2019 Toyota Sienna Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2019 Toyota Sienna, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Fuel system1326.0%
- Powertrain (other)714.0%
- Body & structure612.0%
- Engine48.0%
- Electrical48.0%
- Airbags36.0%
- Driver assistance36.0%
- Seat belts24.0%
- Exterior lighting24.0%
- Other / unspecified24.0%
- Visibility12.0%
- Brakes12.0%
- Interior & seats12.0%
- Tires & wheels12.0%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Fuel system
Reports naming fuel storage or delivery — tanks, pumps, lines, injectors and fuel leaks.
From owner reports, verbatim
Car was recalled for fuel pump and I repaired in 8/2020 with approximately 11,190 miles. I had complained that car, since time of purchase and had 4662 miles when I insisted Toyota fix this, (hunted for gears, hesitated, lagged when accelerator pushed, and had poorer gas mileage than expected). The car now has 34,875 miles on it and is doing the same thing, hesitating, lunging between gears. Our mechanic confirmed this and stated worse when using a.c. Called Toyota Customer Service and they said the car was out of warranty for the pump repair, but perhaps not the power train, transmission, etc. Have not gotten back to me yet, but has not been one working day after spending 2.5 hours on the phone with them yesterday. This is a safety issue, I press on the gas to make a turn and it lags leaving me in traffic. My 2007 Sienna, which is still running for my daughter, never did this and has full power when called upon. Toyota needs to repair the entire fuel system, transmission, if they cannot fix this. There are no warning lights when this happens & it is happening more frequently. Dealership told me they could not put another pump on car and to contact Toyota Customer Service and gave me the number. When we had the car for about a month, dealership said we were just not used to driving a car with this type of transmission and car was low on oil, we added oil and dealership said we used the wrong type, but we figured some oil was better than no oil. We are boomers and have been driving cars for decades, with clutches and without and we know how to drive a vehicle.
MY FUEL PUMP HAS BEEN REPLACED BY THE DEALER WITH THE RECALLED PART. THE VEHICLE STILL DOES THE SAME THING IT HAS BEEN DOING SINCE PURCHASING. IT ACTS LIKE IT IS NOT GETTING GAS SO HESITATES MULTIPLE TIMES CONSTANTLY WHILE DRIVING. SOMETIMES I PULL OUT AND THERE IS A DELAY IN THE ENGINE GETTING GAS THEN IT KICKS IN AND IS A JERKY RIDE. IT MOSTLY HAPPENS BELOW 45 MPH. I HAVE FELT THE DELAY OCCASIONALLY ABOVE 55 MPH. THE PROBLEM IS NOT THE FUEL PUMP THAT THEY ARE RECALLING SINCE I ALREADY HAVE THE NEW ONE AND THE PROBLEM IS NOT FIXED.
Powertrain (other)
Powertrain reports that are not specifically the engine or transmission — driveshafts, axles, transfer cases and differentials.
From owner reports, verbatim
2019 Sienna XLE with 77,000 miles has a UA80 Transmission is whining at the final gear per Imperial Toyota Milford MA service center. They want to replace the transmission for 9,000 USD and Toyota Corporate refuses assistance. It appear to be a common defect which could lead to transmission lockup if the gear fails.
Transmission has failed and been replaced. This is part of issues from 2017 to 2020 tranny failures, loud whining and needing to be replaced. Tranny failure is very dangerous to the occupants. Toyota has failed to warranty these.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Body & structure
Reports naming the vehicle structure, frame, body panels, doors, hood and trim.
From owner reports, verbatim
About 2 years after the 9/30/2019 purchase (new), the paint on the front engine hood began peeling & cracking. Calls to Parks Toyota were ineffective. Now the entire hood has pervasive cracks. The hood needs to be removed, sanded & painted with a more substantial, long-lasting paint. The paint used is supposed to contain an additional clear coat for protection.
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the liftgate failed to lower while using the remote. While reversing, the back-up camera became inoperable. The air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who stated the failure was due to the remote start feature that was installed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that she noticed the mirrors were fractured. While driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown safety features became inoperable. There was a burning odor detected inside the vehicle. The manufacturer was contacted and offered to pay a nominal portion of the repair for the mirrors and referred her to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Engine
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.
From owner reports, verbatim
Car was recalled for fuel pump and I repaired in 8/2020 with approximately 11,190 miles. I had complained that car, since time of purchase and had 4662 miles when I insisted Toyota fix this, (hunted for gears, hesitated, lagged when accelerator pushed, and had poorer gas mileage than expected). The car now has 34,875 miles on it and is doing the same thing, hesitating, lunging between gears. Our mechanic confirmed this and stated worse when using a.c. Called Toyota Customer Service and they said the car was out of warranty for the pump repair, but perhaps not the power train, transmission, etc. Have not gotten back to me yet, but has not been one working day after spending 2.5 hours on the phone with them yesterday. This is a safety issue, I press on the gas to make a turn and it lags leaving me in traffic. My 2007 Sienna, which is still running for my daughter, never did this and has full power when called upon. Toyota needs to repair the entire fuel system, transmission, if they cannot fix this. There are no warning lights when this happens & it is happening more frequently. Dealership told me they could not put another pump on car and to contact Toyota Customer Service and gave me the number. When we had the car for about a month, dealership said we were just not used to driving a car with this type of transmission and car was low on oil, we added oil and dealership said we used the wrong type, but we figured some oil was better than no oil. We are boomers and have been driving cars for decades, with clutches and without and we know how to drive a vehicle.
TOYOTA NOTIFIED OWNERS OF A FUEL PUMP PROBLEM IN JANUARY 2020. IT IS NOW 6 MONTHS LATER AND TOYOTA STILL DOES NOT HAVE A FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM. I AM UNABLE TO SAFELY USE MY CAR AND NOT EVEN THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP WILL OFFER ME ENOUGH MONEY TO COVER MY LOAN IN ORDER TO SELL THE CAR. I AM PAYING $600 A MONTH FOR A CAR I CAN'T USE AND CAN'T SELL. *TR
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Electrical
Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories.
From owner reports, verbatim
The microphone has an issue and it is tied to the SOS call button in the car. I asked my dealership, they wanted to charge $200 to run a diagnostic scan, I contacted Toyota directly, they basically said the dealer can charge it if they want and reverse the charge if they find a problem under warranty. I originally thought the issue was with the Blue Tooth. I found this video on YouTube, his fix did work-my concern is, if I had needed Emergency help-the button would not have called anyone, disconnecting your car battery is NOT something I should I have to do to fix a 2019 vehicle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkAdMRKHS_0
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the liftgate failed to lower while using the remote. While reversing, the back-up camera became inoperable. The air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who stated the failure was due to the remote start feature that was installed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that she noticed the mirrors were fractured. While driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown safety features became inoperable. There was a burning odor detected inside the vehicle. The manufacturer was contacted and offered to pay a nominal portion of the repair for the mirrors and referred her to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Airbags
Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights.
From owner reports, verbatim
My van was struck directly in the driver side rear sliding door while sitting still at a stop sign. The other driver collided straight into the passenger compartment door at an approximate speed of 30 mph crushing the door, exploding the window and neither the driver side airbags nor the side curtain airbags deployed. Resulting in my wife severely jarring around in the driver's seat, as well as my son who was securely fastened in a child booster seat in the driver side rear seat. The glass from the rear door window shattered and covered my son and the interior of the vehicle. There are no active recalls, but I read about a recall concerning the passenger side door welds that could affect operation of the side airbag and side curtain airbag sensors, but this only applied to a small number of 2019 Sienna's. Could this have been a manufacturing defect that bled over to the other door structures affecting the sensors in the same way.
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the liftgate failed to lower while using the remote. While reversing, the back-up camera became inoperable. The air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who stated the failure was due to the remote start feature that was installed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that she noticed the mirrors were fractured. While driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown safety features became inoperable. There was a burning odor detected inside the vehicle. The manufacturer was contacted and offered to pay a nominal portion of the repair for the mirrors and referred her to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Driver assistance
Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems.
From owner reports, verbatim
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that after he entered the vehicle, he depressed the brake pedal to start the vehicle. After the vehicle was started, he shifted into reverse(R) while the brake pedal remained depressed; however, the vehicle inadvertently accelerated without warning. In a desperate attempt to stop the vehicle from crashing into another vehicle, the contact shifted into drive(D) while the brake pedal remained depressed. The contact then stated that he applied pressure to the brake pedal to stop the vehicle from accelerating when the vehicle then jumped the curb and struck a garbage can. The contact then shifted into reverse(R) while the vehicle continued to accelerate to move away from the garbage can and then shifted in neutral(N). The contact then shifted back into park(P). The contact then stated that after he placed the vehicle in park, the inadvertent acceleration stopped. The contact shifted into drive(D) and the vehicle performed as designed; however, the contact was concerned for his safety and carefully drove the vehicle to his residence where the vehicle remained. The contact was unsure if any warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,750.
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the front end of the vehicle would lunge downward towards the road surface when depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, the contact stated while reversing in a parking lot of the Doctor's offices, the vehicle accelerated at high speed independently. The contact depressed the brake pedal as hard as he could with both of his feet; however, the rear end of the vehicle crashed into the rear end of another occupied vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. An unknown warning light illuminated. The contact sustained bruises on the left arm but did not seek medical assistance. The other occupied vehicle had three passengers including a baby asleep in a car seat located in the rear seats. The contact was unsure whether the other three passengers sustained injuries. The police arrived at the scene but there was no police report filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer informed the contact that they could not diagnose or repair the vehicle as it was involved in an accident that may have injured other individuals. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that a field engineer would contact him for the vehicle inspection. The contact stated the manufacturer took possession of the vehicle EDR but has not informed him of a diagnostic. A case was opened. The vehicle remained at the dealership but was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 6,800.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Seat belts
Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners.
From owner reports, verbatim
Second row passenger seatbelt jammed. Unable to be repaired needs new seatbelt part. We were out of town and a passenger was unable to be restrained on way home. The Part is on back order. I cannot use this seat which i need for babysitting grandchildren. I cannot eve sell this van because part not available. Van is available for inspection.Colerain Toyota Cincinnati is the dealership i also contacted Toyota complaint department.
THE FIRST WEEKS SEEMED LIKE EVERYTHING WAS FINE WITH THE VEHICLE UNTIL WE STARTED FEELING LOW LEVELS OF ELECTRICAL SHOCKS. IT WAS MOSTLY ON THE STEERING WHEEL SO WE THOUGHT THAT THE SENSATION WOULD GO AWAY, BUT IT ACTUALLY STARTED GOING WORSE TO THE POINT THAT WE STARTED HAVING DISCOMFORT ON THE SEATBELT AND THE LAST THREE WEEKS BEFORE WE DROPPED THE VEHICLE AT THE DEALERSHIP THE HAZARD STARTED TO INTENSIFY AND GET STRONGER. THE SEATBELT OF THE 2019 TOYOTA SIENNA HAD PROVIDED A LOT OF PAIN TO MY OVARIES (TO THE POINT THAT MY PERIOD HAD BEEN ALTERED DURING THE MONTHS OF OCTOBER TO DECEMBER 2019), IT CAUSED SO MUCH PAIN IN MY STOMACH WHILE BEING A DRIVER AND A PASSENGER SPECIALLY THE LAST THREE WEEKS BEFORE I DROPPED THE VEHICLE AT THE DEALERSHIP. ALSO DUE TO THE FACT THAT I AM FIVE FEET TALL, THE SEATBELT RESTED ON MY NECK WHICH WAS THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE EXPERIENCE. IN THOSE PAST THREE WEEKS PRIOR TO DROPPING IT AT THE DEALERSHIP, I EVEN FELT SHOCKS FROM THE SEATBELT WHILE IT WAS RESTING ON MY NECK CAUSING NUMBNESS IN MY LEGS. ON REGARDS OF THE STEERING WHEEL, I FELT ELECTRICAL SHOCKS THAT CAUSED TINGLING IN MY HANDS GOING ALL THE WAY UP TO MY ELBOW CAUSING PAIN ON MY ELBOWS (HAVING GREATER DISCOMFORT ON MY LEFT ARM AS I TENDED TO DRIVE MOST WITH MY LEFT HAND) AND MAKING MY ARMS FEEL TINGLING AND EVENTUALLY NUMBNESS.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Exterior lighting
Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting.
From owner reports, verbatim
The headlight on the passenger side has LED daylight running lights. A number of the led's are not working of flickering. Toyota refuse to cover this under warranty even though the car was bought 8-31-2019. Not having working daytime headlights is a major safety issue to me.
PULLED OUT INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC AND VEHICLE HESITATED AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. DASH LIGHTS CAME ON AND CAR STALLED. ATTEMPTED TO CRANK VAN AND IT RESTARTED BUT WOULD BARELY MOVE WITH THE ACCELERATOR PRESSED FULLY. HAD TO CALL A TOW TRUCK TO HAVE IT DELIVERED TO THE DEALER. I CALLED TOYOTA ROAD SIDE ASSISTANCE NUMBER AND 2.5 LATER NO ONE SHOWED UP. CALLED AGAIN AND DEMANDED A DIFFERENT TOW COMPANY RESPOND AND 30 MINUTES LATER SOMEONE WAS AT THE SCENE. THIS EPISODE STATED 230 PM AND VAN WAS PICKED UP 637PM.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Other / unspecified
Reports whose component NHTSA recorded as unknown, or that do not map to one of the categories above.
From owner reports, verbatim
The Harness Adjuster Strap (item 5 in attached snip from user manual) loosens while in use. This item was manufactured post-recall 24C002000, using Nuna's new design described here: [XXX] This design change did not prevent the functionality of the strap to fail. There was zero to minimal debris (no food, drink, or water) in the mechanism causing it to fail. The Harness Release button (item 4 in snip from user manual) actuates freely. The adjuster strap, and subsequently the entire harness strap, moves freely, while the carseat is loaded or unloaded. I have a video available showing that the strop in the seat freely moving. We discovered the product failure while loading the child in the carseat and testing it's security by pulling on chest straps. Nuna's response was lackluster and unprofessional. Here is the sequence of events: We immediately reported the issue the first business day available, May 27th, and Nuna responded 24hrs later, informing us they would again respond in 1-2 business days to send us a form and shipping label to send back the defective product. We responded the same day asking them to expedite the process and send us a new product immediately as we had no backup for a carseat and my wife could not leave the home. A little over 48 hrs later they denied our request, and sent us the shipping and RMA form. We are now a full business week past the initial request and now are returning the carseat, with no assurance of when the replacement will be delivered. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
WE PURCHASED 2019 SIENNA WITH 4K MILES , REGULARLY CHANGED OIL TOGETHER WITH TIRE INSPECTION. NOW OUR CAR HAVE 29K MILE AND AT THE TIME THAN WE WAS CHANGING OIL , THEY TOLD US WE NEED NEW TIRES . IT IS NO WAY ITS NORMAL FOR BRAND NEW CAR WITH MICHELIN TIRES TO NEED NEW SETS OF TIRES . WE FOUNDED ITS MAIN PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR , SO MANU PEOPLE COMPLAINS . PLEASE HELP US SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. *TR
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Visibility
Reports naming windshields, glass, wipers, defrosters and mirrors.
From owner reports, verbatim
The contact called on behalf of her husband who owns a 2019 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated while her husband was driving approximately 65 MPH, there was an abnormally loud bang heard. The driver became aware that the sunroof glass had shattered and that a part of the glass was missing. The driver continued to his destination. The vehicle was not diagnosed; however, the contact spoke with the local dealer; who informed him that a foreign object probably had struck the sunroof for the glass to shatter. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Brakes
Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake.
From owner reports, verbatim
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the front end of the vehicle would lunge downward towards the road surface when depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, the contact stated while reversing in a parking lot of the Doctor's offices, the vehicle accelerated at high speed independently. The contact depressed the brake pedal as hard as he could with both of his feet; however, the rear end of the vehicle crashed into the rear end of another occupied vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. An unknown warning light illuminated. The contact sustained bruises on the left arm but did not seek medical assistance. The other occupied vehicle had three passengers including a baby asleep in a car seat located in the rear seats. The contact was unsure whether the other three passengers sustained injuries. The police arrived at the scene but there was no police report filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer informed the contact that they could not diagnose or repair the vehicle as it was involved in an accident that may have injured other individuals. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that a field engineer would contact him for the vehicle inspection. The contact stated the manufacturer took possession of the vehicle EDR but has not informed him of a diagnostic. A case was opened. The vehicle remained at the dealership but was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 6,800.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Interior & seats
Reports naming seats, latches, locks, linkages and interior fittings.
From owner reports, verbatim
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while attempting to open the driver's side sliding door, the door failed to completely open but remained ajar. The contact became aware that an electrical cable was hanging from the door. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the cable needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the door needed to be taken off and reinstalled to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Tires & wheels
Reports naming tires, wheels, hubs, or the tire-pressure monitoring system.
From owner reports, verbatim
This tire separated at the side wall nearest the rim. The last one separated and swelled roughly the size of a ping pong ball, prior to that the same thing. This is the 3rd Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season tire to fail. After this last one, I realized it's got to be something with the construction of the tire so I googled and found recalls for other Pireeli tire models. I contacted the mfr and they refused to assist. Spoke with very rude individual at Pirelli USA in Rome, GA location who stated 'if I am concerned about the safety of the tire, report it to the NHTSA' and that in order to obtain a replacement I would have to contact the retailer to initiate a return. As instructed, I spoke with the retailer Simple Tire (Trevose, PA), an individual named Shailesh. I was told since there is no NHTSA recall therefore there is no replacement.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
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.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .