I've not seen any progress on this. I received the recall letter where Toyota recommends that owners disable the power sliding doors (there is a switch on the dash to do this) until there is a fix for the problem.

I personally bought an extended warranty even though my 2013 was a Toyota Certified used car. The warranty protection provided as a Toyota Certified used car is, unfortunately, quite limited.

 

I got the letter in January and have heard nary a peep since. In light of the fact that there is a switch on the dash that reduces Toyota's liability related to injuries, I doubt they'll be in too big of a hurry to do anything about it. I'm hoping to hear from them while I still own the van.

 

I disagree...

In light of the Takata airbag issues, and this being a potentially huge opening for law suites, I am pretty sure Toyota is working hard to develop a lasting resolution to this problem.

These things take time.

 

After following the mid January letter advice, the door opened while driving on me last week.

A call to Toyota confirmed that they still do not have a fix and didn't have a time line on getting it established.


They did tell me you can take the Sienna in to your local dealer, and they will provide you with a loaner until the issue is resolved totally paid for by Toyota.

 

We also have the same problem, but it is with our 2005 Sienna LE. Does anyone know if the Toyota dealer is still offering the loaner until it's resolved?

Thanks!

 

Well, to tie a bow on this (sorta), we ended up buying a 15 SE (white) from a private party. We got what I'm pretty sure is a great price, enough cheaper than the dealer to warrant the (minor) risks that come with buying this way. Still debating whether to pull the trigger on a VSA, but that's one less thing to be worrying about as we prep for the new family addition.

Mike

 

Good to hear you found what you wanted!

You have until the 3 year or 36k mile point to decide on a Platinum extended warranty. I paid $1400 for the 8 yr, 125k mile, $0 deductible and am already nearly $1k ahead. You wouldn't think that a 2015 Limited with under 40k miles would need expensive work, but it happens. Two electrical items (HVAC panel with a bad switch and the drivers door courtesy light switch), and a leaking strut came to over $2,300.

 

Whiteboyslo, I'm in the same situation as you were. It's really frustrating as dealers do have 2016 inventory but can not sell those units. Meanwhile, there are 750k Siennas on the road included in the recall. As mentioned, there is an easy work around to disable the electric doors until a fix is implemented. I can wait until a fix is available or buy used, like you did. Ironically, the 2017 vehicles seem to have a "fix" for the auto closing doors . . . I wonder if the upgraded mechanism in the 2017s could simply be installed in the prior year vehicles . . .

 

Does anyone one know if they actually made a change to the 2017's? I got one in January and while I'm not all that concerned I'm wondering if Toyota made a change or is simply using some legal loop hole to leave the 2017's off the recall.

 

Any news on this? I would love to buy a 2015 CPO.

 

Just checked. No updates at present.

I would double check with your local Toyota dealership to see if the STOP SALE has been removed for the CPO.

 

Cars.com shows only 64 2015 CPO Siennas in the entire USA, so it appears to still be on:
https://www.cars.com/for-sale/searc...age=50&rd=99999&searchSource=GN_BREADCRUMB&sf1Dir=ASC&sf1Nm=location&yrId=56007

 

We just bought used 2016 Sienna but the Dealer de-fused the power sliding door. Toyota dealership wouldn't turn it back on for liability reasons. I tried to put the fuses back in but it still doesn't work (I am aware there is ON/OFF button for the pwr doors) Any suggestions how to make the power sliding door work again? Unplug the battery maybe? Thanks

 

considering it is a safety issue why would you want to?
if you were to re-enable the sliders and something happened, the dealership has proof that they disabled the sliders and you would be liable for any damages...

 

I wonder if the dealer turned it off with Techstream via the diagnostic port.

Edit: Yes, turning off the power sliding doors is listed as a customizable feature that can be done by Toyota dealers: http://www.tsienna.net/customizable_features-422.html

 

leased a 2015, got the notice, been complaining ever since. I am paying for something on a lease that I am not able to use, getting old, my wrists done work that well any more, sorry to say, and cannot open the door without the power assist. I agree, I do not think they are in a rush to fix it. Got all the way up to head of US sales, East Coast, no info, no fix yet, no date yet for fix, no plan on releasing any more information. No sale stamp in place not for safety reason, but because they feel they cannot sell the upper models without the power doors workinging...Wonder if they will try to force me to buy it at the end of the lease. Might try to initiate a Lemon Law suit and have them take it back. Why should I pay for a feature I cannot use.

 

The way these recalls seem to linger, with zero urgency from Toyota to remedy the situation, I'm wondering when someone's going to launch a class action suit?

It's not as simple as "just turn it off". I paid a premium for for convenience features that work, including power sliding doors. Toyota refusing to fix a defect and issuing s recall essentially taking the feature away without remedy is an actionable cause.

 

The way these recalls seem to linger, with zero urgency from Toyota to remedy the situation ....

Let's storm the new Toyota headquarters in Texas!

You with me, Chimp? LOL!

Settle down and read my post #15 in this thread.

 

The linked press release was about as useful as mammaries on a male pig. (We used to say it in a more graphic way which had to do with things on a boar, but this being a public forum I chose to bite my tongue.)

The Press Releases the link said I could follow was even less useful than the initial link.

It's becoming obvious, Toyota's plan to address the issue it to ignore it.
That's fine for them but it and their listing of the problem for all the world to see does put a black mark on every Sienna in the time frame given.

That essentially reduces the value of the vehicle which is, in my opinion, totally unfair to the thousands of owners who may want to sell or trade in their Sienna.

It's public relations like that which can but a similar black mark on Toyota and their products.

 

Mounting a recall campaign for nearly a million vehicles is not something that can necessarily be done quickly. There were 736,061 Sienna for model years 2011 through 2016 sold in the U.S. and that does not include Sienna sold officially in a number of other countries including Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea and Switzerland and those exported by private exporters to many other countries.

The condition under which the problem can occur is very limited. As recalls go, this one is about as trivial as one can get. Here is a quote from J.D. Powers about this issue:

"Issue: If the power sliding door can’t open when commanded—such as if the door is frozen shut—the door may subsequently open unexpectedly, possibly while the vehicle is moving."

 

Maybe they'll just send a sticker, telling us that if we choose to use the power door we do so at our own peril. You know, sort of like when they de-rated the load of the vehicle after they realized they miscalculated the weight of the accessories?

If it's worth sending a recall notice for, then it's worth providing a remedy for the vehicles impacted. Telling people to disable the doors and never providing a resolution isn't acceptable. Whether people choose to heed the warning and disable the doors or not, and however remote the possibility of failure, they sold us a van with a defect that renders it unsafe when used as delivered. If the situation weren't unsafe, there would be no recall and it would just be a TSB.

They need to either make the van safe, or compensate for the loss of the feature and resulting loss in value. It's not a question of whether I think my door will fly open or people will fall out, it's about being accountable to your customers and your products. Toyota isn't doing that in this case.

 

I agree, Toyota has given me no reason to respect their treatment of this issue. I have an otherwise fine vehicle with automatic doors I paid for but cannot use. The fact that some Siennas have automatic doors that aren't a problem should make us pause -- this isn't rocket science. I'm not generally lawsuit-happy, but I would be interested to know if anyone has begun to mount a class action suit on this issue to recover the cost of the automatic door system, as a result of losing a feature we paid a premium for.

 

I am increasingly disappointed in Toyota for letting this Sienna recall go unfixed for more than a half year since it was known. We were lured to Toyota by stories of their durability and long-term reliability. But the loss of the upgraded feature we paid for -- automatic doors -- is more than annoying. A dealership told me the difference in price for a Sienna with automatic doors versus one with manual doors is $3,000. That's money I have evidently poured down the drain. Has anyone succeeded in getting Toyota to reimburse them for the cost of the power doors that now are disabled?

 

The thing I can't help but notice is, there doesn't seem to be any real structural change between the 2016 and the 2017.
Toyota appearently has fixed the problem with the 2017 models.

Based on the first thing I mentioned, it seems like it would be possible for them to incorporate whatever the 2017 fix was into the 2016 and earlier models.

This may not be an easy or a inexpensive "fix" for Toyota to accomplish but it was Toyota that made the issue a "Recall" so IMO, it's time for them to step up to the plate and fix it like they did on their 2017 vehicles.

 

... it seems like it would be possible for them to incorporate whatever the 2017 fix was into the 2016 and earlier models.

The solution for the 2011-2016 Sienna may not be the same as what was done on the 2017 to prevent the open circuit. It's often much easier to incorporate new features in a redesigned / re-engineered component (e.g. the main body ECU) than it is to retrofit the same features on older products.

It will be interesting to see the details in the TSIB for this recall when it is published.

 

So here's an interesting connection...

Recall G04/G14 describes incomplete door latching when the motor becomes overloaded and blows a fuse. Which fuse isn't specified. This interim recall letter came out in January, and advises you to not use the doors.

In April, Toyota issues TSB-0208-17 for a "similar" condition? Some 2011 – 2016 model year Sienna vehicles may exhibit Sliding Door Front and Rear Latches simultaneously NOT latching due to the PSD 25 Amp fuse becoming open. Follow the procedure in this bulletin to address this condition.

The basic remedy is to insert a bigger fuse!

http://www.mediafire.com/file/e5icddp8ul4epde/T-SB-0208-17_Power_Door_fuse.pdf

 

I got a notice a couple of years ago that my leaf springs on my Tacoma could separate and puncture my gas tank, causing a fire...took Toyota a year and a half for a fix...so this is what I expected with the Sienna door issue.

 

We are coming up to 6.5-months since the recall started and still no sign of a solution for doors that we can't use electrically...

 

We just had our 2013 Sienna serviced last week. The service manager mentioned that the fix is replacing both sliding door motors. My guess is the supplier needs time to make the new motors and to train the dealership to install them. I expect they will start contacting owners soon to get the doors fixed.

 

I read recently the fix was just a 30 amp fuse for each door, which imp means it's just going to keep sending battery juice to a motor that won't latch because of a door obstruction.

 

See my post (#26) above.

If the motors draw too much current, they might blow the original 25 amp fuse and stay unlatched. So it looks like the initial fix might have been a slightly larger fuse. But there seems to be more to it than that if they are looking to redesign the motor (maybe for more torque with less current draw??). Just guessing here.

 

test

 

More torque with less current draw would equate to a slower door speed when opening and closing. That might be a bit annoying, but still preferable to having a door randomly not latch properly.

 

Perhaps, if it's done by just a gearing change. I was hoping for a more efficient motor combined with a better 'blocked movement detection' system. We'd all prefer doors that push on and properly lock when it's the right thing to do, or reverse and save little hands when the kids get in the way. What we don't want is door motors that simply overload, blow a fuse and remains unlatched when they aren't sure what to do.

 

Does everyone have more than one recall on their Sienna?

Mine's a 2012 SE model, I received 2 recall notices: one for the front passenger airbag and one for the automatic doors. For the automatic doors, like everyone here, the letter informed me to turn off that feature. As for the airbag, the letter informed me to make sure no one sits in the front passenger seat as there may be more than the airbag that comes out if it's deployed in an accident.

 

Does everyone have more than one recall on their Sienna?

I have two, one for the sliding door and the other one for the airbag. The latter is prioritized based on region and mine is expected to be done in September this year