NHTSA Complaint #10239550 — 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA

ON MY 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA LE, THE AUTOMATIC REAR HATCH DOOR CONSISTENTLY FAILS TO STAY OPEN AFTER OPENING. THERE WAS NO EVENT THAT CAUSED THIS TO START HAPPENING. THE DOOR OPENS WITH NO PROBLEM, USING EITHER THE AUTOMATIC OPEN FEATURE OR BY MANUALLY OPENING. WHAT APPEARS TO HAPPEN IS THE HYDRAULIC STRUTS CANNOT HOLD THE DOOR IN THE FULLY OPEN POSITION. IF THE AUTOMATIC DOOR FEATURE IS ENGAGED, THE DOOR STARTS TO SLOWLY CLOSE UNTIL THE AUTOMATIC CLOSE FEATURE ENGAGES AND CLOSES THE DOOR WITH NORMAL SPEED. IF THE AUTOMATIC DOOR IS DISENGAGED, THE DOOR SLAMS SHUT WITH ALARMING FORCE AND SPEED. THE POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES ARE FRIGHTENING. IF YOU HAVE THE AUTOMATIC FEATURE ENGAGED AND ARE UNLOADING OR LOADING PACKAGES, YOU CANNOT HEAR THE DOOR SLOWLY CLOSING AND MAY NOT REALIZE THE DOOR IS CLOSING ON YOU, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE BENT OVER. IT TAKES A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FORCE TO PUSH BACK ON THE DOOR ENOUGH TO HAVE THE SENSOR ENGAGE AND REVERSE THE DOOR CLOSING. OF COURSE, IF YOU MANAGE TO GET THE DOOR TO REVERSE THE CLOSE, ONCE THE DOOR REACHES THE FULLY OPEN POSITION, THE SAME PROCESS BEGINS WHERE IT SLOWLY CLOSES AND THEN THE AUTO-CLOSE STARTS AGAIN. THE DANGER FOR A WEAKER PERSON OR A CHILD IS HUGE IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE AUTOMATIC DOOR FEATURE ENGAGED, THE DANGER IS FAR GREATER AS THE DOOR SLAMS SHUT WITH FORCE AND SPEED. ANYONE CAUGHT IN ITS PATH COULD BE SEVERELY INJURED, ESPECIALLY A CHILD. I HAVE NOT ATTEMPTED TO SEEK REPAIR OF THE DOOR YET. BUT MY RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET SHOWS THAT THERE ARE MANY INSTANCES OF THIS TYPE OF FAILURE. I WILL BE TAKING THIS UP WITH THE TOYOTA CONSUMER AFFAIRS. *TR