NHTSA Complaint #10313810 — 2005 TOYOTA SIENNA

DURING COLD WEATHER, MY 2005 TOYOTA SIENNA, ONE OR BOTH REAR SLIDING DOORS (MANUALLY OPERATED) WILL FAIL TO OPEN MORE THAN A FRACTION OF AN INCH. FURTHERMORE, HAVING PULLED ON THE DOOR TO ATTEMPT TO OPEN IT, IT IS THEN DIFFICULT TO CLOSE ALL THE WAY. THEREFORE, I HAVE OFTEN BEEN RIDING ALONG AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS (SOMETIMES AT NIGHT) WITH THE INTERIOR LIGHTS FLICKERING ON-AND-OFF BECAUSE THE VAN'S SENSORS SENSE THAT A DOOR IS OPEN. THIS SAFETY CONCERN IS IN ADDITION TO MY CONCERN THAT A CHILD COULD FALL OUT OF THE ONE OF THE REAR DOORS IF IT SUDDENLY OPENS ALL THE WAY, ALTHOUGH REALISTICALLY THIS LATTER EVENT IS UNLIKELY DUE TO BUILT-IN SAFETY MECHANISMS. THIS PROBLEM IS WIDELY REPORTED BY OTHER TOYOTA OWNERS, E.G.: HTTP://TOYOTASIENNAFROZENDOORS.BLOGSPOT.COM/2008/12/TOYOTA-SIENNA-FROZEN-DOORS.HTML THERE IS A TOYOTA SERVICE BULLETIN ON THIS: SB0028-08 APR 08 BODY - SLIDING DOOR WEATHERSTRIP FREEZES TO BODY BUT SO FAR I HAVEN'T PAID THE $27 TO OBTAIN ACCESS TO THIS DOCUMENT. DUE TO THE PREVALENCE OF THIS PROBLEM, THE PROBLEM IN GETTING DEALERS TO FIX IT (E.G., IF THE TEMPERATURE HAS WARMED-UP A FEW DEGREES BY THE TIME YOU BRING THE CAR TO THE DEALER), THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE. THIS PROBLEM RECURS FOR ME ROUGHLY 10-15 TIMES PER WINTER SEASON (IN MARYLAND). *TR