1999 Toyota Sienna

MY 1999 TOYOTA SIENNA'S ENGINE SUDDENLY FROZE UP WITH SLIGHTLY LESS THAN 72,000 MILES ON IT. THE ENGINE IS TOTALLY GONE WITH ESTIMATES CURRENTLY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF $8,000. THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN MAINTAINED AS STATED IN THE OWNERS MANUAL. THE COMPLAINT IS THAT TOYOTA KNOWS THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH SIENNA'S AND HAS FAILED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT NOTIFYING OWNERS THAT OIL CHANGES NEED TO BE AT 3000 MILE INTERVALS AND THAT VALVES NEED TO BE CHECKED VERY REGULARLY. SINCE SLUDGE BUILD-UP IS OBVIOUSLY OCCURRING IN THEIR VEHICLES, SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE TO PROTECT THE CONSUMER. *LA

ENGINE OF 1999 TOYOTA SIENNA (VAN) HAD SLUDGED ENGINE OIL IN JULY 2002, DEALER REBUILT ENGINE. IN NOVEMBER 2003, OIL PUMP FAILED ON SAME VEHICLE. DEALER CONTENDS THE FAILURE OF THE OIL PUMP IS NOT RELATED TO THE ENGINE OIL GELLING/BECOMING SLUDGE. SINCE ENGINE WAS REBUILT, OWNER HAS CHANGED OIL EVERY 3,000 MILES AND HAS RECEIPTS TO PROVE IT. *LA

WE CURRENTLY OWN A 1999 SIENNA WHICH HAS HAD TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS FOR ABOUT A MONTH. IT HAS BEEN SERVICED ACCORDING TO THE RECCOMENDED MAINTENANCE, WITH NO TOWING OF ANY KIND. THE VAN HAS 70,000 MILES WHICH IS JUST OVER THE WARRANTY. UPON OUR FIRST CALL TO OUR LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, THERE WAS ONLY A STATEMENT FROM A REPRESENTATIVE STATING THE 5 YEAR/60,000 MILE WARRANTY. NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE WAS GIVEN. ALTHOUGH UPON A SECOND CALL, A REPRESENTATIVE STATED THERE WAS A NOTED PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION AND IT WOULD MOST LIKELY BE COVERED UNDER A RECALL. WE ARE EXTREMELY THANKFUL TO OUR DEALERSHIP AND TOYOTA FOR COVERING THIS OBVIOUS MANUFACTURING DEFECT.WE ALSO FEEL IT EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT TOYOTA LIST THE PROBLEM AND RECALL THIS PARTICULAR MODEL AND YEAR.*AK

MODEL: TOYOTA SIENNA VAN - XLE YEAR: 1999 MILEAGE : 60600 OTHER OWNERS: THERE ARE MANY OWNERS WHO HAVE THIS ISSUE AS REPORTED IN WWW.CARTRACKERS.COM AND WWW.EDMUNDS.COM - FORUMS. PROBLEM REPORTED: THE SIENNA TRANSMISSION IS DEFINATELY A PROBLEM IN OUR CASE AS MENTIONED BY TOYOTA DEALER AND MANY OTHER OWNERS AT OR NEAR 60K MILES. THIS IS UNCALLED FOR OF A TOYOTA FOR WHICH WE PAY A PREMIUM. I DODNOT SEE ANY RECALLS AND DEALERSHIP CHARGES MAXIMUM AMOUNT FOR LABOU - IN OUR CASE UPTO $3200. DETAILS : WE CURRENTLY HAVE A 1999 (5/1999) SIENNA VAN XLE WITH 60600 MILES. THE VAN HAS BEEN PROBLEM FREE UNTIL 2 WEEKS AGO ON THE HIGHWAY THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. THE DEALERSHIP'S INITIAL THE DIAGNOSIS INDICATED CELLULOID FAILURE, THEN WE WERE TOLD TORQUE FAILURE AND THEN YESTERDAY THE TRANSMISSION ITSELF. AND WE WERE CHARGED AT EACH - EVEN THOUGH DEALERSHIP PROBABLY KNEW IT IS TRANSMISSION THAT REQUIRES REPLACEMENT. THIS WAS SHOCKING AS IT IS JUST 600 MILES OVER THE WARRANTY.FURTHER RESEARCH OF THIS PROBLEM ON THE INTERNET AND VARIOUS FORUMS AS WELL AS CARTRACKERS.COM IT APPEARS THAT THERE ARE MANY OWNERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED IDENTICAL PROBLEMS AT OR NEAR 60K MILES SOME EVEN EARLIER. I HAD BEEN MAINTAINING THE VAN THRU THE SAME DEALERSHIP (E.G. 15K,30K SERVICE ETC.) AND I DONOT TOW BOATS ETC. SO THERE IS NO ABUSE AS CLAIMED OCCASIONALLY. I THINK THERE IS A REAL ISSUE HERE WITH THE TRANSMISSION. HOW COME SO MANY HAVE THE IDENTICAL ISSUES AT OR NEAR 60K MILES. THRU THE FORUMS I GATHERED THAT FEW CASES WERE REPORTED AT NHTSA SITE AS SO MANY CANNOT BE WRONG. THUS I WOULD LIKE JOIN THOSE - WHO HAD SIMILAR ISSUES. THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD TAKE THE CHARGE FOR THE ENTIRE COST OF REPLACING THIS OR SHOULD RECALL ALL THE VANS. WE ARE DISAPPOINTED IN THE PREMATURE FAILURE OF THE TRANSMISSION AS WE BELIEVE THIS TRANSMISSION PROBLEM IS EITHER A MANUFACTURING OR DESIGN DEFECT.