2004 Toyota Sienna LE from North America
Summary:
The first and last Toyota that I'll ever own!
Faults:
Allows too much road noise in.
The transmission doesn't shift smoothly.
The radiator seam split.
The driver's door had to be fixed (recall).
Tire wear is terrible, even though they have been rotated and kept properly inflated.
A/C replaced at a cost of $2,400 (the A/C is seldom used).
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 17th October, 2009
4th Feb 2009, 08:24
When I purchased my 2004 Toyota Sienna, I had no idea that the car came with run-flat tires either, and was disappointed at the dealer for not informing me of this.
In addition, the run-flat tires drove horribly on the snow despite having AWD. So, I was left with 2 choices, spend tons of money on run flat snow tires or just put regular tires on the van and suffer without having a spare tire.
I ended up putting normal snow tires on my van and decided to suffer with no spare tire. Rather than purchasing a spare tire kit and taking up valuable cargo space, I decided instead to get a AAA membership.
The van drives fantastic in the snow now, and with the AAA membership I feel that I will be covered if for whatever reason I end up with a flat tire. It's a small price to pay for such a fantastic van.
I love everything about my van except for two things.
One - the lack of a spare tire.
Two - the fact that the battery dies quickly. If an interior light is left on for even 1/2 an hour the battery will die. So my solution to that was a portable jump-starter from Walmart that cost $39. So AAA will save me if I get a flat, I can jump start my car whenever the battery dies, and other than that, I'd say that I love everything about my van.
I did learn some lessons though. There are a lot of things a dealer won't tell you just to sell a car. I probably should have researched it a bit more, because there is a lot of info on-line where people complain about the run-flat tires and the battery dying quickly.