Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accessories, trailer hitches and other equipment).
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).
Attention: safety problem / design flaw in order to listen to the stock Toyota dvd player that comes factory installed through the van's cabin speakers, the volume of the stereo must be turned almost all the way up to a volume of over 53. The other audio source (cd, radio, tape) are normally listened to at a volume of about 34. When the dvd player is stopped and another audio source (cd, radio, tape) is played , the volume level in the van instantly becomes deafening and startling. This has happened several times in which the driver has been startled to the point of almost loosing control of the vehicle and temporary hearing damage of several occupants has also resulted. This design flaw has been brought to the attention of the local Toyota dealership on two occasions. …
Radiator ruptured and the engine overheated; hose replaced in steering column recall; rust protective tape recall; dvd screen replaced and the entire dvd player replaced(screen still not easily visible in middle row); passenger seat belt replaced; middle passenger seat belt failing; gasoline smell inside of car with ac on recirculation; driver's window fell inside door in snow storm and was not considered a safety issue to get a loaner vehicle even though the vehicle could not be locked; tires completely bald and leaking under 30,000 miles, dvd player must be at a high db volume and when returned to radio/cd will almost deafen you; interior lights have to be manually over ridden or will drain battery; car hesitates 1-2 seconds when trying to quickly accelerate and then lurches forward alarmingly; cruise control is not functioning; waiting to have fuel mixture sensor replaced. …
I was accelerating away from a traffic light, making a left turn from 1300 east onto ft. Union blvd, and the vehicle continued to accelerate rapidly even after I removed my foot from the accelerator. I promptly placed the transmission in neutral, braked rapidly, and narrowly avoided rear-ending the car in front of me. I could not tell if the gas pedal was stuck on the floor mats, but rearranged them quickly and the engine rpms quickly dropped to an idle speed. This was the only time this has occurred. Several days later, I took the car to the local Toyota dealer, larry miller of murray, ut. I spoke with the manager about the problem, he examined my car, informed me that it was not part of the recall, asserted that there had been no reports of issues with the 2004 Sienna, and that the pedal on my car was not of the type implicated in the recalls. …
While driving on dry pavement, sometimes, but not always, after leaving snowy driveway, the 2004 AWD Toyota Sienna's traction control light came on. This was accompanied by a very loud alarm. The traction control system then activated causing the engine to brake and the ABS to continuously brake until the vehicle decelerated to appx. 9 miles per hour. The light and alarm would then go off. The whole scenario repeats when speed exceeds appx. 9 miles per hour. This puts the driver in a very dangerous situation. The vehicle is very difficult to steer when is it rapidly braking. This happened both at low speeds, start-up speeds, and on the highway when I was going 40-50 miles per hour, again, on dry pavement. The only safe option is to pull off to the side of the road. After driving for anywhere from 3 minutes to 15 minutes, the problem mysteriously disappears. …
I bought 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan in dec. 2005 as a used vehicle with 28,000 mile and manufacturers warranty still in effect. Right from day one we noticed that navigation system that costs nearly $2,000 didn't work as expected. It tends go off course by several and sometimes by as much 30-40 mile off course. We took it to two different Toyota dealers at least 5 times. Every time when we bring the car to dealer their first response is that there is nothing wrong with the car, but with further prodding they have put new software and changed GPS receiver (antenna), but the navigation system , even though better than before, still gets off course by miles. My wife who drives the car most off the time is afraid to get lost in some bad section of city of phoenix, az. We have not been able to get proper repair or replacement of the system as should have been done a long time ago. …
The power sliding door on the passenger side stopped working. The buttons do not open or close the door. The door is so heavy that it cannot be opened or closed easily. The cable that moves the door snapped and visible (hanging outside the body). We had the extended warranty for 7 years and the car was serviced regularly, but this problem occurred after the extended warranty expired. The dealer says the whole motor, not just the cable, should be replaced, asking for more than $1500 for parts and repair. Snapped cable, loose and visible moving parts outside the body of the van, and a heavy and hard to operate "power" door present a safety problem, especially with the kids going in and out of the passenger side sliding door. I would appreciate it if you could take a closer look at the issue and have Toyota own up to its design problems. …
Towing package/trailer hitch installed by Toyota dealer consistently scrapes the road with and without a light load. When hauling a light load, load is approx one half of the stated towing capacity (3500 lbs). The hitch scraping the road causes difficulty when driving and multiple "collisions" between the hitch and the road. This problem has been reported to the local dealer (jay wolfe Toyota) and corporate Toyota (case # 2007-08020957). Even thought the problem is document on several forums, Toyota has failed to provide air shocks or any other means to correct the problem. Am seriously concerned what will happen when I attempt to tow a pop-up camper that is twice the weight I am towing know, but still under the stated towing capacity. I have snapped on set of safety chains due to the chains getting smashed between the road and the hitch when it bottoms out.
I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna that has manual sliding rear doors. I have replaced the handles on both doors within the last 6 months. The latest one I replaced was the rear passenger side door. The apparent reason for these breaking off is the fact that the doors are jamming and it is extremely difficult to open the door. Even though I have replaced the rear passenger handle, it still will not open from the inside or outside...it does open on "occasion" but it is finicky.. I have gone on line and noticed thousands of other Toyota Sienna owners are experiencing identical problems which leads me to feel strongly that this should be a "recall" issue that should be covered by Toyota!! I have 2 small children that travel in this vehicle and this could be a life threatening issue, god forbid!
I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna van and I am very disturbed by the power door problems I have had since day 1 of owning this vehicle. The sliding doors freeze up all the time in the winter. After driving for approx. 30-45 minutes the door will unfreeze & come open! I have two children!!! This is a safety hazard as well as being a nuisance. Also the power door cable snapped in two. I called hickory Toyota & spoke with maintenance customer service, which informed me that this just does not happen. I said well, in my case it did! I want this fixed before one of my children get hurt & this becomes a law suit! This is my 2nd Sienna van & had the same problem with it. I've had three camrys and they were almost perfect. What is up Sienna??!! Maybe I need to convert to Honda after all. :(
In December, 2006, my tailgate closed on its own, injuring my wife. Toyota replaced the rear stays (struts) under warranty, including the addition of some brackets. At first everything was fine. But when the weather turned colder (below 20f), the rear hatch would not open on its own unless opening under power. And then a couple of days ago (still very cold), the hatch closed on its own under power again. This time, my daughter and I were both in its path, but fortunately, so was a shopping cart. There were fortunately no injuries this time. I am frustrated that just 45 days after the problem was "repaired" it is already happening again.
Related recalls
Equipment › Other › Labels
Southeast Toyota is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 passenger vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." these vehicles were sold without the requisite load carrying capacity modification labels.
Remedy: Dealers will mail to consumers the corrected label or the customer will have the option for dealers to install the label free of charge. The safety recall began on May 27, 2010.
Equipment › Other › Labels
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006 through 2009 sienna and 2009 Lexus gx passenger vehicles. The vehicle capacity weight on the tire and loading information label and the gvwr on the certification label is insufficient for certain vehicles.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners instructing them to return their vehicle to a Toyota or Lexus dealer for an exchange of the certification label and the tire and loading information label, an installation of the load carrying…
Equipment complaints in other Sienna years
Frequently asked questions
How common are equipment problems on the 2004 Toyota Sienna?
NHTSA has 30 complaints about the equipment & accessories of the 2004 Toyota Sienna, 1% of the model year's 2,062 complaints. The component named most often is electrical › navigational system(global positioning system) (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Toyota Sienna equipment problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 10V-036 (labels, Feb 3, 2010); NHTSA recall 09V-234 (labels, Jun 25, 2009). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2004 Toyota Sienna equipment problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 60,000 miles, and 22% before 25,000 miles.
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.