10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 17 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 32,276 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
2004 Toyota Sienna xle limited AWD. Power liftgate does not fully open up when I try to open the liftgate with the switch at the driver's console. Manually open the liftgate does the same. This problem started happening sometime in October, 2007 and now the liftgate opening is getting lower than first experienced. I hit my head on the liftgate few times.
- Issaquah, WA, USA
The powered liftgate of my 2004 Sienna doesn't stay up when open. It closes regardless of someone being under. I personally got hurt when the door closed one time and my son almost got pinned down as well. I am seeing on the internet a lot of people having the same problem and yet I am surprised that Toyota has not issued a recall for such a serious issue. I am taking my car to the dealer to get this fixed since I cannot open the liftgate anymore due to this issue. I believe this is a problem with the gas struts that are defective. After talking to my dealer, this one doesn't seem to think this is a serious issue and that they should take care of it at no charge. Fyi I already replaced these gas struts once (yes this will be the 3rd set in 4 years!).
- Sammamish, WA, USA
My wife and I own a 2004 Toyota Sienna xle with a power rear door. This morning the rear door opened normally; however, as soon as the door opened completely it closed immediately hitting me in the back of the head. I attempted to open the door using the interior button as well as the remote; the door closed immediately regardless of which method I used. I also tried pushing up on the door as it closed which worked but took a great deal of effort. If my five year old was under the door he would not be able to hold the door back and may be seriously injured. I opened the door about five times before the door stayed open.
- Las Cruces, NM, USA
Yesterday, my wife opened the power rear door of our 2004 Sienna xle to get some items from the inside of the van. As the door got to the apex, she started to reach into the car, but the door slammed down violently hitting her in the back. We had never had a problem before so she tried it again, but stood back this time. The power door slowly lifted up and then suddenly slammed down. This is a heavy door so you would not want to be hit in the head or body when it slams down. I got the same results when I tried it. Apparently Toyota has a service bulletin out about this problem and there is an ongoing investigation. I sure hope this gets figured out before a child gets hurt! Toyota dealer acknowledged the problem and is working with to replace necessary parts for little to no cost.
- Raleigh, NC, USA
Rear hatch closes on person without warning. Rear hatch does not stay open.
- Detroit, MI, USA
The rear hatch opens fine but starts closing automatically (it is electric) a few seconds after it opens all the way when cold even when no buttons nor the door are touched.
- Clifton, NJ, USA
I have A2004 Sienna xle. Last Sunday October 28,2007 the lift back door when opened (powered ) and reach it's highest point when all of a sudden it jerked downwards forcefully nd hit my husband(-trying to put grocery). It should have stayed up. The mileage is just 17,000+ even though it was bought July 2004. It has since never worked. It does open but jerks back down again when it reached the top.
- Mcallen, TX, USA
The lift gate has fallen unexpectedly on several occassions. My wife, my mother-in-law and my child have all been "hit" on separate occassions by the gate during this malfunction. The dealer has advised that the struts need to be replaced.
- Cramerton, NC, USA
Rear hatch support cylinder failed. I purchased a new cylinder and replaced it myself. At a cost of $150 for one. I started to notice the problem when my automatic rear hatch would only raise the hatch half way and then re-close the hatch. 2004 Sienna xle limited. 45K updated 10/03/07
- Richmond, VA, USA
I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna and the power liftgate is closing unexpectedly. My wife's arm was squeezed the other day because of this liftgate closing by itself while she was getting groceries out of the car.
- Calrsbad, CA, USA
Struts on rear liftgate failed, injuring my back.
- Houston, TX, USA
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the rear lift gate fails to remain open at the appropriate times. When the lift gate is opened automatically, it rapidly falls and closes. When opened manually, the lift gate closes automatically and without hesitation. He emailed the manufacturer, but has not yet received a response. The contact stated that there is a NHTSA defect investigation (PE06029) in regards to this failure. The current and failure mileages were 75,000. Updated 08/29/07
- San Antonio, TX, USA
I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna, which overall I love. In the past 3 months, the trunk hatch has started to not hold when open & resist opening at times. It used to hold for longer, making me delay the repair. It has progressively gotten worse, so that now it closes within moments with a lot of force. I have no choice but to repair it now, at a cost of $400, or risk serious injury to myself & 3 young children. My husband & I have already been bonked on the head & back repeatedly. Toyota is aware of the defect, & the obvious risk to car owners (a majority of whom have young children I would guess as it is a minivan), but has not issued a recall. Instead they are profiting over the defect. I don't fault the service dealer that we deal with, as they have always been helpful & honest. I am upset that the Toyota Corp. Won't issue a recall.
- Amston, CT, USA
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the rear lift gate closes unexpectedly and on its own. She stated that it closes with such force, that it makes it very difficult to re-open. The dealer and the manufacturer have not been notified. The failure has caused the contact's husband to sustain a strained back. The VIN and engine size were unknown. The current mileage was 20,000 and failure mileage was 15,000.
- Willowbee, OH, USA
Rear liftgate on 2004 Toyota Sienna failed. It was in up position and suddenly came down and I was unable to get it up while I was under it loading groceries. The weight of the door hit my shoulder first and knocked me into the back of the van. I was then able to push it back up after I dropped the grocery bags. The door came down very fast and forceful, ly. I was sore but very thankful that my 4 year old wasn't under the lift gate with me.
- Brownsburg, IN, USA
Relating to current investigation of 2004 Toyota Sienna rear liftgate strut failure NHTSA recall campaign number: EA06020). My wife has a 2004 Sienna xle with the power liftgate and the struts just failed, causing the liftgate to close and requiring help from a friend standing nearby to help her hold it up to remove our children's stroller. I looked at it this evening and noticed grease around one of the cylinders where the seal had obviously failed. While I was looking at the struts I took my hand off of the hatch for a second mistakenly thinking that the power assembly would hold it up and it immediately came down and hit me in the head, causing luckily only a headache. After researching the problem and finding the ongoing investigation I wanted to add my name to the list of complaintants and suggestions that Toyota be required to fix the defect and replace the struts. Note: I entered 2 in the number of failures box since both struts failed and I entered 1 in the persons injured because it did hit me in the head hard enough to give me a headache, and I am a 200 lbs man. My fear was that if it would have closed on one of my children that it could have caused serious injury. I will be shopping tomorrow for replacement struts from an aftermarket dealer because in my research I have found people on their 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th sets of struts replaced under warranty. Unfortunately, my Sienna was conveniently at 39,000 miles, 3,000 miles out of warranty.
- Marietta, GA, USA
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact opened the vehicle's rear hatch and it immediately shut. When the hatch attempts to close automatically, the electric motor kicks in for fifteen seconds before it can be lifted up again. The hatch must be held open by someone or propped open by a stick. This failure occurs in both wet and dry weather. The engine size and # of cylinders were unknown. The current and failure mileages were 80,000.
- Lexington, KY, USA
Liftgate hazard -- I own a 2004 Toyota Sienna, with manual liftgate. The liftgate struts/supports have failed. I was hit on the head and shoulder, but was not seriously hurt.
- Midlothian, TX, USA
Failure of the rear hatch support mechanism, making the hatch extremely difficult to raise, and when released causes it to crash down with great force on top of a person that may be under it.
- Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA
- El Cajon, CA, USA