Faults:

Engine stopped working - sludge problem at 75,000, and Toyota paid for a replacement used engine.

Both power window motors.

Windshield wiper motor.

Starter.

General Comments:

We bought this van to replace a Previa, which was flawless, and were greatly surprised at all the problems the older Previa never had.

When the engine blew, Toyota paid for a used replacement with no fuss, so that was great. Now it runs great again, but you wonder about another sludge issue. Oil changed every 3,000 miles.

Power window motors going is not what was expected from Toyota, but if that is all that happens, we will still be impressed.

Faults:

Rear brakes, drums, and trailer hitch were rusted. I believe previous owner had run van with boat trailer into salt water.

Rear door handle broke which cost $85 for just the part.

Major issues with steering and pulling shortly after purchase.

General Comments:

Bought Sienna Van on E-Bay from a Jacksonville, FL Toyota dealer. Vehicle was certified.

Rusted brakes were replaced for $500 but were not covered by Toyota certification program.

It took 2 years and several different alignment shops to figure out that new tires put on by dealer were out of round. New Yokohama tires and alignment took care of all steering problems. The van now tracks like a sedan.

The Sienna has very comfortable seats and ride.

I have run this van so far for 40,000 miles at an estimated $0.36/mile, including depreciation, insurance, gas, repairs, maintenance, taxes, licences, etc.

Faults:

At times, the A/C will stop working efficiently; we've had to take this to get serviced many times.

The power door system will decide when it wants to close. It usually takes a few pushes of the button to get it to close. We just have to start the car up again and then close it; very handy feature, though.

The tire pressure system isn't very sophisticated. Setting it up to your tires is complicated, this was when tire pressure systems were becoming popular.

The seat belt sensors are pretty dumb. A person could easily not wear their belt correctly, and it would stop flashing.

General Comments:

We bought this car used, fully loaded back in 2002. This is my mom's car, and we decided for a minivan. We fell in love with it, we loved having all the features. The sunroof and stereo system are great in the car.

The color combination is very rare (black, tan), so we know which car is ours.

The engine definetly enough power for us, passing is a breeze. The seats are extremely heavy, and difficult to remove, though. We wish they included a 'disappearing' third-row in the 1st generation.

The leather seating is very luxurious feeling, but it is showing its age. No big deal.

We still love this van, but since my sister will be going off to college next year, we don't need this much room. The fuel economy also could be better, seeing the fuel prices these days.

Faults:

No problems yet.

Routine maintenance: timing belt, oil change and tires.

General Comments:

This is the family's stand-by. It's never failed us. It drives and handles great for a van. All other minivans I tried in '99 drove like a truck except Honda's Odysee. (Out of my price range.)

Front and rear seats are most comfortable. Middle row is more accomdating for people under 12. But still accommodates my 2 teenagers.

Couldn't be happier with the van. My sister's '02 van by another manufacturer is falling apart. She's jealous of my Toyota.

Life has enough trouble. Your car shouldn't be one of them.

Faults:

Purchased the car used on E-bay. After owning 2 other Toyota's and putting 250K miles on a 4-Runner, I made the bad assumption that all Toyota's were good. After winning it, I read about the problems that these vehicles have (i.e., engine sludge, transmission problems, door handles and cd players going bad). We have experienced all the problems except the transmission problem.

In the first 1000 m, it burned several quarts of oil and shortly after that, it started smoking. I figured I was going to have to use ebay's warranty, and took it by the dealership to get an estimate on the engine. I did not give the dealership any of the history--just that I wanted a diagnosis of the problem and an estimated cost. The next day, they said that Toyota would replace the engine block and rebuild the engine (using the existing parts) for no charge -- they gave me the option of replacing the water & oil pump for the cost of the parts (i.e., no labor). While I am a bit disappointed, I plan to keep buying Toyota's but I will do more research next time and would not buy a new model.

The door handle broke on Front Passenger door. It cost $200 to replace.

The automatic sliding door has been problematic, but once we figured out how to reset it (i.e., leave the battery unplugged for 12-24 h), it works after we reset.

The CD-player doesn't work and buttons fall off the radio dial.

The rear A/C only works on the high speed.

The horn is a bit temper-mental -- they should have stuck with buttons.

General Comments:

Overall, we have had less problems with this car when compared to our 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan (don't even get me started...).

It comfortable to drive, quiet and rides like a car.

Performance is reasonable.