Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (door latches, locks, hood and tailgate latches).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2000 Toyota Sienna owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that both rear doors failed to securely lock and suddenly opened while driving various speeds. The contact took the vehicle to the della Toyota dealer where it was diagnosed that the latch assembly and another part associated with the latches (the contact was unable to recall) failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the vehicle was not covered by a recall. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 180,000.
My wife and 4 children were driving in our 2000 Toyota Sienna. While accelerating onto a highway, the hood abruptly released and slammed against the front windshield, causing the windshield to shatter and damaging the roof. My wife pulled over onto the side of the road almost completely blind to what was in front of her. The car was nearly hit by a semi-tractor trailer. Luckily, no one was physically hurt from the incident. Upon inspection of the locking mechanism, it was obvious that both the primary and secondary latches were both not working properly. It appears that the springs that are used within these mechanisms had lost their spring effectiveness. This was compounded by the "stickiness" caused by some rusting on the latch. The car was recently at a Toyota dealer maintenance center. I feel that the maintenance facility should have an obligation to check this critical component. …
Gave a vehicle a boost one day previous. Closed hood on 2000 Sienna, but apparently not completely. I believe only safety latch securing hood rather than full hood latch. Driving on busy freeway to work fine but returning home on freeway, the safety latch on hood failed causing the hood to flip up and smash into windshield, denting hood and roof of van also. Pulled over to side of freeway safely. Called tow truck to haul car home. Safety latch and full hood latch now seem fine, but will be replacing shortly. Currently only replaced windshield and secured hood as good as possible. Getting quotes from bodyshops for repairs and have contacted Toyota as I feel this is a safety issue. After 6 days, yet to have Toyota call me back. This could have been a catastrophic crash, but thankfully wasn't.
The passenger (manual ) sliding door became hard to open. The handle sticks and does not open on the first try. The handle then broke off completely leaving the door unsafe and unable to latch properly. We purchased a new handle from the dealer for a price of $95.00. We feel this specific car handle is not made to withstand the use of a sliding door or the weight of the door and will fail with continued use. You must pull out the handle to open the sliding door and continue to hold it out until the door is completely open. All the weight of the door and the momentum of the slider rest of this handle. Have found others with the same complaints online. Also, May consider weather as a factor too. The colder the weather the worse it performs.
Both of the outside handles on the sliding passenger doors on my 2000 Toyota Sienna broke within the past few weeks. (one handle broke off completely and one is still partially attached to the door.) one door cannot be opened from the outside and the other one is very difficult to open. I contacted the local Toyota dealership and the national 800 number. Both the local and the national points of contact said there were no known issues with the door handles and there was nothing that could be done. The dealership advised me that I could pay them @$300 a door to have the broken handles replaced. I did some research on the web and did find several other complaints / postings about broken door handles.
Dt: vehicle has a sliding electric door on passenger's side. Door started opening or staying open at the wrong time. Finally, the electrical door stopped working all together. The door will not open with the button on the inside of vehicle or the remote. Consumer just noticed that the door will also not open manually from the inside of vehicle, but will open manually from the outside of vehicle. Consumer did take vehicle o dealer in January 2005 for an estimate of repairs, and found that the cost of repairs would be $1886.00.
Dt*: the contact stated a jumpstart was given to a neighboring vehicle. The next day the hood was released to jumpstart the neighboring vehicle again. The jumpstart was not needed. The hood was not locked down but was not fully unlatched, while the vehicle was driving 45 MPH, on a smooth blacktop paved road, when the hood blew back into the wind shield and damaged the hood, windshield, wipers and the roof of the vehicle. The service dealer and manufacturer were not notified, but the vehicle was repaired at an auto-body shop.
2000 Toyota Sienna rear door latch handle broke under normal use. Upon inspection, there is a narrow piece of plastic connecting the handle to the internal latch mechanism and this narrow piece broke cleanly in half without warning. Rear door cannot be opened from either outside or inside posing a possible hazard to 3rd seat passengers in the case of an accident. Phoned Toyota and was given case #1007022060 and instructed to take to dealer and pay for repair since handle not part of any current recall.
Tl contact owns a 2000 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the hood opened and hit the windshield. The failure occurred twice, shattering the windshield. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where the contact was informed that the failure was caused by the hood latch. The vehicle was repaired. The contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. The current mileage was approximately 200,000. The failure mileage was approximately 190,000.
Tl contact owns a 2000 Toyota Sienna. While driving approximately 25 MPH, the hood abruptly opened and shattered the windshield. The contact stated that the hood was pulled down and the vehicle was driven to his place of residence. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection or repairs. The manufacturer was contacted and a complaint was filed. The contact was awaiting a call back form the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 155,000.
Door Lock & Latch complaints in other Sienna years
Frequently asked questions
How common are door lock & latch problems on the 2000 Toyota Sienna?
NHTSA has 36 complaints about the locks & latches of the 2000 Toyota Sienna, 10% of the model year's 363 complaints. The component named most often is doors › latch (16 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 Toyota Sienna door lock & latch problems?
No. NHTSA lists no locks & latches recall for the 2000 Toyota Sienna, though it has 1 recall for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2000 Toyota Sienna door lock & latch problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 94,000 miles, and 8% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 0 fires and 2 injuries to locks & latches problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.