1999 Toyota Sienna XLE from North America - Comments

There are numerous rattles in the doors and the interior of the van.

The brakes make loud clunking sounds as the vehicle comes to a stop in reverse gear.

There is a persistent leak in the rear window washer unit.

A piece of plastic trim on the rear lift gate separated from the paint within the first few months of ownership.

The paint is so thin that when traveling at highway speeds even a grain of sand can do considerable damage.

Finally, the baffle directly below the engine oil filler cap has a thick deposit of blackened, gritty oil. The oil in the engine itself has been determined to contain a very high level of silicon. This problem was confirmed by analysis of an oil sample sent to the Blackstone Laboratories.

With the exception of the loose piece of trim, all attempts to have these deficiencies corrected have been met with arrogant indifference on the part of both of my local Toyota dealers.

This is not a vehicle I would ever recommend to a young family with a tight budget and concern for the safety of their children. In fact, it would be an excellent vehicle for all prospective buyers to avoid especially if they are interested in owning a trouble free van.

Your review would be more useful if you explained whether you were the original owner and maintained the car regularly. How do you explain gritty sludge in oil filler tube? Tires wearing unevenly could be explained by the fact that someone driving your Toyota has hit curbs or deep pot holes, or you haven't rotated your tires regularly.

The 1997 - 2002 Sienna engines are known for the sludge problem. It doesn't matter how they are maintained, but that is what Toyota likes to lay the blame on to get out of repairs. They even have an 8 year extended warranty on these engines with no limit on miles driven.

Am wondering if someone can tell me the gas consumption on these Previa's?

I had a fantastic Toyota cargo van used it for city driving and camping, but with arthritis coming into my hands and neck had a difficult time lifting the seat to refill the oil etc.

Ended up giving it to my daughter, three years ago and she and her husband have found nothing to match it, they put in a legal bench seat for their two small children and continue driving...

FJ Kemmis.