2013 Toyota Sienna Transmission and drivetrain Problems

“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.”

“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.”

“Van started having a propane/musty smell inside cabin while driving on highway. Van just had cabin filters replaced and auto shop stated the rear differential and coupler were blown and to get a used part and replace it would be $4300. The van is a 2013 with 86,000 miles on it. The rav-4 has the exact same part under a recall. How different could the parts be in the same company for 2 vehicles like this? …”

“Rear differential- viscous coupler making a whirring noise while driving. Toyota rav4 was issued a recall for the same problem. Toyota Sienna needs one as well. It is a common failure of the bearing parts.”

“The rear differential bearing started making a great deal of noise proportional to speed of vehicle. This is a safety problem. Part must be replaced at cost of nearly $3,000. Vehicle only has 65,000 miles and is only 2 months out of warranty. Research I have done reveals that this is a common problem with this vehicle. The dealer had the part in stock, which also suggests that this is a common problem. A recall was done for rav4. A recall should be done for the same issue for the siena.”