1999 Toyota Sienna problems
Owners have filed 250 complaints with NHTSA about the 1999 Toyota Sienna. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 16% of complaints. Next are body & structure (14%) and tires (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 250 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 16% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 17 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 27 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 91,000 miles 83 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 9 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 8 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 16 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 10 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 17 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 10 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 6 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 4 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 83 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 91,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 79,000 miles (11 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 17 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 27 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1999 ranks 13th most-complained-about out of 23 model years of the Toyota Sienna with enough data (142 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl*the contact owns a 1999 toyota sienna. The contact stated that the vehicle accelerated in reverse and hit someone that was standing in the garage. There was one fatality due to the failure. The current and failure mileages were 3500. The VIN was not available. Updates 9/21/2011
While taking gas cap off flames shot out burning consumer's hair and face. Manufacturer has been notified . Please provide further information.
After stopping at a gas station to put fuel in vehicle, and upon opening fuel cap flames were coming from inside of the fuel tank, burning consumer's face. Fire investigator could not say what had caused fire.
My 1999 toyota sienna, at times unintended accelerated. I was involved in an accident in 2002 with this problem. The van accelerated at I hit a pole. Occasionally it appears that still do the same at times. I take to the dealer one time and they did not se anything wrong. I am driving really carefully now keeping always two three car distance. Need assistance [xxx]
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 toyota sienna. The contact stated that the front and rear bumper failed. The bumper was made with defective material that caused the bumper to crack and dent easily when struck. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 130,000.