2003 Toyota Sienna problems
Owners have filed 124 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Toyota Sienna. Latches & locks is the most reported problem area, at 17% of complaints. Next are body & structure (15%) and brakes (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 124 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Latches & locks 17% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 14 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 14 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 51,000 miles 91 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 | 24 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 16 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 10 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 12 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 11 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 11 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 91 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 51,000 miles. For latches & locks specifically, the median reported mileage is about 39,000 miles (16 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 14 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 14 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 21st most-complained-about out of 23 model years of the Toyota Sienna with enough data (61 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
The front and second row seat belts didn't hold in a rear end crash causing the driver to strike her head on the steering wheel and a juvenile in the second row to strike her head on the rear of the driver's seat.
Toyota sienna 2003 I was pulling into a parking space in a parking garage. I believe I had put the car in reverse to back up to straightened the car and I put my foot on the brake. The car suddenly shot forward full force and was stopped by a concrete and wire retaining wall. The engine died at impact. The car was not drivable and was towed. I was stunned. I went into the building and after a short time felt chest pain and shortness of breath. I went to the emergency room and was treated and released.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota sienna. While driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle suddenly accelerated crashing into the front of the contacts home. There was no police report taken. The contact didn't say if there were any injuries. The contact did not report any injuries. The current and failure mileages were approximately 30,000. Updated 05/18/10.
My 2003toyota sienna has a distinct problem with pulling . The vehicle has been in to the dealership 6 times since march of 2003 . The front end was realigned with 231 miles and the tires were replaced at that time. Since that initial realignment the vehicle has continued to pull and has been re-examined, realigned and testd 5 more times. The vehicle's 4 tires were replaced on october 1st and it was again realigned. The vehicle still pulls and on oct.
The passenger door handled broke on the back side sliding door. It was repaired but now to open the door from the inside you have use brute strength. It will not open easily and the shop is stating there is nothing wrong with it. However, the driver sliding door opens with ease even by a 10 yr old. I saw on many blogs that many people have the same problem. This is a safety issue and most places (school) and camps and any place else you are going to take your kids, they will have to get out on the passenger side.