Has anyone had problems with the automatic sliding doors in the Sienna. We’ve already spent over $800 getting it fixed. Now we’re having the same problems - door sometimes won’t open. Seems like a sefety issue, but toyota won’t pay for the repair.
The van is 4 years ols…how can you POSSIBLY expect Toyota to pay for it???
There could be several problems as to why it won’t open correctly. What did they fix last time??
I have had problems with my mother’s 2002 Sienna. Most of the time it is because someone tried to open the automatic door by the handle instead of the button. The manual button sticks and must be pried or manipulated to the out position before it will work again. Other times it is because the locking button that disengages the automatic door has been accidentally engaged.
You have to instruct passengers to never use the manual handle to open and close the automatic door. That manual button that they press with their thumb sticks and when that happens the door won’t work.
Yes, in fact my 2004 Sienna has exactly that same issue. It started about a year after I bought it new. At first the door (driver’s side sliding door) only stuck when it was under 50 degrees out, then it stuck when it rained, now it often takes four or five hard yanks to open. If, after the first unsuccessful pull, I press the ‘door lock’ on the remote, I get the tone that indicates a door is open so the car cannot be locked. I have had it into the dealership five times and they have yet to fix it. They have greased the skids or whatever they call them, that run along the bottom track, they have peered at it dubiously, and lastly they tried tightening the cables that control the back half of the door latch. It still sticks. The other door is fine.
I don’t know what else to do except file some complaint with Toyota and see if there are others who have the same issue. I just got a recall notice yesterday that concerned a “popping noise” in the front doors but I haven’t had that issue. However, I am sure that the process to that recall started with a couple of people wondering if anyone else had the same problem.
I also have a 2004 Toyota sienna I just started having problems with the sliding door is extremely cold temperatures or cold and snowy/wet conditions. Is this when you have your problems? I live outside Chicago and took my car to one dealer and when i did not get results I called another. Both informed me that toyota is aware that there is a problem with the weather stripping(it gets tacky and sticks) in certain conditions, but so far no solution has been found.
I called Toyota headquarters and spoke to a customer service rep about this. She took down my info and asked many good questions and told me the number of complaints DOES effect how much action happens on a concern. YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY NOT BE CHARGED FOR this and you should complain to Toyota corporate about this fact since this seems to be a design flaw with the vehicle. The fact that they haven’t figured out yet how to remedy the problem is aggravating enough. (In our case we can’t get people in and out of the back and our battery has gone dead twice since the door was inpercetably open when we turned off the car.) They should not be adding insult to injury by charging you for this.
Me again from Chicago. I just read the other responses. I have a Toyota extended warantee so have not had to pay for this – but the dealer has not been able to submit for it either since it is a problem that can not be fixed. I understand that aging of the weather stripping is not the reason for this problem, but weather conditions are regardless of the age of the car.
Spray the rubber door seals with silicone lubricant. It will keep the rubber from absorbing moisture and keep the door from sticking to the rubber door seal.
A colleague of mine has a similar problem and the Toyota dealer wanted $2500 to replace the whole door. Since the problem was with the electric closer, my friend, an engineer decided to convert it back to a manual door. His reaction was: “Who needs these automatic doors!”
Never mind.
It isn’t unrealistic to expect Toyota to pay for it if it failed under warranty, was fixed, and has failed again.
Also, remember that some 04s would still be under warranty anyway, depending on their sale date.
We have an '04 Sienna with Manual sliding doors. As it gets cooler (we live in the Northeast!) the doors ALL freeze shut. The service manager tried to tell me that the moisture in our car from our breathing is building up on the door gasket and it freezes. He sprayed it with a lubricant (supposedly), but it still freezes. By the way, we have had our doors freeze shut even when it was in the garage for two weeks while we were away!
There is a special URL for Siennas, the Sienna Club. Not to discourage you from Cartalk,since you got plenty of good answers right away. Just want to point out an option.
http://www.siennaclub.org/forum/
Registration required. Note different sections for different models.
I can tell you they have lots of people over a year with sliding door problems, not just automatic doors. We had both our manual sliders repaired, the first time under warranty. Those doors are like a zit on a beauty’s nose.
I was at our dealership today (Northway Toyota in Latham, NY) and they looked at my doors, AGAIN. Great service this time. The two techs pointed out that water (or just moisture from the air) gets in the top of the door and the black strip installed there is ineffective- the doors freeze shut. Toyota has had many complaints, and now they are in the process of making a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) to replace the black strip (not the weatherstripping) at the top of the sliding door. They also coated my weatherstripping and door parts with white messy silicone, and within 1/2 hour of leaving the dealer, the door froze again! Will update you on doors when the replacement strips are installed. In the meantime,ask for a refund… you were misled. Toyota knows now that it has a problem with the doors freezing shut and the handle malfunctioning. Funny, to see the TSB’s for our vehicle, Toyota makes you subscribe to their service for $350 a year!