2003 Toyota Sienna LX Regular - not sure

Faults:

After the winter of 2003/'04 there was rust appearing on the inside of the lower front door panels.

The rust was worse on the driver's door.

The rust showed up on the two door gaskets as well.

On my hands and knees I could see the rust on the door panels.

The paint is worn off the edge of one door sill completely.

Bare metal is showing on one door sill more than the other.

There are no sill covers, or protection for the door sills, except for a coat of paint on the door sills of the new vans.

This fact of bare metal showing is unacceptable for a Toyota under one year old.

I do not climb into the low built Sienna. I sit on the seat and then swing my feet over the door sill to enter the van completely.

A dealership did some work on the door panels; but, he did nothing with the door sills.

He applied a strip of vinyl tape across he problem areas, after repainting the inner door panels, I believe.

I am dissatisfied with the service on a newly - designed van that obviously has a problem with the front door panels.

I have had two previous Toyota Siennas with no problems.

The back of the van is too low to handle a trailer hitch well.

The trailer hitch 'clunks' into many driveway curbs - even with very slow driving.

Generally an excellent vehicle to drive.

Ann Bourne.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th July, 2004

2003 Toyota Sienna XLT Limited AWD

Summary:

Unsafe in traffic

Faults:

Hesitation every time you step down on the gas when a down shift is involved.

No spare.

No power passenger seat.

No memory drivers seat.

General Comments:

The hesitation makes for an unsafe condition in traffic.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 25th December, 2003

26th Dec 2003, 19:33

I find it hard to believe that any company, especially Toyota, would manufacture a car with no spare.

12th Jan 2004, 10:44

Mistakes happen. Toyota is not immune.

12th Jan 2004, 20:28

It's true, they have a spare tire kit available for the AWD model; but they are equipped with run flat tires.

16th Feb 2004, 21:05

You placed it under the wrong year. XLE Limited AWD is under 2004.

20th Dec 2004, 11:48

Toyota is investigating the hesitation issue. do a google search for Higlander hesitation and you will find a Dec. '04 Post-Gazette article on it. I would think that whatever problem you have in Sienna is the same as the Highlander and Lexus mentioned in the article.

2003 Toyota Sienna LE

Summary:

A possible lemon

Faults:

Brakes are making a progressively horrible noise after 7 months of ownership.

General Comments:

I told the dealership about it during the August oil change and they said that it was dust on the brakes. I told them again at the oil change last week and made them write it in the work order. They wiped down the drums for me. It came back sounding worse! The dealer said it was a common problem with Siennas; Any suggestions?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 22nd December, 2003

22nd Dec 2003, 14:18

Just b/c the brakes are noisey doesn't mean it's a lemon. A lemon is when you have something like inside the engine or more serious than just some brake noises. Have you tried having them replaced? They may just be bad from the start.

26th Feb 2004, 19:48

Our dealer just replaced our pads and polished the drums (ours is 13 months old). We also have a slight rattle in the sliding doors.

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2003 Toyota Sienna le awd 3.3 vvti

Faults:

On my way home, after I drove about 6 km, there was mysterious odor of burning rubber. I called the dealer, he said that's because it's new. Occasionally, there are new cars like that from Toyota. I parked it in my garage. After 5 hours, I drove it with my family on board to shopping. On my way, Malfunctions indicator light came on, then vehicle skid control light came on.

I phoned the dealer, he said, take the vehicle to him on Monday.

General Comments:

Since Toyota quality reputation, I bought this today, but I did not expect a brand new sienna, AWD LE could be like this. My former Honda Civic never give me any problem. This makes me feel it's a lemon. I hope the dealer can fix it on Monday. I spent above $53 K, I just cannot believe this is Toyota quality.

Driving and acceleration are good, ride are smooth.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 13th December, 2003

19th Dec 2003, 22:51

First of all, Toyota did not make AWD vans in 2003- I assume you are referring to the 2004 model. Further, what did the dealer do to take care of the problem? Sounds like one minor glitch to me, rather than an omen. Some new cars have a rust inhibitor called cosmoline that gets sprayed on all metal parts, including the exhaust pipe, which gets hot and transmits smells, much like the smell you had. And finally, I find it hard to believe you paid $53 grand for a vehicle which, in it's most optioned-out form (which is not what you have, by the way) does not list for more than $40,000.

20th Feb 2004, 09:28

So are you saying that this owner was really taken to the cleaners for paying so much?

9th Jul 2004, 18:20

The review you have written is very inaccurate. The 2003 Sienna does not have AWD. Another thing is that the Sienna does not go up to 53K!!! Only the Canadian one does. Just because there was one little problem, dosen't mean that Toyota is bad quality. Just for your bad luck you got a bad one. NEVER should the Sienna be compared to a little cheap civic.

26th Jun 2005, 14:02

That is right. The Civic is a quality vehicle. The Sienna is a piece of junk. I would personally not buy either of them.