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 2004 Toyota Sienna owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While driving approximately 50 MPH, the traction control warning indicator illuminated and a warning chime sounded. The vehicle lost steering and braking ability, and the steering wheel started to jerk from left to right. The contact continued to drive and the failures went away after thirty seconds. The contact stated that the failures randomly started approximately one year ago and grew worse. The contact also mentioned that the lock on the sliding door showed that it was unlocked; however, no one could exit the vehicle when attempting to open the door from the inside or the outside. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
Relating to current investigation of 2004 Toyota Sienna rear liftgate strut failure NHTSA recall campaign number: ea06020). My wife has a 2004 Sienna xle with the power liftgate and the struts just failed, causing the liftgate to close and requiring help from a friend standing nearby to help her hold it up to remove our children's stroller. I looked at it this evening and noticed grease around one of the cylinders where the seal had obviously failed. While I was looking at the struts I took my hand off of the hatch for a second mistakenly thinking that the power assembly would hold it up and it immediately came down and hit me in the head, causing luckily only a headache. After researching the problem and finding the ongoing investigation I wanted to add my name to the list of complaintants and suggestions that Toyota be required to fix the defect and replace the struts. …
I have an 04 Toyota Sienna with power sliding doors. The left sliding door cable snapped and stopped opening automatically. The cable was hanging on the outside. It was frayed and rusty. The door now is not functional by manual or electric. When I took the vehicle to the Toyota dealership, I was told that the repair cost was $2498.00 and that the motor, mounting brackets and other various parts would need to be replaced. I have a hard time swallowing the thought of this cost considering the cable is rusted and broke in half with no fault of my own. Although I am out of warranty period, I would think this problem, would need to be consider or looked into as a recall for this vehicle considering it is a very common complaint with 04 Sienna's. You would like that with the cost of the vehicle, something like a rusty cable cord would not need to be worry. …
The power sliding doors on the 2004 Sienna fail early, causing safety and usability issues. The power door cable wears out early due to faulty coating on he cable, faulty hinges and door freezing. Once the cable snaps, the door can slide open upon acceleration. Disabling the power feature allows the door to be used, but falsely causes the vehicle to register the door as closed when it is open, allowing the car to be put in gear and driven without the door properly latched closed. Loose parts from the snapped cable and torn cable jacket easily lodge in the working mechanism, making the door behave inconsistently - sometimes latching, sometimes not. When not latched, the door easily slides forward or back if the vehicle is parked on a hill, potentially causing injury. …
The weld that secures the door check mounting panel to the driver door is failing on my 2004 Sienna le. I get the dreaded popping noises when the door is opened and closed. The door check is the device that holds the door open halfway or fully open. This device provides resistance so the door does not swing freely. Toyota is aware of the issue (Toyota service bulletin nv003-07) and extended the regular warranty to 5 years and 1000,000 miles for this situation (Toyota motor sales USA letter to me in ~ 2008). Stevinson Toyota (lakewood co) told me the repair would be at my expense. My car is only 6 years old and has 111,000 miles. If Toyota was concerned enough to extend the warranty and cover the repair, why not issue a recall for all vehicles that experience the problem? Just because my car is 6 years old doesn't mean the safety issue due to a failed door check went away. …
Sienna 2004 xle van. The rear side power door stopped working. The cable had broken and hence the power drive for opening and closing the door would not work. The door could be opened by sliding the door manually. I took the van into the dealership to have the part replaced. They were unable to get to the repair and we were leaving town. I asked them if the car was safe to drive as there was no way to disable the door from use and there would be children in the rear who would by habit reach to open the door. The service manager assured me it was fine - only difficult to open manually and even came to the vehicle to demonstrate. The next morning, my husband drove the van to on errands before loading up to take it on vacation. He unthinkingly opened the rear passenger door resulting in the far back side window shattering and the door falling off onto the ground. …
2004 Toyota Sienna minivan. Toyota has recognized that there was a safety issue with the driver's door mechanism in 2007 and an extended warranty was issued to repair the problem and it included my vehicle model specifically. I however, did not get any mail regarding the issue. The only time I was made aware of it is when I mentioned it to my personal mechanic and he is the one that printed the letter for me on May 07, 2010 from an internet site. I took my car in for repair of the problem today on August 25, 2010 and the Toyota dealership charles maund Toyota in austin texas failed to honor and repair the problem on today's date stating because of some technicality they will not honor the repair it at no cost to me anymore, and do not consider it a safety issue anymore. …
One rear sliding door comes open after latching (once when the Sienna had started moving) and can only be securely closed by an adult standing outside of the door, pushing when it latches and quickly hitting the power locks. The opposite rear sliding door: after it fully opens, it "bounces back" and begins to close again. A child cannot stop it; an adult must stand there and use full force to stop it from closing. There has been more than one incident where a child was nearly caught by the closing door and only missed injury when his mother simultaneously pushed him back into the vehicle and put herself between the moving door and the body of the Sienna. Originally this was happening intermittently but is now nearly constant. Originally Toyota denied knowledge of an issue, and then sent a "Toyota cares" warranty enhancement notice for 04-07 siennas with this issue. …
When open or close the driver side front door, there is a loud popping sound. The weld-on hinge between the door and the body is broken. Toyota dealership informed us that the problem will deteriorate in the coming days. The door will swing freely when open, potentially hit people and other cars near by. The window on the door May get stuck and not able to be opened or closed. Toyota was aware of this problem as early as 2007. It issued two warranty extensions but told the owners to keep the warranty letter in file if the problem did not occur. I followed Toyota's instruction and kept my warranty extension in file since the symptom in my car did not occur at the time. However, when the problem did occur last month, Toyota refused to honor it, claiming the warranty has expired and I am no longer covered. …
The power sliding door on an '04 Toyota Sienna would not stay open when the vehicle was on a slight incline. Other times, it would not close properly. On a number of occasions, after the door was opened it began to close by itself hitting the person who was reaching into the vehicle, while the door was continuing to try to close. It took a lot of force to stop the door from closing. On one occasion the force of the door closing bruised my wife's right arm. This is a definite safety issue. Someone could be seriously injured, including being crushed between the door and pillar. This problem was reported to the dealer on three different visits over a six month period. …
NHTSA investigations
Unexpected liftgate closing
The liftgate gas struts for the subject vehicles May have damaged gas seals that allow the liftgate to drop unexpectedly.the rates for complaints, alleged injuries and warranty claims are higher for vehicles with the power liftgate option.the power liftgate May automatically power-close at the completion of a power-open command without input from the operator.some owners are caught unaware of the power-close…
Unexpected closing of power liftgate
On May 30, 2008, Toyota initiated a safety recall to replace the liftgate struts in approximately 196,000 model year 2004-2006 Toyota sienna vehicles equipped with power liftgates (recall 08v-244).the recall will provide the opportunity for vehicle owners to obtain new struts that are more robust.based on these actions, the agency has decided to close the investigation.while Toyota has not made a decision that the…
Door Lock & Latch complaints in other Sienna years
Frequently asked questions
How common are door lock & latch problems on the 2004 Toyota Sienna?
NHTSA has 308 complaints about the locks & latches of the 2004 Toyota Sienna, 15% of the model year's 2,062 complaints. The component named most often is doors › latch (46 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Toyota Sienna door lock & latch problems?
No. NHTSA lists no locks & latches recall for the 2004 Toyota Sienna, though it has 10 recalls 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 2004 Toyota Sienna door lock & latch problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 75,000 miles, and 6% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 0 fires and 34 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.