2003 Toyota Sienna Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 10about this part
- Share
- 10%of 105 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 75,398miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 10 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2003 Toyota Sienna, 10% of the 105 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 75,398 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“My vehicle in the last 6 months has started experiencing a hesitation when shifting gears. Took to the dealer to check, and they updated with the patch. Car continues to have problems. The dealer is calling it a hard shift that is normal for this vehicle even though it didn't do it the first 2 years of ownership. Car is almost out of its 60k warranty, and they indicate they can't do anything else to fix.”
NHTSA complaint #10200346, filed 2007-08, 58,000 miles“Drove vehicle into a gas station to fill up with gas. After this was completed, restarted vehicle and used gear shift to put the vehicle into drive. Gear shift linkage inside steering column broke. Gear could not be changed. Car was stuck in reverse. Fortunately, this problem occurred at a gas station staffed with a mechanic. Repair took one week -- local Toyota dealership order wrong parts twice before ordering the correct ones. Old parts are available.”
NHTSA complaint #10272432, filed 2009-05, 54,000 miles“While in park vehicle shifted out of park into reverse. Consumer managed to turn off the vehicle from the passenger's side. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. ....vehicle wa sin park and not running. Consumer went to turn off motor from the passenger's side and vehicle went into reverse, as consumer backed out after checking the gear shift to be sure it was srill in park position. The front doorknocked consumer down when he tried to get out of the vehicle. While lying on the ground the front wheel on the right left side of consumer. …”
NHTSA complaint #10094520, filed 2004-09, 103,400 miles“I have owned 3 Toyota Sienna's. In all of the models I identified a problem which the dealers told me was normal. I then made sure to advise anyone driving my cars of this issue. Now that you are looking more closely at safety I thought I would bring this to your attention. When a Sienna is in drive and on a hill with the front end up and the back end down. And when you then remove your foot from the brake the car will immediately role backwards. I learned to press the gas slowly as I was releasing the brake slowly to avoid this, but it is very dangerous. …”
NHTSA complaint #10311473, filed 2010-02Related service bulletins
- 10164330Jul 1, 2019TSB: REVISION NOTICE July 01, 2019 Rev2: ? Applicability has been updated to 2019 ? 2020 model year Toyota vehicles. ? The Techstream Preparation and Process Overview sections…
- 10109404Oct 16, 2014TSB: The purpose of this service bulletin is to provide information regarding the installation of the correct torque converter bolts during automatic transmission/transaxle…
- 10109492Sep 30, 2014TSB: The purpose of this bulletin is to provide precautions to follow when installing an automatic transmission/transaxle assembly to avoid MIL "ON" shifting issues and/or…
- 10132084Oct 1, 2013The purpose of this service bulletin is to provide precautions to follow when installing an automatic transmission/transaxle assembly to avoid MIL ?ON,? shifting issues, and/or…
- 10133836Feb 20, 2013This bulletin contains general vehicle pulling diagnosis and repair procedures along with specific information to help correct pulling complaints.
- 10016637Aug 1, 2005A541e transmission solenoid identification.
Transmission and drivetrain: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2 | 2% |
| 2021 | 8 | 5% |
| 2020 | 8 | 21% |
| 2019 | 7 | 15% |
| 2018 | 20 | 28% |
| 2017 | 38 | 24% |
| 2016 | 3 | 4% |
| 2015 | 12 | 5% |
| 2014 | 7 | 4% |
| 2013 | 14 | 8% |
| 2012 | 17 | 7% |
| 2011 | 30 | 5% |
| 2010 | 17 | 10% |
| 2009 | 6 | 3% |
| 2008 | 38 | 9% |
| 2007 | 31 | 9% |
| 2006 | 40 | 4% |
| 2005 | 48 | 4% |
| 2004 | 89 | 4% |
| 2003 | 10 | 10% |
| 2002 | 13 | 7% |
| 2001 | 6 | 3% |
| 2000 | 67 | 18% |
| 1999 | 11 | 5% |
| 1998 | 23 | 8% |
Other parts of the 2003 Toyota Sienna
21 complaintsBody and structure
18 complaintsBrakes
13 complaintsVehicle speed control
11 complaintsTires
7 complaintsEngine cooling
6 complaintsSeat belts
5 complaintsElectrical system
4 complaintsEquipment
4 complaintsFuel system
4 complaintsSteering
4 complaintsSuspension
4 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2003 Toyota Sienna
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology