 1 | |
| Both power sliding doors fail to work. neither door opening switch will open or close them. also, right side will not even open manually from inside the vehicle! safety issue. repairs for the powered door issue were estimated at $350 for the door computer + 350 to install - per door! outrageous. american car companies have been slammed for this kind of thing. how about toyota? *tr | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - DOORS - LATCH | |||
| 07/10/2006 | 56257 | 1 | |
| Repeated failure of power sliding door on 2001 sienna van. dealer has attempted to fix on several occasions since time of purchase but failed. vehicle is now out of warranty and will cost over $500.00 to repair. this is a safety issue since the drivers side door does not always fully close. according to nhtsa odi technical bulletins this has been an ongoing problem since 2001. toyota should be required to recall the vehicles and pay for the repairs since this is a common problem with the 2001 model and a potential safety issue for children and adults. *jb | |||
| 06/01/2007 | 12 | ||
| Sliding door latches get stuck sometimes in the open and sometimes in the closed position. when doors are closed we are unable to push the button inside or use the outside handle to release the latch and open the door. if the door is open when this happens we are then unable to close the door as it will not latch. when the door remains open this is an obvious safety issue and the van is undriveable as doing so would put the passengers at risk. when the door is stuck in a close position it makes exiting the vehicle difficult which would be a safety issue if there were an emergency and a quick exit were necessary. it also makes it extremely difficult to fasten or release a child from a safety seat located in the back 2 rows of seats. the back hatch latch has also broken. a light squeeze of the handle while trying to open the hatch caused something to snap (a small plastic piece fell out) and since this is the one and only handle/latch to open the hatch i am no longer able to use the hatch nor open it to see what part needs to be replaced. the two side doors work occasionally but the back hatch is now completely unusable. simply put i have had 3 out of my five doors fail within a month which i find absurd. please note the vehicle is in good shape otherwise and has never been in an accident. 2001 toyota sienna le/xle | |||
| 07/01/2001 | 91000 | 30 | |
| Dt*: the contact stated that the vehicle's sliding side door remained latched and once the door becomes latched it is very difficult to reopen. the vehicle was manufactured with a remote locking device. the dealer determined that the vehicle's push button needed to be replaced. the contact expressed that the problem could be electrical failure. the vehicle has not been fixed due to cost.*ak | |||
| 07/26/2005 | 1 | 11/20/2001 | |
| We own a 2001 toyota sienna van, we purchased it in 2001 but it was used with 18,000 miles on it. since purchasing the vehicle, several things have gone wrong. #1- passenger side power window had a defective motor and would not go back up. took it to the dealer who said it was not covered under warranty, so we had to pay out of pocket for that repair. #2- driver's side sliding door would not latch shut. the button got stuck from the inside which prevented the door from latching shut. this had happened many times before but we were able to get the button popped out and the door would shut. but on one occasion the button popped out and the door still would not shut. we had to drive home holding the door shut the entire way! of course, this is a huge safety issue with our 2 young children in the car. the problem was fixed at the dealer (again not under warranty), but the door still can not be opened from the inside, or the button gets stuck in. #3- check engine light came on and a diagnostic test revealed the following problems- idle air control, bank 1 sensor (most likely oxygen sensor), leaky charcoal canister. we fixed the idle air control since that was causing the van to not start and stall. this repair was almost $700, and not covered under warranty because we had gone over 36,000 miles. we did not fix the other two problems last month due to cost. the van overheats and can not be driven. we wrote a letter to toyota and talked to them via phone. they told us there is nothing they can do because our van is not a legal us van- it is was built in canada. we bought it at a toyota dealer in rochester, ny and were never told it was canadian. we were also told that no warranty would ever be covered in the us because it is canadian. carfax.com says it was built in the united states however. we tried to go the route of the lemon law, but could not. *nm | |||
| 04/08/2005 | 44000 | 1 | 02/15/2001 |
| I was locked inside my 2001 toyota sienna ce van and couldn't get out for 3-4 minutes. i had been driving for 6-8 minutes and parked in a parking lot to go into a store. i turned the engine off and tried all the following:*ak 1. all door handles 2. the keyless key fob 3. the button on the driver's side arm rest in the door which enables/disables the door locks at each door 4. the power window on the driver's side only after pressing all these buttons numerous times did the doors finally wake up and unlock. i suspect the problem has something to do with the electrical system, specifically the 50-month old battery. but even if the battery is low on power, why should the door locks be inoperable? should the locks automatically revert to the open position if there is insufficient electrical power? | |||
| 07/04/2004 | 500 | ||
| There are 2 potentially serious problems that this vehicle has, which appear to be common, based on comments from 2 other families we know with the same problems in the same vehicle, a 2001 toyota sienna. the lock button on the rear van door gets stuck and apparently the only way to fix it is to bang on the handle until it pops back open. when in this position the door cannot be closed. the other is with the ignition lock; it sticks and locks even after the wheel may be disengaged; this leads to a possibility of being stranded, or worse. *jb | |||
| 05/25/2004 | 1 | ||
| While driving driver's door opened and closed on its own. vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the computer needed to be replaced. *ak | |||
| 11/20/2003 | 5000 | 4 | 09/04/2000 |
| Possible for people to become locked inside the vehicle with no way to open the doors. when doors are locked with the remote control (deliberately or accidentally), with no key in the ignition, the only way to unlock them is with the remote or turning the key in the ignition. the doors can be locked with the remote, and a person not having the remote will be unable to get out. this has happened to me at least 4 times since purchasing the car. *la | |||
| 1 | |||
| Left passenger sliding door would not close. vehicle was taken to the dealer, who disconnected the motor to the sliding door. *ak | |||
| 01/04/2002 | 10000 | 1 | 06/20/2001 |
| 2001 toyota sienna van.sticky right and left sliding doors. *ak | |||
| 06/15/2001 | 13030 | 11/11/2000 | |
| 2001 toyota sienna le, manufactured in october 2000, both back sliding door handle buttons stick during hot weather preventing opening or closing of the door. if the door is open when the button sticks then you cannot shut the door. if the door is closed when the button sticks then you cannot open the door from the inside or the outside using the outside handle. the doors stay stuck until the button pops back out usually when the inside of the car temperature cools down. my children have been able to get out by going through the front doors of the van but an elderly person might not be able to do this and would be trapped in the back with both doors stuck shut. there is a service advisory for this problem dated oct. 27, 2000 for years 1998-2000 but there is nothing for 2001. the toyota extra care platinum extended warranty will not cover this problem because it is supposedly a button problem and not a mechanical problem. there is also a problem with water leaking in the trunk. we have not figured out were it is coming from yet. *nlm | |||
| 01/29/2003 | 7552 | 2 | 07/07/2001 |
| 07-08-01 34 miles steering failure towed to dealership. 01-29-03 7552 miles steering failure towed to dealership. after slowing down at tolls,fails to accelerate,loud noise follow. wet/rainy surface,front tires spin at take-off. wind noise very prominent on highways. right front passenger lock does not latch/unlatch at times. rear heater is defective. | |||
| 06/07/2002 | |||
| While driving over railroad tracks at 20 mph sliding door flew open. dealer contacted. feel free to provide any further infomation.*ak | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - LOCK | |||
| 06/01/2007 | 12 | ||
| Sliding door latches get stuck sometimes in the open and sometimes in the closed position. when doors are closed we are unable to push the button inside or use the outside handle to release the latch and open the door. if the door is open when this happens we are then unable to close the door as it will not latch. when the door remains open this is an obvious safety issue and the van is undriveable as doing so would put the passengers at risk. when the door is stuck in a close position it makes exiting the vehicle difficult which would be a safety issue if there were an emergency and a quick exit were necessary. it also makes it extremely difficult to fasten or release a child from a safety seat located in the back 2 rows of seats. the back hatch latch has also broken. a light squeeze of the handle while trying to open the hatch caused something to snap (a small plastic piece fell out) and since this is the one and only handle/latch to open the hatch i am no longer able to use the hatch nor open it to see what part needs to be replaced. the two side doors work occasionally but the back hatch is now completely unusable. simply put i have had 3 out of my five doors fail within a month which i find absurd. please note the vehicle is in good shape otherwise and has never been in an accident. 2001 toyota sienna le/xle | |||
| 05/17/2007 | 1 | 09/21/2000 | |
| Two issues on my 2001 toyota sienna with 113k miles: 1) rear latch handle broke apart while attempting to open the rear hatch. the part that broke is plastic. the break occurred while trying to open the latch under normal operating conditions. consequence of this part failure: unable to open the rear hatch. correction: toyota dealer had to replace the entire mechanism (costing me $200). 2) while investigating the broken latch issue, i observed that the mechanism that physically latches the rear door (to the minivan body) was loose. the three screws that secure/attach this latching mechanism in place where backed half-way out. failure: no failure had occurred. however, if the three screws loosened more, i fear that the rear hatch could open while the van was in operation. correction: toyota dealer tightened the three screws. *tr | |||
| 05/29/2004 | 69490 | 1 | 06/07/2001 |
| 1)rear hatch door latch broken.2) can not open rear hatch door.3) replaced rear hatch door latch.*ak | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - HOOD - LATCH | |||
| 11/09/2004 | 54000 | 2 | 04/09/2004 |
| I owned a 2001 toyota sienna le that i bought use in april 2004. three weeks ago, as i was driving on an expressway at a speed of 55 mph, my hood just popped opened and hit my windshield with a force of dynamite. luckily i didnt get panic and looked through the clearance at the bottom of the arched hood and slowly stopped the vehicle on the side of the road. nobody got hurt. when i took my vehicle to this dealer, they found the secondary hood latch was faulty and was left opened that supposed to prevent the hood to come loose in case someone lift the hood opener from inside by mistake. (there is a tension spring in latch mechanism that keeps the hook engaged to keep the hood from freeing was not strong enough) i asked the dealer if this faulty latch would be covered under toyota safety program but was refused and paid for it out of my pocket. i have inform toyota about this incident as well as to advise to take it seriously and at least pay for my repair cost of the latch and other damages done to my car due to this incident. i could have lost control of my vehicle and had run into someone else. i am in mechanical engineering profession and would suggest taking a deeper look into this problem since i know another person who had identical problem with the same model year. but toyota corporation, after writing them twice insists their vehicles have no problem. may be other people doesnt want to take time to write what they have faced. but two similar incidents cannot be a co-incident. i want this report to be known to other 2001-toyota sienna owners so they become aware of this seemingly small un- reported but deadly problem thanks syed n masood. *jb | |||