[jeff925]

I have a 2005 Sienna with 42k miles. It has the dual power sliding doors. The drivers side door seem to stick and will not close about 50% of the time when using the power close feature.

I took it to the dealer and they came back and said it has a "weakened ceneter Hinge". I purchased a Extended warranty thru Toyota at the time of purchase. They called the warranty company and were informed this was not covered and would be $700 to fix???!!

Anyone have a similar experience? i seached the forums and googled this and found 1000's of people with similar issues.

Is this a known issue with the door? if so , why is Toyota not standing behind thier product. Our car has been in no accidents and the drivers side door is opened only half as much as the passanger side door, will this defect appear on the passenger side as well?

do I need to go thru Toyota Corp to get this fixed?

thanks for any advice.
Jeff

 

[sienna]

Have you tried to apply grease to the rollers and hinges at the top, middle and bottom track areas? I recently did and it decreased the sounds of the doors closing.

 

[osteome1]

do I need to go thru Toyota Corp to get this fixed?

In my dealings with Toyota recently, they will most likely tell you to go pound sand....at least in a nice way. They are covering less and less it appears these days, or at least casting an extremely discerning eye to anything at the cusp of warranty.

Let the cross shopping begin when we get rid of our current Toyota.....

 

[jeff925]

I called the customer care line, they are looking into weather to treat this as an "out of warranty" repair. I am not holding out too much hoipe though. the reason I got a Toyota was because of the quality and the fact that they stand behind thier products.

 

[topspy]

Sorry about the bad door. ??? :'(

Just double-checking.....

Are you sure you purchased a TOYOTA factory-backed Platinum (or Gold) Vehicle Service Agreement (VSA)....more commonly referred to as an "extended warranty"?? A true Toyota VSA is actually issued/administered/underwritten by Toyota Financial Services (TFS)/Toyota Motor Insurance (TMI)....or something like that.

Some dealers ALSO sell their own "dealer-backed" and/or 3rd-party "extended warranties". Just because it was purchased at a Toyota dealer doesn't mean the warranty is covered by "TOYOTA".

If a true Toyota VSA, I am surprised and SHOCKED that they would deny this coverage. I would get an EXACT reason as to WHY it is denied. Next, I would review my warranty paperwork that lists what is specifically excluded from coverage. Proceed from there...

And maybe try a different dealer, or maybe escalate the issue up the chain at both the dealership and Toyota. Some dealers may like warranty work, others don't. It just depends upon how much time/energy they have to expend and the payback they can get on it.

Let us know...

YMMV.
Good Luck!! 8)

 

[tcp]

Sorry to interject, but i've never heard of another sienna with a "weakened hinge". All the power door issues I've ever read here have to do with the cable/power motor assembly. Anyone else here have a "weakened hinge"?

I have a 2005 Sienna with 42k miles. It has the duel power sliding doors. The drivers side door seem to stick and will not close about 50% of the time when using the power close feature.

I took it to the dealer and they came back and said it has a "weakened ceneter Hinge". I purchased a Extended warranty thru Toyota at the time of purchase. They called the warranty company and were informed this was not covered and would be $700 to fix???!!

Anyone have a similar experience? i seached the forums and googled this and found 1000's of people with similar issues.

Is this a known issue with the door? if so , why is Toyota not standing behind thier product. Our car has been in no accidents and the drivers side door is opened only half as much as the passanger side door, will this defect appear on the passenger side as well?

do I need to go thru Toyota Corp to get this fixed?

thanks for any advice.
Jeff

 

[jeff925]

i am pretty sure its a Toyota VSA, i will check the paperwork tonight. the funny part is the guy at the sefice desk said he has seen hinges that are worse than mine where the door actually scrapes the side of the van when opening and closing.

 

[jeff925]

ok, looked at the warranty, its a Toyota VSA. and covered everything except about 20 things, one being the hinges!!! I am working with toyota, the car has low miles and has not been abused. i think this might have been a manufacturer defect. hopefully they stand behind thier product.

 

[topspy]

wow....scary....I'm going to have to take a good look at mine too (VSA + hinges). ??? :'( :-\

 

[inPhilm]

Sadly, I have to report; I've read about it and have the problem too.

The middle hinge on my 2006 LTD (LH) has failed, the hinge itself now drags on it's rail, marking it and tearing a rubber molding associated with it. The sagging had been gradual, the first signs I saw of it was that the door took some paint off the body. Sadly I thought it was simply an alignment issue, but my dealer informed me it was more.

While the dealer wants about $800 for the repair, and an independent body shop said they could do it for $560, ...I think I might tackle this on my own (it's only a $84 part). Regardless, I'll keep you informed of the outcome.

BTW, this whole ordeal really saddens me on wanting to buy another Toyota...

 

[inPhilm]

Part is on order, came to $88 with shipping. I hope that I receive the part before the weekend, I plan to do it over a weekend, ...when the van is not needed (hauling kids to school).

BTW, I have the 2004-07 Factory Repair Manuals (the .pdf version), it doesn't directly detail removal of the hinge, but it does show the basics to achieving what I need to do. However, does anyone have any time saving tips, experience on this?


Edit, ...and since I got a good price on the part (sorry Toyota of Danville, didn't see you in time) I thought I would donate a little to help keep the boards going.

 

[twisted road]

Argh!!! Sorry for all the others that are having this issue.

Yes, our van has a "failing hinge" according to the dealer. The funny thing was, I took it in because the door switch (the one that controls the dome light) was sticking (and would set off the alarm). They said the switch was fine (BS, had to buy one and replace it myself because that was easier than convincing them).

I looked at the operation of the door (yeah it lurches a little, but it has always done that) and then I compared it to the other door: exactly the same.

So I went to the dealer and said that the other door works the same. The service writer said that the tech probably didn't check the other door. Great, way to be thorough. So realistically, I have two bad hinges. I call "bad design" Toyota!


After their verdict and crazy expensive quote, I said what about my extended warranty that I bought specifically to cover things like this? "Oh, well hinges are excluded." What the heck? It's not a "hinge" issue, it is a roller issue. Just because the craptastic rollers are attached to a part you call a hinge, that's not my fault. "Well, see, if the part is called a hinge, then we can't replaced under the extended warranty." So I called the Toyota extended warranty place and they said it didn't matter because body mechanical was excluded anyway. So there. OK, I'm hosed.

So, looking at the quote I think there is a lot of fat. They want to paint the part (I don't care) and they were going to farm out the work anyway. I am really looking forward to someone reporting and describing a successful fix to this so I can see if I'm up to it.

Good luck inPhlim, let us know how it turns out.

 

[inPhilm]

Well the part came in, like twisted road stated, the part needs painting. I have an estimate from a body shop of, .3 hrs of labor @ $45/hr & $9.90 in materials, ...about $25. I haven't decided to have it painted or just "rattle can" it. Regardless, of how it get's done, it will be painted by next weekend for installation.

Looking at the new part and the failed hinge (still on the van), I'm thinking less it is one of the 3 roller guides that sit in the track that failed, but rather the hole in a pressed bushing that is truly part of the hinge that "swings" with the door has worn and become elongated (due to movement and the weight of the door it carries, so tell me how I caused the problem Toyota) causing the door to sag. Pics. to follow when I can show the parts side by side.

BTW, is that everyone else's feeling, how the hinge has failed?

 

[twisted road]

Can you see the hinge when the door is closed? Do you really need to paint it?

I'm dying to hear how your project goes so I can decide if I want to attempt ours.

Again, good luck!

 

[inPhilm]

You can't see the hinge with the door closed, and the hinge looks cad plated (so it doesn't really need protection), ...but other's behind you can when your in the drop off line at school and the doors are open for example.

I had some primer and a semi gloss white in spray cans so I ended up shooting it with that. Looks pretty close, especially once a little grime coats it

 

[twisted road]

Thanks for the info. Please take pictures along the way if you can manage it.

I'm rooting for you!

 

[inPhilm]

Quick update: Finis.

Little bit more info; took an hour and half with coffee. I took pics., have a tool list, ...and some thoughts that I'll put together in the evening (or coming days).

 

[twisted road]

Trying ever so hard to be patient waiting to hear the details...

 

[ackvigend]

Hi everyone, I own a 2005 sienna xle too that has this freaking "hinge" problem. It just started the other day brought it at a stealership and said that it was the hinge and as most of you have experienced I was denied from my Platinum extended warranty(Sucks) so I am going to order the part and try to tackle this myself cause stealership is asking $550+. Please any thoughts and ideas that can help me? Thanks

 

[inPhilm]

Sorry for the delay. I'm putting the post together shortly.

BTW, had the powered third row (40% side) seat failure this weekend, ...however, it looks like the DIY repair I found on SiennaChat will get it moving again.