Glad to have come across this thread. I'm gonna be putting in (DIY) new struts in my 2004 XLE Ltd this summer. Might end up replacing the control arms given what I've read here and since I'll be most of the way in there anyway. 7 years is getting kinda long for bushings anyway. Wish there was a poly solution to just replace the bushings. I have a press and can easily do that if I had the parts. And WTH I might as well do the ball joints to so I could be done with that. Unfortunately I'm gonna have the Sienna for a while so might as well get it well set up for a while. Also...as others have posted above....I'm noticing a bit more wear on the passenger side too..could be early signs of bushing probs...or the ball joint.
Lastly,....as a few have posted above....while this is my first Toyota...guaranteed it'll be my last. Been nothin but problems...though I do understand all I've posted above is fairly normal wear and tear. Just had a litany of other problems.
I brought my 2001 Sienna with about 95,000 miles to the dealer today for the recall on the spare tire cable, to change the ignition key cylinder and while he has it, do a state inspection also.
Replacing the cylinder is $362. He first old me I had to replace all 4 locks for $904 - said it is a set of cylinders. When I pressed him, he told me I could just do the ignition. Had no choice - most times the key won't turn.
Then he told me I must replace the tires and lower control arm bushings (which caused the tire wear) I passed on the tires and he wanted $1,438. Neither was required to pass the state inspection. Needless to say, I passed onthe bushings as well. I'll have my regular non-toyota mechanic take a look at them - at least I can trust him to be honest about it.
I just thank the lord that he called me and not my wife with the news, else I would be $2500 poorer right now.
After owning three Nissans and a Honda, we went with Toyota on our last two vehicles because we fell in love with the style/features. This was a mistake as we had 100% great vehicles from Nissan and Honda.
Our 2003 Highlander has been ok, but it only has 70,000 miles on it.
But the 2004 Sienna has spent many nights in "the hospital". Our short list of repairs (not including the minor recalls):
1. Toyota trailer hitch replaced twice because it bumps the ground. I finally added a lift kit to solve the problem.
2. Door "catch" on driver side has broken twice. Toyota sent us to a body shop that charged us $350 to fix the first time and after it broke again, we paid a welder $50 to fix it. Toyota just tack welded the catch to the door -- I feel much better about our full weld seam we go the 2nd time from our own welder.
3. Back door does not close automatically when it is cold or after left open for a while. Already replaced the gas lifts once.
4. Battery dies very quickly with an open door. Not a Toyota problem neccessarily, but when you build a car with 100 interior lights that can kill a batter in an hour, you should have a fail safe.
5. Radiator sprung a leak : $750
6. ENGINE DIED at 117,000 miles. [My three Nissans had between 135,000 and 170,000 miles on them and ran smoothly. I sold one to my brother who drove one of them for another five years without problems.] Toyota claims the failed engine was due to not changing the oil regularly and so sludge formed. Odd, as I have four cars right now and they all get oil changes together, but only this one failed. Cost: $5,000 for a used engine.
7. Front steering rack: Cost $500, but only because they already had the engine out.
8. LOWER CONTROL ARMS: We have not replaced these yet. I was told that they could just replace the bushings but that it would cost about $700 (parts and labor).
9. Sienna started burning oil after about 2 years (about 50,000 miles).
10. When the engine was being replaced, the mechanic showed me where the front and rear seals were leaking and he said it looked like it has been going on for a very long time. That explains the oil drips on the driveway -- and that has been going on for at least five years.
11. We had several other problems that had technical service bulletins published on them, but that Toyota refused to fix for free as they only included the fix if the car was still under the 36,000/3 yr warranty.
Have NOT had a problem with brakes, although the Sienna does seem to go through tires quickly. I was told that was a common problem with mini-vans.
The only thing that has not given us problems is the side electric doors -- and that was the only thing I was worried about breaking.
I will never buy another Toyota. Next time I'm going Kia or Hyundai, or, back to Nissan (which still has the smoothest running engines made!).
After owning three Nissans and a Honda, we went with Toyota on our last two vehicles because we fell in love with the style/features. This was a mistake as we had 100% great vehicles from Nissan and Honda.
Our 2003 Highlander has been ok, but it only has 70,000 miles on it.
But the 2004 Sienna has spent many nights in "the hospital". Our short list of repairs (not including the minor recalls):
1. Toyota trailer hitch replaced twice because it bumps the ground. I finally added a lift kit to solve the problem.
2. Door "catch" on driver side has broken twice. Toyota sent us to a body shop that charged us $350 to fix the first time and after it broke again, we paid a welder $50 to fix it. Toyota just tack welded the catch to the door -- I feel much better about our full weld seam we go the 2nd time from our own welder.
3. Back door does not close automatically when it is cold or after left open for a while. Already replaced the gas lifts once.
4. Battery dies very quickly with an open door. Not a Toyota problem neccessarily, but when you build a car with 100 interior lights that can kill a batter in an hour, you should have a fail safe.
5. Radiator sprung a leak : $750
6. ENGINE DIED at 117,000 miles. [My three Nissans had between 135,000 and 170,000 miles on them and ran smoothly. I sold one to my brother who drove one of them for another five years without problems.] Toyota claims the failed engine was due to not changing the oil regularly and so sludge formed. Odd, as I have four cars right now and they all get oil changes together, but only this one failed. Cost: $5,000 for a used engine.
7. Front steering rack: Cost $500, but only because they already had the engine out.
8. LOWER CONTROL ARMS: We have not replaced these yet. I was told that they could just replace the bushings but that it would cost about $700 (parts and labor).
9. Sienna started burning oil after about 2 years (about 50,000 miles).
10. When the engine was being replaced, the mechanic showed me where the front and rear seals were leaking and he said it looked like it has been going on for a very long time. That explains the oil drips on the driveway -- and that has been going on for at least five years.
11. We had several other problems that had technical service bulletins published on them, but that Toyota refused to fix for free as they only included the fix if the car was still under the 36,000/3 yr warranty.
Have NOT had a problem with brakes, although the Sienna does seem to go through tires quickly. I was told that was a common problem with mini-vans.
The only thing that has not given us problems is the side electric doors -- and that was the only thing I was worried about breaking.
I will never buy another Toyota. Next time I'm going Kia or Hyundai, or, back to Nissan (which still has the smoothest running engines made!).
Some have had good luck with Sienna's...but I sense that most have not. My 04 XLE Ltd is the first and last Toyota I'll ever buy. Won't bother listing all the issues I've had. Meantime...+1 on Nissan...My '97 Pathfinder is about 160K miles and the engine is so quiet you barely know it is on...virtually no problems since the day I bought it 14+ years ago. Still doesn't drip or burn a drop of oil.
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