There are two methods to sense an object in the way of the closing door:
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.
- 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.
