[AndyM]

We have a 2022 Sienna XSE AWD and came out to a message to "shift to park" when trying to start today. Upon further investigation, none of the electronics would work as well (radio, power doors, etc).

While investigating this issue and returning to the Sienna, all electrical power is dead, so I'm assuming dead battery. We have had temperatures below 0 degrees F and haven't started it or driven it for a couple of days. It is stored in an unheated detached garage.

My questions:
1) Is there a way to manually open the rear hatch?
2) Can I use a use a portable battery charger on the 12volt battery and will charging this enable me to start the van?
3) Will calling AAA roadside assistance, will they know how to properly jump start our Sienna without damaging it? Are they trained in jump-starting Toyota hybrids?

 

[jseyfert3]

2) Can I use a use a portable battery charger on the 12volt battery and will charging this enable me to start the van?
3) Will calling AAA roadside assistance, will they know how to properly jump start our Sienna without damaging it? Are they trained in jump-starting Toyota hybrids?

First off, I don’t have a hybrid. But I skimmed your owner’s manual.

In regards to 2, the answer would likely be yes. I would connect the charger to the jump start connection points under the hood, see the section on jump starting that begins on page 504 of your manual, in the section Steps To Take In An Emergency.

In regards to 3, I would not expect that they would know how, necessarily. If needed, show them the section on jump starting in your manual as mentioned above.

1) Is there a way to manually open the rear hatch?

Assuming you mean with no power applied to the vehicle (dead 12 volt battery). Also applies if you have power but the power latch malfunctions. Yes, there is, but it involves removing the interior panel of the back door. See pages 152-153 of your owner’s manual for instructions.

 

[Vanessa17]

Might want to move it to the newer generation forum - more action for your model there.

As to your questions -
1 - no idea. We have a 17 Sienna, but I've had Toyota hybrids.
2 - depends on how dead the battery is. Any hybrid Toyota uses the 12V battery for accessory operation, including powering the ECU that runs the car. A 'portable charger' might be able to get enough voltage to get the ECU to 'boot up' and get the inverter to start charging the 12V - and start the ICE. Or not.
3 - The 12V circuit jump procedure is no different than any other vehicle. Keep the polarity right, don't ground the wrong wire, and it's all good.

As an editorial comment, the low temps should not create an issue with startup. You may have a bad 12V - not that unusual for a new car to be 'battery abused' where doors are left open to the point of the low voltage circuit gong dead. Or you could have gotten a bit of bad luck and a bad battery, It happens.

 

[JohnHartshorn]

May be too late now, but make sure the battery didn't freeze (sides will be bulged out, and maybe cracked). If it did, it's toast and you need to replace it. There are many reports of bad batteries, not just in the Siennas, but across the board. I think it is at least partly due to vehicles sitting for weeks, even months after going down the line waiting for final completion, getting hot, getting cold, getting hot, etc. So far with my 2021 Sienna, I haven't had any issues, but I do park in a protected (though unheated) garage. I also just took delivery of a 2022 Ford Maverick hybrid, but time from production to delivery was only about 6 weeks. Some sat in Mexico for months and months waiting on parts to finish the build.

 

[fotomoto]

Yes, you can jump from the jump terminal locations under the hood. (see owners manual)

also just took delivery of a 2022 Ford Maverick hybrid, but time from production to delivery was only about 6 weeks.

Grrr.... we waited for 17 months (and gave up) for a loaded Lariat hybrid.

 

[JohnHartshorn]

For #1, there are also charge points under the hood. Pg 506 of the 2021 manual, (probably the same or very close in the 2022) so you don't have to get to the battery in the back.

 

[JohnHartshorn]

Yes, you can jump from the jump terminal locations under the hood. (see owners manual)



Grrr.... we waited for 17 months (and gave up) for a loaded Lariat hybrid.

I ordered the Mav 6 July 2021. Took delivery 14 Aug 2022. The Sienna, I lucked into one that was still on the delivery truck and unclaimed when I called about it.

 

[Dimitrij]

For my education: wouldn't be this covered under warranty?

 

[Broncofan]

I agree. Call Toyota roadside assistance, and ask them to fix it ..at their expense. It should be covered under warranty, and, if its not just a bad battery, (they should replace it), then they need to fix it.

Generally I dont recommend solving car problems in new cars..if I wanted to be fixing up my cars, I would buy old ones, not $40k to $50k, new ones. USE your warranty, call em and let them fix it. You have problems enough making money to make the payments, so let Toyota do their job and honor the warranty, including the battery.

Leave it alone and call toyota.

 

[Toyotadriver#1955]

We have a 2022 Sienna XSE AWD and came out to a message to "shift to park" when trying to start today. Upon further investigation, none of the electronics would work as well (radio, power doors, etc).

While investigating this issue and returning to the Sienna, all electrical power is dead, so I'm assuming dead battery. We have had temperatures below 0 degrees F and haven't started it or driven it for a couple of days. It is stored in an unheated detached garage.

My questions:
1) Is there a way to manually open the rear hatch?
2) Can I use a use a portable battery charger on the 12volt battery and will charging this enable me to start the van?
3) Will calling AAA roadside assistance, will they know how to properly jump start our Sienna without damaging it? Are they trained in jump-starting Toyota hybrids?

Same thing happened to us yesterday……battery dead…….van 9 months old and only 17000 km on it. Towed to dealer and they have disconnected our sensors saying Toyota has some recent messages out that they are draining the battery. Someone else mentioned that when they are covered with snow that the sensors become active. Sound right?

 

[Jupabao]

Our 12v battery died on Christmas Day. Of course dealer was closed but luckily I have a battery charger and jumper pack so was able to get back up and running. Went into dealer few days after and dealer says there's a TSB or notice for faulty door kick sensors. Says all sensors and associated computer will be replaced. In the mean time, they disabled the sensors till the back ordered parts come in. They also performed a load test on the battery and looks like it still good. I'm gonna give it a full charge when I get a chance.

 

[Toyotadriver#1955]

Our 12v battery died on Christmas Day. Of course dealer was closed but luckily I have a battery charger and jumper pack so was able to get back up and running. Went into dealer few days after and dealer says there's a TSB or notice for faulty door kick sensors. Says all sensors and associated computer will be replaced. In the mean time, they disabled the sensors till the back ordered parts come in. They also performed a load test on the battery and looks like it still good. I'm gonna give it a full charge when I get a chance.

Got the same answer at our Canadian dealership. We are keeping our trickler plugged in And our sensors too are disabled. I never could get the sliding door one to work all the time. What year is yours? 2022 also?

 

[Jetstreamblue]

Our 12v battery died on Christmas Day. Of course dealer was closed but luckily I have a battery charger and jumper pack so was able to get back up and running. Went into dealer few days after and dealer says there's a TSB or notice for faulty door kick sensors. Says all sensors and associated computer will be replaced. In the mean time, they disabled the sensors till the back ordered parts come in. They also performed a load test on the battery and looks like it still good. I'm gonna give it a full charge when I get a chance.

Good to know at least they finally acknowledged the issue and will issue a fix. We've been seeing people with dead batteries due to kick sensors for over a year now?

 

[Broncofan]

Mine is a 2023, and, so far, no "dead battery" issues, so, its possible or even likely, Toyota has fixed the problem. What is puzzling to me, is many car companies have a "battery rundown" feature, which will turn your lights off, for example, if left on and the battery draws down to "x" percent capacity. I cant understand why this drain on the kick sensors would also not disable them from use, just like turning your lights off, if Toyota has this "battery rundown" protection. Even my 2005 Cadillac has "battery rundown" as I have left the lights on, and in 20 minutes or so, they turned off, and car started right up. This is a fixable problem, but, it would mean the "kick sensors" were disabled, so you could no longer open the doors with the kick sensor.
I think the "kick sensors" are mostly an advertising gimmick, that rarely work in real life. The reason is, these sensors, under the car, will get covered in oil and road grime in short order, and they would not work. I dont want to climb under my car, locate the sensors, wash them off, every time I drive. That would be as convenient as a broken leg. Its much easier to just push the "open" button..which will work, even if the car is dirty, to open the doors. Its an example of "overtechnology"...the technology fix is not worth the hassle, in my opinion. Any time you drive through water, or just a bit of mud, or anything, it would easily clog the sensor rendering it in operable, or even worse, draining the battery. You can disable those sensors in my car with a button.

 

[Velox003]

Our 12v battery died on Christmas Day. Of course dealer was closed but luckily I have a battery charger and jumper pack so was able to get back up and running. Went into dealer few days after and dealer says there's a TSB or notice for faulty door kick sensors. Says all sensors and associated computer will be replaced. In the mean time, they disabled the sensors till the back ordered parts come in. They also performed a load test on the battery and looks like it still good. I'm gonna give it a full charge when I get a chance.

I don't see this recall, is it on the web somewhere?

 

[JohnHartshorn]

I don't see this recall, is it on the web somewhere?

Not a recall, just a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin). Means it won't be fixed unless you have the specific problem and bring it to your dealers attention.

 

[gpcork]

Got the same answer at our Canadian dealership. We are keeping our trickler plugged in And our sensors too are disabled. I never could get the sliding door one to work all the time. What year is yours? 2022 also?

 

[gpcork]

I had/have the same experience. 2022 xse sienna. Wouldn’t start December 27. Road side assistance boost. No problem rest of day. Dead again morning of the 28th. Borrowed neighbour’s car to get to appt, and purchased a noco booster. Boosted van went to dealership. They tested battery, passed and put it on a charger for 40 minutes. Got van back, dead next morning. Boosted van, went back to dealership and the response was; battery passed the test so you have two options; new battery no warranty as it passed the test or we can install a battery tender. Both options would cost a few hundred bucks. No thank you. Son-in-law is mechanically inclined and well tooled. Put the battery on a charger overnight and no problems until the morning of December 31st. Boosted van, went back to dealership and talked to my sales rep and sales manager. Couldn’t talk to service as they are closed on weekends. They committed to discussing this with the service manager the following Wednesday. Put battery on charger for two hours and using a meter, battery voltage was north of 12.5. Over next few days, tested voltage and it was holding no problem. Went to dealership on the Wednesday January 4th, explained the above and the discussion here about DCM and kick sensors. Service manager disabled sensors and would investigate issue. They called next day and had ordered parts… to replace sensors, they’re on back order so it may be a few weeks. Yesterday morning, van dead. Boosted it and thought WTF, if the sensors are disabled we’re back to square one. Checked sensors, only the rear door had been disabled. I disabled the hands free setting for the side doors. Now, I’m going out to the garage to start van. 12.2V reading from battery and it started no problem.

 

[gpcork]

Stay tuned!

 

[pamhar]

Wonder if this is going to go the route of the CRV oil dilution issue?

Toyota does seem to be a little bit more proactive BUT no comfort for all the owners that have daily or weekly battery issues.