2016 Toyota Sienna Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 3about this part
- Share
- 4%of 76 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 6,000miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 3 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2016 Toyota Sienna, 4% of the 76 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 6,000 miles.
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.
“In cold temperatures, this vehicle model (according to the dealer) does not shift into overdrive right away when driving from a cold-start. This causing a momentary acceleration when braking and presents an unexpected safety issue. I have found this issue posted on several car forums and it appears to affect more than just the 2016 model Sienna, but does not trigger a fault of any kind.”
NHTSA complaint #10939478, filed 2017-01, 6,000 miles“After 80,000 miles have a loud whirling sound coming from rear, after inspection and online investigation found many many others with same issue, the dust cover and or o-ring doesn’t properly protect the rear bearing in the coupler. So while the fix is to remove the rear differential coupler, and replace the bearing with an improved version, seems Toyota has stopped supporting this, and no longer offers the improved bearing as a replacement part, but only supports replacing the entire rear differential coupling at $2000 for the part plus labor. …”
NHTSA complaint #11571331, filed 2024-02Related service bulletins
- 10201352Jul 6, 2021TT: Some 2014-2021 model year vehicles equipped with Dynamic Torque Control AWD system may experience a ?Noise? or ?Abnormal Operation? condition from the rear differential front…
- 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…
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 2016 Toyota Sienna
27 complaintsOther or unknown
14 complaintsElectrical system
9 complaintsSeat belts
6 complaintsAir bags
5 complaintsWheels
5 complaintsEngine
4 complaintsExterior lighting
4 complaintsLatches, locks and linkages
4 complaintsSteering
4 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
3 complaintsSeats
2 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2016 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