2013 Toyota Sienna Problems

What owners report

Complaints from owners of this model year center on the power sliding doors, which owners describe as failing to latch, opening on their own while driving, or getting stuck open when a cable or hinge breaks. Rear-drive noise from the AWD coupler and premature tire and brake wear are the other recurring themes, with many reports filed under 100,000 miles.

1. 1
   Body and structure

   Power sliding door opens or fails to latch

   • 33 complaints (18%)
   • median 50,000 mi at 4.8 yrs old (17 state mileage)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2013–2025

   Owners describe the driver's or passenger's side power sliding door opening by itself while the van is moving, or refusing to latch or close fully once it has opened. Some say the door had to be tied shut to drive to a dealer. Dealers in several cases replaced the latch or the whole motor assembly, and some owners were told the recall remedy could not be performed because parts were unavailable. Reported from roughly 25,000 to 120,000 miles, several in freezing or icy conditions.

   Recall 16V858000

   What to check: Cycle both sliding doors through power open and close several times, including on a cold morning, and confirm they latch flush. Ask whether recall 16V858000 was completed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “1. Faulty tk airbags - I got a notice over mail about it. 2. My side door opened during driving, I then found out there is a recall for sliding power doors (electric issue) - I contacted local Toyota dealership, but they said they cannot handle it in the next 5 months as they have no parts.”

   NHTSA complaint #11047536, filed 2017-11, 43,000 miles

   “I had the recent sliding door recall done but my driver's side sliding door still isn't working correctly. After the fix the car was hard to start sometimes, as if the battery was getting weak. I put an ammeter on the positive lead of the battery and notices minimal amperage until I started operating the driver side sliding door, then there was a 2.4 amp draw even after the doors were closed and the car was locked. The door also sometimes will open with a popping noise as if the door isn't latching properly sometimes. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11045135, filed 2017-11, 74,000 miles
2. 2
   Other or unknown

   Sliding door cable snaps or door jams open

   • 11 complaints (6%)
   • median 64,000 mi at 4.7 yrs old (7 state mileage, few)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2013–2026

   Owners report the cable assembly for the power sliding door snapping or stripping, leaving the door stuck partly open or unable to close even by hand. Some describe a burned or hanging wire at the rear quarter panel and a burning smell before the door stopped working. Dealers replaced the cable or motor assembly in some cases. Mostly reported between about 25,000 and 120,000 miles, with a few at very low mileage.

   Recall 16V858000

   What to check: Listen for unusual noise or beeping from the door motors and inspect the cable track and rear quarter wiring for fraying or burn marks.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The cable of my automatic doors of my Toyota Sienna snapped. When I tried to open the door using my key fob, the door opened, but them proceed to make a high pitched beeping noise (like when you try to lock the doors while one of the doors is open). The doors do not automatically close and it needs to be manually closed. After investigating, I noticed that the cable of the vehicle was severed. The car has been routinely maintained as suggested by Toyota and has 39,000 miles on the vehicle and we are the originally owners of the car.”

   NHTSA complaint #11005933, filed 2017-07, 39,000 miles

   “The passenger side cable attached to the sliding door has stripped, causing an internal jam, disallowing the door from closing fully. Even manually closing the doors does not work, and the door is open roughly 60% of the way. The van is still able to drive with the door open.”

   NHTSA complaint #11113051, filed 2018-07, 50,000 miles
3. 3
   Other or unknown

   Rear differential / AWD coupler whine

   • 11 complaints (6%)
   • median 80,000 mi at 7.3 yrs old (5 state mileage, few)
   • owner-quoted repair $2,500 (median of 5 quotes)
   • filed 2019–2022

   Owners of all-wheel-drive vans describe a whining or grinding noise from the rear while driving, which disappears in reverse in some accounts. Independent shops and dealers diagnosed worn bearings in the viscous coupler or rear differential and quoted replacement of the unit as a whole. Several owners noted a similar part was recalled on another model but not on the Sienna. Mostly reported between about 55,000 and 130,000 miles.

   What to check: On a test drive at highway speed, listen for a steady whine from the rear that changes with speed; ask whether the rear coupler or differential has been serviced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The viscous coupling on the rear axle of my awd Sienna started making noise and needed to be replaced. Apparently there has been a recall for the rav4 for the same part, but not the Sienna. My auto shop has told me this is a fairly common problem. The bearings in the coupling fail and start to make a very loud whine. Toyota says the bearings cannot be replaced and must be serviced as a unit... To the tune of $2300 parts and labor.”

   NHTSA complaint #11251834, filed 2019-08, 91,000 miles

   “The rear differential is causing a whirling sound. The sound only occurs when the vehicle is on drive. I don't hear the same high pitched whirling sound when the car is in reverse. This is a common problem with this generation of Sienna. Toyota has a recall for this issue on the rav 4 but not the Sienna.”

   NHTSA complaint #11365562, filed 2020-10, 58,000 miles
4. 4
   Brakes

   Shaking or premature brake and rotor wear

   • 8 complaints (4%)
   • median 50,000 mi at 3.6 yrs old (7 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2014–2022

   Owners describe the van shaking or the steering wheel vibrating when braking, often worse on long downhill grades, and some were told the rotors were warped at low mileage. Others report grinding or scraping and being quoted for new pads and rotors well under 30,000 miles. A few describe the pedal going soft or low with reduced braking that later returned to normal. Mostly reported between about 15,000 and 60,000 miles.

   What to check: Brake firmly from highway speed during the test drive and feel for vibration or pulsing through the pedal and wheel; ask for brake service records and rotor measurements.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I bought my Sienna 12/27/2012. In october 2014 while driving home from lake tahoe, the car began shaking violently while traveling down hill. Upon returning home the car continued to shake anytime the brakes were applied. Took the car to the dealer and they said the rotors were warped and needed to be replaced. The car had $15k miles on it. This is unheard of. In july 2014 Toyota issued t-sb-0045-14 relating to this issue and recommended a shim kit as a repair. This was also added to my car. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10885156, filed 2016-07, 31,000 miles

   “I have a 2013 Toyota Sienna awd with 23,500 miles on it and my brakes just started scrapping. I took the vehicle to a dealer and was told the brakes and rotors were worn out and needed to be changed. Cost: $970 and change. A car with such low mileage should not need new brakes and rotors.the dealership could not give me a reason for the wear but insisted the work was necessary and that they had the car apart and ready to go. Because it is a 2013 there was no warrantee so I had to pay the entire bill out of pocket.”

   NHTSA complaint #11000221, filed 2017-06, 23,500 miles
5. 5
   Other or unknown

   Fast tire wear, especially on the front

   • 11 complaints (6%)
   • median 90,000 mi at 5.1 yrs old (5 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2016–2024

   Owners report tires wearing out well before expected, sometimes down to the belts at 25,000 miles, with several sets replaced within the first 90,000 miles. Some say the wear was on the inner or outer edge and that alignment checks came back within spec or non-adjustable at the rear. Dealers often described the wear as normal for the tires or the vehicle. Reported from about 25,000 to 100,000 miles, often noticed at routine service.

   What to check: Check tread depth and evenness across all four tires and ask for recent alignment records; on AWD vans, confirm all tires match in size and wear.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Goodyear assurance tire size 235 60 r17 number for recall and m7jj f1r 5116 tire has what they call a seam manufacturers defect jim norton Toyota wouldn't warranty it even with an extended warranty on my vehicle but they said it has 4/32 left on it but they would it if they were me not to mention that the outer walls of the tire where the tread is were wearing but not the middle and I'll only have the vehicle for like a year”

   NHTSA complaint #11118854, filed 2018-08, 100,000 miles

   “This mini van is the absolute worst vehicle for tire wear. At 90,000 miles, I have put on 5 different sets of tires. I've rotated the tire fairly religiously at 6-8k miles and even though the tires are wearing evenly, they wear out fast especially on the front of the vehicle. This is an engineering defect that Toyota should be held accountable for. It also puts the occupants at risk of blowout as tires are wearing much faster than is normal.”

   NHTSA complaint #11045759, filed 2017-11, 90,000 miles

Buying note. Check the sliding doors carefully, confirm any open recalls were completed, and budget for tires and brakes, which owners report wearing early. On an AWD van, listen for rear-end whine on a highway test drive before buying.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.