Problems · by component
2004 Toyota Sienna electrical system problems
132 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2004 Toyota Sienna cite electrical system, 6% of all 2,062 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
132
6% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
5
Reported by owners
Injuries
4
Reported by owners
What owners say about the electrical system
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the tailgate inadvertently opened, then closed independently. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the tailgate hydraulic struts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that she noticed that the failure had reoccurred in 30-degree temperatures on two occasions. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.”
“The failing component is the VSC/ABS system. It puts the occupants of the van and other motorists at risk of either causing a collision or causing the driver of vehicle in question to be unable to control the vehicle . The failure appears when going in a curve in the road at low speed causing the abs to engage lock the brakes and steering wheel rapidly decelerating the car and causing the car to jerk to one side or the other and go into a skid where the driver is unable to control the wheel due to steering wheel locking up when it happens the VSC and TRAC lights come on and there is a loud and rapid beeping that can be heard inside the vehicle. The issue usually appear when going between 25-40mph in banking curves”
“While driving on dry freeway or other stable road conditions, the Electronic Stability Control kicks in, braked hard, causing the van to swerve, and the lights on the dash started flashing, accompanied by a loud beeping. This has happened multiple times now. There is no reason for this to be occurring. It is involuntary, sudden, and random. If someone were close behind me, they could rear-end the vehicle. It also sometimes pulls the steering so hard that it swerves into the other lane. This is a serious safety issue that Toyota needs to deal with.”
“THE VSC SYSTEM IS ENABLING WHILE DRIVING AND MAKING A TURN ON AN OTHERWISE NORMAL ROAD. WHEN IT ENABLES, IT APPLIES THE BRAKE AND SOUNDS A REPEATING ALARM. THE SYSTEM APPLIES THE BRAKE WHILE I AM ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A TURN, AND THIS MAKES ME FEEL UNSAFE, AS IF I HAVE TEMPORARILY LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE WHILE MAKING AN OTHERWISE BENIGN MANEUVER. THE REPEATING ALARM DOES NOT TURN OFF UNTIL I HAVE TURNED THE WHEEL TO THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION FROM THE INITIAL TURN ANGLE. THIS MEANS IF THE TURN IS SLOW, THE ALARM WILL SOUND FOR THE ENTIRE DISTANCE OF THE TURN.”
“STARTED HAVING PROBLEM WITH THE DOORS ON THE VAN THE FRONT DOOR WAS THE FIRST PROBLEM WITH A FAILED DOOR CHEEK CAUSING THE DOOR NOT TO BE ABLE TO BE OPENED HAD TO FORCE IT OPEN AND REMOVE THE DOOR CHEEK DUE TO A WELD THAT HAD BROKEN AWAY FROM THE DOOR IS WHY IT FAILED AND THE SECOND WAS THE POWER SLIDING DOOR ON THE PASSENGER SIDE THE DOOR QUITE WORKING AND THEN WHEN SWITCHED INTO THE MANUAL MODE I WAS UNABLE TO GET THE DOOR TO CLOSE OR IT WOULD CLOSE THEM COME BACK OPEN IT TOOK ALMOST A HOUR TO GET IT TO CLOSE AND STAY CLOSED. THIS BEING THE CAR I TRANSPORT MY KIDS IN THAT'S A BIG SAFETY ISSUE TO ME KNOWING THE DOOR MAY NOT WORK OR MAY NOT SAY CLOSED WHILE DRIVING PLEASE HELP.”
“THE SIDE DOORS HAVE A BUTTON YOU CAN PUSH FOR THEM TO OPEN. I WENT TO OPEN AND SHUT MY DAUGHTER DOOR AND IT WOULD NOT SHUT AFTER LOOKING IT OVER THE WIRE THAT COMES IN AND OUT FOR THE DOORS TO SHUT GOT STUCK IN THE O PART THAT THE CORD RETRACTS TO.BECAUSE OF THIS MY DOOR WOULD NOT CLOSE MANUALLY OR AUTOMATIC PUSHING THE BUTTON. I AM ALSO HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE CONTROL PANEL WHERE THE FUSES ARE UNDER THE HOOD. ONE FUSE GETS FIXED ANOTHER ONE BREAKS. I HAVE CONFIRMED THIS WITH A AUTO SHOP THE PROBLEM IS WITHIN THE CONTROL PANEL.”
Showing 6 of 132 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.