Not pleased, planning on selling it soon
Written: Jul 19 '05
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Pros: AWD, fold flat rear seat,
Cons: run flat tires, no spare, over gadgetized things that break
The Bottom Line: If you absolutely need an AWD mini van, this one would be preferable to the Chrysler product. However, for us it has not been the trouble-free Toyota we were expecting.
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| lmarchegger's Full Review: 2004 Toyota Sienna AWD |
August 2004, we moved to Truckee. I had a Honda Odyssey I loved but needed 4x4 or AWD for the snow we get here. That left either the Toyota Sienna or a Chrysler product since I still wanted a mini van. We went with the Toyota because of Chrysler's repair history. Ha ha, silly us!
At 17k miles we noticed that the tires were almost bald. We were stunned, since we've never replaced tires that early before. It was during this process that we realized there is no spare tire on the vehicle and it has run flat tires. 4 run flat tires cost over 1300 in my area and they are only rated for 15,000 miles. Add an additional 1,300 per year to the cost of the vehicle if you plan to continue using these tires. My tire store couldn't get the tires from Dunlop for several weeks so I went with regular ties and a can of fix a flat. It is my own stupidity for not researching this before I bought the van, but I would not have bought it if I had known. Once the new tires were on, the tire pressure light now seems to have a bug in it. Two trips to the dealer will not fix it. Taking it to the dealer again this week.
Recently had the traction control system die on me, going to the dealer again this week. This was at about 24000 miles. Good thing is it summer up here.
The van is very gadgety. Initially, I thought these things would be great features. There is a kid-viewing mirror so in theory you don't have to use the rear view mirror to watch the kids. But the mirror doesn't tip down far enough to get a good view of the back seats. There are integrated sun shades in the car which are especially good for kids in car seats that are rear facing to keep the sun out of their eyes. However, they pull out and flap down and every time I have kids in the car they pull them up and out and they are falling apart. I wish there was a way to remove them (they are part of the doors). The factory-DVD player is awkward to use because the controls are almost unreachable for the driver or passenger. We often have to pull over, get out and adjust the dvd player. The sonar is also annoying. I usually turn it off, because it goes off when parking, going through a drive through, etc. The display for the sonar is low on the console and hard to read, so you get the alarm, but can't tell what you're about to hit without stopping and really focusing on this area below the radio.
As another reviewer said, the rattles for a new, almost 40k car were unbelievable. This is our 4th Toyota and the fit and finish are the junkiest of any we've owned (even tho we have the leather, fake wood, etc. so they tried to make it look nice.)
I suspected that there would be problems with any first year vehicle, but I was prepared for the lack of knowledge at Toyota dealerships about the van. I am now taking it to a dealership about 1.5 hours away from our house (our third dealership) because the service staff at the other two dealerships near by had never heard of all of these issues and didn't know how to fix most of the things that went wrong. So I can take it to the dealer nearby, or to a better one further away and rent a car at my own expense. I have in the last two situations paid for the rental car out of my own pocket to not have to deal with repeat visits to the bad dealership for the same items.
The AWD is fabulous. My husband has a Toyota 4x4 truck and my van does better in inclement weather than his truck does. We had a huge winter and I was never concerned because the van handled fabulously in all types of conditions. It was nice not to have to decide if I needed to put it in 4x4 or not, because it was all done automatically.
I'm not sure if it is because of the AWD or not, but we have a terrible time keeping the van aligned and in balance. So as a result, the handling is not so great. Right after we get it aligned, I have wonderful handling for a week or so and then it is out of alignment again. No, I am not off roading or doing anything other than shuttling kids with it. The dealer said this is a common problem, but can't recommend anything other than routine (and expensive) alignment procedures.
I personally don't find the seats very comfortable, even with the 8-way power driver seat. When I put the front seat back where I need it, the steering wheel seems to far away; and I wish there was a telescoping option like my Odyssey had.
I do a lot of mountain driving and the van has enough power to get over the passes when I need it. I can't give very good information about the handling except it handles like a mini van. It does handle better than my prior two mini vans except when it is out of alignment.
There have been 4 recalls on the van (which I expected, being a new model) but since we live so far away from a competent dealer, this has been a real pain.
After owning the van for a year, I have mixed feelings about it. The AWD was wonderful this winter. But the little gadgety things that break, the tires and the rattles have me frustrated. I plan on selling it this summer and finding something else, maybe an older car that I can have repaired locally if I need it as opposed to always having to drive 1.5 hours to a dealership and getting a rental car. I had 3 Hondas before this van (my first Toyota) and never had the problems I've had with this van. On the other hand, my husband has always had Toyota, which caused us to buy this in the first place, and this is the first time he has had a Toyota that was such a high maintenance vehicle.
We own the XLE Limited, I suspect some of the issues we have would be eliminated if you bought a lower end version without all the gadgets that don't work well (dvd player, sonar, sun shades, etc.)
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 36000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2004
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Epinions.com ID:
lmarchegger
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Reviews written: 1
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