Problems · by component
2005 Toyota Sienna service brakes problems
38 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2005 Toyota Sienna cite service brakes, 3% of all 1,130 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
38
3% of all complaints
Crashes
3
Reported by owners
Fires
2
Reported by owners
Injuries
3
Reported by owners
What owners say about the service brakes
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“When driving on the highway, the van will suddenly brake and the steering will lock up for about 10 seconds. It is truly frightening. It has happened many times, even with the anti-lock button off. I love this vehicle otherwise, but cannot drive it for safety reasons. And I feel bad selling it to anyone else because I don't want anyone to die! The scariest part when it's on a windy 2 lane road. It really becomes non responsive and also the brakes come on when you are going 60+ miles an hour! HELP! I DONT WANT TO DIE”
“I was driving on a dry road, going 70mph when my car began flashing the abs indicator and it began breaking and controlling my steering taking me into another lane. The car slowed my vehicle suddenly down to 60 mph and then went off like it never happened. I then had control. There was no reason for the car to do this. There was nothing in the road and luckily no one was to close to me or there would have been an accident. I almost over corrected due to the pulling of the steering and the breaking of the vehicle.”
“I was driving on dry road at approximately 65mph. There was a very slight curve in the road and the ABS system engaged without warning resulting in the van power immediately decreasing and fishtailing. Fortunately there was no one immediately behind or beside me or it would have resulted in a collision. I am afraid to use the vehicle. Used a code reader and there are no stored codes.”
“When driving the speed limit, going downhill, uphill, straight, around a curve, in the rain or dry weather, the vsc and slip/trac lights up, the abs system is activated / brakes engage. I loose complete control of the van. I can no longer steer or break. The breaks engage, but it causes the car to veer to the right. I have taken the car to the mechanic 5 times now and no codes show, even after he is able to the vehicle to repeat this behavior. It seems to happen a lot on off/on ramps. It happens mostly on highways, but it has happened on two lane roads. The vehicle is completely dangerous to drive. It has almost caused several accidents. I have replaced the Yaw sensors and had several alignments and this still happens. After a lot of research, we have found that this is actually really common in Toyota Sienna. People are saying that the bushings in the rack in pinion wear out and the entire rack and pinion system needs to be replaced. Some people have replaced the rack and pinion and claim that there is still a problem. But the majority say after the rack and pinion is replaced there is not further problems.”
“ABS PUMP STOPPED WORKING. NO WARNING. BRAKES FAILED,RAN INTO MY GARAGE. TOOK TO LOCAL MECHANIC. HAD TO PUMP BREAKS TO GET IT THERE OR PAY TOWING COST. LEARNED OVER 2000.00 FOR THE PART. IT IS KNOW TO GO OUT HE SAID AND SHOUOD GAVE BEEN A RECALLED ITEM...”
“ABS BRAKE PUMP MODULE. WENT OUT CAUSING ACCIDENT. NO WARNING. ABS LIGHTS CAME ON. TOOK TO SHOP. DRAINING BATTERY,CAUSING BRAKES TO FAIL. SHOUOD BE RECALLED DUE TO NO WARNING,COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE,CAUSING VEHICLE TO BE DANGEROUS, NOT ROAD WORTHY.”
Showing 6 of 38 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.