2008 Toyota Sienna Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 38about this part
- Share
- 9%of 429 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 56,000miles
- Trend
- FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 38 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2008 Toyota Sienna, 9% of the 429 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 56,000 miles. 6 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“My 2008 Toyota Sienna suddenly slams on brakes when turning right. Used to be occasionally on mountain curves during last year, but now does it randomly at highway speeds on straight roads and is very dangerous! How do I get Toyota to fix this obvious design defect? Car has 230k miles.”
NHTSA complaint #11074090, filed 2018-02, 230,000 miles“I attempted to put my van in park today after driving to a restaurant for lunch. The shift lever will go to any position but the dash display only responds to d or 4. When I put the lever in park and took my foot off the brake pedal, the van continued going forward. It will not go to park or even neutral. I put the car in a safe parking spot, put on the emergency brake and shut the engine off. That is where it still is. I haven't tried to restart it or drive it since.”
NHTSA complaint #11265507, filed 2019-10, 90,300 miles“The car was driven normally in gear d at 35 MPH but slipped out of gear for no reason. I stopped, put in park, turn off the engine, waited a few minutes and restarted the car. It would then only work in gear 3 but I had to floor the gas pedal. After stopping multiple times, I was able to reach home. My 2008 Sienna can now be driven forward in reverse gear.”
NHTSA complaint #10459980, filed 2012-05, 46,000 miles“Shift lever assembly may allow rollaway 13v429000 my Sienna had the above recall work completed. My little daughter bumped the gear shift and knocked it out park and the car rolled away. The Sienna was in park, the key was out of the ignition and the brake pedal was not touched. My concern is that fix provided for the recall did not actually correct problem completely. If you have a Sienna for the effected years and have had the above recall work completed your vehicle may still roll away. …”
NHTSA complaint #10906377, filed 2016-09, 76,000 miles“While driving on inter-state I-10 west bound close to 183 marker, at 65 MPH, the RPM shot to 7000 and car started to slow down. The car stopped with transmission failure. It was 2200 hours with my family of 4 kids and wife on board. To replace the transmission (used one 90000 miles) Toyota legacy charged me 3500$. Its a lot of money. Additionally, you cannot trust Toyota brand for such poor workmanship where power train is prone to failures on 5 years old vehicles.”
NHTSA complaint #10531664, filed 2013-07, 127,313 milesRelated recalls
- 13V429000Sep 26, 2013Toyota is recalling certain model year 2004-2005 Sienna vehicles manufactured January 10, 2003, through August 10, 2005; and model year 2007-2009 Sienna…Covers: Toyota Sienna 2004–2005, 2007–2009
Related 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…
- 10096816Jan 25, 2016"dealer letter: safety recall completion is important not only in satisfying government requirements, but also is an integral part of our commitment to meet customer expectations…
- 10134454Aug 24, 2015TechTip: Condition - The vehicle may be difficult to start or have an abnormally low or rough idle after the battery has been disconnected or power to the Engine ECM has been…
- 10096813Jan 25, 2015Region letter: toyota will be sending safety recall follow-up notices to remind owners whose vehicles have not yet had campaign repairs completed. Please note the following…
- 10109408Oct 16, 2014TSB: The purpose of this bulletin is to assist in the identification and location of serial numbers on 2006 -2014 model year remanufactured automatic transmissions.
- 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…
- 10109403Oct 16, 2014TSB: World Standard (WS) Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) was introduced to reduce maintenance costs and increase the mileage between scheduled maintenance checks. Here are…
- 10109493Sep 30, 2014TSB: The purpose of this bulletin is to assist in the identification and location of serial numbers on 2006 - 2014 model year automatic transmissions.
- 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…
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 2008 Toyota Sienna
117 complaintsVehicle speed control
51 complaintsElectrical system
45 complaintsBrakes
43 complaintsEngine
39 complaintsOther or unknown
38 complaintsSteering
33 complaintsElectronic stability control
29 complaintsTires
19 complaintsAir bags
14 complaintsLatches, locks and linkages
13 complaintsSeat belts
13 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2008 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