Toyota Sienna

Mine is a 2005, bought in 2006 with only 11,000 miles on it, so pretty much brand new! No issues until this year - power door getting stuck. I do maintenance through the Toyota dealer and tires from Costco, which I don't think are too expensive or don't last. Honestly, aside from the door issue, I LOVE my van - it's growing older with my kids & I'll miss it when it's gone!

Sorry, I'm kind of late in responding here, but I just wanted to add my two cents. We have a 2004 Sienna that we bought new. It's a fully-loaded XLE Limited with AWD and a DVD player, but no built-in GPS. (We purchased a free-standing GPS elsewhere.) I'm the one who primarily drives it since my husband has a different car. Although I drive it every day, it only has a little over 27,000 miles on it because all my driving is local except for an occasional roadtrip. (That's an average of about 10 miles/day.) We love everything about it except for the following issues:

(1) The power sliding passenger doors freeze shut in very cold weather if the van is parked outside and there has been any kind of snow or ice on the roof. Apparently the track that the doors roll on becomes blocked with ice, so switching the power doors to open manually doesn't help - the doors just won't budge. Google the problem, and you'll see what I mean. The Toyota dealer has acknowledged that it is a known problem that they see a lot of. I really hate having to have my kids get into the van by having them climb over the front seats to get into the back.

(2) The tires that came with the van wore out much earlier than I think they should have since we had to replace them after only about 15,000 miles, which I think is pretty early. I had no idea that they were nearly bald and about to become flat until one of them actually went flat, and I took the van to Just Tires, and they showed me how bald all the tires were and said that the van wasn't even safe to drive, so we purchased 4 new tires with a lifetime warranty.

(3) Don't get the factory-installed DVD player. The pull-down screen stops staying down after a few years, so my kids are always asking me as I'm driving, "Can you please pull the screen back?" whenever it jars loose from being at a 90-degree angle, which is every few seconds - I'm not kidding. The dealer said that there is no way to fix it - it would just need to be replaced.

Other than those issues, I really love our Sienna. I have several friends who have asked if they can buy it from us when we are ready to sell it.

I have a 2000 Sienna and LOVE LOVE LOVE it. The only thing don't like about it is that it's NOT all wheel drive, the newer models are though.

Now I will say that the computer chip and/or motor on my power door has died, but considering the age of the car that's not too surprising. But the door can still be opened manually so we haven't had it fixed yet. It will cost anywhere between $600 and $1100 dollars to fix it, and I'm not thrilled with THAT aspect either.

We have a 2011 and love it, no problems with it at all but it's pretty new. I've driven other Toyota vehicles in the past and have always found them to be great reliable cars which is why we went with the Sienna. My issue with the tires is that they aren't the best in the snow. We may end up putting snow tires on it which will cost around 400-450 but I think it will help in the winter.

We have a 2010 and I basically love it. The tires we have a run flat bc we have the AWD which means no room for a spare. (or maybe they're all like that.) First time there was an issue with one of the tires, the place told me they can't patch run flat tires. So big bummer as the tire had maybe 7k miles on it. But then another place patched another one for us once. So not clear on it all and it may be only if you get the AWD. We have 15k miles now and the tires are still ok. Otherwise, the stupid feature in ours is the DVD player. There are no controls from up front so until kids are old enough to use the remote themselves, you have to contort yourself to use the remote in the back... So I do hate that. Otherwise I really like how it drives and handles. We have leather which is holding up well etc. Overall I know people make fun of minivans but we love the functionality and it's like a little clubhouse for the kids to play in.

2004 xlt (I think...has leather seats, all power). got it new. have 120k on it. LOVE IT, LOVE IT. despite all my complaining below :). has phenomal room, decent gas mileage, great acceleration, VERY easy to put rear seats down. it's reasonably easy to take the captain's chairs in and out - one side is heavier than the other and I struggle with that one but I"m only 5'. We call it our pickup truck in a minivan. I've brought home a full size couch, a washing machine, a playset (i.e., the big wooden one for the backyard), and plenty of other stuff. The rear seats are reasonably comfortable for an adult unlike many vehicles. The cargo space with the rear seats up is huge too - recently traveled cross country with family that does NOT know how to pack light and we were fine on space despite having 4 adults and 2 kids in the car. The space really is phenomenal. When the kids were little (one was still in a backpack), I'd gone to a sporting event with me as the only adult. When we left it was night and I got that spooky feeling in my gut....anyway, just popped the rear hatch and got everyone inside in less than a minute. With the doors locked, I took all the time I needed to change a diaper, buckle up car seats, etc and I even climbed right into the driver's seat without any contortions. Was very grateful that night for all the room inside.

now, my complaining:
The cable on one sliding door got wrapped around the motor somehow (my husband used his shoulder to engage the stop instead of pushing a button....sigh....). It was $1000 to fix so it is now a manual door. Same power door has a quirk in the sensor - it reads as not closed whenever the van has sat in the rain. We could never get it to duplicate at the dealer (we live in CO - only 14 inches of rain per year....). If we turn off the doors, it turns off the sensor so no biggie.
The rear hatch hydraulics don't quite open all the way when it's super cold.

Otherwise, love it, love it, love it. despite our issue with the power door - get them if you have kids under 8. My daughter is 8 and can do the door by herself but its a real struggle if we're on an incline. plus, when carrying an infant or toddler or bags of groceries, so much easier to push a button.

It does seem like tires wear out sooner. hadn't heard that but my husband has complained. tires are not that expensive unless you have the sport tires (came on some models). our tires are just plain 'ol passenger tires so we have the range of prices that we've had on all our other vehicles. don't skimp on tires though. we had one set that I couldn't go anywhere in with snow and ice (my husband thought I was being wussy until he got stuck). but with the last set and the current set, I'm busting through everything as if
I had 4 wheel drive.

Last complaint is the 3rd row seatbelts are weirdly high for seats that are going to be mostly used by kids. You really have to be 5 foot or taller for them to lay right across the chest rather than the neck. My fourth grader's friends moan and groan about having to use booster seats back there. They've repositioned them in later models.

I had one for ten years and LOVED it...never had one issue with it, seriously. This was from 1999-2009. Not sure how they are built now but I couldn't have been happier with it.

I took dogs in the back (removable seats), went on road trips, the whole nine. Super reliable. I cried when we sold it to another lady because it was the end of an era for me (kids growing up). I really miss that car! BTW I don't remember tires being that expensive...

I have a 2008 sienna and I LOVE it! I have had to replace the tires once but that was my fault because I didn't rotate them. I have also had to get new brakes once and that was not covered under warrenty. But, besides that I LOVE the space and it's super easy to drive. I don't even feel like I'm driving a van. I pretty much love everything about it. Mine is leased and I have 1 more year left to either buy it or turn it in. I haven't decided what to do yet, and that's only because since we moved to VA I'm thinking about getting a SUV instead. But, I really do love my sienna!

I have a 2008. I had a Solara before it and it drives much like my Solara so I can pretend that I'm still young and cool and in a convertible!!! What do I love about it? The ability to change the seating configuration - the space I have to haul stuff - the ability to take 7 very comfortably - the automatic doors (didn't think I would love them but when another baby arrived, it was like a miracle) - and the table in the front between the two front captain's chairs. I have 60K on it - it is awesome on a road trip. It is the first vehicle that I can drive 18 hours plus and not feel super cramped and sore when we get to wherever! It handles very well. Yes, the tires that come on it don't last all that long if you buy it new from the dealership (I want to say maybe 24K) but they were no more expensive to replace than my Solara and we replaced with a better grade of tire. I have had absolutely no issues with it at all - nothing. We have only done the regular maintenance on it. We are out of warranty but expect to keep this car for at least another 100K. My husband's 4Runner has almost 200K on it (a 2000 model) and my Solara had over 170K and was tough with two car seats when we traded it in for the Sienna.

I love my van and the new ones are even prettier! C.

'99 Toyota Sienna now has 164K miles on it; contrast this to earlier Dodge Caravan (it needed transmission replaced at 49K miles); It receives regular oil changes and has had brake maintenance; we prefer local independent garage - Naper Auto Works rather than Toyota for our maintenance work; we also get regular tire rotations (free) at discount tires and have replaced tires with them. We drive this car from Illinois to NC every summer and have used it with trailers from UHaul to move our daughters into/out of college housing and apartments. The cost for tires for this car is comparable to our other cars. Our family of five has two camry, one corolla, Sienna, and Honda.

We have a 2000 LX w/ 140K miles and love it! I haven't heard anything about the tires needing to be replaced faster than any other vehicle. Our tires haven't cost any more than any other vehicle we've purchased; but we also buy the best tires (Michelins) through Costco, anyway.

The only thing that I wish ours had is the ability to push the back seats down into the floorboard when you want to haul things in the back. Our model you just remove them, which I can't do on my own. That will be a nice feature to have when we're ready to buy another one.

my neighbor has a 2009 and loves it - everything about it.

I don't think it's been in the shop for anything other than routine maintenance - oil change, tire rotation, etc.

good luck!!

We have a 20006 Sienna, we bought it used (with only 15,000 miles on it) and I LOVE IT! The tires it came with were crappy, but we replaced them asap and the ones my husband bought (expensive) are great. They are supposed to be good for like 6 years. Good tires are always expensive. They don't wear out any faster on a Sienna... but seriously, I don't think the one thing between us and the road is something to try to save money on. Get the good ones.

I love how comfortable the seats are. We test drove the Honda and the Toyota and the Toyota was way more comfy.

The storage in the Honda was better, but generally we don't cart much around in the car with us, so we are fine.

We are going on our first road trip for spring break and I am wicked excited :)

We bought our 2011 Sienna XLE almost one year ago. I LOVE IT! I hadn't really wanted to spend that much but I really wanted the power doors and the extra cost was more than worth it. No problems with the tires yet. When the temp first dropped below freezing the tire pressure light came on, but that is common when it first gets really cold, it doesn't mean that there is a problem. In fact, the maintenance guys at my dealership told me that that warning light is one of the only annoying things about a Toyota. I had a RAV4 (2002 )before and I didn't think I'd like anything as much, but my Sienna drives much more nicely. A really great van. Nothing that I hate about it.

I LOVE my Toyota Sienna. I bought it new in the summer of 2004.

NO PROBLEMS!! Only 2 recalls that they took care of in minimal time for free.

Tires have only been changed once. And... I shopped around and got a decent price at a tire store. Maybe Toyota's dealership would be more, though. (What's important with any vehicle and it's tires is..... rotating your tires at the recommended times and checking the condition of the struts periodically.) Do this as recommended and your tires should last 50,000 miles or even more! ( Routine maintance such as this and regular oil changes is the key!)

What I love most about it is that I feel safe and the overall feel of the ride while I am driving.

Good luck with making your choice!