29th Aug 2007, 14:09

Put me down as another victim.

I have a 2004 Sienna. I am very easy on brakes. I got over 60K on 7 different Plymouth Voyagers and even on my 2000 Sienna. This one eats brakes and rotors. I have 126,000 on it, but this is the fourth set of brakes. The rear brakes have been replaced once. Most recent front set lasted 10K. Most of my problem is with rotor warp. I think Toyota has spec'd an inferior rotor/pad combination for the size of the vehicle. Since it is not unsafe it will be ignored as many have found on their trips to the dealer. This same thing happened with an early 90's Ford Taurus I had. The NTSB said a recall wasn't necessary since it was not a safety issue at the time, but lots of folks went through pads and brakes like hot knives through butter.

9th Sep 2007, 12:41

There must really be something wrong with my 2002 Toyota Sienna. I just replaced my front brake pads for the FIRST time with 100500 miles on the vehicle which I bought new in 2002. I was shocked when the dealer told me that the brakes were still good at the 90000 mile service, but when I replaced them, there was still a little life left in the pads.

20th Sep 2007, 14:41

2004 Sienna. Front brakes and/or rotors need to be replaced every 5-7,000 miles. Funny how the dealer seems to give us every excuse in the book, but will not just admit that the Sienna brakes have obviously have a major design flaw. This is ridiculous. So far we've been lucky and dealer has been doing a lot of the work for no charge or significantly reduced charge since we raise a pretty big fuss. But eventually we're going to be stuck with the bills.

22nd Sep 2007, 16:45

If your replacing your rotors every 5k, you have other problems. Like who ever is fixing your car. Go somewhere else to get them fixed.

21st Oct 2007, 15:34

I have a '98 Sienna with similar brake problems as described above. After years of maintenance and non-response from Toyota service, I reached two conclusions:

1) The brakes are the same as on a Camry and are inadequate for a mini-van as big as the Sienna.

2) The rear drum automatic adjusters do not work. Thus, as the rear shoes wear, all braking power is transferred to the front disks, resulting in premature pad consumption and warped rotors.

My best advice is to periodically adjust the rear drum brakes manually, about every six months. This will vastly improve the stopping power and take some of the load off the front disks, extending their life.

The best fix would be conversion to rear disks, but I have not found an easy way to do this.

24th Oct 2007, 00:10

We purchased a 2006 Sienna brand new and are already on our 2nd set of brakes at 18K! This van uses up brakes at an incredibly fast pace. I have never owned any vehicle that goes through brakes so fast! After talking with Toyota Customer Service they said that they are unaware of any complaints regarding the front brakes. I can't believe that! The dealer says that it is the way we are driving the vehicle. Any excuse not to repair the brakes and charge us the $200 to fix it. This is my last Toyota Ever!

26th Dec 2007, 23:44

We have a 2006 Toyota Sienna. The front passenger side tire began to make a horrible noise at 22K. The rotor on that side was shot. The Toyota representative said that this type of wear is normal for Sienna brakes. In fact she told us that we were lucky, because she has seen brakes go out at 10K. I have owned three Toyota vehicles in my life (the only cars I have ever owned. The vehicle is currently in the shop and depending on how they calculate the repair costs, this may very well be the last one. I buy Toyotas for dependability. This is not what I bargained for.

13th Jan 2008, 15:08

I have a 2003 Sienna with 79000 on it and still on the 1st set of brakes. Last year at inspection they said I had at least another 10 K left, but this year, I plan to replace the pads myself. The rear drum shoes are still in good shape and need no replacement. I think that something other than the brakes are wrong with the cars noted on this page, but I know not what. I would have a non-Toyota good mechanic look at the problem.

5th Mar 2008, 22:10

Just had to post to echo the negative feelings toward the 2004 Sienna design. We've replaced the front brakes 3 times in the last 1 1/2 years! Horrible! I've never gotten any cooperation from the dealership, so we've taken it to Midas, where they will replaced them free, just labor costs. At this rate, we'll be there every 8 months. I love the van, but I wouldn't buy it again.

10th Mar 2008, 11:47

March 11 2008.

I have a Toyota Sienna 2006 with 49000 kilometres on it and have just been told we need to replace brake pads and have the rotors filed; all to the tune of $600!

Interestingly we had a problem with the brakes making a weird chattering sound only under certain circumstances, and no, it had nothing to do with the ABS. It so disconcerted the rather conscientious toyota dealership mechanic that he took the brakes completely apart. He could not find anything wrong with the brakes. And nothing that would indicate that my driving was at fault. Turns out the problem was with leaking suspension fluid that the 2006 was known to have trouble with. That was 6 months ago.

When I told this to the serviceman he then said it was only a recommendation and seeing as there was only 20% of the front brake pads left, and he had no idea how long they would last, we should get it done. And because moisture gets on the rotors he suggested grinding them down before putting new brake pads on. Now is this nonsense or what?

Unfortunately this vehicle is leased and I am concerned with what Toyota will do at the end of the lease...

Suzan, Toronto.

23rd Mar 2008, 21:06

2004 XLE: Here is our experience with brakes and tires. Van was purchased new and now has 67,000 miles. Suburban driving with a few long highway trips mixed in.

OEM tires, Michelin, were replaced at 35,000. Current, not OEM, Bridgestone Insignia SE 200, are not even 50% worn currently (with over 30,000 miles on them).

Front brakes and rotors replaced at 37,000 miles (first time). These were replaced at Firestone, and 30,000 miles later are only 20% worn.

Rear brakes and rotors replaced for the first time at 67,000.

10th May 2008, 15:22

We own 2004 Sienna with 46000 miles on it. My wife reported strange sound coming from front wheels on applying brakes so I took it to the local dealer in San Diego. I was told that the brake pads and rotors were both down to the metal and it would cost around $220 for brake pads and $310 for rotors. There was no warning about this during our last 6 month service at 40k miles. Really appreciate the info given in this forum. Looks like this is a common problem for Sienna. Sorry to see lack of responsibility on Toyota's part to not fix such crucial issue with brakes for Sienna.

-Abhay J.