Auto-close slider smashed my child

13360 Views 19 Replies 9 Participants Last post by JericaM, Jul 17, 2020

Aviatrix

Discussion Starter · Jan 30, 2010

I thought the auto-close slider had an anti-smash feature???

My daughter (2) pressed the button and then got her foot caught in the door. It closed ALL THE WAY on her foot. I didn't think they were supposed to do that!! Was her foot just too small for the door to "notice", or would it have crushed her whole body had she gotten halfway out????

Any one else get smashed in the auto-close door?????

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shineysideup

· #9 · Feb 5, 2010

brian_bp said:
There are two methods to sense an object in the way of the closing door:

load monitoring of the closing motor (how much effort is required to close), and

a contact sensor on the door edge.

What year is the Sienna? My 2004 power sliding door does not have a contact sensor, but in later years (such as 2008) they do.

The load monitoring method must allow enough closing power to provide sufficient force to close the door when the nose is pointed uphill (so the door is being pulled up), against the drag of dirt and perhaps ice and snow in the tracks. There is no way to avoid the possibility of the door applying significant force to something left in its path.

My garage door - which has a power opener which is typical of reasonably recent designs - has a photocell detector across the opening and load monitoring. The load monitoring is set sensitive enough that in cold weather the extra drag can cause the door to stop (particularly when opening, in this case), yet if a low enough object to fit under the sensor line is left in the opening it will be subject to significant force. There's just no magic and perfectly safe solution to this problem.

Brian, I'm surprised that your van DOESN'T have the contact sensor. My van does... it does not extend to the bottom of the door though... I have the sensors on the power tailgate also. I thought that this was standard from the start of the '04 production.

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shineysideup

· #12 · Feb 5, 2010

the "contact sensor" is along the leading edge of the door... All you need to do is touch it with your finger and the door will reverse. It does not go all the way to the bottom of the floor in the second row. I looked last night and could see how a child's foot could get caught without activating the touch strip. When my doors did work (broken cable also

), I could touch the strip and the doors would reverse automatically. My montana did NOT have this feature... It doesn't matter much when the doors aren't power anymore!

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shineysideup

· #14 · Feb 6, 2010

It is easy to miss... I have two children and was aware of the lack of protection from my first van. The sienna seemed to address my pinching worries. Unfortunately, not every circumstance can be accounted for...

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shineysideup

· #16 · Feb 12, 2010

Aviatrix said:
brian_bp said:

The 2005 technical manual component diagram for the "power slide door" shows a "Power Slide Door Touch Sensor Assembly" on the leading edge, and I have extracted a portion of that diagram to post here. Now I need to have a look at our (2004) Sienna - it probably just looked like trim to me.

Click to expand...

Do you have a similar diagram for the liftgate? I found the sensor on the side doors and verified they do indeed reverse the door, but I can't locate one on the liftgate.

The sensors are on the edge of the hatch... next to the struts. They work (or are supposed to) work in the exact same manner. A touch of the finger.

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shineysideup

· #18 · Feb 22, 2010

The sensor is on the edge of the door. It does look like the seal but it is actually the sensor. Touch at the edge of the window and you will find it.

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