3rd Generation Common Problems 2011+

I'm going to take a stab at this. I'm not a weathered Siennachat poster, in fact this is my first post, however I have been researching for a while in anticipation of a purchase in the near future of a 2013 LE. Here's the common problems that I've read about:

-Brakes are undersized for this size of vehicle. Typical shuddering issue occurs at about 20-40k miles from last service. Although the shuddering feels like a warped rotor, its most likely caused by uneven pad wear due to over heating of the pads.
-Has odd alignment issues where many user report that tires are out of alignment and can only be fixed with shim stock rather than normal adjust procedure. Out of alignment issues cause abnormally high tire wear.
-The rear seats have a noticeable vibration and noise issue that annoys some drivers.

I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones that come to my mind. What else is common out there?

Rattle in the 3rd row seats is a common problem across 2011 - 2014. I don't recall if anyone with a 2015 has complained.

royc said:

Rattle in the 3rd row seats is a common problem across 2011 - 2014. I don't recall if anyone with a 2015 has complained.

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Toyota has a TSB for the 3rd row seat rattle.

On 2012, also have 3rd row rattle since day drove off lot. Had Toyota dealership look at it every time since then (12+) and first few times they "tried fixes" and claimed that Toyota was working on a fix. but none helps. THe fixes were literally wrapping black electrical tap around floor hooks, or greasing them which left grease marks all over the carpet and stinky smell work weeks.

Recently, March 2015, a high pitch whirring noise began when accelerating over 30mph and then stops around 20mph when decelerating. Toyota dealership could not determine issue but did tell me I needed new front struts….which they said the noise "might" go away. Not very pleased with this answer. Can someone tell me what's going on? THinking about taking it to another Toyota dealership….

92200sienna said:

Recently, March 2015, a high pitch whirring noise began when accelerating over 30mph and then stops around 20mph when decelerating. Toyota dealership could not determine issue but did tell me I needed new front struts….which they said the noise "might" go away. Not very pleased with this answer. Can someone tell me what's going on? THinking about taking it to another Toyota dealership….

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Take it to another dealer and also contact Toyota... It's a long shot but they might actually have some useful information. Is it like a wind noise or do you think it has something to do with the tranny? My 13 Rav4 had a whinning noise when decelerating off the interstate. Toyota dealer also heard it but did nothing as they thought this was 'normal'. Anyways, long story short, I tried the arbitration deal, complete waste of time, lost to Toyota somehow, and ended up unloading that car. Best decision ever! I hope the van works out though and you get your problem taken care of. I wished I would have taken it to a different dealership now looking back on it. Some are better than others but you have to find a good one and one willing to work with you, not against you.

nathan3306 said:

Take it to another dealer and also contact Toyota... It's a long shot but they might actually have some useful information. Is it like a wind noise or do you think it has something to do with the tranny? My 13 Rav4 had a whinning noise when decelerating off the interstate. Toyota dealer also heard it but did nothing as they thought this was 'normal'. Anyways, long story short, I tried the arbitration deal, complete waste of time, lost to Toyota somehow, and ended up unloading that car. Best decision ever! I hope the van works out though and you get your problem taken care of. I wished I would have taken it to a different dealership now looking back on it. Some are better than others but you have to find a good one and one willing to work with you, not against you.

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I went from a 2009 Rav4 to my current Sienna as well. The whining sound from the transmission and there apparently is a TSB but it doesn't always work and wastes a lot of time.

For my Sienna, the 2nd row, one seat cushion vibrated but that was taken care of on a TSB. 3rd row seats rattle, and I fixed that with some electrical tape. From what I heard, the TSB doesn't really work.