[Elsie01]

Add me to the list too. We are the original owners of a 2004 Sienna XLE of which we have had serviced on a regular basis and have replaced/repaired items as needed.
The traction control has engaged four times, once each in September and October 2015, and twice in the last ten days (January 2016). Three out of four times the van was traveling on dry pavement, all four times traveling between 35-45 mph. The first time it happened it scared the heck out of me. The van seized up (braked on its own) and an internal audible alarm sounded (after owning the van almost 12 years I was quite surprised to learn there was an internal alarm). I immediately pulled over, got out and check the tires, looked under the van, and while I didn’t open the hood there wasn’t any steam, hissing sounds or sounds of fluid draining. I got back in and proceeded with caution to my destination. I then took the van to our independent mechanic, with whom I took a drive with as he ran diagnostics on the - unfortunately nothing showed up. After the second time, our mechanic did some research and learned the problem was probably due to a faulty sensor. He has recommended (which my husband agrees with) disconnecting traction control, since after owning the van for twelve years we’ve never been in a situation where we need traction control to engage. I have been hesitant to have it disconnected but after the last two incidents I worry that I could get into an accident if this was to happen again, especially if someone is following to closely or going through an intersection with on coming cars heading towards me. VERY SCARY. I have reported this to NHTSA. I also mentioned to my local Toyota dealer and at least one of the employees was familiar with the problem. We didn't get into a discussion about the problem as he was not a service tech and I was at the dealership regarding the dashboard recall. I plan on calling the local dealership tomorrow to further discuss this issue. I sure hope Toyota does the right thing by us vehicle owners.

 

[axlerose]

My 08 Sienna had a similar problem where VSV and a bunch of other lights illuminated. After 2 or 3 unsuccessful attempts by the dealership I insisted (not so politely) a more qualified Toyota technician (they had roving super techs at the time that they could call in) troubleshoot on my next visit. After driving around with a diagnostic monitoring computer connected, they determined it was a bad sensor (I think it was a bad air qty sensor in the air intake side of the house). They explained that when the ECS determined the sensor was faulty, degraded/limp home mode was activated, which disabled the VSV/traction control functions. They replaced the sensor, and no problems for the last 7 yrs.
Hope this helps.

 

[chzpopcorn]

What was your resolution, if any?

 

[joemama]

I had this problem with my 2006 Sienna and it took a long time to finally isolate it.

Long story short: the fix for me was to replace the Rack and Pinion. I can't commend my local mechanic enough for finding this after others couldn't.

Have your mechanic look underneath at the rack while someone turns the steering wheel left and right while the car is on the ground. If there is play in the rack it is probably because the bushings are shot. If you do a search for a Sienna rack you will find they can be as cheap as $250 for rebuilt and new ones could run about $750. It should take a mechanic about 3 hours to replace it, so the low end would be about $600 total for the repair. You will need to align the car afterwards.

The sensor alarm stopped going off after this fix. This kind of makes sense if the steering angle sensor is getting a false read from the rack slipping. An indication that this could be your problem is if you notice more play in your steering wheel while driving.

 

[lmbw2005]

Add me to the list too. We are the original owners of a 2004 Sienna XLE of which we have had serviced on a regular basis and have replaced/repaired items as needed.
The traction control has engaged four times, once each in September and October 2015, and twice in the last ten days (January 2016). Three out of four times the van was traveling on dry pavement, all four times traveling between 35-45 mph. The first time it happened it scared the heck out of me. The van seized up (braked on its own) and an internal audible alarm sounded (after owning the van almost 12 years I was quite surprised to learn there was an internal alarm). I immediately pulled over, got out and check the tires, looked under the van, and while I didn’t open the hood there wasn’t any steam, hissing sounds or sounds of fluid draining. I got back in and proceeded with caution to my destination. I then took the van to our independent mechanic, with whom I took a drive with as he ran diagnostics on the - unfortunately nothing showed up. After the second time, our mechanic did some research and learned the problem was probably due to a faulty sensor. He has recommended (which my husband agrees with) disconnecting traction control, since after owning the van for twelve years we’ve never been in a situation where we need traction control to engage. I have been hesitant to have it disconnected but after the last two incidents I worry that I could get into an accident if this was to happen again, especially if someone is following to closely or going through an intersection with on coming cars heading towards me. VERY SCARY. I have reported this to NHTSA. I also mentioned to my local Toyota dealer and at least one of the employees was familiar with the problem. We didn't get into a discussion about the problem as he was not a service tech and I was at the dealership regarding the dashboard recall. I plan on calling the local dealership tomorrow to further discuss this issue. I sure hope Toyota does the right thing by us vehicle owners.

Did you find a solution to this problem? I have had the same problem and it has limited my driving to very short local trips, not highways or sharp curves. So far I am batting zero and all I want to do is find out where to disconnect this control. Any help such as where is the YAW Sensor would be appreciated. ( Original owner of 2005 Toyota Sienna AWD)

 

[Kristy5432]

I have a 2004 Sienna that does exactly the same thing. While driving over 30 miles an hour the VSC alarm will start beeping. There are several curves it consistently happens on. It also happens on the freeway on slight curves and often puts the ABS brakes on, lurching the occupants forward and pulling the vehicle to the side. We have been into the dealer/shop 5 times last year, twice serviced and nothing worked. The computer would not give them any codes to find the problem. They calibrated the YAW sensor, then next they replaced the sensor. It is getting worse and happens most days. I called Toyota headquarters and was told because the car is old and has a lot of miles, they would not pay to fix it. The dealer wants to replace the lower control arm bushings and the steering rack and shaft for $4300. They do not guarantee that will fix the problem. Not sure what those are. So I am searching the forums. To those that have had this problem, does this sound like what you had fixed? Was they problem resolved permanently?

 

[fibber2]

The more worn the suspension & steering components get, the more likely that this will happen. Anytime the computer 'believes' that the body is not tracking exactly where the steering wheel is turned, it will invoke one or two corner brakes to help coax it into the right arc. On an older van this will become problematic as everything gets loose. Drive a new van and yours back to back. If you can feel the sloppiness of it's handling, so can the computer.

The 2004 models are likely the most problematic of the series, given that there were a few TSB's related to components and software. It's unfortunately the typical story of any first year model (debugging it) and the first time Stability Control was used on the vans. Ideally they could 'numb' the system a bit so that it wasn't so fast to react, but I don't know of any way to do this. Disabling it likely means loosing your ABS system entirely.

You need to find an independent suspension shop that can objectively look at all your alignment, struts, shocks, bushings, links, ball joints, steering rack & it's mounts, and even your tires, along with the stability sensors.

This isn't going to be easy.... or cheap to fix.

 

[Johnxyz]

I would add this can be a very complicated problem to diagnose the root cause. The service manual has many many pages on diagnosing and repairing this problem. It can have many causes. A good repair place with an experienced competent repair person is very important.

They should be able to walk through the repair procedures in a methodically way to countermeasure this problem.

Also for this problem, it is probably unrealistic to expect a person to guarantee that a particular procedure or part replacement will eliminate this problem. The procedure is done such as replacing the wheel bearing it could expose a problem with the steering rack or suspension that wasn't apparent. Replacing a steering rack may allow a technician to then isolate a faulty intermittent sensor.

I hope you can find a professional repair facility and mechanic who will ride with you experience the problem first hand, then step by step work through the process of elimination and repair this for you.

 

[MTAtech]

I first had this problem three years ago, with the symptom being that the VSC would engage when going around a highway interchange circle at a fast clip. The problem was simply low air pressure in one of the front tires. After fixing the slow leak in the tire, the problem was solved until recently. The other day, it's the same problem but it occurs intermittently on straight highways and slight curves. It pulled the van to the right while engaging.

Yesterday, the right front tire needed air. I filled it and made sure it matched the left front tire. Then, I went for a 120 mile drive including highways. No problem at all.

Upon returning, I needed tires anyway and bought four Continental True Contact Eco Plus tires and had an alignment (which was needed.)

 

[hurst280]

my 2008 sienna (120,000M) had traction control kick in while on a curve. Sometimes the ABS would kick in, making the tick-tick sound that some posts have confused with CV joint problems. As the traction control problem got worse, power would also be removed from the engine. As with other folks, trips to the dealer and small shops resulted in diagnosis of CV joints, ball joints, steering column, rack, tie-rods, steering wheel angle sensor. of course, the shops all said different parts were the true problem. I investigated myself and could find no problems except for play in the rack mount bushings. ball joints, inner & outer tie-rods moved smoothly (no tears in the boots either). since Toyota does not sell the rack mount bushings separately, I purchased a new OEM rack ($515). I replaced the rack myself, it took about 4 hours and was not difficult. I did not have to lower the sub-frame or remove other stuff as shown in the youtube videos. Since I was changing the rack and inner tierods, I decided to also replace the outer tie-rod ends to avoid future work as well.

Problem solved. I also noticed that the steering became tighter (like it was when new).

This problem can be a money pit because a whole bunch of parts work together to keep the steering true and detect a traction problem. Additionally, clicking from the antilock brake can be mistaken for C/V problems, loss of engine power, and unexpected braking may result in wrong diagnosis by inexperienced/dishonest mechanics. Yaw, steering, and wheel speed sensors are also often blamed, but are less likely to be the problem (unless reported bad by diagnostics).

hope this helps!

 

[Tourmaline51]

We have the same problem. Toyota cannot replicate. Constant breaking and beeping regardless of weather, conditions, speed. Did you find a solution?

this happens to us ALL THE TIME and toyota refuses to acknowledge any problem see the video we got of it today...

toyota claims to never be able to replicate the issue, yet we caught it on iphone video 14 times on our drive today.

 

[SiennaSass]

Tourmaline51, I found an old Sienna Chat thread that offered a few workarounds for this problem, some of them cheaper and easier than others (I really liked the "loosen the gas cap" solution):

https://www.siennachat.com/threads/how-to-permanently-disable-vsc.4113/page-2

 

[figueroare]

I can tell you your problem is worn out rack and pinion bushings. There are enough treads about this issue. You can simply verify it by having someone turning the steering wheel side to side and you using a flash light point it at one of the rack mounting points (there are 2). If this is the problem you will see the rack moving like a 1/4 in out of the bracket. This is enough to full the steering angle sensor and think one wheel is slipping. Now the solutions 1- replace the worn out bushings with harder urethane ones (real PIA) or 2- replace the whole rack and pinion you can find a good one for around $200.00. A lot of people in this forum had use Dr. Rack. Hope this helps you out.

 

[O-Five]

I have a 2005 XLE. In the last month, I have had three instances where it did something very strange: Driving along, once freeway doing 65, once city street doing about 35, and once on a freeway on ramp at about 25, the traction control kicked in, the van braked, and the traction control light on dashboard came on with a beeping sound. I understand how the traction control works, but each time it was dry, level pavement, no rain, no gravel, no conditions that would necessitate the traction control. The last time it happened, the traction control was off, as I was driving it to the dealer to have it looked at. Dealer had it for two days and says they can't find anything wrong with it. Anyone else have this happen before?

Yes I took it to the dealer finally they discovered it was the steering axle. It took two mechanics one underneath looking at the steering actions and the other on tap moving the steering wheel back-and-forth while the car was elevated. The mechanics agreed steering axle was not functioning properly tripping the alarm sensor and causing my 2005 sienna to suddenly brake. It cost me about $1800 but the problem is fixed

 

[SoonerDave2]

Just tossing in some more experience in this... Had same problem on our 08 Sienna and the final fix was to replace the steering rack. Read a lot of posts about problems with reman racks so went OEM from a dealer in Georgia and got a Toyota rack for $488. Replaced it myself, did the zero-point calibration, then had it aligned. Problem eliminated.

I did the rack replacement myself, and did a video. Think I posted a link to it in another thread....

 

[lafamiliasmith]

Everyone having this problem, follow this link to file a vehicle safety complaint with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/. Hopefully with enough complaints this can be a recall, or at least find out what is causing the problem. It is definitely a safety issue.

 

[ALFAMAN]

has anyone seen this

 

[O-Five]

I have had some personal experience with this issue. I noted that in another message. I finally did have the problem figured out as it was not the traction control directly or the sensor, or the tires, but the steering axle. so if you haven't figured out what the issue is I can tell you how it was discovered. I took it to a shop I respect and they put it up on the rack so they could see the wheels spin from below and do their testing. Nothing was discovered but the sensor was tripped but they did not know why. They suggested the dealer after they charged me $170 to scratch their heads. I wasn't too upset about the money because it was a strange problem. So back to the dealership to find out more. They were stymied for a while until with the car on the rack and a second mechanic in the car hoisted above made steering wheel movements while the first mechanic watched below they as the steering wheel was operated and the steering axle was moving irregularly to cause the sensor to trip and activate the brakes automatically. The steering axle was replaced and the problem went away. I was relieved and have been without that issue since it was fixed. The dealer charged me $1800 (ouch!) but the car was erratic and getting dangerous so it needed to be done.

 

[debbielo]

the problem we have been haaving w sienna. over 12 phonecalls and multiple visits to the dealership w full warranty and we are constantly blown off.

I HAVE THE FIX!!!!! This was a nightmare for me and after MUCH research, taking my minivan to Toyota Dealer crooks, and 2 independent garages, I got it taken care of. I thought I was going to have to junk the vehicle, but much persistence, I got it fixed.

It was the rack and pinion bushings were badly worn. Replaced rack and pinion for $625 and all the problems were gone. No more alarm, bucking/braking, loss of acceleration. Sure hopes this helps someone else as it was a horrible experience and I will NEVER buy a Toyota again.

Best of luck to you.

 

[debbielo]

I have had some personal experience with this issue. I noted that in another message. I finally did have the problem figured out as it was not the traction control directly or the sensor, or the tires, but the steering axle. so if you haven't figured out what the issue is I can tell you how it was discovered. I took it to a shop I respect and they put it up on the rack so they could see the wheels spin from below and do their testing. Nothing was discovered but the sensor was tripped but they did not know why. They suggested the dealer after they charged me $170 to scratch their heads. I wasn't too upset about the money because it was a strange problem. So back to the dealership to find out more. They were stymied for a while until with the car on the rack and a second mechanic in the car hoisted above made steering wheel movements while the first mechanic watched below they as the steering wheel was operated and the steering axle was moving irregularly to cause the sensor to trip and activate the brakes automatically. The steering axle was replaced and the problem went away. I was relieved and have been without that issue since it was fixed. The dealer charged me $1800 (ouch!) but the car was erratic and getting dangerous so it needed to be done.

I HAVE THE FIX!!!!! This was a nightmare for me and after MUCH research, taking my minivan to Toyota Dealer crooks, and 2 independent garages, I got it taken care of. I thought I was going to have to junk the vehicle, but much persistence, I got it fixed.

It was the rack and pinion bushings were badly worn. Replaced rack and pinion for $625 and all the problems were gone. No more alarm, bucking/braking, loss of acceleration. Sure hopes this helps someone else as it was a horrible experience and I will NEVER buy a Toyota again.

Best of luck to you.