We loved the leather seats, sunroof, smooth ride, car-like feel, captain chairs, JBL sound, ability to take out one or all of the rear seats, powerful 3.0 V6 engine and everything about it.

Needless to say, we brought the van home from the dealer on Labor day 2000. It had 25,000 miles on it. We showed it off to everyone. But, as we started it up the next morning, huge, white puffs of smoke billowed out of the exhaust. It stopped after about 5 minutes. I was sick and felt duped by the dealer. I immediately took it to the Toyota dealership's service department, who told me that I had a SLUDGE problem. He told me that the previous owner must not have done the proper maintenance. They offered to clean the sludge for free, which was very gracious of them. But I wasn't going to pay $23,500 for a vehicle whose engine had sludge!!!While I believed the dealer's conclusion, that the previous owner must NOT have done the proper & timely oil changes, I now am skeptical, since I've read these reviews and the reviews and Edmunds website. Although I have no proof of oil changes, from the previous owner, I did want to post my experience. We are grateful that the dealer gave us our money back and took they van back into their inventory. Although we experienced the dreaded sludge problem, we would buy another Sienna.

My wife loved her Sienna and can't wait to get another.

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1 1995 Toyota Camry V6 LE. Two Lexus ES300s, which are are pristine and should not be compared to a minivan. I think that I can't compare my cars to a minivan.

Not worth mentioning if they cannot get the engines correct.

Engine and yes, lots of squeeks. Also noticed the transmission not alway responsive or at the same shifting rpms. Van did pull some and the turning ratio was not that good. Bottoms out like the Honda (thats the only thing wrong with the Honda by the way except for the non-negotiable price). The famous tire PSI sensor also went off which I was able to clear by setting the tires to the correct PSI (well I guess this did work afterall).

Yes, I am another victim of the infamous SLUDGE problem. The van only had 30K miles on it and was still under bumper to bumper warranty, heck, its a Toyota, what could go wrong anyway (people put 300K on them...me and my Toyota right). It looked and sounded great when I bought it, however, once I purchased it and started it up again, puff, lots of white smoke. It would smoke on and off, sometimes cover the whole street, sometimes just a little puff, always off the acceleration. I called 2 local Toyota Service centers who both told me the same thing, if they pull the valve cover and see sludge, then its poor maintenace and it is not covered under Warranty...I would also be responsible for their time and repairs, etc. With no service records to prove my case (van is mint, you could eat off the engine) and reviewing the postings of many sites, I see no hope with fighting with toyota and unloaded the van at a loss. Something smells bad with Toyota, both service centers said the same thing quickly before even seeing the problem, looks and smells like a RAT...then it is!

Shame on Toyota, after conducting much research and discussing the problem with several mechanics I am under the conclusion that there is a defect with the engine, not with all of them but too many for Toyota to just blame it on poor maintenance. Better listen Toyota, I WILL NEVER BUY, LEASE or RENT ANOTHER TOYOTA PRODUCT AGAIN, Service does matter!!! Before I unloaded it, I did try to clean it (engine flusher twice, expensive ones which alow flushing for longer periods), used special additives and added synthetic oil to try and correct the problem, none of which worked. In short, I do not believe the problem is collant leaking into the oil causing sludge build up because I used a special coolant sealer and monitored the fluids closely with no losses. The oil did tend to burn up quicker, both with regular oil and synthetic (although it did last longer) which leads me to believe the coolant system may not be operating correctly or thoroughly enough to keep the oil from frying and sludging up, ultimately clogging the ports and burning up the motors. I dont buy into the leaky valve stem theroy because I used several good sealers and they did nothing, besides, that would only make it smoke, not continue to sludge up after being cleaned. Some mechanics thing it has to do with the aluminum heads warping, who knows exactly except Toyota, they know...and its not just with the Sienna, that engine has been reported to have problems on the Lexus 300 (poor ratings), etc.

IF YO WANT TO JOIN IN ON A CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT AGAINST TOYOTA, SEND ME AN EMAIL (FromBrick@aol.com) AND I WILL ADVISE...

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Honda, Mazda, Ford

Engine, Safety, Radio, Toyota Reliability

Uncomfortable front and rear seats, challange to get the the 3rd row, Low tire pressure warning light always on.

I bought this van in 1999, I have every option available except for the 6-disk cd changer. This van is pretty fast, i've gone around 95mph in it. The ride is a little too soft, with a van full of 7, it rides pretty low, i've scraped the tow hitch/bottom of van so many times. So far i have 25k miles. I haven't had any problems except for the low tire pressure warning light always turning on even though the tires were at the right psi. The Front seats aren't really that comfy, and don't really support you at all on turns. The 2nd row (i have captain chairs) is pretty good. But getting to the back is a challange, its very tight back there. Also the 3rd row bench is not comfortable at all!!! Overall this van is pretty good. I probably won't trade it in.

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Test drove grand caravan (not into dodges), Honda oddysey (looks bulky outside), Lincoln Navigator (Drives like a brick).

generally good cars but better hope you don't have problems.

generally bad service and I can prove it

Test drove Sienna but decided on Highlander. Love the highlander but I think dealer service is the worst ever as a senior Plus experienced person.
I would print out some of the sludge problems, insert you own experiance and write the Federal Trade Commission. Do a search and the FTC web site should come up.

I got a coupon for free oil change (with new highlander purchase)but I went to a quick change place instead and paid & watched them put in synthesic oil of my choice (Amsoil 5w-30))

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good service on jeep (still) and needed it!

Very comfortable ride, tight turning radius, split fold down seats, decent stereo

Tire pressure warning light-Whose idea was this anyway? Paint seems thin.

I wrote a few months ago after we purchased this vehicle. We are still extremely pleased with it. We have put 5000 miles on it and currently have 31,500. I was concerned with the sludge issue I have been reading on Edmund's and this site. I have contacted 5 different managers at different auto shops. Not one has any experience with sludging in the Siennas. None are affiliated with Toyota. (Firestone, Tuffy, Goodyear) One manager mentioned his friend had a Camry that did sludge. I am wondering how much of this problem is fabricated and how much is actual. I am sure some of the posts are valid but after conducting a good bit of research and talking with other owners I am getting a little skeptical as far as the severity of the problem. I would like to know how many of the owners took the vehicle to Toyota to have oil changes done before the sludging started. (This shouldn't matter but I am curious.)

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1994 Ford Aerostar-Absolutely no comparison

Runs great for first 10,000 miles

brake system, sludge problem,can't see out the windows at night, the brakes "let go" when you need em most and the enginge will probably fail at 24,000 miles

I am also a victim of SLUDGE!!!! I had no trouble with the van for the first 10-12,000 miles except the power door is too sensitive, and the brake system light never goes off. I was very happy. However, at around 13,000 miles I noticed I was using more and more oil.Now at 23,000 miles - Full blown huge clouds of smoke now, 2 quarts of oil per week. Dealer checked it and ordered parts for leaky valve seals.They told me it would be covered under warranty unless they find sludge, then it would be neglect. Had an outside mechanic look at it - and there is of course, sludge. I go back to dealer in a few days for repairs and need advice when they tell me there is sludge and the warranty won't cover it. I'd like to join in writing to the Attorney General and exploring Class Action. Can e-mail me at Frenchsmit@aol.com

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Honda, Subaru - loved em both

Car-like drive
Seating options
low to ground

tire pressure light problems
oil senser problems
computer in automatic door busted and caused intermittent opening and closing
captains chairs are tough to manuever around

Most comfortable minivan available, the car-like drive sold it for me. I do wish I had purchased a base CE rather than the XLE. It would have illimenated the problems I have had. And the sterio does sound great.

The worst problem we've had yet, only hopefully the only one is the automatic door. We insisted for months that it was opening and shutting itself when no one was near. I would exit my home to find my car had opened up. It refused to close at times. the dealer argued that this problem had never been heard of and was unlikely. They finally caused the mis-operation of the door in their shop and replaced the computer that operates that door. I have sent a letter and received a reciept for it from toyota explaining my suspicions of a lemon. For future use if necessary, I have completed what I need to in order to prove my case. Write those letters as soon as you suspect or the statute of limitations may run out. They would not have helped me if I had not made a nuisance of myself to them and other costumers. I like my van otherwise, the door has begun to malfunction again. I am waiting for it to deteriorate to a point where it can be caught in the shop. I believe the problem originates in the computer and it is causing other parts to bust, like our door computer,oil senser and tire pressure light. If sludge ever appears i join your class action law suit, i am currently at 30,000 miles and not having any visible problems, but I haven't ever waited longer than 3,400 miles for an oil change, and make toyota do them all, at their coupon price. Cause I can SCREAM loud!

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Isuzu Rodeo, owned for six months before a baby with a drivers license wrecked us, We twisted like a candy cane and got lucky without injuries. Made me feel attracted to Toyota's high safety rating.

Has a good saftey rating.

The quality is poor. I have not had experience with other toyota products and bought the sienna on here say. This van for what ever reason does not support toyotas reputation of reliablility and quality workmanship. Talking to other toyota owners (not just sienna owners) it appears to me that toyota has an excellent marketing campaign for touting its reliablilty,but their cars are certainly not quality products.

Not as good as I expexted the quality of this van is horrible. the handle on the sliding continues to come off and the engine seems to be smoking.

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None

Engine lasted 14,000 miles

Engine burned up at 14,000 miles

A sludge nightmare ! THere is obviously something wrong with the design of these engines. We got sludge after only 14,000 miles. Toyota knows there is a problem but they aren't telling anyone. Toyota refuses to cover the damage under warrenty. Class action amy be the only option.If you have had this problem be sure to file a complaint
U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Defects Investigations
NSA-10.01 400 7th Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20590
1-800-424-9393 1-888-327-4236
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov
email me at cbsiii@datasync.com

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Had 3 Chrysler town and country's . No problem anything like this.

Strong V6, luxurious interior, and great stereo. Didn't have to pay sticker price (Odessey).

NONE

I've owned the Sienna for 8 1/2 months. I drive a lot and have over 32,000 miles. I HAVE NEVER experienced a problem with sludge or any other mechanical problems with my Sienna. It's been nothing short of great. I've changed my oil every 7500 miles just as the manual suggests. I purchased the vehicle from Alrington Toyota and I am very satisfied.

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Blows away all other mini-vans on the market.