Problems · by component
2005 Toyota Sienna electronic stability control (esc) problems
42 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2005 Toyota Sienna cite electronic stability control (esc), 4% of all 1,130 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
42
4% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the electronic stability control (esc)
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“I HAVE A TOYOTA SIENNA 2005, MILEAGE 178000, SLIP INDICATOR TURNS ON RANDOMLY AND CAUSING THE CAR LOST CONTROL. IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WHEN IT HAPPENED OUT OF ZERO WARNING. IT'S NOT ONLY SCARE ME BUT ALSO MY CHILDREN IN THE CAR. IT HAS BEEN HAPPENED FOR OVER A YEAR SINCE SEPT. 2019. IT USUALLY HAPPENS WHEN DRIVING ON DRY CURVING ROADS AT SPEEDS 35-75 MPH. WHEN IT HAPPENED, THE ANTILOCK BRAKES ENGAGE, SLIP INDICATOR LIGHT COMES ON, AND ALARM SOUNDS, THE CAR'S BRAKES GRAB AND PULLS THE CAR TO THE SIDE. IT HAPPENS RANDOMLY, GOES AWAY, AND BACK TO NORMAL. I HAVE SENT THE MINI VAN TO A FEW MECHANICS FOR MULTIPLE TIMES BUT THEY CAN'T FIND OUT WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT. I HAVE REPLACED 4 BRAND NEW TIRES, DONE THE ZERO-POINT-CALIBRATION, MECHANICS COULDN'T FIND CODES FOR THE ISSUES, THEY HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING TO DIAGNOSE AND FIX THE PROBLEMS BUT IT JUST NEVER WORK. I LOVE MY MINI VAN BUT NOW I FEEL VERY UNSAFE TO DRIVE MY FAMILY WITH THIS MINI VAN. IT BOTHERS ME A LOT WHEN DRIVING THIS MINI VAN. MY ANXIETY LEVEL GO UP, ESPECIALLY, WHEN DRIVING ON CURVING ROADS. I WISH THIS SAFETY COMPLAINT WOULD CATCH THE ATTENTION. HOPEFULLY, TOYOTA WOULD RECALL THE VEHICLES AND FIX THE…”
“I'VE ONLY HAD THE VAN FOR 5 MONTHS AND THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED OVER A DOZEN TIMES, BEGINNING WITH THE DAY I BOUGHT IT. AND EVERY TIME THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED I'VE BEEN DRIVING ON DRY ROADS. IT USUALLY HAPPENS WHEN DRIVING AROUND A CORNER, ANYWHERE FROM 35-65 MPH, FAR. ALL OF A SUDDEN THE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT STARTS BEEPING, THE BRAKES ENGAGE ON THEIR OWN, AND THEN ENGINE MAKES A LOUD NOISE (LIKELY DOWNSHIFTING ITSELF). IT'S AS THOUGH THE VEHICLE THINKS IT IS SLIPPING, EVEN THOUGH IT IS NOT, I DRIVE VERY CAUTIOUSLY SO IT'S NOT ME FLYING AROUND A CORNER SUPER FAST, IT ALSO HAPPENS WHEN MY PARTNER DRIVES THE VAN AS WELL. I FINALLY TOOK THE VAN TO A MECHANIC AND THEY TOLD ME IT WAS THE STEERING ANGLE SENSOR THAT WAS FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, SO I SPENT $900 TO HAVE IT REPLACED. I'VE HAD THE VAN BACK FOR LESS THEN 2 WEEKS AND JUST TRIED TO TAKE IT ON A ROAD TRIP, GOT ABOUT AN HOUR FROM OUR HOUSE AND IT DID IT AGAIN 3 TIMES IN LESS THEN 15 MINUTES, AGAIN DRIVING ON DRY PAVEMENT AND WHEN DRIVING ON A WINDY HIGHWAY. IT'S TERRIFYING WHEN THIS HAPPENS ESPECIALLY BECAUSE IT ALWAYS HAPPENS WHEN WE'RE GOING AROUND A CORNER, IT'S VERY DANGEROUS AND SCARY. IT…”
“I HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE TRACTION CONTROL. THE LIGHT WILL RANDOMLY TURN ON, WHICH BRAKES THE WHEELS. THE SYSTEM WILL START BEEPING AND SAYING A FALSE TRACTION CONTROL PROBLEM. (WHEN THE ROAD IS CLEAR) I LOOKED ONLINE MANY TOYOTA SIENNAS HAVE THIS ISSUE. IT IS DANGEROUS AND SHOULD BE RECALLED TO BE FIXED!”
“CONTINUOUS ISSUES WITH TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM ALMOST DAILY. ANY TIME VEHICLE VEERS TOWARDS THE RIGHT ANTI-SLIP INDICATOR LIGHT, ALARM SOUNDS AND ABS SYSTEM ACTIVATES. THIS HAPPENS ALMOST DAILY, ON DRY ROADS, GOING DOWNHILL OR ON A CURVE, EVEN WHILE SWITCHING LANES NOW. THIS HAPPENS ABOVE 20 MPH. DRIVING BECOMES STRESSFUL AND WORRY-SOME WHEN ALARM BEGINS TO SOUND AND DASH LIGHT COME ON. FEAR OF LOSING CONTROL BECOMES GREAT, FEAR FOR YOUR PASSENGERS SAFETY AS WELL AS OTHER DRIVERS SAFETY BECOMES REAL. DURING THE PAST 3 MONTHS THERE HAVE BEEN 5 SEPARATE INCIDENTS IN WHICH THE VEHICLE HAS LOST ACCELERATION, PULLS STEERING IN ONE DIRECTION AND SUDDEN BREAK LOCK OCCURS. 2 OF WHICH TOOK PLACE ON THE FREEWAY ON RAMP AT A SPEED OF 35MPH, 1 DRIVING DOWNHILL, SLIGHTLY TOWARDS THE RIGHT, AT A SPEED IF 20MPH AND THE LAST 2 WHILE SWITCHING LANES, 35 MPH. VEHICLE BEGAN LOSING POWER AND SLOWING INSTEAD OF INCREASING SPEED. THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS ISSUE WITH MANY DRIVERS IN MANY AREAS. WHY ISN'T THIS BEING INVESTIGATED? *TR”
“THE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM IS ACTIVATING IMPROPERLY. THE VEHICLE'S ANTI-SLIP INDICATOR WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATES; AN ALARM SOUNDS; THE ABS SYSTEM ACTIVATES; AND THE VEHICLE SOMETIMES LOSES POWER. THIS HAPPENS ON DRY ROADS, MOST COMMONLY EITHER GOING DOWNHILL OR ELSE ON A CURVE, EVEN A MILD ONE. THIS HAPPENS ABOVE 20 MPH. WHEN IT HAPPENS, THE COMBINATION OF ALERTS AND SENSATIONS ARE VERY STARTLING TO THE DRIVER, CREATING A DANGEROUS SITUATION. IT HAS OCCURRED WHILE TRYING TO ACCELERATE TO MERGE ONTO A HIGHWAY. THIS WAS EXCEPTIONALLY DANGEROUS AS THE VEHICLE BEGAN LOSING POWER AND VEHICLES BEHIND US ALMOST HIT US FROM BEHIND AS WE WERE SLOWING INSTEAD OF INCREASING SPEED. FROM MY INTERNET SEARCHES (INCLUDING NHTSA COMPLAINTS), THIS APPEARS TO BE A RECURRING ISSUE WITH THIS MAKE/MODEL/YEAR RANGE. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR THE PAST 3 MONTHS. OUR VEHICLE HAS APPROXIMATELY 135,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER.”
“A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, MY 2005 SIENNA'S VSC WARNING LIGHTS, ALARMS AND BRAKING WOULD COME ON WHILE GOING AROUND TURNS. MY CAR HAD NEW TIRES, WHEELS WERE BALANCED AND ALIGNED. IT'S SCARY AND DANGEROUS WHEN THE BRAKES ENGAGE. I'M NOT GOING AROUND SHARP TURNS AT HIGH RATES OF SPEED. DOZENS OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE EXACTLY THE SAME EXPERIENCE, AND WHEN THE BRAKES ENGAGE, IT YANKS THE CAR HARD, AND HAS ALMOST CAUSED ACCIDENTS TO ME AND OTHERS. THIS HAPPENS TO ME ON A REGULAR BASIS. THE ONLY WAY TO AVOID IT IS TO SLOW DOWN TO LESS THAN 40MPH ON SOME TURNS, WHICH IS DANGEROUS WHEN THE SPEED LIMIT IS 65. HERE'S A LINK TO THE MANY OTHER PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCE WITH THIS EXACT SAME THING. THIS IS A LIABILITY AND TOYOTA REALLY NEEDS TO TAKE ACTION HERE. HTTPS://WWW.CARGURUS.COM/CARS/DISCUSSION-C9152_DS656326?SNTEMLID=4322597535#MSG1051125”
Showing 6 of 42 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.