2004 Sienna - Power Sliding Door Cable Snapped

johnrma · #1 (**permalink**) 07-05-2007, 09:22 PM

On my 2004 Sienna XLE, one power door cable snapped and the other door's cable is fraying. Mileage is only 70K. Sleeps in a garage.

Is it posisble to only replace the cable, or does the entire unit (actuator and cable) come as one unit to replace? Can this be done by the consumer (I have replaced a door lock actuator on a Camry -- indicates my skill level)?

What will this cost to repair? Is this a common problem?

Thanks.

mustang67408 · #2 (**permalink**) 07-06-2007, 06:51 PM

Yes it is a common problem
Here is the TSB toyota has issued for it.
It involves changing the motors,hinge and track.
It is a B!@%H.
The whole door has to be dissasembled to do this.
The Motor/cable assy's are APPROX $732 EACH, would need VIN for proper estimate.

johnrma · #3 (**permalink**) 07-08-2007, 10:19 PM

thank you for the quick reply.

can you resend the TSB? I did not see it in the post.

ebdmd1 · #4 (**permalink**) 08-24-2007, 05:55 PM

My second sliding door cable snapped today. the first one snapped 6 weeks ago. Has Toyota agreed to do anything for those of us with this problem. Are there enough people who are having this issue to start some sort of class action to get them to pay for the repairs. It has cost me 3500 in repair costs not to mention the tires. The car is now out of warranty period and becoming a lemon.

mustang67408 · #5 (**permalink**) 08-26-2007, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebdmd1

My second sliding door cable snapped today. the first one snapped 6 weeks ago. Has Toyota agreed to do anything for those of us with this problem. Are there enough people who are having this issue to start some sort of class action to get them to pay for the repairs. It has cost me 3500 in repair costs not to mention the tires. The car is now out of warranty period and becoming a lemon.

The only issue we have with 04 sienna slide doors is the CENTER HINGE wears out and thats when the cables break. There is a TSB (EL004-04) that addresses this. We replave the hinge/motor-cable assy/and a bracket. You should call the 1-800-331-4331 number for customer assistance. Other than that we do not have any other issues.

kbeattie · #6 (**permalink**) 09-27-2007, 02:03 PM

I have had the cable for both doors snap. One was repaired last year and I was charged for labor only approx. $200 with Toyota providing the part at no charge. This year the second door snapped and Toyota will not provide any assitance saying that the vehicle is out of warranty. This is obviously a recurring problem but to report the issue to Toyota with any confidence that it is being sent up the food chain is not promising. Unless I see some improvement my next vehicle will not be a Toyota nor will I recommend one.

AmyPS · #7 (**permalink**) 01-16-2008, 06:22 PM

Our '04 Sienna now has this problem. Our Toyota dealer says it will cost over $3,000 to fix. Help!!! Sounds like this may be a common problem. What can we do about it?!?!

patoyota · #8 (**permalink**) 02-23-2008, 09:07 PM

Just had the same problem with my 2004 Sienna LE on the passenger sliding door. We purchased this van as a "toyota certfied model" eleven months ago, and we have only put 6,000 miles to date. My wife was left stranded with three kids (ages 1, 1, and 2 - all in car seats) because the door would close - didnt want to subject the kids to driving with the door open on a 20 degree night! I had to go out and pick up the kids (in another car) and drive the car home myself with the door open (thank God for cell phones).

Took the van to the closest Toyota dealer I could find (was not the dealer I purchased the car from) and was told the total cost to repair is over $1500 (5 hours labor at $95 p/h plus $1,000 parts for a new motor and cable assembly). You want to know a funny thing...? I just found a Toyota OEM sliding door motor on ebay for $149.

Of course, this was not covered under warranty. Made the dealer disconnect the motor and convert the door to manual (still charged me 5 hours in labor) so I can drive it back home.

Now gonna take this up with the Toyota Dealer that I bought the car from originally and make them get it right for me.

I am sure this is a widespread problem and should be viewed by Toyota as a a SAFETY ISSUE.

buzzsmith · #9 (**permalink**) 03-24-2008, 11:44 AM

This problem is not "native" to 2004 Sienna. Mine is 2002 and the motor has already been replaced once obviously after the warranty expired. Now, 2.5 years later the cable tangled inside the motor assembly and broke. The motor is OK. I had to open the panels and cut the cable to make the door operational at least in manual mode.

It looks like that when the dealer replaced the motor in 2005 he didn't adjust the tension properly. I notice that the cable was a bit loose, but didn't really pay enough attention since the door worked.

So, if I understood this discussion correctly, the cable CAN NOT be purchased separately from the entire assembly. Does anyone has the procedure (instructions) on how to replace the assembly?

Thanks!

powerup · #10 (**permalink**) 03-29-2008, 09:11 PM

My Sienna also went out before that and I got lucky that it was covered by the warranty. Both will go out and it is expensive. Also the sliding door went out on the passenger side and it was luckily covered by warranty. Otherwise the cost would have been 3,000. We don't drive our van hard always do the required service but there always seems to be a problem. The new problem is the driver and passenger door making noise. Somone has even put it on my space. This may be the new class action.

Regards,

Todd

cwong · #11 (**permalink**) 04-09-2008, 12:27 PM

My 2004 toyota sienna xle cable snapped yesterday. I only have 42k on the minivan. It's out of warranty. Called local toyota dealership and they gave me a number to complain.EVERYONE CALL!!! Please. When the wire snapped it could've really hurt someone. 800.331.4331. Can we just replace the wire? if so where do we find the correct wire?