NHTSA Complaint #11316311 — 2014 TOYOTA SIENNA

ON 12/20/19 IN MY 2014 TOYOTA SIENNA THE SLIDING DOOR NEXT TO MY 3 YEAR OLD OPENED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. I WAS IN THE MIDST OF ACCELERATING AFTER A LIGHT TURNED GREEN WHEN THE CAR STARTED NOTIFYING ME THAT A DOOR WAS AJAR AND THE PASSENGER-SIDE SLIDING DOOR STARTED OPENING. THE DOOR OPENED FULLY AND REMAINED OPEN AS I WAS AT SPEED IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION. NOTE THAT ALL DOORS WERE CLOSED AND LATCHED BEFORE I PUT THE VEHICLE IN DRIVE, AND THIS ONLY OCCURRED AFTER A FEW MILES OF DRIVING. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY REPLACED THE LATCH ASSEMBLY IN BOTH SLIDING DOORS. THE DEALERSHIP COULDN'T TELL ME WHAT FAILED OR IF THE REPLACED LATCHES WOULD SOLVE THE PROBLEM, SO I CALLED TOYOTA CORP. I LEARNED THAT TOYOTA ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THIS ISSUE. WHEN I ASKED IF THEY COULD ASSURE ME THAT THE SLIDING DOORS WOULDN'T OPEN WHILE DRIVING AGAIN, THEY COULDN'T. THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY COULDN'T CONFIRM THAT THE LATCHES WERE THE PROBLEM, AND WHILE THE REPLACEMENT LATCH HAS A DIFFERENT MODEL NUMBER THAN THE ORIGINAL, THEY DON'T KNOW IF IT IS IN FACT A DIFFERENT PART AND IF SO, HOW. THE ONLY ASSURANCE THAT TOYOTA COULD GIVE ME IS THAT 'OF THE PEOPLE IN YOUR REGION THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO, IT HASN'T HAPPENED A SECOND TIME THAT WE KNOW OF'. THE MORE QUESTIONS I ASKED, THE CLEARER IT BECAME THAT THIS COULD HAPPEN AGAIN. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS ISSUE IS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FROM THE '16 RECALL THAT INVOLVED SLIDING DOORS OPENING WHILE DRIVING (ALL ASSOCIATED RECALLS HAD BEEN PERFORMED BY TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT). WE HAD NOT PREVIOUSLY REPORTED THIS TO NHSA AS WE HAD ASSUMED THAT TOYOTA REPORTED THIS INCIDENT AS PART OF OUR CASE WITH THEM.