2000 Toyota Sienna XLE from North America - Comments

I have a 2000 Sienna Van. I change the oil myself every 3,000 miles and ALWAYS use Toyota oil filters and Castrol oil. The van has 142,000 miles and NO sign of sludge. I just spent $650.00 getting an engine light fixed. They replaced the temp sensor and 2 oxygen sensors. No more problems. I will say it really grinds me to see they put a junky Delco radio in my Toyota. The CD player ate a brand new CD and now doesn't work. They want $300.00 bucks to fix it and then I still have an American made DELCO radio. NO THANKS! I have owned 9 Toyotas. I must say the Sienna van has been more disappointing than any other Toyota that I have owned. It is still a great vehicle.

5:18...another overprotective Toyota owner??? The orig. reviewer indicated he had 3 receipts and was taking it back in. I save all of my receipts and it seems a battle even with proof nowadays. During a warranty period my cars go to the dealer only so theres absolutely no doubt with who touched it. It's not always the owners fault... blame the vehicle and who manufacturers it.

I own a 200 Sienna XLE. Around 70K miles, the sludge problem developed. I purchased the van used and had only records of my service visits, however, the dealer replaced the engine block and rebuilt the rest at no (almost) expense to me. I was pleasantly surprised even though I was without my van for almost 2 months... Toyota gets kudos for this one...

I now have over 100K on the van with no further sign of sludge problems. I do have a problem with the power door... the sucker quit working and my kids are the only ones small enough to fit through the crack when the door is "heaved" open. If there is a fix for this one, I'd like to hear it.

Thanks.

Toyota has acknowledged a problem with sludge buildup in the Sienna Minivan's 6 Cyl motor. I have read it is an engine design problem that was fixed for the 2003 model year. Something having to do with the head being too cool and allowing the oil to sludge as well as insufficient holes to return the oil to the oil pan.

Steve.

There's a jerky feeling to the car. It just keeps making constant jerks when you accelerate. I talked to the Shop about the problem and they took a look at it and said the tire's belt broke, so we bought a new front right tire. We drove and it still did it, so we went back to the shop and then they said, "oh hay the tire rod is loose." The tire rod was in fact loose, so we bought that, but that didn't solve the problem. I got mad so we went to the shop again explained that it was still doing it, so the Service people looked continuously at the car making sure that everything was aligned, straight, and the axle wasn't bent, and they found out that they could see that everything was in fact in order. We were so mad when we found out that the Toyota Sienna XL was in fact making the same jerking feeling in the car, it got so bad that it made a sound like a flat tire, so we were going to change the left tire, because it sounded flat, and we found out that the bolts on the tire was loose, so we were like ah we could have died or something like that because we were on the free way. Any way we fixed that and the car wasn't making the flat tire noise. Later we found out that the piston rod was broke in our car so we can't drive our car till that's fixed. The reason I'm writing is because, what would cause it to shake like that? (illuminating the other features above)

I own a 2000 Sienna LE purchased new, now has 127,000 miles, and I have not had any of the sludge problems that have been reported. I have always done my own maintenance every 3000 miles including oil filter every time. I have always used the same brand and weight of oil for every change. I contend that the sludge problem is mostly caused by switching brands of oil and waiting too long between changes. This is usually a result of jumping around between quick lube joints and using "house brand" oil. I don't deny that the result of this practice can be magnified by the engine design as stated in an earlier post above. Interestingly, I too had the CD player start skipping a few years ago. I just put in a new radio purchased locally, way less than $300. That worked out better anyway since my new radio has a front AUX port for the DVD player and I-POD and no more using that stupid RF modulator on the antenna. And now it plays MP3 Cd's so I'm happy.

We have a 2000 XLE, approximately 85k. How do I tell I have sludge? We got all the,major maiantence done, change oil at Kwick Kar every 3000 miles and have all the receipts. We are out of warranty. We did have a bad Radio/vcr player. They replaced them 3 times during my warranty period (I paid for an exteneded warranty that just expired)

My remote died, any suggestions on how to fix it?

"We have a 2000 XLE, approximately 85k. How do I tell I have sludge? We got all the, major maiantence done, change oil at Kwick Kar every 3000 miles and have all the receipts. We are out of warranty. We did have a bad Radio/vcr player. They replaced them 3 times during my warranty period (I paid for an exteneded warranty that just expired)

My remote died, any suggestions on how to fix it?"

Keep changing your oil around 3k.I have 190k on my v-6 with no problems. Most of the oil change places now either suck the oil out of the dipstick or offer a service to do so. Sucking the oil vs. letting it drain is a better way and removes the sludge or gunk let over. We recently received a notice of a class action lawsuit about the oil sludging problem. Me and my wife laughed because of the mileage of our vehicle. The people getting rich on this issue is the lawyers.

The remote issue:Batteries?

I have a 2000 LE with 120K+ miles on it. So far, I have no problems at all other than items that are expected to wear out like battery, tires, and brakes. I change the oil around 7K miles with Mobil 1 since new and the engine is clean and runs great. I change out all the fluid every 2-3 years. As well, I drive the van gently. So far so good and looking to get at least 250K miles out of it.

Just took my 2000 XLE in with a oil light going off. I checked oil, plenty. The dealer told me of the sludge issue.. he further stated it was inches thick in my motor and headed for a massive failure. Toyota was contacted and approved a rebuild of the engine. I've owned 7 Toyota's in a row and have liked the Sienna so far... thanks to Toyota for making it right.

We bought a 2000 Sienna from a Toyota dealership in 2002. It had 47000 miles on it and came with the 100000 miles or 6 year warranty.

We got it serviced regularly and oil changes every 3000 miles, but at 82000 miles we had complete transmission failure. As it was under warranty it was repaired.

July of 2007 we had a Toyota dealership replace a gasket that was leaking on the transmission pan.

In February 2008 we noticed the car was not shifting when it should sometimes, and took it in to the dealership. First they said there was too much transmission fluid and we reminded them they were the last to service the transmission. They said they drained a quart, but the computer said we needed a new solenoid. They gave us the car back while they ordered the part.

On the way home the car was acting so bad; I was afraid it wouldn't make it. We had it towed back and now are told we need a new transmission. We are at 182000 miles but we have never pulled anything or carried heavy loads. We've never had a car that needed one transmission and this one needs a third? How can this be???

I am an original owner of a 2000 sienna and have about 200k miles on her. over the years she has performed beautifully and cost effectively- change the oil every 3k, change the timing belt appropriately. she leaks alittle oil but I hope to push 275k out of this great machine.

Hi, I am about to buy a pre-owned 2000 Sienna XLE and would like to know the things I should check before.

Looking at previous comments I could list.

1. Sludge check

2. Transmission check

3. Timing belt/Brakes/tyres.

Anything important check, I'm I missing?

I own 2 Siennas. First a 2002 Symphony (LE model with more options) with 145K miles and I recently bought a used 2001 XLE with 95k miles from a friend moving overseas. The 2002 model I purchased new and have pretty much maintained it myself. Like others, I change oil and use Toyota filters at 3k - 4k mile intervals. We've put a lot of miles on it taking the kids on lots of road trips. I do have some oil build-up, but it's less of a sludge and more of a dry carbon deposit which can be hardened and chip off. I initially observed this at 15K miles and was a bit concerned. There was no performance issues, but I found the crusted up deposits under my oil cap, and at the base of the oil pour opening, both being places that don't see a regular shower of oil. This got me observing the amount of deposits over the next 5k miles. And I began to suspect that this wasn't actually oil sludge, but carbon and some organic deposits that were volatile gases that accumulate above the valves. More supporting observations included: The engine does not appear to consume oil, but the deposits do accumulate faster when the oil is darker or more heavily used, and especially if we take long road trips with sustained heat.

I took some actions that have basically sustained the car in a very good functioning state for the next 120K miles. Those were to:

A) Change oil frequently, especially before long road trips. If I have a big road trip (more than 500 miles), and it's been 2500+ miles, I change the oil. It doesn't matter what brand. Even cheap stuff works. 5W30.

B) Change coolant every 30K miles and gentle spray wash the radiator fins to clear bugs and debris away. This seems to keep the interior of the radiator and engine sparkling clean with no deposits so heat transfer is good.

C) Change iridium spark plugs every 40k miles. Although TSBs now allow for 90K miles with Denso or NGK long life iridium plugs, I've observed a change in gap of 10% beyond 60K miles that gets wider. This can trigger a less clean combustion that can add deposits to the oil.

D) Change air filter every 15K miles.

E) Stick with Chevron detergent gasoline.

Doing these things has stopped any further crusty build-up, and the 2002 van just hums.

Now with my recent 2001 XLE purchased, my CarFax report indicates I'm the 3rd owner. Our friend bought the vehicle as a "certified" used. Certainly, I've held the notion that no dealer treats a car with the same care that I personally will give it, and it drove rougher than my 2002 when I first acquired the car. And knowing my friend, she was religious about dealer service, and I could tell the dealer did recently change the transmission fluid, the radiator fluid, water pump, serpentine belts, the exhaust system, and also changed the front 3 spark plugs. But they didn't count on me going over and under the vehicle with a fine tooth comb.

The back 3 spark plugs were NOT replaced. The front 3 were not torqued either to specifications either. The serpentine belts were over tightened, and understandably, the dealer knows those belts will stretch, so they tighten them a bit more than they should so that when the tension is relieved by a bit of driving, there's no need to re-adjust them slightly. But for me, I can hear a very light whisping sound of an over tightened belt. This is concerning me since excessive tension on belts can lead to pre-mature bearing and seal failure on key engine components.

They also damaged a number of plastic clips and pop-rivets on the side, above and below the car for some reason. These hold on fenders and panels and prop rods, etc. And having them loose can make for a vibrating car. They also didn't remount a metal stay and bracket at the head of the exhaust manifold. The upper stay has a metal bumper that pushes up against the engine block and occupies space that would otherwise be a subwoofer chamber for hot exhaust coming out of the engine. It's amazing how that little bracket (which cost an arm and a leg, and was the last one in the county according to the dealer I ordered it from), can make the engine much quieter.

I also know the engine is within specs on combustion because it passes the California SMOG tests. But the results don't come close to my 2002 Symphony model, and most likely, it's due to the back 3 plugs and carbon deposits from cheap gas and lack of detergent additive. And it's easy to tell by accelerating hard at 60 - 80 mph on the freeway briefly. The engine knock is a dead giveaway.

Over the last 2K miles, I've been slowing acquiring all the small rivets, clips, and using good gas with extra additive. The knock has diminished greatly. Also, giving it the same TLC I give my other Sienna seems to be paying off. There's now very little difference between the two vehicles in terms of engine performance and noise. I've also gone ahead and changed all 6 plugs to known parts that I acquire from a trusted source, re-adjusted tension on the serpentine belts, drained the transmission fluid and refilled with 3/4 quart LESS ATF because the dealer over filled it by a LOT, and changed oil and air, even though she had dealer service recently.

Based on how well the 2002 Sienna has run, we think it should be no problems to get to 200K miles. And I hope to get the same out of my refurbished 2001 XLE.

I have had my 2003 Toyota Sienna since new. It has 107k miles now. Still running good, but a horrible moldy smell from some where. I have cleaned everything. Only problem I have had previously was had rotors replaced very early on.