The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the liftgate struts fractured without warning. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but would not repair the vehicle because the extended warranty coverage expired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 143,900.

- Derwood, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While attempting to open the hatchback, it failed to fully open. The contact had to apply force to the lid in order for it to fully open. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. In addition, the contact stated that there was a noise coming from the front driver side door and the door opened further than normal. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the door arm needed to be welded. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.

- Macedonia, OH, USA

Rear hatch hydraulic lifters fail catastrophically on 2004 Toyota Sienna, resulting in heavy liftgate falling on occupant in 2008. Lifters were replaced and again failed 8/2010.

- Oregon, WI, USA

Rear hatch struts suddenly failed to hold rear hatch up, coming down on people when they are removing contents from the rear compartment of the vehicle. Rear hatch is hard to open as well.

- Duluth, MN, USA

For the past month or so, the power lift gate seemed to not go up/raise as high as I thought it did. Then yesterday the power lift gate unexpectedly closed down. Using the key fob/remote I raised it only to have it close again. I tried lifting it manually and it closed again. I locked the car and tried the lift gate again and it closed down. This makes the rear of the car inaccessible since it immediately closes down. This is very disconcerting since the door is very heavy and this is a mini-van which is frequently purchased by families with children. It would have been terrifying and possibly fatal to my young children if they were by the rear of the mini-van when this thing unexpectedly closed.

- Mission Hills, KS, USA

1. events leading up to the failure: Pressing either button (in the main cabin or on the key fob) top open the power rear lift gate 2. failure and its consequences: Upon reaching the fully opened position (or very close to?), the power rear lift gate reverses and automatically closes on the operator without user intervention. Since it's common to proceed to extract contents from the rear of the vehicle after opening the rear lift gate, injury ensues due to the powered closing of the rear lift gate on your head/arm/should/child. This has caused numerous minor injuries due to the significant force required to prevent the door from closing on the operator 3. the dealer has now replaced the rear lift gate struts twice and it's currently being worked on for a third time after a complaint to Toyota corporate. The failures still continue and the dealer has said they have no clue how to fix the problem (during the second replacement of the rear lift gate struts).

- San Marcos, CA, USA

The lift supports on the rear lift gate of our 2004 Toyota Sienna has failed again during the middle of December 2007. The rear lift gate struck my wife on her head/shoulder but luckily did not cause her serious injury when it failed to remain open. We had the same problem in November 2005. At that time the repair/replacement was covered by warranty. This time, being that the mileage is now plus 46000, we thought that the extended "bumper to bumper" warranty offered by the auto dealer would cover the replacement again but was informed that the warranty did not covered struts, shocks etc. We purchased the vehicle new in August of 2004 and in November of 2005 the supports failed. After being replaced they failed again in December of 2007. The vehicle is used by my wife for transportation to and from work and other normal usage. Obviously something is wrong with the design of the supports.

- Wahiawa, HI, USA

I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna xle with power liftgate. Last month one of the two supporting strut is failing and I heard a leaking sound, then the door just automatically powering closing on me without my operation. I use a lot of strength to fight it back, almost hurt me. This is a serious safety problem with the defected strut. After this incident, the liftgate can power open it but not all the way, and very easily fall down to close with just a little touch of the pinky finger strength. I did some research and found out that Toyota didn't recall for this safety issue with the defected strut, they only issue a technical service bulletin BO001-07 to address it. Since my warranty just expired on April 07, I might not be able to replace it under warranty. For me, this is a very serious safety problem that it might result injury if a child is under the powered liftgate with this defected strut when it unexpected closing down with power lift. Please investigate this safety issue. Thank you! updated 01-16-08. Updated

- Fremont, CA, USA

Liftgate struts on 2004 Toyota Sienna van do not hold the liftgate open. Once the door is opened nothing supports the weight and the door slams shut. Extemely dangerous for children or adults unloading the rear hatch. Struts have failed. Toyota refuses to acknowledge the problem.

- Rochester, NY, USA

Failure of the liftgate struts on my 2004 Toyota Sienna. For about two weeks, the liftgate failed to open fully. Then one morning, my son attempted to open the liftgate and it failed completely, nearly crushing him. He was able to move and let the door close without injury.

- Troutville, VA, USA

I have a Toyota Sienna 2004 xle. In late December 2006, we started having problems with the power rear door closing once opened. I just researched and learned of case EA06020 of the investigation into this problem. The door is completely non-functioning, sometimes closing slowly and sometimes slamming with such force we were afraid it would take off an arm or leg. The door came slamming down on our son's leg who luckily had a ski boot on which protected him from his foot being severely damaged. Toyota says it needs new struts and will not pay to correct the problem. After my research it seems that even the new struts they are installing do not work. We have not had the struts replaced - we just don't use the door unless we have an adult to physically hold it open. We did see fluid leak from the struts when the problem started in December 2006. We are hoping Toyota will have to recall this serious problem and fix it correctly.

- Mount Pleasant, SC, USA

Failure of the liftgate struts on my 2004 Toyota Sienna. Today I was opening my rear door to remove an item, I continued to fully open the rear door and released the door when it suddenly began to close rapidly at full force. I pushed my two children, 1 and 4, out of the way of the falling door to prevent it from falling on their heads. No one was injured and there was no warning. I will contact Toyota to fix the problem if not I will have to pay for it myself. It is something that I use daily and it must be fixed.

- Victorville, CA, USA

The rear liftgate on the Toyota Sienna does not hold and will not stay up. This creates a serius hazard, especially when children are nearby.

- Plymouth, MI, USA

In December, 2006, my tailgate closed on its own, injuring my wife. Toyota replaced the rear stays (struts) under warranty, including the addition of some brackets. At first everything was fine. But when the weather turned colder (below 20F), the rear hatch would not open on its own unless opening under power. And then a couple of days ago (still very cold), the hatch closed on its own under power again. This time, my daughter and I were both in its path, but fortunately, so was a shopping cart. There were fortunately no injuries this time. I am frustrated that just 45 days after the problem was "repaired" it is already happening again.

- Pewee Valley, KY, USA

In December we took our 2004 Sienna in because the rear liftgate began closing on us expectedly. We have 3 young children and fear they will be seriously injured or killed. I see there is an investigation into this exact problem. Both Toyota corporate & the dealership have refused to fix it because it is out of warranty.

- Huntsville, AL, USA

Struts on tailgate failed to keep door open.

- Prairie Du Sac, WI, USA

I own a 2004 Toyota Sienna and the liftgate struts have failed. No injuries as of 8/27/06.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

Rear hatch unexpectedly fell onto head.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

2004 Toyota Sienna van tailgate drops, hydraulic not function fell on my head it is permanently malfunctioning.

- Geneva, IL, USA