NHTSA Complaint #10644482 — 2005 TOYOTA SIENNA

THIS PAST WINTER, OUR RIGHT SIDE POWER SLIDING DOOR BEGAN TO ACT UP- IT WOULD NOT OPEN OR CLOSE VIA THE KEY FOB OR BUTTON OVER THE REARVIEW MIRROR. IF YOU PULLED THE DOOR HANDLE, IT WOULD OPEN OR CLOSE. AFTER A FEW DAYS, IT BEGAN WORKING FINE AGAIN. THEN IN APRIL, IT BEGAN ACTING UP AGAIN, DOING THE SAME THINGS AS BEFORE, BUT THIS TIME, IT ALSO WOULD SOMETIMES NOT FULLY CLOSE (IT WOULD BE CLOSING ON ITS OWN, BUT BEFORE IT WAS FULLY CLOSED, IT WOULD GO BACK OPEN AGAIN). WE DIDN'T WANT TO SPEND MONEY ON IT BECAUSE WE HAD JUST BOUGHT A HOUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME AND WERE FOCUSED ON THAT. BUT THEN WHEN WE WERE OUT IN JUNE, WE HAD CLOSED THE DOOR, OR THOUGHT WE HAD, AND CAME OUT OF THE STORE WE WERE IN LATER TO FIND THE DOOR WIDE OPEN. THAT IS A PROBLEM! OUR VAN COULD HAVE BEEN STOLEN OR THINGS OUT OF IT. THANKFULLY, GOD WATCHED OVER OUR VEHICLE. SO WE FINALLY EXPLORED INTO GETTING IT FIXED AND WERE TOLD ABOUT THIS EXTENDED WARRANTY/RECALL FOR THE FIRST TIME. THE PROBLEM WAS BY THE TIME WE INQUIRED, WE WERE JUST OVER 120,000 MILES, BUT ARE STILL WITHIN THE 9 YEARS (BUT IT IS WHICHEVER OCCURS FIRST), SO NOW WE ARE BEING TOLD IT CANNOT BE FIXED UNDER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY/RECALL AND WILL COST US $1,900 TO GET IT FIXED. WE DON'T HAVE THIS KIND OF MONEY AND ARE VERY UPSET! WE WERE NEVER NOTIFIED BY TOYOTA OF THIS EXTENDED RECALL, OR WE WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE VAN IN RIGHT AWAY WHEN THE DOOR BEGAN TO ACT UP. WE ALSO WERE TOLD (FALSELY) BY THE TOYOTA DEALER THAT IT IS 7 YEARS OR 120,000 MILES AND THAT EITHER WAY, WE DON'T QUALIFY. I THINK TOYOTA NEEDS TO TAKE CARE OF THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE TO OUR VEHICLE AND PERSONAL SAFETY (ESPECIALLY WITH KIDS- WE COULD THINK THE DOOR IS CLOSING, BUT THEN IT DOESN'T). *TR