Owner-reported complaints naming the engine system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2012 Toyota Sienna submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 10 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
Coolant leaking from rear of the engine through the head gasket. Vehicle struggles to accelerate beyond 55mph or 80kmph. A quick search on the internet shows that this is a frequent occurrence in this 3.5L V6 engine from Toyota model years 2011 through 2017.
The engine stalled, power steering frozen then engine shut off while driving in an intersection. Replaced new battery, dove home upon arrival the engine stalled again, power steering frozen and engine shut off again. I don’t know what’s going on.
THIS CAR CAUGHT ON FIRE FEW MINUTES AFTER SOME ELECTRICAL ISSUES- WHILE DRIVING THE CAR WITH EVERYTHING LOOKING JUST FINE , THE A/C FAN FLUCTUATED ON AND OFF -CAR BLUE TOOTH ALSO KEPT DISCONNECTED AND RECONNECT FOR A FEW SECONDS THEN ALL DASHBOARD LIGHTS ILLUMINATED ON AND OFF FEW TIMES . AFTER MAYBE 2 MINUETS I REACHED HOME ,MAY FAMILY GOT OFF THE CAR WHEN I NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM THE HOOD . I OPENED THE HOOD TO FIND A MEDIUM SIZE FIRE COMING FROM THE DRIVER SIDE OF THE ENGINE, I CALLED 911 RIGHT AWAY . IN LESS THAN 10-15 MINS MOST OF THE CAR MELT FROM THE FIRE PLUS THE WHOLE GARAGE.
I MET AN ACCIDENT WHEN A CAR (AT SPEED AROUND 65 MPH) CROSSING THE RED LIGHT COMING FROM MY RIGHT HIT MY CAR AT MY RIGHT FRONT AND NONE OF THE SRS BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. WE WERE 4 PASSENGERS AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT AND WE ALL HAD MINOR INJURIES. ALL THE SRS BAGS FOR OTHER CAR HAS BEEN DEPLOYED THAT HIT MY CAR. I AM REALLY CONCERNED WE ALL 4 WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED AND IT HAS BEEN CONSIDERED AS THE FATAL ACCIDENT BY POLICE REPORT.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA SIENNA. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, A KNOCKING NOISE WAS PRESENT COMING FROM THE ENGINE. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000.
ON AUGUST 27, 2016 I WAS DRIVING OUR 2012 TOYOTA SIENNA ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY. TRAFFIC WAS TERRIBLE AND I REAR-ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE IN STOP-AND-GO TRAFFIC. THE IMPACT WAS MINOR, BUT THE ENGINE CAUGHT FIRE AND BURNT THE CAR TO THE FRAME. MY WIFE AND I WERE ABLE TO EXIT THE CAR BEFORE IT BURNED. WHEN I EXITED THE CAR, I TOOK MY KEYS WITH ME. HOWEVER, I WAS NOT ABLE TO OPEN ANY OF THE DOORS AND EVERYTHING I HAD IN THE BACK OF THE VAN BURNED. THANKFULLY, OUR CHILDREN WERE NOT IN THE CAR. IF THEY HAD BEEN, I WOULD HAVE NEEDED TO BREAK WINDOWS TO ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THEM FROM THE CAR.
2012 SIENNA LIMITED ELECTRICAL ISSUES I HAVE A 2012 TOYOTA SIENNA LIMITED WITH EVERY OPTION EXCEPT AWD. ON FEBRUARY 4, 2015, AFTER DRIVING FOR ABOUT 25 MINUTES, WHEN I STOPPED AND TURNED OFF THE ENGINE, THE VAN COMPLETELY DIED! I WANTED TO START AGAIN, BUT THERE WAS NO POWER AT ALL; NOTHING WOULD FUNCTION, DOOR LOCKS, RADIO, LIGHTS, NOTHING! I HAD TO WAIT FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES. FINALLY I WAS ABLE TO START; HOWEVER THE NAVIGATION DVD WAS RESET. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IT HAPPENS THIS WEEK. BEFORE THESE EVENTS; ABOUT ONE YEAR AGO SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPENED, THAT TIME THE VAN WAS IN THE GARAGE, WE WERE READY TO GO TO CHURCH AND WHEN I PRESS THE START BUTTON IT TRIED TO START BUT THEN IT COMPLETELY DIED, THERE WAS NO POWER AT ALL. I AM REALLY CONCERNED THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN WHILE DRIVING AND WE WILL BE IN A VERY SERIOUS CONDITION NOT BEING ABLE TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. I ALREADY CALLED THE DEALER, BUT THERE WAS NO HELP. I HAD THE BATTERY CHECKED AND IT?S IN PERFECT CONDITIONS! *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA SIENNA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 6 MPH, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND THE VEHICLE FAILED TO RESPOND. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A SUDDEN INCREASE OF ENGINE RPMS WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 41,605. UPDATED 1/23/15*CN THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALER COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. UPDATED 10/6/2015*JS
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA SIENNA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 75 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THERE WAS NO BRAKING POWER AND AS THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO GUIDE THE VEHICLE OFF THE ROADWAY, HE CRASHED INTO A CURB. THE HORN THEN BEGAN TO SOUND AS SMOKE FILLED THE INTERIOR CABIN. THE SIX OCCUPANTS OF THE VEHICLE BECAME TRAPPED INSIDE AND WERE ABLE TO CLIMB OUT OF A PARTIALLY OPENED WINDOW AS THE VEHICLE BECAME ENGULFED IN FLAMES WITHIN MINUTES. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED, THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INSPECTED TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE OR THE FIRE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 23,000.
JOINING HIGHWAY IN A SITUATION WHERE VEHICLES GIVING WAY CAUSE HESITATION AND THEN GIVE WAY CAUSING BRAKING THEN ACCELERATION REPEATEDLY, TRANSMISSION REFUSED TO DOWNSHIFT ON KICK DOWN, VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE, ACTUALLY SLOWED SIGNIFICANTLY FORCING FOLLOWING VEHICLES TO BRAKE .VEHICLE EVENTUALLY BEGAN TO PICK UP SPEED.GENERALLY POOR RESPONSE FROM TRANSMISSION IN ALL MODES. TRANSMISSION DROPS OUT OF DRIVE AT LOW SPEEDS CAUSING ENGINE TO RACE BEFORE TAKING UP DRIVE, VERY HARD TO OPERATE VEHICLE SMOOTHLY.. EXCESSIVE ENGINE VIBRATION AND NOISE FOR THIS PRICE POINT ,KNOWN MORE REFINED DIESELS KNOCKING FROM STEERING COLUMN ON CONSTANT RADIUS TURNS WHEN MAKING SMALL STEERING CORRECTIONS, DETECTABLE AT LOW AND MODERATE TO HIGH SPEED. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .