2021 Toyota Sienna Hybrid

The rear power liftgate hinges on my 2021 Toyota Sienna failed structurally under normal, everyday operation. The power liftgate motor and struts appear to exert uneven or excessive pressure on the rear hatch assembly, causing the metal hinges to crack. Before the failure, we noticed a loud popping/grinding sound when opening the hatch, which quickly progressed to the liftgate binding and misaligning. This is a severe safety hazard because the structural failure prevents the heavy rear hatch from closing or latching securely, creating a risk that it could fly open while driving, dropping cargo onto the roadway or exposing passengers. It also creates a risk of the heavy door falling unexpectedly on someone loading the vehicle. The vehicle had to be taken to a dealership body shop for structural repairs due to the cracked metal, costing me over $1,500 out of pocket. Toyota has not issued a recall or good faith reimbursment for this known design defect.

My liftgate has been making loud noises upon closing. The dealership checked it and diagnosed that the trunk door is mis-aligned, leaving a gap so that the door WOULD NOT SECURELY CLOSE. I was referred to the body shop to have the shocks and hinges changed. Further discussions mentioned this was a common problem with the Toyota RAV-4 where the hydraulics fail causing a bad alignment therefore affecting the hinges. Although my vehicle is a Toyota SIENNA, I had asked if this was caused by mishandling on my part (ie, slamming/ forcing the door or stuffing the cargo) but the technician mentioned that there was nothing I could have done to prevent it nor done to have caused the hydraulics to fail or go bad. There were no lamps or alerts that warned me of the problem other than the "scraping noise" upon closing that was getting louder ever since. The problem had been assessed and confirmed by the body shop.

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Sienna Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact heard an abnormal splashing sound inside the vehicle. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was water coming from underneath the doors. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 0121-20 (Sloshing or Splashing Noise Caused by Water Inside Doors); however, the vehicle was not covered under the TSB. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 22,500.

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Sienna Hybrid. The contact stated that after pressing the rear lift gate button, the rear liftgate door failed to open, trapping the dog inside the vehicle. The contact stated that the rear liftgate door was later manually forced open by two good Samaritans and the dog was retrieved. The vehicle was later taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the failure was caused by a faulty passenger’s side liftgate strut bolt. The liftgate strut and bolt were replaced and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 67,000.