38 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2008 Toyota Sienna cite power train, 9% of all 429 complaints for this model year. NHTSA also lists 1 recall on this component.
“The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated at a high rate of speed. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact desperately pressed on the brake pedal, but the vehicle would not slow down. The contact shifted the gear lever into neutral and the vehicle slowed down. The contact was able to pull over on the side of the road and shutoff the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted and operated normally. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 178,000.”
“The transmission shift cable broke during parking. Although the transmission shift lever was moved to the park position, the transmission was not placed in park. The first observation was the vehicle started to roll when the driver was loading the purchases at a store. The parking brake was then applied. Then the vehicle engine could not be started, regardless of where the shift lever was positioned. The vehicle was towed to an independent auto service provider. The provider identified the problem as the transmission still in the reverse position and replaced a $10 bushing on the transmission cable with a labor charge of $510.”
“ON INCLINES, THE VSC LIGHT WOULD COME ON, CLICKING NOISE NEAR THE STEERING COLUMN. THE CAR WOULD LOSE POWER. I HAVE MECHANICS CHECKED OUT. CV JOINT AND BALL BEARING REPLACED. PROBLEM PERSISTS.”
“I ATTEMPTED TO PUT MY VAN IN PARK TODAY AFTER DRIVING TO A RESTAURANT FOR LUNCH. THE SHIFT LEVER WILL GO TO ANY POSITION BUT THE DASH DISPLAY ONLY RESPONDS TO D OR 4. WHEN I PUT THE LEVER IN PARK AND TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE PEDAL, THE VAN CONTINUED GOING FORWARD. IT WILL NOT GO TO PARK OR EVEN NEUTRAL. I PUT THE CAR IN A SAFE PARKING SPOT, PUT ON THE EMERGENCY BRAKE AND SHUT THE ENGINE OFF. THAT IS WHERE IT STILL IS. I HAVEN'T TRIED TO RESTART IT OR DRIVE IT SINCE.”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA SIENNA. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V429000 (POWER TRAIN). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. DON MCGILL TOYOTA OF KATY (21555 KATY FWY, KATY, TX 77450, (832) 772-1000) WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE RECALL REMEDY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND WAS NOT ABLE TO CONFIRM WHEN THE PARTS WERE TO BECOME AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE.”
“MY 2008 TOYOTA SIENNA SUDDENLY SLAMS ON BRAKES WHEN TURNING RIGHT. USED TO BE OCCASIONALLY ON MOUNTAIN CURVES DURING LAST YEAR, BUT NOW DOES IT RANDOMLY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ON STRAIGHT ROADS AND IS VERY DANGEROUS! HOW DO I GET TOYOTA TO FIX THIS OBVIOUS DESIGN DEFECT? CAR HAS 230K MILES.”
Showing 6 of 38 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2004-2005 Sienna vehicles manufactured January 10, 2003, through August 10, 2005; and model year 2007-2009 Sienna vehicles manufactured February 20, 2007, through December 12, 2008. In the affected vehicles, due to a problem within the shift lock solenoid, there is a possibility that the shift lever could be moved out of Park position without depressing the brake pedal.
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.