Toyota Sienna le 2006 with 72,000 miles automatic broke down on the highway --- refusing to go beyond 35miles an hour and check engine light came on. The Toyota dealer claimed that the transmission had to be replaced at a cost of about 5500 + and diagnosed only transmission problem. To get a second opinion, we got the vehicle towed to aamco, the transmission experts. Aamco replaced valve body, torque converter, and their standard banner kit + transmission cooling system flush and clean. Aamco asked us to be soft on the transmission for a tank of gas. Inspite of driving slowly, we noticed that the transmission change from about 1st to 2nd gear was very slow and the car had like a hiccup when trying to accelerate and exhibited vibration at higher speeds. When we took it back to aamco, they test drove the same and now claim the computer (ECM?) is not learning the gear shift and needs to be replaced. Toyota dealer claims that the 8yr/80000mile warranty on the computer is only for a manufacturing defect and refuses to acknowledge that the computer is misbehaving. There is no check engine light or error code, but the vehicle remains sluggish. We are waiting for the pricing of the ECM module and would sincerely appreciate if the problem is acknowledged and resolved by Toyota. Gone are the days when Toyota was a reliable car --- we are frustrated with the whole episode and unfortunately are not confident of what else needs to get replaced to get the car up and running.

- Bordentown, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Sienna. While driving 60 mph, the vehicle lost power. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was diagnosed at the transmission. The dealer advised the contact that the transmission would need replacing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and advised that they could assist with one half of the repair costs. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 65,000.

- Milwaukee , WI, USA

2006 Toyota Sienna surge and deceleration while driving. Seems the vehicle can't decide which gear to go in. The consumer stated the transmission would shift late at times.

- San Rafael, CA, USA

I have a 2006 Toyota Sienna le minivan. A month after the purchase I noticed that the transmission did not shift correctly. The transmission gets stuck often and very often will run in 2nd and 3rd gear for extended times. When the van manages to get out of 2nd or 3rd it clunks into 4th. I have taken the van to the Toyota dealership 5 times to get it looked at and everytime they tell me there is nothing wrong with the vehicle. The dealership says because they can not duplicate the issue in the shop it must not exist. They will not fix it and they will not take it back. I feel unsafe driving the van because sometimes it will not drive- it simply just wont go because it hesitates to go into the next gear. I don't feel safe to pull out in front of other vehicles because I don't know if it is going to stick or not. The initial problem happened in Nov. 2008 only a month after purchasing the van. This is an ongoing problem and it is getting much worse.

- San Marcos, CA, USA

I bought a new 2006 Toyota Sienna van. From the beginning, the transmission drops into neutral as the vehicle slows for stops. Upon acceleration to move through a stop sign or light, the transmission hesitates in neutral, leaving those following about to rear end the vehicle. Or, if you accelerate, the vehicle lurches into gear throwing passengers forward. I have mentioned this problem every time I have had the vehicle serviced. The serviceman acknowledges the problem, and states that Toyota claims it is a means to save the transmission. The jerking on the transmission as the vehicle goes into gear after a stop cannot be good for the vehicle. The serviceman further stated that other car models made by Toyota had experienced the same problem, but that a "computer patch" had been made available that solved the problem. He said that no such patch has been made available for the Sienna vans. My concern is that I will end up rear-ended because of the hesitation or that the transmission will fail.

- Waynesburg, KY, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Sienna. The driver stated that while driving 10 mph in an attempt to increase speed, the vehicle began to hesitate and surge. The dealer stated that there was nothing they could do to assist him since the failure was electrical which was also a normal function of the vehicle. The failure mileage was 10 and the current mileage was 75,000. The consumer stated when slowing down between 5- 10 mph and then speeding back up again, the van would hesitate and then surge forward to the point of jerking the consumers neck. The vehicle would slow down once the accelerator was released. Also, the drivers side door was exhibiting a popping/scrapping noise when it was being opened or closed. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed there was a recall regarding the thinness of metal which allowed the cracking of the metal where the door stop was attached to the door. Updated 04/21/10

- Loranger, LA, USA

The automatic transmission on my 2006 Toyota Sienna causes the engine to race when trying to shift to a lower gear at slow speeds.

- Laguna Woods, CA, USA

Transmission failed at speed on I-95. With van, cargo and 5 occupants at traffic speed in the right lane, the engine raced, the van dropped out of cruise control, and we drifted to a halt on the side of the road. While moving, I shifted to "4" and "3" then back to "D" with no acceleration. Had we been in any other lane, the transition would have been harder and more dangerous than it was. The engine and other van systems continued to operate normally. When we were stopped, no forward gear produced movement, though reverse worked. A check showed the transmission fluid at normal hot level, though it was darker than normal. It took an hour on the side of the road, traffic passing alongside the van very close and very fast, before a aaa tow truck got to us. After a tow to a Toyota dealership, the transmission was replaced under the powertrain warranty due to a reported failure of the forward sprag. The failed transmission was retained by the dealer.

- Orlando, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Sienna. The contact placed the vehicle into park in her driveway and exited the vehicle. The vehicle then rolled up the driveway automatically and pinned her between the bottom of the garage door and the hood of vehicle. The contact was injured. She took the vehicle to the dealer, but they could not find any failures. The purchase date and speed were unknown. The current and failure mileages were 34,046.

- Lake Worth, FL, USA

Vehicle surges while gently applying accelerator and can't decide which gear to be in. Transmission appears to hesitate, especially noticeable at 5-10 pmh and while turning. Dealership says its completely normal. The drive-by-wire system cannot react quick enough to changes in acceleration. After days of research I see this is occurring on avalon, Camry, Lexus ES300-330, highlander, BMW, Audi, VW touareg, Subaru...shall I keep looking. Obviously the drive by wire technology is not mature and dangerous. Re-programming is needed. To date there are no tsb's for the 04-06 Sienna's regarding this issue. 8jb

- Marcellus, NY, USA