I have a 99 Toyota Sienna with an automatic sliding door that has failed. Cost to repair is high $$$. Would like to disable the motor and automatic mechanism and make it a regular manual sliding. Can it be done? If so need a repair shop?
I did this to a 2004 Odyssey. I just cut the cables that pulled the door open and closed. I should have disconnected the electrical cables going to the motor so it wouldn’t beep anymore.
Not sure how the Sienna is set up, but you should be able to do this yourself.
I have a 2004 Sienna. The cable for the power mechanism failed so I cut it off at both ends and the door works great in “manual mode”. The kids want me to fix it but I have better uses for a thousand bucks.
I don’t recall exactly how the cable mechanism on your van is accessed, but if you’re mechanically inclined you should be able to do a little exploratory surgery and find and remove it. If the fault is with the cable you may also be able to fix it yourself for a lot less money. However, I seem to remember that the electronic controller for these vans was quite spendy, if that’s where your fault lies.
I agree with @bloody_knuckles sentiment above. 150 years ago people were pushing handcarts across the Great Plains in seach of a better life. Today we can’t be bothered with pulling a door closed behind us.