Reviews from owners: 2008 Toyota Sienna (limited or other)

[elsabear]

I have a 2009 Sienna XLE AWD - I have alot of options on it so it is basically a Limited minus the bluetooth and GPS built in. I have about 55K on it and it has been from PA to TN, ME and most recently New Brunswick Canada - including about 20 miles of dirt road. My only complaint is that the AWD comes with runflat tires which do not wear at all and it has no spare. If you are not getting the AWD that should not be a problem.
Incidently I have had 2 Silhouettes previously - one of which had the dual sliding doors - and twice had to have the mechanism replaced in it.
Also I got stuck in the snow alot with the Olds but this is a bear in the snow.

 

[edk35]

I have a 2009 Sienna XLE AWD - I have alot of options on it so it is basically a Limited minus the bluetooth and GPS built in. I have about 55K on it and it has been from PA to TN, ME and most recently New Brunswick Canada - including about 20 miles of dirt road. My only complaint is that the AWD comes with runflat tires which do not wear at all and it has no spare. If you are not getting the AWD that should not be a problem.
Incidently I have had 2 Silhouettes previously - one of which had the dual sliding doors - and twice had to have the mechanism replaced in it.
Also I got stuck in the snow alot with the Olds but this is a bear in the snow.

I have the same but a 2008 but mine has the bluetooth and the GPS. As far as the tires go....I had to replace two about 2 1/2 years after buying. I got a roofer's nail in ONE and they can't or don't like to repair them so I had to get a new one. ALSO....they recommend replacing in pairs. SO we did. Maybe a dumb move on our part but we did it. I paid a little 400+ but way under 500 for the pair.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I guess ths is the appropriate board for this, since it will be a definite budget issue if this ends up being a bad decision!!

Are there any owners of 2008 Toyota Siennas that can give me reviews on how you like yours?

Have you had any major issues, gripes, complaints, problems, etc?

I am planning to buy a Limited on Wednesday - not an AWD BTW.

I am very hesitant to buy such an expensive vehicle. My last van was a 1998 Silhouette and only cost $5900 - it was 5 yrs old at the time I bought it.

But it died in May of 2010, and I have been w/out a vehicle since.

This van is WAAAAAAAAY more expensive, but I know I am supposedly paying for Toyota quality this time. But, with all the bad hype Toyota has been getting recently, I am concerned that the quality is no longer there!

Any help, reassurances, or warnings from owners would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!

I just paid off my 2006 Sienna and still love it! It only has 26K miles because I only drive it to the train station to work each day plus a few trips to VA and Boston. I usually keep a car til it's at least 10 yrs old and should have no problem doing that. I keep mine in our garage and it looks almost new. A couple little scratches from kids bikes getting too close.
I love the heated seats.

This is my 2nd Toyota. First was a Supra which I LOVED dearly but sold it when I was pregnant with ds14.

I think if the owner you're buying it from took good care of it with records to prove it, you will be happy with it. Find out if they bought the extended warranty. I did so I'm covered until 2013. It will be 7 by then.

eta: Mine is the XLE. no AWD.

 

[Belle5]

I have decided before I purchase our next vehicle, I want to rent one and take it on a trip. Seriously, we are considering a Sienna...we rented one two weeks ago for a 10 hour round trip period. I was shocked that I did NOT like the automatic doors!!! I love a loaded, upgraded vehicle...but those doors...just hated them! Other than my dislike for the doors, there were only positives about the Sienna experience.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I have decided before I purchase our next vehicle, I want to rent one and take it on a trip. Seriously, we are considering a Sienna...we rented one two weeks ago for a 10 hour round trip period. I was shocked that I did NOT like the automatic doors!!! I love a loaded, upgraded vehicle...but those doors...just hated them! Other than my dislike for the doors, there were only positives about the Sienna experience.

That's probably a good idea to rent one. We love the power doors, esp when it's raining and we're running to the car. Right before we get to the car, I click the buttons and the doors are open by the time they get there. I wish I had it on my door.

 

[pklein09]

We replaced our 2000 Silhouette with a 2010 Sienna LE (not the new body style). I LOVED my Silhouette and now I LOVE my Sienna. It's 2 years, 2 months old and has 45K miles....I drive a LOT with 4 kids. I've kept up on regular maintainence and I replaced the tires at 38K. I love that both sides have automatic sliding doors, and I like the position of the buttons to close those doors. There is more cargo room and the fold-down seats are sooooooooo much better than the ones I had to physically remove from the Silhouette. I was getting about 20 mpg on the Silhouette and I get about 23 mpg local and 26 mpg highway on the Sienna. We donated the Silhouette at 140K miles, but expect this van to have at least 200K before we decide to replace it.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[auger]

Wow, I am really glad I asked about this van.
I am more certain all the time that the Sienna is the way to go.

Sounds like there are a few issues we could encounter, like the sliding doors and the airbag thing.

I will definitely take the van right to the dealer to have the airbag issue looked into, since the van only has 29K mi.

I think the door issue is something that any van could have. I know we had some problems with the one slider we had on our Silhouette. So we will deal with that when the time comes.

I am glad to hear from all of the previous Silhouette owners, that you all loved your Silhouette and now love your Sienna.

I think that is part of the reason it has taken me so long to make a decision about buying a new van. I loooooved my Silhouette, and it has been hard to thing of getting anything but another one.

But since they no longer make them (not to mention the major engine issues that caused mine to leave me stranded on the highway twice!!), and I don't want to buy a 7+ year old vehicle, I had to look elsewhere. I have test driven about five different 2008 Siennas now, and I love the way they ride, feel, handle, etc.

So I think this is the van for me. I tried the Honda Odyssey, but didn't like the handling and feel of it as much. They also don't have the reliability numbers like the Siennas.

I definitely appreciate the warnings about the potential problems that some of you have had with yours. Always good to know before going into the water!

Thanks again to everyone!! I think I feel a lot better about this choice, and as long as the van checks out tomorrow, I think we will be confident in the purchase!

I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow!! Wish me luck!!

pklein09 - I can't wait to have the luxury of those fold-away back seats!! I hated hefting the seats from the Silhouette for trips and stuff!!! It wasn't all that difficult to do, just a pain in the neck to mess with!!

 

[FoundMyPrince]

Wow, I am really glad I asked about this van.
I am more certain all the time that the Sienna is the way to go.

Sounds like there are a few issues we could encounter, like the sliding doors and the airbag thing.

I will definitely take the van right to the dealer to have the airbag issue looked into, since the van only has 29K mi.

I think the door issue is something that any van could have. I know we had some problems with the one slider we had on our Silhouette. So we will deal with that when the time comes.

I am glad to hear from all of the previous Silhouette owners, that you all loved your Silhouette and now love your Sienna.

I think that is part of the reason it has taken me so long to make a decision about buying a new van. I loooooved my Silhouette, and it has been hard to thing of getting anything but another one.

But since they no longer make them (not to mention the major engine issues that caused mine to leave me stranded on the highway twice!!), and I don't want to buy a 7+ year old vehicle, I had to look elsewhere. I have test driven about five different 2008 Siennas now, and I love the way they ride, feel, handle, etc.

So I think this is the van for me. I tried the Honda Odyssey, but didn't like the handling and feel of it as much. They also don't have the reliability numbers like the Siennas.

I definitely appreciate the warnings about the potential problems that some of you have had with yours. Always good to know before going into the water!

Thanks again to everyone!! I think I feel a lot better about this choice, and as long as the van checks out tomorrow, I think we will be confident in the purchase!

I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow!! Wish me luck!!

pklein09 - I can't wait to have the luxury of those fold-away back seats!! I hated hefting the seats from the Silhouette for trips and stuff!!! It wasn't all that difficult to do, just a pain in the neck to mess with!!

We had a 97 Silhouette van. Loved it, until it completely died one day.

We purchased a new 07 Sienna van and really like it. We purchased the "CE" van - I didn't want a lot of extra bells and whistles that could break and would be costly to repair. The only thing I requested is that we have tinted windows (that the CE didn't come with); we had a local shop tint the windows for a fraction of the Toyota cost.

As a previous poster wrote, the original tires were awful. I think ours last about 25,000 miles. Then at 30,000 miles the check engine light came on. Apparently if you do not screw on the gas cap until it clicks, the check engine light will come on and stay on. I swear I clicked the cap, but it was the only idea Toyota could come up with as to why the check engine light was on (air gets in the lines?). Long story short, we've had the light turned off at each oil change, and it comes back on (and, believe me, we click that gas cap each time we fill up). We've not had any other issues other than the light just stays on. We've been told this is a common issue with Toyotas.

 

[MinnieGi]

2009 Sienna owners here and just love it!!!

We've had other Toyota's in the past Four Runner and Avalon and they have all been great cars that have lasted well with routine maintenance.

The ease of versatility is key for our family. Sometimes we have all seven seats filled with kid's friends and other times we are hauling ice hockey gear, dance bags, soccer equipment etc.

It is a pleasure to drive always.

 

[maleficentmom]

I bought a 2008 certified LE with a clean carfax provided....found out a year(and a few lies) later that it was wrecked and would not have met certification at another Toyota dealership we took it to.....I got them to fix the issues but I had a hard time and feel that I didn't exactly get what I thought I was getting,even though I like the van itself.Also, Toyota will just say that the dealerships are privately owned so they will not stand behind you with issues you may have. We were told they can certify a vehicle that has up to so much bodywork/replacement panels,etc,even though the checklist on their website doesn't mention this....so just be careful and take it to a body shop and mechanic first no matter what they say at dealer. We have had issues with outlets,window and door(although I think this was due to previous wreck), trunk hydraulic type hinges replaced, and something they replaced in steering column,more aggravating than major issues...we bought the platinum extended warranty for around $1000 extra and I am so glad. My friend has an XLE and she has had to replace both automatic fold down rear seat motors(?) at $750 each and some other things,although it was free because of platinum warranty.I think they are reliable and I like mine,but after the experience with our dealership and Toyota corp...I doubt I will buy another.

 

[auger]

Thanks for these latest replies.

I don't worry about the check engine light issue. My Silhouette did the exact same thing - always the gas cap code. My BIL is a mechanic and he said it's more of an annoyance than anything.

I realize a carfax, unfortunately, does not guarantee a no accident vehicle.
However, I was very fortunate when I bought my Silhouette. The dealer walked me around the van and showed me how to tell if major bodywork had been done to a vehicle. He showed me key points of inspection and what to look for.
Again, this won't guarantee me a clean van, but every bit helps!!

Love the reviews and comments from everyone.
Keep 'em comin'!!

 

[dcfromva]

We had a 2002 Silhouette that was very reliable until about year 5. We put money into several repairs and then at year 6 (and 130K miles) decided to pull the plug when we received an estimate for a bunch more repairs. We did love the Silhouette, though. It was a very comfortable vehicle.

We bought a 2008 Toyota Sienna LE to replace it. It now has 57500 miles on it and it has preformed very well so far.

 

[auger]

It's crazy How many Silhouette owners loved that van.
Too bad they couldn't make it reliable enough for people to keep buying them.

So anyway, update onthe van purchase:
The dealer called and said when they took it out for a final test drive, the avigation started acting up.
So she said the wanted to replace it before they sell it to us.
We're now waiting for Toyota to quick-ship a new one to the dealer so they can replace it.
Soon as it's done, we can go get it.
Glad the Nav decided not to wait to cause trouble till we got the van!! That would've been a real downer!!!

So I will post back when we get it.

 

[auger]

Got the Sienna today...FINALLY!!!
I love it!!! It drives like a dream!!
Only problem is some undisclosed cosmetic issues.
Hopefully they will be easy and cheap fixes.

Thanks again for all of the reviews from everyone!!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Got the Sienna today...FINALLY!!!
I love it!!! It drives like a dream!!
Only problem is some undisclosed cosmetic issues.
Hopefully they will be easy and cheap fixes.

Thanks again for all of the reviews from everyone!!!

Awesome! Glad you like it! What color is it?
Mine is burgundy and I'm still not sick of it after 5 yrs.

 

[auger]

Mine is black.
I never thought I'd like a black van, but it's funny how your opinion changes once it's yours!!
We wanted to get the van last weekend, but didn't end up getting it until yesterday.
We had to leave this morning for WDW; so we are on a maiden voyage with a New(used) vehicle! A little scary!! SO far so good!!!

THanks again to everyone who replied!!!
We love the van, and as long as we don't get any undisclosed surprises (bad ones, that is) I think we'll be happy with this van for many years to come!!!!!

Now it's on to WDW for our family vacation including one night one the Platnum Plan!!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Mine is black.
I never thought I'd like a black van, but it's funny how your opinion changes once it's yours!!
We wanted to get the van last weekend, but didn't end up getting it until yesterday.
We had to leave this morning for WDW; so we are on a maiden voyage with a New(used) vehicle! A little scary!! SO far so good!!!

THanks again to everyone who replied!!!
We love the van, and as long as we don't get any undisclosed surprises (bad ones, that is) I think we'll be happy with this van for many years to come!!!!!

Now it's on to WDW for our family vacation including one night one the Platnum Plan!!!

Have a great trip!!