[Pharmcat7]

Hi,
I bought a brand new 2019 Sienna XLE. It does have a lot of miles on it now, 98,000. My wife does drive it a lot. But this shouldn't make any difference concerning the lift gate though. Right when it was out of warranty, the lift gate started kick back. Took it to the dealership and of course they wouldn't do anything about it. It was only 35 miles over the warranty. I started looking to see if I could figure it out. Well the sensor on the left side was barely touching the tail light, so the hatch would kick back. Also, the spoiler was not even with the body. It was higher than the body about a 1/4 inch. This caused the spoiler to hit the body and was rubbing the paint off the spoiler. Raising the other side of the gate with washers under the hinge did stop the sensor from hitting the taillight, but made the rubbing worse. So I took them off. Eventually, problem got worse and starting to leak water. I took it back to Toyota dealership, they quoted me 3,100$ to fix it!! I told them they were crazy! They said the gear assembly gears were stripped and it needed a new rod (it was loose). Also, it needed new sensors for each side, really? And it needed new strut rods that they were leaking, I don't think so. Does anyone have any suggestion on how to proceed? If I had gotten the extended warranty the repair would have been covered. I'm very disappointed with Toyota. Their quality control has gone down hill. Terrible. My wife won't buy another Toyota ever!

 

[jareza]

Hi,
I bought a brand new 2019 Sienna XLE. It does have a lot of miles on it now, 98,000. My wife does drive it a lot. But this shouldn't make any difference concerning the lift gate though. Right when it was out of warranty, the lift gate started kick back. Took it to the dealership and of course they wouldn't do anything about it. It was only 35 miles over the warranty. I started looking to see if I could figure it out. Well the sensor on the left side was barely touching the tail light, so the hatch would kick back. Also, the spoiler was not even with the body. It was higher than the body about a 1/4 inch. This caused the spoiler to hit the body and was rubbing the paint off the spoiler. Raising the other side of the gate with washers under the hinge did stop the sensor from hitting the taillight, but made the rubbing worse. So I took them off. Eventually, problem got worse and starting to leak water. I took it back to Toyota dealership, they quoted me 3,100$ to fix it!! I told them they were crazy! They said the gear assembly gears were stripped and it needed a new rod (it was loose). Also, it needed new sensors for each side, really? And it needed new strut rods that they were leaking, I don't think so. Does anyone have any suggestion on how to proceed? If I had gotten the extended warranty the repair would have been covered. I'm very disappointed with Toyota. Their quality control has gone down hill. Terrible. My wife won't buy another Toyota ever!
View attachment 60144 View attachment 60144 View attachment 60144

Not a Toyota Fanboy, not going to say that toyota quality has gone downhill IN SOME AREAS.
I would call toyota HQ and explain the situation. If not, then go to one of those stereo shops, they deal with these types of things.
Someone here explained that changing the sensors was a stupid amount of money, so they ended up soldering a resistor to the sensor wiring and that remedied the issue.
Also remember that stealerships are independent from toyota, give toyota a chance first

 

[Pharmcat7]

Thanks, I’ll give Toyota a try. We were just shocked at the price of the repair cost. I’ll figure something out. Wife was really irritated. I happened to like Toyotas. I have a 2002 Highlander Limited and have kept it up. Maintenance, paint, put in new leather seats and sound system, trim pieces, etc. It had really been a good SUV

 

[goldenpiggy]

I'm on my 3rd gen 3 Sienna. The first (2012 - bought new) had no issues with the tailgate. In fact, the original struts were still good after 9 years and 150K miles. The 2nd (a high mileage used '18) had severe alignment issues that it sometimes wouldn't latch close or would pop back. Being out of warranty, I realigned it myself and had no issue. My current one (used '18), has slight alignment issue but latches close 99% of the time. Once in a blue moon it squeaks and squeals and would not latch. Will look at it in the spring.

The hinges seemed a bit under-engineered given the weight of the tailgate, but at least they're easy to realign.

 

[Pharmcat7]

I'm going to replace the hinges and struts to see if that will help the alignment. Then replace the actuator if needed, I don't know if the rod will need replacing or not. The sensors should be fine. They are outrageously priced! But so is everything now.

 

[3Wheelerguy]

Interested to hear about the rear hinges on it. Kinda thinking that is the issue.

 

[Pharmcat7]

The hinges look fine, but I think they need to be little more substantial. You can't see if they are bent any at all. Over time with the hatch hitting the striker and bouncing back, it could warp them. The spoiler is higher than the body about 1/8 to 1/4 inch on the left side. That was enough to move the sensor to the left and thus barely touching the tail light and it kicks back. I tried to put a washer on the right hinge to even door out, it worked, but then the spoiler hit top of van and rubbed the paint. So back to square one. So going to try new hinges, struts, etc.

 

[3Wheelerguy]

Ok. Report back on your findings. Stuff is bent. Once you find the issue. You may need to remove washers ETC.

 

[jareza]

The hinges look fine, but I think they need to be little more substantial. You can't see if they are bent any at all. Over time with the hatch hitting the striker and bouncing back, it could warp them. The spoiler is higher than the body about 1/8 to 1/4 inch on the left side. That was enough to move the sensor to the left and thus barely touching the tail light and it kicks back. I tried to put a washer on the right hinge to even door out, it worked, but then the spoiler hit top of van and rubbed the paint. So back to square one. So going to try new hinges, struts, etc.

Just a thought, before replacing the hinges, maybe loose them a little and try to adjust maybe thats the ticket... If that does not change anything then go for new hinges

 

[jareza]

I would also recommend these shocks
Amazon.com: A-Premium Rear Tailgate Lift Supports Shock Struts Compatible with Toyota Sienna 2011-2017 with Power Liftgate : Automotive
I used them on my gen 3 and had no issues with them.
I have no idea why it says 2011 to 2017 but AFAIL they are the same on GEN3s