2005 Toyota Sienna problems, complaints & recalls
Updated from NHTSA data · How we count
Owners have filed 44 complaints with NHTSA about the 2005 Toyota Sienna, most often about brakes. There are 9 recalls for this model year.
- Complaints
- 44
- Recalls
- 9
- Crashes
- 2
- Fires
- 0
- Injuries
- 1
- Median mileage
- 140,000 mi at time of problem
Key facts
- Brakes is the most-reported problem area, named in 12 of 44 complaints (27%).
- Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (11) and seats & seat belts (6) follow.
- Half of the complaints that list mileage happened before 140,000 mi.
- Owners reported 2 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury.
- The 2005 Toyota Sienna has 9 recalls on file.
- NHTSA has opened 6 defect investigations covering this vehicle.
- It ranks 9th of 16 Toyota Sienna model years by our severity-weighted complaint score (1st = worst).
2005 Toyota Sienna problems by category
- Brakes · 1 crash12 complaints
- Driver Assistance & Safety Tech · 1 crash11 complaints
- Seats & Seat Belts6 complaints
- Other / Unknown6 complaints
- Body & Structure6 complaints
- Electrical System5 complaints
- Steering5 complaints
- Transmission & Drivetrain4 complaints
- Wheels & Tires4 complaints
- Acceleration & Cruise Control · 1 crash4 complaints
- Engine3 complaints
- Airbags3 complaints
- Visibility & Wipers2 complaints
- Suspension1 complaints
A complaint can mention more than one problem area, so categories add up to more than the total.
Most-reported components
| Component (as filed with NHTSA) | Complaints |
|---|---|
| Service brakes | 12 |
| Electronic stability control (esc) | 7 |
| Seat belts | 6 |
| Unknown or other | 6 |
| Structure:body | 5 |
| Electrical system | 5 |
| Steering | 5 |
| Power train | 4 |
When problems happen (mileage)
2005 Toyota Sienna recalls (9)
- POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2005-2007 and 2009-2010 Toyota Sienna vehicles. In the affected vehicles, due to a problem within the shift lock assembly, the shift lever may be moved out of the 'Park' position without depressing the brake pedal.
Risk: If the shift lever can be moved from the "Park" position without depressing the brake pedal and the parking brake is not applied, the vehicle may roll, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the shift lock solenoid and reapply the grease, free of charge. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is H0V. Vehicles that were previously recalled under campaign 13V-429 are not affected by this recall.
- SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:SEAT HEATER/COOLER
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2005-2011 4Runner, Highlander, Sequoia, and Sienna, 2005-2010 Avalon and Tundra, 2006-2008 Camry Solara, 2006-2010 Highlander hybrid, 2006-2011 Rav4 and Tacoma, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2007-2011 Camry hybrid, 2009-2010 Venza, 2010-2012 Prius, 1988-1990 and 2005-2010 Camry, and 1989 and 2009-2010 Corolla vehicles equipped with aftermarket accessory seat heaters with a copper strand heating element. The electrical wiring in the seat heaters may be damaged when the seat cushion is compressed.
Risk: If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the seat heaters, free of charge, and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory. The recall began on July 14, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET number for this recall is SET16B.
- SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:SEAT HEATER/COOLER
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2010-2011 Prius and Corolla, 2009-2011 Venza, 2006-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2005-2011 Sienna and Sequoia, 2006-2011 Tacoma 4x2 and 4x4, Camry, Highlander, Tundra 4x2 and 4x4, and 2007-2011 Rav4 and 4Runner. The affected vehicles may experience compression of the seat cushion which may damage the seat heater wiring.
Risk: Damage to the seat heater wiring could cause the wires to short, increasing the risk of the seat burning and causing personal injury to the occupant.
Remedy: SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the heaters with copper strand heating elements and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory, free of charge. The recall is expected to began in January 2015. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226.
- TIRES:TEMPORARY/EMERGENCY SPARE TIRE
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2004-2011 Sienna vehicles originally sold in, or currently registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. The affected vehicles have a spare tire carrier assembly mounted under the vehicle whose attachment cable may corrode due to high concentrations of road salt splashing onto the spare tire carrier.
Risk: If the carrier cable is corroded due to road salt, the spare tire may separate from the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Toyota sent owners in August 2014 an interim notification to advise owners of the recall and that dealers will perform an interim remedy to remove the spare tire and relocate it to the luggage compartment, free of charge. Owners are being mailed a second letter as parts become available and dealers will replace the spare tire carrier assembly with an improved one, free of charge. The remedy campaign is being performed in phases. The first phase of the recall began July 7, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. NOTE: 2004-2010 Siennas subject to this recall were subject to recall campaign 10V-160 initiated in 2010. Those owners are advised that they must have their vehicles remedied again under this campaign and that having the earlier recall completed did not remedy their vehicles. Additionally, model year 1998-2003 Siennas were recalled as part of safety recall 10V-160. Owners of those vehicles that have not had not the remedy performed on their vehicles, should contact their Toyota dealer to schedule a free repair.
- POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2004-2005 Sienna vehicles manufactured January 10, 2003, through August 10, 2005; and model year 2007-2009 Sienna vehicles manufactured February 20, 2007, through December 12, 2008. In the affected vehicles, due to a problem within the shift lock solenoid, there is a possibility that the shift lever could be moved out of Park position without depressing the brake pedal.
Risk: If the shift lever is moved out of the Park position without the brake applied, the transmission will either engage a drive gear or Neutral, increasing the risk of a backover or roll away crash.
Remedy: Toyota will mail interim notifications to owners beginning in late October 2013. When parts are available, owners will be sent a second notice and dealers will replace the shift lock solenoid, free of charge. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
- ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2004 avalon vehicles; 2004 and 2005 camry, camry solara, highlander, and sienna vehicles, 2006 highlander hybrid; 2004 and 2005 lexus es330 and rx330; and 2006 lexus rx400h vehicles manufactured from june 1, 2004 through march 31, 2005, equipped with the 1mz-fe or 3mz-fe engine. The amount of adhesive agent applied between the outer ring and the torsional rubber damper (inner ring) in the crankshaft pulley may be inadequate. If the adhesive is insufficient, there is a possibility that the outer ring may become misaligned and it may not properly rotate with the inner ring, causing noise and/or illumination of the battery discharge indicator light.
Risk: In some cases, the belt for the power steering pump may become detached from the pulley which could result in a loss of power steering and a sudden increase in steering effort, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will check the crankshaft pulley to identify whether it was produced by the u.s. Supplier. If so, the dealer will replace the pulley with a new one at no charge. The safety recall is expected to begin during early january 2012. Owners may contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
- STRUCTURE
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.
Risk: The cable may break due to excessive corrosion and the spare tire may separate from the vehicle, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash.
Remedy: 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.
- EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
Gulf states toyota is recalling certain model year 2005-2010 vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." these vehicles were sold between september 1, 2005 and june 2, 2008 without the requisite load carrying capacity modification labels.
Risk: This does not meet the standard requirements.
Remedy: Dealers will mail to consumers the corrected label or the customer will have the option for dealers to install the label free of charge. Dealers will also correct the owner's manual. The safety recall began on may 27, 2010. Owners may contact gulf states toyota at 713-580-3300.
- EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
Southeast toyota is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 passenger vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." these vehicles were sold without the requisite load carrying capacity modification labels.
Risk: A driver may overload a vehicle which may increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will mail to consumers the corrected label or the customer will have the option for dealers to install the label free of charge. The safety recall began on may 27, 2010. Owners may contact southeast toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
NHTSA defect investigations
- EQ12010Opened Sep 28, 2012Closed Dec 31, 2012
Stabilus Rear Liftgate Struts Failing
Please see the attached closing resume summary.It has been attached to this document as a PDF.
- EA08024Opened Oct 28, 2008Closed Jul 16, 2009
Steering intermediate shaft binding
Odi's analysis of warranty data shows that the alleged defect has occurred in just 0.2 percent of the subject vehicle population.when the analysis is limited to salt-belt states, the rate is still well below one percent of the population (0.4 percent).in addition, tests conducted by odi and toyota have shown that the alleged defect has a minimal affect on steering efforts.odi interviews of owners who experienced the alleged defect indicated that in most cases the problem was preceded by months or years of noise or a gradual increase in steering efforts in the initial steering maneuvers after f…
Unexpected closing of power liftgate
On may 30, 2008, toyota initiated a safety recall to replace the liftgate struts in approximately 196,000 model year 2004-2006 toyota sienna vehicles equipped with power liftgates (recall 08v-244).the recall will provide the opportunity for vehicle owners to obtain new struts that are more robust.based on these actions, the agency has decided to close the investigation.while toyota has not made a decision that the recalled vehicles contain a safety-related defect, in view of the recall, further use of the agency's resources does not appear to be warranted.the closing of this investigation does…
- PE06029Opened Aug 2, 2006Closed Dec 1, 2006
Unexpected liftgate closing
The liftgate gas struts for the subject vehicles may have damaged gas seals that allow the liftgate to drop unexpectedly.the rates for complaints, alleged injuries and warranty claims are higher for vehicles with the power liftgate option.the power liftgate may automatically power-close at the completion of a power-open command without input from the operator.some owners are caught unaware of the power-close operation while under the rear liftgate door.odi has upgraded the investigation to an engineering analysis (ea06-020) and modified the scope to include only the subject vehicles with the p…
- PE06010Opened Feb 27, 2006Closed Aug 2, 2006
Tire pressure warning system failure
Odi opened pe06-010 based on 12 reports of alleged tire pressure warning system (tpws) failure on the subject vehicles.all reports alleged that the tpws warning light did not illuminate on the driver information panel when the tire pressure was low or the tire was flat.in some incidents, the consumer reported that tpws light did not illuminate when the tire pressure in 1 tire was at 15-20 psi and the other tires were at or near the recommended tire pressure.during pe06-010, additional failure data was identified as noted in the failure report summary above.as of july 25, 2006, odi was not awar…
Seatbelt malfunction
The shoulder portion of the middle-row seatbelt webbing feeds through an opening in the seatbelt bezel located at the top of the seat.the bezel also contains a clip that covers a narrow slot in the bezel.the clip may become dislodged from use and allow the seat belt to become stuck in the narrow slot exposed by the dislodged clip. In addition to odi's 10 consumer complaints, toyota's letter response to the agency identifies 40 other consumer and field reports and 3,089 warranty repairs that required the replacement of the seatbelt bezel and/or clip.a stuck or jammed seatbelt does not offer pro…
Recent 2005 Toyota Sienna complaints
Excerpts of the newest owner complaints, lightly cleaned of personal details. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
- Filed May 31, 2024CAAirbagsBody & Structure
The dashboard has so many cracks literally everywhere. All the way from the driver side to the passenger side. When the temperature changes hot to cold or cold to hot. There’s nothing but cracking sounds.
NHTSA complaint #11591696 · source - Filed Feb 14, 2024142,000 miSCTowedEngine
The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the oil warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over, opened the hood, and added additional oil. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who informed him that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was…
NHTSA complaint #11571869 · source - Filed Nov 25, 2023COBody & StructureOther / Unknown
The rear hatch on our 2005 Toyota Sienna, after being opened, comes down almost immediately and can hit a person who is reaching into the back cargo area and cause injury. Other people have also reported this same dangerous malfunction online as far back as 2007.
NHTSA complaint #11556754 · source - Filed Sep 29, 2023MOBrakesSteering
When driving on the highway, the van will suddenly brake and the steering will lock up for about 10 seconds. It is truly frightening. It has happened many times, even with the anti-lock button off. I love this vehicle otherwise, but cannot drive it for safety reasons. And I feel bad selling it to anyone else because I don't want anyone to die! The scariest part when it's on a windy 2 lane road. It really becomes non responsive and also the brakes come on when you are going…
NHTSA complaint #11547272 · source - Filed Sep 25, 2023TXVisibility & Wipers
The stickiness of the dashboard causes unwanted glare and reflections on the windshield, especially when driving in bright sunlight. This glare and reflection make it extremely challenging to maintain a clear and unobstructed view of the road ahead, leading to hazy and blurry vision. As you can imagine, this compromised visibility poses a significant safety risk for both my family and other road users. The dashboard was recalled by Toyota however the part was not available…
NHTSA complaint #11546395 · source - Filed Apr 22, 2023UTBrakesAcceleration & Cruise ControlSteering
I was driving on a dry road, going 70mph when my car began flashing the abs indicator and it began breaking and controlling my steering taking me into another lane. The car slowed my vehicle suddenly down to 60 mph and then went off like it never happened. I then had control. There was no reason for the car to do this. There was nothing in the road and luckily no one was to close to me or there would have been an accident. I almost over corrected due to the pulling of the…
NHTSA complaint #11518385 · source - Filed Mar 15, 2023140,000 miWITransmission & Drivetrain
The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated when he walked outside, he noticed that the vehicle had rolled backwards into the middle of the street. The contact was able to drive the vehicle back into the driveway; however, the failure reoccurred. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was contacted, and the manufacturer stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V657000 (Power Train) and a case was filed. The failure…
NHTSA complaint #11511999 · source - Filed Sep 23, 2022VABody & Structure
Broken spare tire carrier. Seems to be a common problem on XLE sienna. I have 2005 LE and my spare tire carrier is completely broken. Tried getting a replacement from 5 parts car sienna and they were all broken as well! Another common problems Sienna have are rack and pinions. They always leak. I owned a 1998 then a 2003 sienna and they both leaked from the power steering pack. Spare tire carrier is a dangerous issue. Spare tire can fall off on the road and can cause auto…
NHTSA complaint #11486049 · source
Compare the 2005 Toyota Sienna with another vehicle →
Other 2005 Toyota models
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data, as of Oct 10, 2026. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology