The power sliding doors on the 2004 Sienna fail early, causing safety and usability issues. The power door cable wears out early due to faulty coating on he cable, faulty hinges and door freezing. Once the cable snaps, the door can slide open upon acceleration. Disabling the power feature allows the door to be used, but falsely causes the vehicle to register the door as closed when it is open, allowing the car to be put in gear and driven without the door properly latched closed. Loose parts from the snapped cable and torn cable jacket easily lodge in the working mechanism, making the door behave inconsistently - sometimes latching, sometimes not. When not latched, the door easily slides forward or back if the vehicle is parked on a hill, potentially causing injury. In addition, the doors freeze closed in moderately cold (25 F) temperatures, causing them to open partially (a few millimeters). This causes extra strain and wear on the power door cables and can cause the vehicle to register an open door. If the door is left in this condition, it can mask other doors actually being opened while the vehicle is moving. The partial opening also causes a misalignment of the locking mechanism, making it very difficult to open the door to correct the partial opening. The door repair was quoted by multiple dealers at more than $3000. A tsb (0085-09) in early 2009 offered an alternate method of repair, but the cost is still more than $1700 per door. Dealerships have been unwilling to provide the part to non-dealer mechanic's shop.

- Norwood, MA, USA

We have a 2004 Sienna ce that we bought new. Since owning the car (it has 125,000 miles on it) the sliding doors have frozen shut whenever the weather is cold. Living in Vermont, I thought that this issue was isolated. However, when my son tried to open the door and the handle snapped off because the door was frozen shut once again, I decided to check to see if there were other complaints. Yes there were...many. I had to pay to have the handle replaced but was told that the door freezing shut was a typical complaint.

- Waitsfield, VT, USA

1. no events lead to the failure. 2. the driver's side rear sliding door cable and motor of a 2004 Toyota Sienna xle limited quit working, broken cable. Now we are unable to open / close sliding door on driver's side. 3. having cable/motor replaced est cost $1000.

- Santa Barbara, CA, USA

2004 Toyota Sienna automatic passenger side sliding door stopped working and wouldn't shut. This door also came open without warning, presenting a safety hazard to children riding in car.

- Gainesville, VA, USA

My 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan sliding door freeze shut or partially open. Sometimes I can not get the doors open to get my kids in or out in freezing weather. Also, they freeze partially open and won't safely lock!!

- Woodway, TX, USA

Our 2004 Toyota Sienna xle, power sliding doors will not open, or latch closed all the way. It occurred during a cold spell in our area, and we haven't been able to fix it yet. It is a safety hazard, and extremely difficult to get my infant and my other children in and out of the van when both doors won't open. Neither will open with the power buttons in the car, the buttons on our keys, or manually. There has been no way to get them open, and since they aren't latched closed, the van can't be locked, and when I drive it continuously beeps, alerting me to the "open" doors while I am driving. Once again, I would like to emphasize how unsafe this is, as if there was an emergency, there would be no quick way that I, or any emergency personnel could get any passengers out of the back seats quickly and efficiently. Apparently it costs more than $1200 per door for the dealer to fix the problem.

- Spokane, WA, USA

I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan. It has two power sliding rear doors that use a cable to open and shut. Over the past few months there has been a grinding noise coming from both doors and recently, one of the cables finally snapped, resulting in the door to be unusable. I am being told by Toyota this is a $1200 repair as the whole door mechanism needs to be replaced, despite the fact the only problem is the snapped cable. This repair is only for one of the doors. The other cable looks as if it could snap soon, at which point it will be an additional $1200 to repair. My understanding of the issue is that the cable had a plastic coating that deteriorates over time. The coating becomes dry and brittle over time, causing it to crack and fall off the wire, leaving the wires completely vulnerable to getting wet, rust, freeze, etc, also rubbing extensively unprotected against the gears. As the bare cable is exposed to the elements, it weakens and the whole cable snaps, making the door jam altogether. After reading some information on the internet, it seems this is a common problem with many Toyota Sienna vans and this issue should be the subject of a recall.

- Abington, MA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the sliding doors would not open at all. He took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that he would be billed if they performed a diagnostic test. The vehicle has not been inspected or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The current mileage was approximately 42,000. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.

- Kearny, NJ, USA

My 2004 Toyota Sienna has had issues with the sliding doors ever since I have owned it. A couple of years into ownership the cable on the motorized door (passenger side) became slipped off its track, making closing the door impossible. The cable had to be snapped, converting the door to a manual door, so that the car could be locked and secured. The cost of repair was excessive (for me), thereby making this temporary solution a permanent one. The greater problem resides in operation of both rear sliding doors in cold weather. Whenever it's cold, the doors stick and cannot be opened. The safety concerns are twofold. Primarily, I am concerned that my children cannot be efficiently removed from the car, in the event of an accident. The other day, it was so cold, I actually snapped the door handle off the vehicle, attempting to open it. Indirectly, I am also concerned about instructing my children to enter the car, via the front doors, and to climb over the front seats. Without adult presence, any child could inadvertently kick the (automatic) gear shifter into reverse or drive, thereby endangering an person who might be in front or in back of the vehicle. In areas where one is accustomed to start a vehicle and leave it running to warm up, albeit it's very remotely possible, there could be a tragic outcome. Personally, I will take steps to prevent this, but I can see others not anticipating this outcome. I have become aware of a number of Sienna owners who have experienced various problems with these doors, and I am greatly concerned about not being able to open doors that have been frozen shut. I have to think there is a design flaw here that needs to be remedied by Toyota. Yet, other Sienna owners hear the same thing that I do, specifically that we need to keep throwing money at the problem to keep the cars maintained and that it's not Toyota's responsibility.

- Marion, MA, USA

Automatic sliding door on Toyota Sienna freezes in cold weather and the cable broke making the door inoperable. Dealer states the repair cost is between 2-3K. Unable to just buy the cable part without the motor. Van is a 2004 model. Cable broke on 12/30/2009.

- Lindenhurst, NY, USA

The cable on the automatic drivers side sliding door of our 2004 Toyota Sienna snapped. This rendered the door unable to close until getting it to the dealership.

- Racine, WI, USA

Power sliding door cable snapped on a 2004 Toyota Sienna xle. Due to this issue we can not open or close the driver side sliding door. In order to fix the problem, we are taking to the dealership and estimated cost to fix is $500 and $100 to identify the issue.

- Seabrook, TX, USA

I wish to complain about the Toyota Sienna 2004 driver door. There is a door check popping noise which can lead to the driver door falling off. I believe this ought to be recalled by Toyota and repaired in all vechicles.

- El Sobrante, CA, USA

I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna with electric sliding side doors. The passenger side sliding door locked open today and would not move. My wife was taking children to school. It was very cold. I took the van to the Toyota dealer and they said it would be near $2000 to repair it. They had to cut the door cable so we could operate it manually. This is unacceptable. I own two Toyota's and was planning to buy more. They need to recall this issue as I have read many similar stories.

- Flint, TX, USA

I have a 2004 Sienna xle in which the cable on the driver's side sliding door snapped. This is the 4th door to have safety issues. The cable has snapped and is hanging from the back rear window. It's frayed and rusty! the door now will not open.....very scary in the case of having to exit the vehicle quickly!!when I purchased a Toyota (at a premium cost, I believed that I was paying for quality!). this vehicle's door issues are a time bomb! I have read enough to know that this is a common problem among Sienna owners yet there is no recall! unbelievable! shame on Toyota for not standing by their "quality" product!

- Murrysville, PA, USA

Automatic sliding passenger side door cable broke. Door will not open or close. Occupants are trapped in vehicle. Must climb over front seat or out drivers side sliding door (which also broke) to egress vehicle.

- Pottstown, PA, USA

Sliding side doors freeze shut and can not be opened when temperature drops below freezing.

- Mclean, VA, USA

1. power sliding door worked. 2. went to operate power door, loud sound of plastic breaking, door would not open or close completely. 3. at home saw that cable to operate power sliding door had snapped. Called dealer said they wouldn't do anything, out of warranty. Called Toyota said isolated case sorry can't do anything. Cut cable so I was able operate door manually. Approx. 1 year later cable on other door snapped. Same process, same response.

- Monmouth Junction, NJ, USA

Sliding passenger door prone to freezing and squeaking in cold weather.

- Shorewood, MN, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While the contact was attempting to close the passenger side sliding door she noticed that the door was stuck in the open position. She was unable to open or close the door normally. A Toyota dealer informed the contact to take the vehicle to a local body shop. There were no prior warnings. No repairs have been made to the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 140,000. Updated 2/22/10 the rear passenger power sldind door became stuck in the open position due to a rusted and frayed cord. The dealer stated they could not fix it, because it was a body shop issue. Updated 06/18/10.

- East Taunton, MA, USA