2008 Toyota Sienna problems, complaints & recalls

2008 Toyota Sienna recalls (7)

• Recall 16V396000Jun 2, 20167,749 vehicles
  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.

• Recall 14V743000Nov 19, 20143,233 vehicles
  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.

• Recall 14V273000May 22, 2014419,520 vehicles
  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.

• Recall 13V429000Sep 26, 2013614,722 vehicles
  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.

• Recall 10V160000Apr 20, 2010600,000 vehicles
  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.

• Recall 10V035000Feb 3, 2010271,417 vehicles
  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.

• Recall 10V036000Feb 3, 2010153,418 vehicles
  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.

Recent 2008 Toyota Sienna complaints

Excerpts of the newest owner complaints, lightly cleaned of personal details. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

1. Filed Aug 21, 2026170,000 miILBody & Structure

   The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the rear passenger’s side sliding door independently unlatched and opened. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where unknown repairs were performed. The contact stated that several years later the failure reoccurred. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

   NHTSA complaint #11758562 · source
2. Filed Mar 25, 2026107,000 miMAFireOther / Unknown

   The contact owned a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while he was away, the fire department called to notify him that his vehicle had caught fire while parked in the driveway. The contact's neighbor was alerted to the fire by the vehicle's alarm system and called the fire department. The fire department extinguished the fire but was unable to determine the cause of the fire. A fire department report was filed. The fire destroyed the interior of the vehicle. The…

   NHTSA complaint #11727073 · source
3. Filed Feb 6, 2025MDBrakesAcceleration & Cruise ControlSteering

   I have had the traction control go on while driving on the highway even when I turn it off. Sometimes the VSC and TRAC OFF lights go on while driving. The roads are dry. Whenever I take it in to the mechanic, all the lights are off. They pulled a zero calibration code and recalibrated. It still kept happening. Then I was driving around a curve on highway speeds when the traction control light went on and the van suddenly braked on its own and I almost lost control. The tires…

   NHTSA complaint #11641052 · source
4. Filed Dec 11, 2024WIOther / Unknown

   ODOMETER - FALSE - REPORTING -MONTANA TITLE - SIGNED AND NOTARIZED BY SELLER (CARVANA) "Federal and State State Law require that the owner state the mileage of a vehicle upon transfer of ownership. If you fail to complete this disclosure or provide a false statement, you may be subject to fines and/or imprisonment." We were sold Toyota Sienna 110477 miles, however the odometer reads 206625 miles. We reached out to Carvana to resolve the issue, they refused. -CARFAX History…

   NHTSA complaint #11630204 · source
5. Filed Apr 29, 2024CAEngine

   The head gasket that was repaired failed and the radiator system also failed. Im not sure if these issues are dealer related or manufacture related as i spoke to the previous owner and they stated they had the vehicle serviced at a manufacturer prior to doing a trade in with the dealer

   NHTSA complaint #11585798 · source
6. Filed Nov 11, 2023TNVisibility & Wipers

   The material used by Toyota to manufacture the dash is breaking down. Toyota is aware of this issue due to cracking and offered a limited extended warranty which I never received any notification (and many others did not per Toyota's chat forum). Cracking I can deal with. But now the material is continuing to break down and a thick sticky liquid is separating and rising to the surface creating a terrible sheen. When exposed to direct sunlight the visibility through the front…

   NHTSA complaint #11554652 · source
7. Filed Aug 24, 2023178,000 miMATransmission & Drivetrain

   The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated at a high rate of speed. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact desperately pressed on the brake pedal, but the vehicle would not slow down. The contact shifted the gear lever into neutral and the vehicle slowed down. The contact was able to pull over on the side of the road and shutoff the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted and operated normally.…

   NHTSA complaint #11540621 · source
8. Filed Jul 15, 2023CAElectrical SystemSteering

   Issues with VSC. The sensor alarm goes off when driving at more than 50 mph and slightly turning the steering wheel. The car brakes itself and this is DANGEROUS. It happens all the time, it has been more than 5-6 years and we are to the point of not using the car on the freeway to prevent a potential fatal accident. I found posts describing the same issue with this model of Toyota. Car should be recalled to get this fixed.

   NHTSA complaint #11532504 · source

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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