Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Toyota Sienna owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
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 contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while the liftgate door was opened, the door had erroneously closed and failed to remain opened. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the rear hatch door struts were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 08V244000 (STRUCTURE); but parts were on back order. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 150,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the rear driver's side sliding door would not open. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The mechanic cut the wiring for the sliding door in order to be able to open the door. The manufacturer was contacted and sent an engineer to inspect the vehicle. The engineer advised that the sliding door would have to be replaced. After some time passed, the rear passenger's side sliding door also failed. The contact received an extended warranty notice for the replacement of the sliding door wiring however, the warranty would not cover the motor or any additional components for the door. The contact stated she had deactivated the electronic function of both sliding doors and would open them manually. …
The front door check has come loose and "pops" when opening/closing. This results in the door swinging shut without warning and could easily cause physical harm to an adult and severe harm to a smaller child. Toyota issued a severely limited "technical service bulletin" that only extended coverage for this defect to 5 years/100,000 (whichever came first). However, the average person does not drive 20,000 miles per year so the problem is now showing up en masse and Toyota is refusing to fix the known issue. My 2004 Sienna started showing signs of this defect before it reached 100,000 miles recently but because it was beyond 5 years they have refused to address this safety/performance issue that has been previously acknowledged by Toyota to affect as many as 600,000 vehicles. …
One of the two support cylinders for the rear hatch on our 2004 Toyota Sienna failed in fall 2019, so the rear hatch would not stay up. The liftgate support cylinders had previously been replaced by Toyota under recall. We purchased two new support cylinders, Toyota part #68905-ae022'support cylinder' from camelback Toyota in phoenix, az, d/b/a Toyota parts factory, by mail, shipped 11/19/19. I installed both of the new support cylinders within a couple of weeks. Note that both of the old support cylinders were replaced with new Toyota parts, not just the one which had failed. However, with the new support cylinders, when the weather gets cool (below 50 f) and the liftgate is opened using the electric opener, the liftgate gets part way up and reverses, coming down unexpectedly. This represents a safety hazard, as the door can hit someone standing below it. …
Door hinges are falling off of vehicle. Both my driver side and passenger side front doors and now my drivers side slider door hinges have fallen off. The door hinges are literally fallen off of the vehicle! My last visit to dealer 4/2017 was for yet another slider door motor repair (2x one side/ 3x the other at $1200 each). But, this time was different they told me I was lucky the slider door did not fall off driving down the road because the hinge was completely broken off!! This is now the 3rd broken hinge all on different doors. I called Toyota and they said they have met their obligation on a 14 year old vehicle. Name one other make/model/year of any manufactures vehicle that the door hinges fall off. They know, and have known for a long time, there is a problem with door hinges on Sienna 04-06 vehicle - hence their " limited warranty enhancement" issued for these problem. …
Both passengers door quit shutting or opening from inside or outside. Since they are electronically opened and closed they would not open manually. One door opens just about 5 inches and automatically shuts again. This door has not opened in about 6 months. This is the door on drivers side but second seats with sliding door. Passenger side door second seat opens and closes intermittently, sometimes it opens sometimes not. It has almost shut my pets trying to go out the door and automatically will shut back. It started doing this around the same time the other door stopped opening and shutting. I mentioned this to the dealership but they brushed me off. The front drivers door started making a noise when opening and would close by itself when just parked and made a popping noise when opened. Also told this to dealership with same results. Vehicle parked when all occurrences happened. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While attempting to open the vehicle's automatic doors, the contact heard an abnormal noise. While trying to close the doors, the driver side sliding door would not close. The contact took a closer look and noticed that there was a frayed cable on the top side of the automatic door. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the cable was cut for the contact to be able to close the door manually. The contact stated that the passenger side sliding door became inoperable approximately three weeks later with the cable being frayed at the top of the door and would not close. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the cable was cut and the door was closed. The contact stated that the mechanic stopped electricity from going to the door so that the door could be opened and closed manually as an interim repair. …
In grocery store parking lot ,put groceries in driver side back power sliding door . Went to shut and door would not shut all the way . It was stuck .finely got it shut after ,about 30 minutes .got home power cable had broken rusted and frayed .recall was found ,but Toyota will not fix !!! This happen 2yrs. Ago 2014 & still trying to get this recall fixed ..they said I had to many miles on the van ,that I got in 2011.. It had 146,892 miles when the door cable broke & was inspected . This is very dangerous .I will not let any children sit next to that broken powered back driver sliding door !! This should be a mandatory recall !! Miles should not be a concern ! Life of a person should be . I'm still fighting to get this fixed & it's 2016 .. Broken ,rusted & frayed power cable not functional & inoperative & can be very dangerous ! …
Rear passenger electric sliding door does not open or close and failed one day. The door latch assembly is electrically operated and there is no manual override. The door can only be operated electrically and cannot be opened manually at all with out making a $1500 - $3500 repair to replace the faulty electrical system (door latch assembly and door motor) of the vehicle. This is a potentially life threatening situation for small children since if there is an accident how are you going to get the children out of the vehicle since the door cannot be operated manually? This issue needs to be investigated and a total recall of all electrical door assemblies need to be made for all years affected and a manual override needs to be engineered such that children's lives are not at risk due to faulty engineering.
Related recalls
Structure
Toyota is recalling certain model year 1998 through 2010 sienna passenger vehicles manufactured between August 7, 1997 and January 4, 2010, currently registered in or originally sold in connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, new hampshire, new jersey, new york,…
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners with an interim letter initially instructing them to bring their vehicle to authorized dealers to inspect for corrosion. A second notice will be sent when the permanent remedy is available.
Structure › Body › Hatchback/liftgate
Toyota is conducting a safety improvement campaign involving 196,222 my 2004-2006 Toyota sienna vehicles equipped with power rear liftgate struts. The gas struts used to help lift and support the rear power liftgate could wear out sooner than expected.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the gas struts with newly designed gas struts that have a longer service life. The campaign began on August 8, 2008, and will be mailed in three phases ending in late December 2008.
NHTSA investigations
Stabilus Rear Liftgate Struts Failing
Please see the attached closing resume summary.It has been attached to this document as a PDF.
Body complaints in other Sienna years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2004 Toyota Sienna?
NHTSA has 962 complaints about the body & structure of the 2004 Toyota Sienna, 47% of the model year's 2,062 complaints. The component named most often is body › door (354 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Toyota Sienna body problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 10V-160 (structure, Apr 20, 2010); NHTSA recall 08V-244 (hatchback/liftgate, Jun 3, 2008). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2004 Toyota Sienna body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 80,000 miles, and 3% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 95 injuries to body & structure 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.