2002 Toyota Sienna Electrical Problems

Your driver's side sliding door stopped working both electrically and manually. After cutting the cable to force it open, both sliding doors now refuse to open electronically, though you can still open them by hand. The problem likely involves a broken cable or failed door latch mechanism that needs replacement or repair.

Your van's door locks are engaging and disengaging on their own without anyone touching them, even while you're driving or when the van is parked and off. This constant locking and unlocking is draining your battery. Since this happens while driving with children in the vehicle, you're concerned about the safety risk of doors unlocking unexpectedly. The fix will likely involve diagnosing and repairing the door lock actuator system or its electrical control module.

Your passenger side sliding door has intermittently failed to open or close using any of the three control methods (interior button, exterior handle, or dashboard button) since November 2008, and has been completely stuck since December 2012. Your manual driver side rear door has also stopped opening from either the interior or exterior in the past year and a half, trapping passengers who must climb over seats to enter or exit. Your Toyota dealer recommends replacing the ECU (engine control unit) for $1,730 installed, but you've found reports online suggesting this may not solve the problem. The repair will likely require diagnostic testing and replacement of the door latch actuators and/or ECU, along than door wiring harness inspection.

Your vehicle is showing a P0420 diagnostic trouble code (related to the catalytic converter system) that's preventing you from passing your smog check inspection. Even though your check engine light isn't on, your OBD2 scanner is detecting this emission-related code. According to some research, updating your vehicle's engine control module (ECM) may clear this code and allow you to pass inspection and renew your registration.

Your check engine light is turning on and off intermittently. Additionally, your sliding door is not operating properly. These issues may require diagnostic testing to identify the underlying causes affecting your engine sensors and door actuator system.

ELECTRONIC AUTOMATIC SLIDING DOOR FAILURES. JULY 2011, PASSENGER SIDE (SLIDING DOOR) ELECTRONIC OUTER DOOR HANDLE STOPPED WORKING. THE ONLY WAY TO ENTER OR EXIT THE VEHICLE IS BY PUSHING THE BUTTON ON THE DOOR JAM OR OVERHEAD CONSOLE. THEN THE DOOR STOPPED OPENING COMPLETELY. THE MOTOR TRIES TO OPEN THE DOOR BUT SEEMS LIKE THE DOOR DOES NOT RELEASE. IT WILL NOT OPEN. APRIL 2012, DRIVERS SIDE (SLIDING DOOR) ELECTRONIC OUTER DOOR HANDLE HAS STOPPED WORKING. THE ONLY WAY TO ENTER OR EXIT THE VEHICLE IS BY PUSHING THE BUTTON ON THE DOOR JAM OR OVERHEAD CONSOLE. THE DOOR OPENS 80% OF THE TIME. WHEN IT DOES NOT WORK THE MOTOR TRIES TO OPEN THE DOOR BUT SEEMS LIKE THE DOOR DOES NOT RELEASE. WHEN THE DRIVERS SIDE PASSENGER DOOR DOES NOT OPEN THE FAMILY HAS TO ENTER OR EXIT THROUGH ONE OF THE FRONT DOORS AND CLIMB THROUGH TO THE BACK SEATS. THERE IS NO INTERNAL MANUAL OVERRIDE OF THESE DOORS. THIS IS NOT SAFE. IN AN EMERGENCY MY FAMILY WILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE FRONT DOORS OR BREAK AND GO THROUGH THE WINDOWS. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD. THE OUTSIDE DOOR HANDLES AND SLIDING DOOR MECHANISMS SHOULD BE REPAIRED AT NO CHARGE BY TOYOTA. *JS

POWER SLIDING DOOR DOESN'T CLOSE. *TR

AUTOMATIC SLIDING DOOR SOMETIMES WILL NOT SHUT AND REQUIRES MULTIPLE, REPEATED PUSHING OF THE DRIVER'S SLIDING DOOR BUTTON UNTIL THE DOOR SHUTS. OFTEN TIMES, I WILL HAVE TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE AND CRANK THE ENGINE AGAIN AND THEN KEEP PUSHING THE DRIVER'S SLIDING DOOR BUTTON UNTIL (IF I AM LUCKY), THE AUTOMATIC SLIDING DOOR CLOSES. THIS PROCESS CAN TAKE 10 MINUTES OR LONGER DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH TIME I HAVE WHEN THIS PROBLEM OCCURS. SOMETIMES, I WILL TURN OFF THE ENGINE AND LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN FOR AN HOUR OR SO BEFORE CRANKING THE CAR AGAIN AND PUSHING THE BUTTON TO TRY TO CLOSE THE AUTOMATIC SLIDING DOOR. *TT

SLIDING DOORS ON BOTH SIDES HAVE STOPPED WORKING ELECTRONICALLY. THE DOORS MUST BE FORCED MANUALLY AND THIS IS VERY DIFFICULT. TOYOTA WILL NOT ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. *KB

1. TRUNK DOOR LATCH BROKEN AND CANNOT OPEN. TOYOTA DOES NOT PROVIDE A MANUAL TRUNK RELEASE INSIDE THE VAN. 2. PASSENGER SIDE AUTOMATIC SLIDING DOOR WOULD NOT STAY CLOSED. IT JUST KEPT POPPING OPEN. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA SIENNA. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH ON A ROAD UNDERGOING CONSTRUCTION, THE TIRE PRESSURE INDICATOR LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE CONTACT PULLED OVER AND TURNED OFF THE IGNITION. HE CHECKED ALL THE TIRES BUT COULD FIND NO PROBLEMS. A MONTH LATER, WHILE DRIVING ON THE SAME ROAD (NO CONSTRUCTION THIS TIME) AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE TIRE PRESSURE INDICATOR LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AGAIN. THE CONTACT INSPECTED THE TIRES AGAIN BUT FOUND NO CAUSE FOR THE LIGHT. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN INSPECTED AT THE TIME OF THE COMPLAINT. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 55,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 72,000.

2002 TOYOTA SIENNA VAN. THE VEHICLE COMPUTER WILL SPORADICALLY TRIGGER THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO COME ON BASED ON NO ACTUAL CAUSE. THIS OCCURS AROUND EVERY 5,000 MILES. IT IS TYPICAL FOR THIS COMPUTER FAILURE TO BEGIN AFTER 75,000 MILES ON THIS YEAR OF SIENNA AND TOYOTA'S RECALL ONLY COVERS VEHICLES UP TO 75,000 MILES. THE COMPUTER COSTS $1,000 TO REPLACE. THIS RECALL SHOULD BE EXPANDED TO VEHICLES 10YRS OLD OR LESS. THERE IS PROBABLY AN INTERNAL MEMO FLOATING AROUND TOYOTA WITH A DOLLAR FIGURE ATTACHED BRANZELY BOASTING HOW MUCH THEY SAVED BY "SMOKING" A SHORTER RECALL PERIOD PAST THE US GOVERNMENT. TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICES HAS BEEN HOSTILE TOWARD RESOLVING THIS COMPLAINT. *TR

SLIDING DOORS ON 2002 TOYOTA SIENNA FAIL TO OPEN. 7-17-06: 73,316 MILES, BOTH SLIDING DOORS WILL NOT OPEN DUE TO PRODUCT DEFECT, REPAIR AT DEALERSHIP. 9-22-06: 76,829 MILES, SLIDING DOOR WILL OPEN BUT NOT CLOSE, REPAIR AT DEALERSHIP. 11-16-07: 92,730 MILES, SLIDING DOORS NOT WORKING, REPAIR AT DEALERSHIP. 3-13-08: 97,991 MILES, PASSENGER SLIDING DOOR NOT WORKING, REPAIR AT DEALERSHIP. 8-10-2009: 113, 814, PASSENGER SLIDING DOOR WILL NOT OPEN. THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN NO ACCIDENTS AND WELL MAINTAINED. THESE DOORS CONTINUALLY FAIL. *TR

AUTOMATIC SLIDING DOOR ON TOYOTA SIENNA OFTEN DOES NOT CLOSE. EVEN WHEN ENCOURAGED "MANUALLY" TO CLOSE, IT PULLS BACK SEVERAL TIMES. IF AUTO FEATURE IS TURNED OFF, IT WON'T PULL CLOSED AT ALL. SLIDING DOOR ON LEFT SIDE WON'T OPEN FROM INSIDE. OCCASIONALLY LOCKS ITSELF SO THAT IT CAN'T BE OPENED FROM OUTSIDE EITHER, EVEN IF ALL OTHER DOORS ARE UNLOCKED. *TR

IN 2003, I WAS TOLD THE ECU UNIT NEEDED REPLACED ON PASSENGER SIDE REAR POWER SLIDING DOOR AS DOOR WOULD INTERMITTENTLY NOT OPEN OR CLOSE. HAS CONTINUED WITH INTERMITTENT PROBLEM UNTIL IT FINALLY WOULDN'T OPEN NOR CLOSE. GIVEN THE VERY HIGH VOLUME OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM ON ALL YEARS OF THE TOYOTA SIENNA, I WOULD LIKE FOR THE ODI TO OPEN AN INVESTIGATION. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GOOGLE "TOYOTA SIENNA POWER SLIDING DOOR PROBLEMS" AND YOU END UP WITH MULTIPLE THOUSANDS OF HITS, WITH MOST BEING CHAT SITES WITH MULTIPLE COMPLAINT THREADS. *TR

IN 2003, ECU UNIT WAS REPLACED ON PASSENGER SIDE REAR POWER SLIDING DOOR AS DOOR WOULD INTERMITTENTLY NOT OPEN OR CLOSE. HAS CONTINUED WITH INTERMITTENT PROBLEM SINCE REPLACEMENT UNTIL IT FINALLY WOULD OPEN BY NOT CLOSE. GIVEN THE VERY HIGH VOLUME OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM ON ALL YEARS OF THE TOYOTA SIENNA, I WOULD LIKE FOR THE ODI TO OPEN AN INVESTIGATION. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GOOGLE "TOYOTA SIENNA POWER SLIDING DOOR PROBLEMS" AND YOU END UP WITH MULTIPLE THOUSANDS OF HITS, WITH MOST BEING CHAT SITES WITH MULTIPLE COMPLAINT THREADS. *TR

DT: THE CONTACT STATED THE FUSES KEPT BLOWING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THEN, THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A LOCAL DEALERSHIP TWICE BEFORE THEY WERE ABLE TO LOCATE THE PROBLEM. THE DEALERSHIP FOUND THE WIRING HARNESS IN THE DASHBOARD MELTED, CAUSING THE FUSES TO BLOW OUT. NO REPAIRS HAVE BEEN MADE. *AK

APPROXIMATELY A MONTH AGO THE CLOCK LOST THE TIME. 4/28/04 MILEAGE 42K DRIVING ON NH HIGHWAY RTE 3 SO. APPROACHING THE BEDFORD TOLL IN THE HIGHSPEED LANE (40-45 MILES PER HOUR) THROUGH A CONSTRUCTION ZONE WHEN THE VEHICLE LOST ALL POWER! ENOUGH SPEED LEFT TO PULL INTO THE LEFT BARRIER AND PUT THE VEHICLE IN PARK. THIRD ATTEMPT TO START THE VEHICLE AND THE POWER WAS REGAINED. AUTOFAIR TOYOTA DEALER SHIP INDICATED THAT TOYOTA HAD FORWARDED A CHAMPAIGN. TOYOTA CORPORATE CUSTOMER SERVICE INDICATED THAT THE CHAMPAIGN IS A SERVICE BULLETIN ONLY AND NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH A RECALL. HOWEVER, NO WARNING LIGHT EVER CAME ON IN THE VEHICLE WHEN THIS HAPPENED. NOT CHECK BATTERY, CHECK ENGINE, NOTHING!

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOV EVEHICLE. *AK

CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 40MPH ON HIGHWAY COMMING FROM DEALERSHIP WITH A BRAND NEW VEHICLE. SMOKE WAS COMMING FROM ENGINE DEPARTMENT. THEN, THE FIAMES STARTED COMING FROM HOOD. VEHICLE BURNED DOWN TO THE GROUND AND WAS TOTALED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. DEALERSHIP WAS AWARE OF PROBLERM.*AK