The rear automatic lift-gate of my 2004 Toyota Sienna is defective. Approximately 50% of the time the lift-gate opens and immediately starts to close on top of your head. It's gotten so bad that my family now pushes the button to open the rear lift-gate while we stand clear and then when it reverses, we keep pushing the button on the remote over and over until finally the rear lift-gate will stop reversing and stay up. Only then can we duck under the door to get what we need out of the back. In the early stages of the problem, family members were whacked over the head at least a dozen times. It didn't take long to learn that the rear lift-gate cannot be trusted. It began as an intermittent problem, but it happens every day now. The dealership said this morning that the problem is not under warranty.

- Satellite Beach, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While attempting to open the rear door with lift gage button the door opens a few inches and will not stay open, it closed with force and without warning. The struts have failed when attempting to manually hold the door in the upright position. The power cycles automatically engaged while attempting to manually lift the door. The dealer advised the contact to disconnect the battery then reconnect it to reset the computer; however, that did not correct the failure. The current and failure mileages were 29,000. Updated 01/17/08 the consumer stated the defect is still affecting the vehicle to date. Updated 01/17/08

- Reton, WA, USA

After opening the power rear hatch on my Sienna 2004 minivan the rear hatch closes automatically. When it starts to close you can not stop it from closing. Luckily no one has been injured.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

Power rear hatch will not fully open and closes on its own. Vehicle has 36100 miles and its warranty expired in Aug 2007. Could cause potential injury and or death.

- Huntington Beach, CA, USA

The car has a power liftgate. The gas struts that hold up the rear liftgate intermittently fail and the liftgate will not stay up. This will also cause the power liftgate to engage and it will attempt to shut the liftgate while you are standing under it. The door has closed on me several times and has caused injury.

- Allendale, NJ, USA

(1) we were packing our car to return home from vacation. I used my key fob to remotely open the power hatch. We had no prior problems with the hatch. (2) the hatch rose to the top but did not catch. We attempted several times more using the key fob, depressing the inside power hatch button, and opening it manually, but the same thing happened each time. We obviously had to store things in the back so we held it open manually. Upon returning home, we tried to hold it open using a lacrosse stick, but that stick slipped and the door began closing. It did not stop when it approached my wife and worse continued to close after she pushed back on it. Luckily, we she was able to get out of the way. (3) we are taking it to a dealership this week. It does not open more than 1/2 way now.

- Pawling, NY, USA

Power lift gate on 2004 Toyota Sienna dropped down and struck driver on back of neck causing injury. As in past, there was no warning prior to liftgate coming down approx 1-2 feet. Vehicle was repaired two week prior by dealer, with new liftgate struts and brackets for same reported problem. Vehicle only had 31,000 miles and was 3 months past 36 month warranty period. Had to repair under extended warranty.

- Newark, CA, USA

We have a Sienna 2004 limited. But recently the rear door closed it itself and hurt my daughter and son. The problem is a serious threat to safety of kid and please make a record of this problem. We hope you may help to find a solution to this problem. Btw, the card was not involved in any significant accidents.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

Power lift gate unexpectedly closes upon opening and has closed on the person standing there. And has on occasion not repelled back after making strong contact with the person standing there. As a result, the individual had to quickly squeeze their way out while the lift gate continued to close completely.

- Warwick, NY, USA

Toyota Sienna 2004 liftgate slipped down and hit car owner in the head while unloading groceries from trunk. Now, it slips down every time we open it. This is dangerous. Called Toyota and they told us there was nothing they could do about it. Contacted our Toyota repair shop to schedule repair. Is this defect still under investigation? please inform. Thank you.

- Bronx, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the power liftgate would not remain open. The dealer stated that the rear hatch pistons failed and should be replaced. As of October 4, 2007, the dealer had not repaired the vehicle. There is a defect investigation for the structure: Body: Hatchback/liftgate (NHTSA action number EA06020). The failure mileage was 25,000 and current mileage is 26,500. *updated 12/12/07

- Medford, MA, USA

The car has a power liftgate. The gas struts that hold up the rear liftgate intermittently fail and the liftgate will not stay up. This will also cause the power liftgate to engage and it will attempt to shut the liftgate while you are standing under it. The door has closed on me several times, but I have not been injured.

- Vienna, VA, USA

Power liftgate starts closing immediately after opening. Does not stay open. When liftgate "power" is turn off, the gate slams down hard when released; if my child was standing behind door he would have been crushed.

- Nevada City, CA, USA

Rear door struts failure.

- Johns Creek, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The tailgate had the same failure as noted in defect investigation # EA06020 concerning the liftgate. The only exception was that the tailgate was not power operated. When the tailgate was lifted it fell down immediately. The dealer stated that the struts failed. The current and failure mileages were 48,000. Updated 05/23/07

- Cary, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the liftgate failed and comes crashing down if you do not manually hold the tailgate. The current and failure mileage were 54,000. The consumer states that his wife had a personal experience where the liftgate hit her in the head while unloading the groceries. Update 4/30/07

- Dellno, IL, USA

Auto powered rear door; when powered opened will open all the way and a few seconds later suddenly close without warning. It has happened a few times, only in cold weather. This has happened after Toyota fixed the hatch studdering problem. I was injured (bruised) in the head due the door hitting me as it automatically closed by itself (note it did not stop closing after it hit my head).

- Staten Island, NY, USA

2004 Toyota Sienna minivan power lift gate closes in an uncommanded manner. This has happened with several times with myself and my wife while loading items in the rear of the van. I fear that it is a real safety issue if my wife or child would happen to be under there and not move out of the way fast enough.

- Findlay, OH, USA

: the contact stated while the vehicle was parked in the driveway, the liftgate was opened but the door malfunctioned and closed hitting the contact on the head and the back of the shoulder. The impact of the liftgate knocked the contact halfway inside the vehicle. There were no warning signals prior to the incident. The vehicle was not taken to the service dealer for repairs. The manufacturer was alerted who provided a claim #.

- Plainsboro, NJ, USA

I had a problem with the hatch door on my 2004 Toyota Sienna closing without warning and continuing to close when it came in contact with my back. I wrote to my dealer (sloane Toyota in glenside, pa) about the problem in March 2005 (I have copied the text of that message at the bottom of this complaint), and they told me to take it in to have it checked out. I took it to a local dealer (peruzzi Toyota in hatfield) and they "fixed" it, by replacing a switch, I believe. I asked if this was a known defect and they told me no. I recently saw an article in the philadelphia inquirer that identified this as an issue that has injured some people. I believe that this is a threat to cause serious, potentially, fatal injury. Text of message from March 2005: To sloane Toyota sent via E-mail on March 22, 2005 I bought a 2004 Sienna from michael liss at sloane in May 2004. I recently had a problem occur with the rear hatch door closing without being prompted and without audible warning. It came down on my back and could have seriously injured me. It did not go back up when it came in contact with my body, but rather continued to shut. We have scheduled service with local Toyota dealer, but I wanted to notify Toyota of this issue. I could not find a way to submit an E-mail note to Toyota Corp., so I'm sending one to you. Is this a known defect with the 2004 Sienna" has their been a recall notice issued" this defect could cause permanent injury (or death to a young child).

- Pennsburg, PA, USA