2010 Toyota Sienna

ABOUT 20 MINUTES AWAY FROM HOME WE HEARD SOME "GROWLING" AND "TICKING" NOISE FROM THE ENGINE. NO INSTRUMENT WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON. AS WE PULLED INTO OUR STEEP DRIVEWAY, THE OIL PRESSURE LIGHT STARTED TO BLINK. WE SHUT THE ENGINE. UPON INSPECTION, THE OIL DIPSTICK APPEARED DRY. I ADDED ABOUT 4 QTS OF OIL, AND STARTED THE ENGINE. IT SOUNDED NORMAL, AND NO WARNING LIGHT WAS DISPLAYED. I BROUGHT THE CAR TO A LEVEL AREA AND CHECKED OIL AGAIN. I ADDED ANOTHER QUART - OIL WAS BETWEEN THE MARKS ON THE DIPSTICK. I NOTICED LIGHT DRIPPING FROM THE FRONT AREA OF THE ENGINE, NEAR THE OIL COOLER. I THEN DROVE THE CAR TO THE AUTO REPAIR SHOP (ABOUT 4 MILES AWAY). ENGINE SOUNDED OK, NO WARNING LIGHTS. NEXT DAY I WAS TOLD THAT THE OIL LINE TO THE OIL COOLER IS LEAKING, AND THERE'S DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE DUE TO RUNNING WITH NO OIL. I ASSUME THAT THE ENGINE OPERATED WITH NO OIL WHEN WE HEARD NOISES - BUT HOW COULD THE OIL LEAK OUT AND RUN THE ENGINE DRY FOR 15 MINUTES *BEFORE* THE LIGHT CAME ON? HOW COMMON IS THE PROBLEM OF THE OIL-COOLER HOSE FAILING? DOES THIS MODEL SHARE THE SAME ENGINE AS THE LEXUS RX350? IF SO - IS THE PROBLEM RELATED (I READ THAT MANY RX350 OWNERS COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS) ?

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I HAD TO REPLACE MY TRANSMISSION IN MY SIENNA. EACH TIME IT HAPPENED, I WAS ON VACATION. THE FIRST TIME I REPLACED IT WAS LESS THAN 2 YEARS AGO, APRIL 2014. THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH THE CAR SHIFTING HARD AND HUMMING ON ACCELERATION. LUCKILY I MADE IT HOME AND WAS ABLE TO FIX IT. SPENT $1, 404.43 WHICH WAS 30% OF THE COST, TOYOTA PAID FOR 70% OF IT. NOW MARCH OF 2016, THE CAR LURCHED, WAS SMOCKING AND SLOWED DOWN WHILE I WAS ON VACATION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO GET IT TO RIGHT OUTSIDE OF THE HOTEL ROOM. PAID TOWING TO GET THE CAR TO AN OVERNIGHT LOCATION, MIKE ERDMAN TOYOTA. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO FIX IT WITHIN THE WEEK THAT I WAS ON VACATION. I HAD TO COME HOME AND DRIVE BACK TO 224 MILES TO GET THE CAR. THIS TIME, I AM PAYING $3600.00. I SAW ANOTHER COMPLAINT SIMILAR TO MINE ON THIS SITE. UNFORTUNATELY, I WILL HAVE TO GET RID OF THE CAR BECAUSE I AM AFRAID FOR MY SAFETY. WHEN A CAR STALLS ON YOU ON THE TURNPIKE OR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RODE, IT IS TIME TO CUT YOUR LOSES. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE MY FAMILY HAVE BEEN TOYOTA OWNERS BUT WILL NOW HAVE TO LOOK FOR A NEW COMPANY.

THE AUTOMATIC DOOR TO MY VAN STOPPED WORKING I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER WHERE I WAS TOLD THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM ON THESE VEHICLES. I WAS TOLD THAT THE CABLE ON THE DOOR IS WHAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED BUT YOU CAN'T PURCHASE THE CABLE ITSELF. THE DEALER EXPLAINED THAT I WOULD HAVE TO PURCHASE THE MOTOR BECAUSE IT'S A "PACKAGE" DEAL BUT IN REALITY I DIDN'T NEED THE MOTOR, THE MOTOR ON THE VAN WAS IN GOOD CONDITION. THEY WANTED TOO MUCH MONEY SO I HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN PURCHASING SOMETHING I REALLY DIDNT NEED TO HAVING TO MANUALLY OPEN/CLOSE MY DOOR.

MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER WERE TRAVELING ON OUR 2010 SIENNA ON 07/11/2015 (SAT) AND THE GEARS SEIZED UP WHEN THEY WERE TURNING INTO A BUSY 4-LANE ROAD. IN SPITE OF COMPLETE LOSS OF TRANSMISSION, DUE TO THE SHEER MOMENTUM OF THE VEHICLE, MY WIFE WAS ABLE TO DIRECT THE VEHICLE TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD. WHEN SHE CALLED ME, I ARRIVED TO SEE MY DAUGHTER CRYING AND STANDING ON THE SIDE WHILE MY WIFE WAS TRYING TO PUSH THE VAN FURTHER RIGHT WITH THE HELP OF AN OLD COUPLE WHO WERE EXTREMELY HELPFUL. LUCKILY, MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER ESCAPED WITH NO INJURIES (EXCEPT FOR A STIFF NECK AND BAD HEADACHE FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS FOR MY WIFE) BUT LEFT WITH A LIFE-LONG MEMORIES OF THIS PAINFUL EXPERIENCE. AFTER TOWING THE VEHICLE TO STEVENS CREEK TOYOTA, I WAS TOLD THAT THAT THE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM HAD COMPLETELY FAILED (METALLIC PARTS CHIPPED AND GROUND AS PER TECHNICIAN) AND HAD TO BE REPLACED WITH AN WHOOPING BILL OF $6K. CONSIDERING THAT BOTH OF US ARE OUR WORKING PARENTS, WE HAD TO PAINFULLY SWALLOW THE COST OF REPAIR AND MOVE ON WITH OUR LIVES UNTIL NOW WHEN I HAD TIME DURING THE END OF YEAR WHEN I WANTED TOYOTA AND ALL SIENNA OWNERS TO KNOW ABOUT OUR ORDEAL AND BE CAUTIONED ABOUT THEIR VEHICLES. MY BIGGEST COMPLAINTS: * WE TRUST OUR FAMILY MEMBERS LIVES IN THE HANDS OF REPUTED VEHICLE MANUFACTURES SUCH AS TOYOTA. WHEN THEIR VEHICLES DO NOT LIVE UP TO THEIR REPUTATION AND CAUSE MENTAL/PHYSICAL ANGUISH, IT IS DEFINITELY DISHEARTENING. * I PAID NEARLY $48K FOR THIS FULLY-LOADED 2010 SIENNA XLE LIMITED. A COMPLETE TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT 70K MILES AND $6K TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE AND I FEEL RIPPED OFF! WE REALLY HOPE TOYOTA GET ITS ACT TOGETHER AND INVEST IN IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF CRITICAL SYSTEMS OF THEIR VEHICLES.