2014 Toyota Sienna Complaints

The spare tire, which is normally secured under the minivan, fell off while driving at approximately 40 mph. My son, who was driving the vehicle, heard a sudden loud noise from the underside of the vehicle. He looked in his rearview mirror and saw something in the middle of the road. He pulled over to inspect the vehicle, and noticed that the spare tire was gone, which he was able to retrieve. I brought the vehicle to a local Toyota dealer, who indicated I needed a new spare tire carrier (at a cost of $329.07), since the original unit had failed due to rust. The spare tire had never been used or removed from its manufactured mounting position since original purchase of the vehicle in 2014. There were no warning signs at any time prior to the incident that the spare tire might come loose from its mounted position. The safety issues associated with this incident are obvious, e.g., another vehicle striking the spare tire or loosing control to avoid the spare tire; the tire rolling and...

I HAD THE VEHICLE INSPECTED BY PERSONAL MECHANIC BECAUSE THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD TIGHTEN AND THEN RELEASE WHENEVER TURNED TO RIGHT AND RELEASE ON LEFT TURN. THIS WOULD HAPPEN ON A REGULAR BASIS WHEN TURNING THE WHEEL. THE MECHANIC DID RECOMMEND THAT I CALLED THE MANUFACTURER TO CHECK IF THERE WAS ANY RECALL FOR THE PROBLEM. WHICH I DID. RESPOND WAS NO AND SO I EXPLAINED THE PROBLEM TO THE REPRESENTATIVE. THERE IS NOT A FAILURE OR INCIDENT EXCEPT THE STEERING WHEEL KEEPS ON TIGHTENING AND I'M JUST BEING CAUTIOUS. NO MANUFACTURER, POLICE, OR INSURANCE HAS INSPECTED IT BECAUSE THERE IS NO ACCIDENT. THANK GOD! JUST CONCERNED BECAUSE MY MECHANIC SAID IT IS SOMETHING FOR THE DEALERSHIP. SOMETHING TO DO POSSIBLY WITHIN THE STEERING COLUMN/CHANNEL COMPONENT. NOT SURE WHICH IS RIGHT, BUT TO CHECK FOR RECALL BY MANUFACTURER. I TOOK IT TO TIRE KINGDOM BUT SOMETHING ELSE WAS REPAIRED. SO I'M STILL HAVING TROUBLE WITH STEERING WHEEL STIFF TIGHTENING UP LIGHTLY. I WOULD FEEL IT TIGHTEN WHENEVER DR...

After a rain, water will leak into the driver and front passenger seatbelt coil housing. The front passenger seatbelt was not used in some time and mold developed with green and black stains all along the seatbelt. After it rained, the driver side seatbelt released about 1 cup of water when I pulled the seatbelt. With my wife as the passenger, she was conflicted about wearing the seatbelt while having mold pressed against her body, clothes, and breathing it in. The smell of mold is now present in the vehicle. This problem has been reproduced via online reports at SiennaChat.com. No warning lamps, messages or symptoms appeared prior, or during, this issue. I am in the process of reporting it to Toyota as soon as the next business day (Monday).

Tire pressure monitor system dashboard icon is ridiculously non-intuitive. Both my wife and daughter have been baffled by it because the icon DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A TIRE! Neither are stupid, one is a college grad and the other is a junior at ASU. The icon is a cross-section of a tire, and none of them know what a tire cross-section looks like. Because of this, they have driven on dangerously under inflated tires without knowing it. Fix the icon SO IT LOOKS LIKE A TIRE! Thank you.

The van seems to prematurely wear tires out before their service life expectancy. I've owned the van for seven years, and I've had to purchase over five complete sets of tires. The front tires wear-out much faster than the rear tires, and do not last more than 15K miles. I've had several alignment jobs done, both (L&R) control arms replaced, ball joints, and struts - the van still wears out tires regardless of tire brand. I suspect the must be a design flaw causing premature wear and tear on tires on the front of the van, as I just replaced another set of tires from the Yokohama brand recommended for the van. I've asked Toyota, and they claim ignorance of such a problem. It is my desire to make this problem known, and to have the Government investigate if there is an design flaw in the Sienna van which is causing rapid part failures.