KnownCarProblems2002 Toyota Sienna Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 181 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Toyota Sienna, most often about the body and structure (23% of complaints, typically around 75,000 miles). It is 12th of 21 Sienna model years by number of complaints and has 1 recall.
Most common 2002 Toyota Sienna problems
Body and structure
42 complaints · 23%Half of these problems showed up before 75,000 miles. Parts named most often: body.
1. Trunk door latch broken and cannot open. Toyota does not provide a manual trunk release inside the van. 2. Passenger side automatic sliding door would not stay closed. It just kept popping open.
Sliding doors on 2002 Toyota Sienna fail to open. 7-17-06: 73,316 miles, both sliding doors will not open due to product defect, repair at dealership. 9-22-06: 76,829 miles, sliding door will open but not close, repair at dealership. 11-16-07: 92,730 miles, sliding doors not working, repair at dealership. 3-13-08…
Doors and locks
27 complaints · 15%Half of these problems showed up before 75,000 miles. Parts named most often: doors.
1. Trunk door latch broken and cannot open. Toyota does not provide a manual trunk release inside the van. 2. Passenger side automatic sliding door would not stay closed. It just kept popping open.
Automatic door locks suddenly and without cause lock and unlock. Sometimes it's while we're driving, sometimes while parked. Sometimes it's front doors only, sometimes back only, sometimes all of them. It seems to happen when it's wet (so far, snowing), though not always. One can be locked inside the vehicle or leave…
Electrical
24 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 93,000 miles. Parts named most often: wiring, alternator/generator/regulator.
Ever since novmber, 2008, my 2002 Toyota Sienna passenger side power door, has intermittently failed to open either by activating the button on the inside of the door column, by pulling the door handle outside, or the instrument panel door button, or worse, after opening, will not close. The dealer had to reinitialize…
Automatic sliding door on Toyota Sienna often does not close. Even when encouraged "manually" to close, it pulls back several times. If auto feature is turned off, it won't pull closed at all. Sliding door on left side won't open from inside. Occasionally locks itself so that it can't be opened from outside either…
Brakes
23 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 43,000 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components, drum, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip.
: the contact stated while the brake pedal was depressed, the front brakes squeal. The brakes have been properly maintained and the rotors have been replaced, but the noise still occurs. The manufacturer sent a technician, which determined this was normal operating conditions. The contact felt that since the noise…
Tl contact owns a 2002 Toyota Sienna. At 34,006 miles, the brakes began to make squeaking noises and the brake warning light illuminated. The failure occurred while driving 45 MPH. At 36,000, 46,000, and 49,000 miles, the dealer replaced the front and rear brakes, the rear and front rotors, and also resurfaced the…
Engine
19 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 44,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, exhaust system, cooling system.
Idle control valve failure. Prevents car from idling correctly. Car will start and then cut off right after you drive off. Potentially causing you to get hit by other vehicles. This happened on my 2002 Sienna at 40k mile and continuously since. I know of 4 other people with this problem. My mechanic had about 10 or…
I have 2002 Toyota Sienna. The car was perfect until after 30k miles. We first noticed the car occasionally had difficulty of starting during warm weather or warm engine condition. Then the situation got worst, the no starting got more often. We even got stuck in the freeway and busy street because we stopped the car…
Wheels and tires
16 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 63,500 miles. Parts named most often: tread/belt, sidewall, temporary/emergency spare tire, lugs/nuts/bolts/studs.
: the contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the right rear tire tread separated from the belt and the vehicle went into a ditch. A police report was taken and no injuries were sustained. The tires were regularly serviced prior to the incident. There was no warning prior to the separation. Updated 12/18/2006 -
- the contact called regarding the tires on the 2003 Toyota Sienna. The tire size was p21565r15. While driving the vehicle began to vibrate. The driver was unsure of the vehicle's speed at the time of the failure. The vehicle was taken to a Toyota dealer. The dealer diagnosed the driver's front and rear tires failed.…
Transmission
13 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 81,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
Observed slipping during full stops, engine died several occasions before the actual total failure of parts involved, loss of forward motion or speed pick-up, transmission fluid leaked (Toyota issued an automatic transaxle warranty enhancement notice involving 1998-2000 siennas but apparently the company already have…
The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the gear shift failed to shift out of park and drive. The failure recurred sporadically. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis where it was stated that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired and the…
Steering
10 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 79,000 miles. Parts named most often: hydraulic power assist system, rack and pinion, linkages, column.
The steering went out without any warning. 45 minutes prior to this, I was on the interstate going 70 miles an hour, thankfully I was backing out of a parking space at the time, so no personal injury or damage of any kind. I could have very easily have been killed do to defective workmanship. I promptly called…
The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the gear shift failed to shift out of park and drive. The failure recurred sporadically. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis where it was stated that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired and the…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2002 Toyota Sienna recalls
Body and structure: structure
Risk: The cable may break due to excessive corrosion and the spare tire may separate from the vehicle, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners with an interim letter initially instructing them to bring their vehicle to authorized dealers to inspect for corrosion. A second notice will be sent when the permanent remedy is available. For more information, please see toyota's amended recall report of july 19, 2010. The safety recall is expected to begin on october 12, 2010. Owners may contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Full defect summary
Toyota is recalling certain model year 1998 through 2010 sienna passenger vehicles manufactured between august 7, 1997 and january 4, 2010, currently registered in or originally sold in connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, washington district of columbia, virginia, west virginia, and wisconsin. The subject vehicles are equipped with the spare tire stowed under the vehicle. If the vehicle is operated in the cold climate regions of the united states where road salt is frequently used, water splashed backwards with high concentrations of road salt can reach the spare tire carrier and corrode the spare tire carrier assembly cable.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Engine compartment fire
Questions about the 2002 Toyota Sienna
- What are the most common problems with the 2002 Toyota Sienna?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: body and structure (42 complaints, typically around 75,000 miles); doors and locks (27 complaints, typically around 75,000 miles); electrical (24 complaints, typically around 93,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2002 Toyota Sienna have?
- 1 recall listed by NHTSA, the latest from April 20, 2010 (body and structure). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2002 a bad year for the Toyota Sienna?
- It is 12th of 21 Sienna model years by number of complaints, with 181 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.