2002 Toyota Sienna — Known Issues & Recalls

About a week after your gear shift was repaired at a Toyota dealer, your steering completely failed—the steering wheel turned but the wheels didn't respond. A bolt in the steering joint had come loose during the gear shift repair. The dealer re-tightened the bolt and added thread-locking compound to secure it. This type of steering failure could be dangerous if it happens at highway speeds.

Your gear shift is getting stuck and won't move out of Park or Drive, though the problem comes and goes sporadically. A mechanic determined that the steering column needs to be replaced to fix this issue. Replacing the steering column is a significant repair that requires removing and reinstalling the entire column assembly.

Your driver's side sliding door stopped working both electrically and manually. After cutting the cable to force it open, both sliding doors now refuse to open electronically, though you can still open them by hand. The problem likely involves a broken cable or failed door latch mechanism that needs replacement or repair.

Your passenger side sliding door has intermittently failed to open or close using any of the three control methods (interior button, exterior handle, or dashboard button) since November 2008, and has been completely stuck since December 2012. Your manual driver side rear door has also stopped opening from either the interior or exterior in the past year and a half, trapping passengers who must climb over seats to enter or exit. Your Toyota dealer recommends replacing the ECU (engine control unit) for $1,730 installed, but you've found reports online suggesting this may not solve the problem. The repair will likely require diagnostic testing and replacement of the door latch actuators and/or ECU, along than door wiring harness inspection.

Your van's door locks are engaging and disengaging on their own without anyone touching them, even while you're driving or when the van is parked and off. This constant locking and unlocking is draining your battery. Since this happens while driving with children in the vehicle, you're concerned about the safety risk of doors unlocking unexpectedly. The fix will likely involve diagnosing and repairing the door lock actuator system or its electrical control module.

Your vehicle is showing a P0420 diagnostic trouble code (related to the catalytic converter system) that's preventing you from passing your smog check inspection. Even though your check engine light isn't on, your OBD2 scanner is detecting this emission-related code. According to some research, updating your vehicle's engine control module (ECM) may clear this code and allow you to pass inspection and renew your registration.

Your passenger sliding door cable snapped, preventing the door from closing completely. This happened while you were stopped at a traffic light. The door will need to be manually inspected and the cable mechanism repaired or replaced to restore normal operation.

Your door handles are breaking off during normal use due to an electrical malfunction in the door mechanism. The handles appear to have a design flaw that causes them to fail prematurely. Fixing this would likely require replacing the door handle assembly and investigating the underlying electrical issue causing the problem.

While your Sienna was parked on a small incline with the engine off and emergency brake engaged, the vehicle suddenly rolled backward and hit a fence post. A child was in the vehicle at the time, though no one was injured. The dealer found that the transmission had a mechanical failure, but couldn't determine the exact cause. The fix will likely require transmission inspection and repair or replacement to restore proper holding power.

Your car has experienced two incidents of unexpected acceleration. In the first incident, when you released the accelerator while turning on a city street, your car accelerated on its own up to 35 mph for several blocks. In the second incident, while parking in your driveway, your engine roared and the car lurched forward even though you had your foot on the brake. The fix may involve inspecting the throttle control system, fuel injectors, or brake components.

When you're driving with cruise control on and lightly tap the brakes, your car suddenly accelerates unexpectedly and alarmingly. You've taken the car to the dealer multiple times over the years, including recently in 2014, but they haven't been able to fix the problem despite trying various solutions. This is a serious safety concern because a new owner might not know to turn off cruise control before braking. The fix will likely involve diagnosing and repairing the cruise control and brake system interaction, which may require replacement of faulty sensors or control modules.

Your vehicle was hit from behind while stopped, which pushed it into the car ahead. Your airbags did not deploy during this two-vehicle collision, and you and your front passenger sustained injuries as a result. The vehicle was declared a total loss. This failure occurred at approximately 92,700 miles.

While driving to a restaurant, you noticed heavy smoke coming from under the hood. After opening the hood, you found more smoke and disconnected the battery. A mechanic determined the fire was in the power steering pump and advised you to take the car to a dealer, noting this is a safety issue that may be subject to recall. You want to know if this is covered under warranty or recall.

Your Sienna's passenger-side rear shock absorber has a lower mount that has cracked over time due to its thin, hollow metal construction. This mount has internal threads and cannot be replaced separately—you'll need to buy the entire shock absorber assembly, which costs around $1,688. Fixing this will require replacing the complete rear shock absorber unit rather than just the damaged mount.

Your steering wheel becomes stiff and difficult to turn. This makes it harder to maneuver the vehicle, especially at lower speeds or when parking.

Your air conditioning system is leaking water, and your SRS airbag warning light has come on. The vehicle was eventually repaired under an extended warranty. The issue occurred at around 24,000 miles.

When you shifted from reverse to drive and accelerated, your engine didn't respond normally at first. After pressing the gas pedal harder, the engine suddenly began revving excessively and continued revving even when you pressed the brake pedal—the car kept moving forward. Putting the car in neutral didn't stop the revving, and your floor mat and foot position weren't obstructing the pedals. The issue resolved after you briefly tapped the gas pedal again and released it. This suggests a problem with the fuel system's throttle response or idle control that caused unintended engine acceleration.

Your check engine light is turning on and off intermittently. Additionally, your sliding door is not operating properly. These issues may require diagnostic testing to identify the underlying causes affecting your engine sensors and door actuator system.

Your brakes squeal and thump when you're slowing down to a stop, and this noise has been happening since 15,523 miles. Mechanics have cleaned and replaced the rear drums multiple times, and the noise goes away temporarily after cleaning, but it keeps coming back. The brake pads appear to have plenty of wear left, but the problem persists. The fix may involve a more thorough inspection of the brake drum assembly, hardware, or backing plates to address the root cause of the noise.

Your electric sliding door opens but won't close properly and gets stuck in the open position. This means you can't reliably secure the door while driving or parked. The repair will likely involve inspecting and replacing the electric door actuator or motor mechanism.