Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | |||
| 07/01/2005 | 5000 | 1 | |
| Right headlamp keeps filling with water causing severe fogging and putting my bulb out. this problem got progressively worse over a period of years and ruined the lens. i couldn't properly see on right side while driving. kept going back to dealer about it but all they would tell me was turn my headlamps on longer or for long period of time until it dried out, then laughed. they finally wore me out after a couple of years of complaining. i had also complained about my tires making a loud thumping noise after about 16,000 miles and they had told me to turn my radio up louder, then laughed again. also had a recall done there, and discovered my wheel well covering torn. they said they didn't do it but, it was the same side as the recall repair was on. they refused to repair it unless i pay for it. they=dealer= liberty toyota, burlington,nj. *tr | |||
| 07/01/2005 | 5000 | ||
| Right headlamp keeps filling with water causing severe fogging and putting my bulb out. this problem got progressively worse over a period of years and ruined the lens.i couldn't properly see on right side while driving. kept going back to dealer about it but all they would tell me was turn my headlamps on longer or for long period of time until it dried out, then laughed. they finally wore me out after a couple of years of complaining. i had also complained about my tires making a loud thumping noise after about 16,000 miles and they had told me to turn my radio up louder, then laughed again. also had a recall done there, and discovered my wheel well covering torn. they said they didn't do it but, it was the same side as the recall repair was on. they refused to repair it unless i pay for it. they=dealer= liberty toyota, burlington,nj. | |||
| 10/08/2012 | 140000 | 1 | |
| Drivers side low beam headlight stop working. replaced hid bulb but still will not work. swapped with passenger's side to confirm the bulb is ok (it is). there is a lot of condensation in the headlight assembly (due to the weather starting to cool down in northeast). after seeing all the complaints on this very issue i am now trying to figure out a next step. the dealership will quote me the $1k plus to fix the headlight assembly (complaints on this issue are rampant on various sienna forums on the internet) since that is the root cause of the problem. my wife is upset since this a major safety issue in the winter. i will be calling toyota to understand why they will not acknowledge a known defect in the headlamp assembly allowing condensation in and the bulbs to malfunction. *tr | |||
| 10/08/2012 | 140000 | ||
| Drivers side low beam headlight stop working. replaced hid bulb but still will not work. swapped with passenger's side to confirm the bulb is ok (it is). there is a lot of condensation in the headlight assembly (due to the weather starting to cool down in northeast). after seeing all the complaints on this very issue i am now trying to figure out a next step. the dealership will quote me the $1k plus to fix the headlight assembly (complaints on this issue are rampant on various sienna forums on the internet) since that is the root cause of the problem. my wife is upset since this a major safety issue in the winter. i will be calling toyota to understand why they will not acknowledge a known defect in the headlamp assembly allowing condensation in and the bulbs to malfunction. | |||
| 07/01/2007 | 1 | ||
| Purchased this vehicle certified used in 2007 with approx. 6 months left on the 3 year warranty... this vehicle has fog lights, daytime running lights, and xenon headlights/high beams. of these eight settings (left and right) only one does not work -- the right side regular beam headlight. the r/s high beam works fine. r/s headlight was intermittent from date of purchase. appeared to be a simple electrical connection failure as headlight would come back on after a slight strike of the headlight unit. also noticed unit would accumulate condensation after rains. eventually light started going out more often and staying on for less time. by december the light would not come on at all. scheduled a service visit with oil change but could not stay long enough to fully solve the problem. came back in january for full evaluation. after an entire day of troubleshooting, the technician brought me back to show me that the headlight bulb worked in the left side unit fine. also, the right side unit worked on the left side while the left side unit showed malfunction on the right side -- indicating both the units worked fine, but problem was another section (the ballast?). toyota suggested replacing the whole unit (despite the fact that they proved to me that it worked) at a price of $1000 plus labor (since it was no longer under warranty). i declined the obviously ridiculous suggestion and took it home to try my own troubleshooting. i discovered i could get the light to come on by pulling tight the wire dedicated to the r/s xenon bulb straight back from the unit. this caused the light to come on and stay on often, though not always, similar to the time it was purchased. however, after the very first heavy rain, the headlight unit had extensive condensation inside the plexiglass and the light never worked again. *tr | |||
| 07/01/2011 | 45000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated that water was leaking into the passenger side headlight. the manufacturer was notified of the failure, but denied any assistance with repairs to the vehicle. the dealer was not contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 45,000 and the current mileage was 51,000. kmj | |||
| 07/01/2011 | 45000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated that water would leak in the right passenger external headlight, which could cause an electrical short. the manufacturer was notified, but denied any assistance with repair to the failure. the dealer was not contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 45,000 and the current mileage was 51,000. nw | |||
| 01/10/2006 | 40000 | ||
| The electric door (passenger side) intermittantly worked for years, sometimes it worked, sometimes it did not. finally it quit working. the rear fan goes on and off at will. there is an electrical short. my rear tail light on driver's side is always out, even after replacing it multiple times. the trunk door lost all its hydraulic lift and actually hit me in the head. it has no hydraulics left now and is very hard to lift. the lighted buttons by the front windshield where you operate the garage door, electric door - burnt out at probably 37,000 miles and were ridiculous to replace. the door locks are all screwed up. hard to unlock the driver's door manually with a key, have to unlock from passenger side. the door clicker does not work. batteries have been replaced multiple times and the clicker quit working shortly after, again an electrical short of some sort??? so no clicker, no electric door, no trunk lift, no dome lighting, no tail light, not to mention all the recalls that van had (extra tire, seatbelts, door issues). i had to replace my radiator?? cause it was leaking. van currently has 126,000 miles on it. it is by far the worst quality vehicle i have ever owned. i have owned an 80s toyota corolla which was fine, saturn, acura integra, ford explorer, also mazdas, 2001 chrysler 300m (horrible also), there is no doubt that after reading all the posts on the edmunds site about this 2004 sienna van, it should be recalled for electric door problems and all door problems, | |||
| 10/22/2011 | 97500 | ||
| I noticed that the passenger side headlight has condensation on the inside. i have noticed the light appears to be giving off less light when driving. when checking for a solution on internet i see many people have the same problem. this should be investigated and a recall should be done as this can cause an serious and potential accident if the light fails from the moisture. | |||
| 03/31/2011 | 90000 | ||
| 2004 toyota sienna moisture in passenger side headlight assembly diminishes the brightness of the light and reduces visibility. to replace the assembly the dealer quoted over $400. this is apparently a problem many toyota sienna owners have. toyota should issue a recall for this problem which is a safety issue. driving on dark, small winding roads with one headlight not giving out enough light is dangerous. shame on toyota for ignoring this problem! | |||
| 10/01/2009 | 90000 | ||
| Problem with condensation in the headlights of a 2004 toyota sienna. problem first started with condensation only in passenger side. eventually the light stopped working all together. several dealers attempted to resolve the problem by replacing bulb, attempting to replace the entire headlight assembly, but have not been able to fix the problem. now, condensation has appeared in the driver side headlight and it too has stopped working. research online indicates that this is a common problem and dealer wanting to replace entire assembly at a cost of over $1000 per light. judging by the number of complaints, this is truly a defect and should be considered a safety issue. i also see complaints of something similar with toyota prius. | |||
| 01/02/2010 | 65000 | 1 | |
| The passenger side headlight assembly accumulates moisture inside due to the design of the headlight. the headlight will suddenly go out while driving. toyota claims it is not covered under warranty and has an estimated repair charge of $1200 to replace headlight assembly. many toyota owners have complained about the failure of the hid bulbs that are being used and the defective nature of the headlight assembly. once repaired, it reportedly keeps occurring. mine went out while driving in the dark in the mountains- could not continue on trip due to the hazard of not being able to see on the windy dark roads. *tr | |||
| 09/16/2009 | 50000 | 1 | |
| Under normal operating conditions, 2004 toyota sienna xle limited with hid headlights, had premature headlight failure. mechanic diagnosed the problem as a faulty transformer and replaced it under warranty. within a few weeks, the other side transformer failed. mechanic replaced that transformer. within a few days, that transformer failed too. issue currently under investigation with toyota. *tr | |||
| 01/20/2009 | 1 | ||
| Headlamp on 2004 toyota sienna failed intermittently, and then seemed to work. eventually it stopped working altogether. diagnosis was moisture in the assembly, causing it to short out. price to repair? $1700, of course not covered by toyota. apparently this is a design flaw, based on the number of other complaints, and it's definitely a safety concern. *tr | |||
| 12/29/2008 | 94000 | 1 | |
| 2004 toyota sienna, passenger side headlight fills with condensation making the headlight dim and reducing visibility for night-time driving, also causing lightbulbs to fail intermittently. took van to dealer today. they quoted $445 to fix it. came home and found other people complained of the same problem on their 2004 sienna, also on the passenger side only. this suggests a defect since it is always on the same side of the vehicle. other owners also reported impaired night driving visibility because the headlight is fogged over with condensation. *tr | |||
| 02/07/2008 | 50000 | 1 | |
| Initially the dr side low beam headlight would not light. dealer replaced bulb and ecu module. warranty replacement. cause was reported the ecu failed. months later the dr side low beam headlight failed again but after the one year repair work warranty. this time it was reported to be the bulb and was replaced, dlr. would not warrant the work, even the extended warranty supposedly did not cover. cost to cust. was $395. currently the passenger side low beam headlight has quit working, several months ago and cust. bought direct replacement bulb and installed it. that did not remedy the problem. it appears that the ecu for the passenger side low beam headlight may be faulty. it has been reported that costs for the ecu and dlr labor to replace would cost about $800. this seems to fall in the safety category and should be a recall and warranty work. different dlr states that they can diagnose for $125 and determine the problem. oh what to do! please help. all for seemingly a burned out headlamp. the service attitude and associated costs by the mfr. and dealers are piracy to say the least. i wouldn't mind paying my way but this seems to be a problem that is more widespread than just a few. even in some other models. unconscionable policy! *tr | |||
| 09/10/2008 | 1 | ||
| Ecu headlight. *tr | |||
| 04/11/2008 | 76000 | 1 | 11/10/2003 |
| I own a 2004 toyota sienna with 76,000 miles on it. i was one of the first owners when the new model was introduced. it has been well maintained through molle toyota, kc mo that i have been pleased with prior to this incident. i had some problems with it initially and toyota motor sales always took care of it and provided excellent service and follow up. however, the reputation that they have built over the course of 4 years has come unraveled. one of my headlights went out recently and i took it in to the dealer to get fixed, assuming it needed a new bulb. i was presented with a projected price of $ 900.00 to fix one headlight. $ 800.00 of this was a ?igniter? part from toyota and $ 100.00 of this was labor from the dealer. i filed a complaint with toyota motor and it was bounced back to the dealer who delivered the message that there was no other option but to pay this, due to the high mileage. clearly, this is a safety issue as i can not afford to fix this and can not drive the car without headlights. a realistic repair expectation would be to replace a bulb. this is an outrageous expense that toyota should incur. thank you, patrice lofquist *tr | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - BRAKE LIGHTS | |||
| 04/28/2004 | 6 | 1 | |
| The brake lights on the vehicle's tailgate does not work properly. the dealer explained to the consumer that the lights on the tailgate are not brake lights but running lights. consumer felt that the positioning of the actual brake lights made it difficult for motorists directly behind to see vehicle. *la | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS | |||
| 11/05/2007 | 75000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota sienna. the contact stated that the front passenger side headlight collects condensation. the failure has been occurring for one year. he discovered that many other consumers were experiencing the same issue and decided to file a report. the dealer was notified and disregarded the issue. the failure mileage was 75,000 and current mileage was 110,000. | |||
| 04/11/2008 | 76000 | 1 | 11/10/2003 |
| I own a 2004 toyota sienna with 76,000 miles on it. i was one of the first owners when the new model was introduced. it has been well maintained through molle toyota, kc mo that i have been pleased with prior to this incident. i had some problems with it initially and toyota motor sales always took care of it and provided excellent service and follow up. however, the reputation that they have built over the course of 4 years has come unraveled. one of my headlights went out recently and i took it in to the dealer to get fixed, assuming it needed a new bulb. i was presented with a projected price of $ 900.00 to fix one headlight. $ 800.00 of this was a ?igniter? part from toyota and $ 100.00 of this was labor from the dealer. i filed a complaint with toyota motor and it was bounced back to the dealer who delivered the message that there was no other option but to pay this, due to the high mileage. clearly, this is a safety issue as i can not afford to fix this and can not drive the car without headlights. a realistic repair expectation would be to replace a bulb. this is an outrageous expense that toyota should incur. thank you, patrice lofquist *tr | |||
| 12/01/2007 | 38000 | 1 | 11/01/2005 |
| I have a 2004 toyota sienna that has a large amount of condensation inside of the passenger side headlight assembly. i first noticed it in december when the condensation froze and considerably blocked the headlight beam. when researching on the internet to find out how to take the lens off to dry the condensation i discovered that the beam assembly does not come apart and that many other owner's of the same model are having the same problem. in addition, this problem always seems to be reported on the passenger side. eventually the condensation will cause the light to fail. toyota redesigned the sienna in 2004 and the new, bigger headlights were a major change. the condensation slightly affects the headlights in the warmer months but is a significant problem when the temperatures are below freezing. this seems to be a design flaw affecting vehicle safety that toyota should be required to fix. *tr | |||
| 05/15/2006 | 120000 | 05/03/2003 | |
| Headlight, hid, passenger side. lens filled with water (condensation?) and would not dry. water would actually stream down the inside of the lens. soon my hid bulb stopped working. dealer wanted $350.00 for a new bulb. i told the dealer i had switched the driver and passenger bulbs and they both worked on the driver side and neither worked on passenger side. dealer then quoted $1,000 for new headlight assembly. dealer told me the water in the passenger side lens was normal but had no explanation for why the driver side was dry. i did an internet search and also checked siennaclub.org and found very many complaints about wet passenger side lenses and passenger side failed hid bulbs. by the way, i bought a new sylvania hid bulb, new in the box on e-bay for $45.00 (dealer wanted $350.00 for the bulb!) toyota care denied my request for no-charge replacement of the passenger side headlight lens assembly. *tr | |||
| 10/11/2007 | 40000 | 3 | |
| In regards to a 2003 toyota sienna xle model with high intensity discharge headlamps: in june of 2007 with vehicle out of warranty by mileage, but not time, driver's side headlight stopped working. initial recommendation by dealer (boch toyota of norwood, ma) was to replace hid computer at a cost of 1,100 dollars. following replacement of hid computer, light operated for approximately three months before beginning to operate intermittently. was then told by dealer that there was a short in the bulb and dealer recommendation was to replace bulb assembly at cost of 400 dollars. within two weeks of this repair, i was stopped by a police officer and told the headlight was not working. again, headlight is working intermittently. today dealer recommended replacement of entire headlight housing at a cost of 1,100 dollars. a brief review of postings to toyota owners' forums reveals many mentions of hid headlight failure in new vehicles, particularly the 2006-2007 prius models. all drivers report intermittent operation and dealers who are unable to solve the problem. the common solution, toggle your headlight switch off and on a few times to get them working again is a clear safety concern, and not an appropriate repair. *tr | |||
| 07/05/2007 | 42000 | 12 | 06/02/2004 |
| Condensation builds up in the passenger headlight. the condensation reduces the effectiveness of the headlight, creating a dark spot on the right side. this is a common problem with 2004 models. there are hundreds of threads on toyota/sienna forums online where owners are having the exact same problem. toyota is ignoring this safety problem. *tr | |||
| 01/10/2006 | 20000 | 1 | 04/30/2004 |
| Headlight design allows moisture and condensation inside headlight assembly causing variable and decreased lighting effectiveness. entire inside of headlight assembly can be coated with moisture. moisture clears and recurred depending on weather conditions. toyota dealer declined to fix. *nm | |||
| 07/15/2004 | 50 | 25 | 01/01/2004 |
| The new model year 04 toyota sienna vans and highlander suv have poorly designed and or misadjusted daytime running lights, causing blinding glare to oncoming drivers, drivers in front of these vehicles and pedestrians walking at night. these excessively glaring lights distract and cause eye pain to other drivers and temporary blindness. this is a serious safety problem that needs to be addressed especially for pedestrians walking against traffic at night.*ak | |||
| 03/17/2004 | 1 | ||
| In my area there are a lot 2004 toyota sienna's. whenever i pass this vehicle i'm almost getting blind from the powerful headlamps. it seems that the headlamps are not properly aimed. i would recommend that toyota should test that again, and recall all the siennas for proper alignment.*ak | |||
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS - SWITCH | |||
| 04/11/2008 | 76000 | 1 | 11/10/2003 |
| I own a 2004 toyota sienna with 76,000 miles on it. i was one of the first owners when the new model was introduced. it has been well maintained through molle toyota, kc mo that i have been pleased with prior to this incident. i had some problems with it initially and toyota motor sales always took care of it and provided excellent service and follow up. however, the reputation that they have built over the course of 4 years has come unraveled. one of my headlights went out recently and i took it in to the dealer to get fixed, assuming it needed a new bulb. i was presented with a projected price of $ 900.00 to fix one headlight. $ 800.00 of this was a ?igniter? part from toyota and $ 100.00 of this was labor from the dealer. i filed a complaint with toyota motor and it was bounced back to the dealer who delivered the message that there was no other option but to pay this, due to the high mileage. clearly, this is a safety issue as i can not afford to fix this and can not drive the car without headlights. a realistic repair expectation would be to replace a bulb. this is an outrageous expense that toyota should incur. thank you, patrice lofquist *tr | |||