THIS IS THE QUIETEST MOST COMFORTABLE VAN YET. WE HAVE OWNED CHRYSLERS FORDS DODGES AND A HONDA VAN AND THIS TOYOTA JUST TAKES THE CAKE. IT IS SIMPLY TROUBLE FREE, RELIABLE AND DOES EVERYTHING THAT IT PROMISED. I WILL BUY TOYOTAS FROM NOW ON. OUR LOCAL DEALER IS ALSO THE BEST ANYWHERE. TALK ABOUT CUSTOMER SATIFACTION, WITH THEM IT IS A WAY OF LIFE AND A WAY OF BUSINESS.

WE HAVE YET TO EXPERIENCE ANY PROBLEMS.

IF YOU ARE IN THE MARKET FOR A MINIVAN I INVITE YOU TO TEST DRIVE THE TOYOTA SIENNA. ONCE YOU DRIVE ONE YOU WILL SEE THAT TOYOTA MAKES THE BEST MINIVAN IN THE MARKET.

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PLYMOUTH, DODGE, CHRYSLER, FORD AND HONDA. THIS TOYOTA BEATS EM ALL.

Easy to get in/out.
Cargo space
Comfortable ride

Turning radius is too large.
Low Pressure Tire sensors are inconsistent.

The comfort and space combined with the exterior style lines make this an enjoyable vehicle. AC works great. Stereo is decent and the number of cup holders cannot be ignored. Acceleration is disappointing and brakes began squeeking at 10K miles. Low pressure warning went off when tires were fine and did not go off when we had a flat.

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Mercury Villager, Dodge Caravan

Reliability, reputation, smooth ride, comfort, safety

1) Need to tumbble back seats to get any useable storage space
2) Transmission blew after 37,000mi
3) Dealer does not want to cover tranny under warranty

I just bought a 2000 Sienna minivan (my first Toyota) with 36000mi on it. My wife and I bought it for its great reviews and reliability. We looked at all the minivans and did not want to get stuck with a bad transmition on a Voyageur or Windstar. I drove the Sienna for about 1000mi and the trany blew! I thought, great, this is what I was trying to avoid, but hey, it's under waranty.
Well, I took it in to the dealer and find that there is $6500 damage to the tranny and waranty may not cover it? 'What' I say? The dealer said that if I can't prove that the previous owner replaced the transmition fluid at 30,000mi, then that constitutes lack of maintenence and voids the waranty. This is a new vehicle, albeit higher than normal mileage for a 1 year old. But who has ever heard anything so ridiculous? Does anyone out there have any recomendations or similar experiences? Please respond to above email.

VT

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Windstar (too bouncy, transmittion problems), Odessey (Excellent but low availability and no flexibility on price)

Smooth Powerful Engine, Plush Ride

Compared to other minvans of the era - none

Been good to me so far at 55K miles. As far as mini-vans go, this was by far the best when I was shopping back in late 97. I see a lot of negative stuff on here too, but you have to realize, people are 10 to 100 more times likely to complain than praise.

As far as service goes, they all suck! I have rarely had great service, anywhere. Whether we are talking about having competent mechanics or fair and reasonable judgement on warranty issues. Fortunately, I am mechanicaly inclined and have tools.

Have minor rear brake problem I am still diagnosing. Rear brakes thump under low to moderate applied pressure. Opened up once and found a lot of powder that I assume is from the shoe linings. Cleaning out solved the problem, but only for a about a week or two. Anyone know the solution?

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Toyota Previa

I like the versitilty of the back...fold down seats/removable. Nice ride

I too am having similar problems with sludge build up and they are telling me that the repairs will cost $7500.00 and I will need to prove to Toyota that I have had my oil changed.
That is going to be hard due to the fact that I did not keep receipts and have had brother and myself do the oil changes a few times.
I think this is very uncool. We got an oil change on Monday, car was driven for a few miles home and when I got into it that night I noticed the check engine light was on. We called Toyota Dealer in NH and they said to have it towed to them. We did. Next day (tuesday) they tell us that it was a faulty spark plug. They later called back and told us that upon further inspections the noticed a sludge build up and that the oil was minus a quart??? This does not compute! How can not changing oil (which we did every 3-6000 miles) cause sludge build up and a faulty spark plug and have a quart of oil either leaked or burned out? They are not going to live up to their warranty unless we produce oil change receipts!!!
What is your status as of now?
I am expecting their call today to tell me what they think the problem is. They are hinting at no oil changes causing the problem

HELP!!!

have been devoted toyota leaser/purchaser for 5 cars now. We were going to return a lease in August to Toyota in Nashua NH and they were very snooty and rude. Unhelpful and did not even try to get us into another vehicle?!?!?!
We went and leased a Saturn instead. We love that and after this incident will most likely not go back to toyota unless they live up to their warranty and admit that the SIENNA has a sludge build up problem!!!

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have been devoted toyota leaser/purchaser for 5 cars now.

The new engine for 2001, lots of power and torque.
The "car-like" comfort...I traded a 1997 Camry for this and would definetly say that this is a step up in luxury. The standard features are pretty good...ie stereo with CD and cassette, etc.

So far after 5000 kms the gas milage is terrible, I will see what happens at the first service next month. Other cons for the LE version...No power doors, no power passenger seat, no heated seats, no climate control (unless you pay $4000 for XLE)

I agree with most other reviews that the Honda Odessey may be just a little better but it comes at the cost of a bigger engine consuming more gas, and larger in size (which for my wife did not matter much). Since we had a Camry this was an easy transition moving up to the Sienna mini-van.

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None, this is our first mini-van.

Decent mileage
Powerful engine when it operated
van is roomy

Engine Failure at 32,864 miles do to sludge. Toyota will not warranty the engine and they are blaming me for bad maintenance dispite receipts for 5 oil changes and 10 years of recorded history on my vehicles.
Ring around key switch falls out. We finally gave up putting it back together.
Prices for parts is rediculously over priced

I would not recommend anyone to buy this product. Toyota has been down right rude and indifferent to the problems people are having with their products. There service is flat terrible. I thought I was buying a vehicle that would not only last a long time with good warranties but would have few repairs. Boy was I wrong on both counts. I have since found out there are others out there that are experiencing the same problem with the engine and their claim for lack of maintenance on our part as the cause. This is boggggusss. Each of us that I am awhere of can prove the maintenance as prescibed. I have also been informed that there is a problem with the engine related to the valves not wotking properly leadiing to the sludge build up. Several mechanics I have talked to say the same thing about the 3 liter engine. If you are having/ have had this problem please by all means contact me at wwolfe@blueriver.net
sincerely Warren Wolfe

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plymoth voyager did't have as many ammenities but would rather have one that works.

Quietest ride, most comfortable, safest and most reliable of all minivans on the market.

I'll let you know.

Excellent ride, right combination of luxury for the dollar. I reviewed ALL minivans prior to purchase, and traded in our 1998 Caravan. Sienna is head and shoulders above its competition in the minivan market!

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Caravan, Astro, Montana

1.) Horsepower as compared to other vans.

2.) Styling

3.) Comfortable ride.

1.) Oil sending unit gasket replaced twice due to seeping oil within three months of buying van in 11/98.

2.) Rear main seal replaced due to leaking oil within 3 months of buying van. For those reading this, check underneath the van, as I've seen at least one other with the same problem.

3.) Also within the 3 month period, leaking transmission fluid. This was fixed under a technical services bulletin which, unless you have the problem, they will not tell you about.

4.) Power door has needed adjustment twice due to squeks.

5.) Despite alignments and rebalancing, the OE tires (Dunlops) are just about shot at only 29,000 miles.

I, particularly after reading the other reviews, would not recommend this van to anyone. The dealer that I dealt with was very helpful, and in fact involved Toyota's Corporate office in Boston on several occasions.. In fact, they gave me the extended warranty (free) for all my troubles. If we keep the van, we will need it.

Despite early problems and nagging tire issues, there have been no oil leaks in over a year.

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None

Comfortable ride. Flexible seat configuration. Power sliding door. Style.

1)At only 10 miles, there was a oil leaking problem. Dealer said that the "Cam Sensor gasket" was broken. Parts had to be ordered from the west coast and my Sienna leaks oil for another several weeks. I ended up calling the dealer and found out that the parts had arrived for a couple weeks.

2) At 200(?) miles the engine check light went on for no reasons. The dealer "reset" the light.

3) At 3000 miles, the left turning signal blinked very fast. It became normal again before we tried to bring it back to the dealer. Howver, we are affraid that it will happen again, maybe after the warranty period.

4) At 9000 miles, one of the till open window won't open.

5) Not very car seat friendly. I asked the local Toyota dealer if they can install the child seat tether anchor on our Sienna. They said they can only show me the hole position and I need to bring the vehicle to any body shop and have them drill the hole on the frame. Finally I did not install the tether anchor because it's really a safety issue and I don't trust the body shops. I know Chrysler installs car seat tether anchor on their products, and it's free.

6) Lot of wind noise at high speed.

7) Intense steering wheel vibration when tire pressure just a little low.

8) Not to mention the terrible experience we had in the Toyota dealer when we purchased this vehicle.

My wife and I used to be big Toyota fans (we also own a 1993 Camry). Now we already decided that our next car definetely won't be a Toyota.

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Our first minivan. Also used Ford Aerostar and Dodge Caravan before.