Zac wrote at 2007-07-26 19:22:51
Have the EXACT same going on today, this very moment. I have 2,800 miles over warranty (38,800), but neither the dealership nor Toyota corporate customer service will offer any assistance.
Issue: Bearing broke in compressor and damaged the condenser.
Cost: $3,400.
Me? I've owned four Toyotas: Camry; Land Cruiser; Avalon; Sienna. All bought at Toyota dealerships.
Toyota corp. told me "We don't buy business."
Toyota dealership told me that I don't have a service history with them. (The reason? I just moved to town)
EXTREMELY disappointed. Toyota just lost a customer.
Bo wrote at 2007-08-04 04:46:27
This answer is perfect.
dying wrote at 2008-07-23 18:58:50
I owned a 2004 Sienna which had among several problems one major problerm related to the A/C. The dealer had worked on the problem for at least one year.
The compressor was relaced--to no avail- I was put in a rental car for three weeks. A dye was injected into the system to locate leaks. To no avail. Various other items were inspected and replaced. To no avail. Freon replaced several times. To no avail. Now the utter seriousness of the problem surfaced in that me the driver and passengers were becoming drowsy while onboard. In one case eye problems surfaced. At low speed conditions worsened. I suspect due to lesser fresh air intake. After two years of no repair and no other options offered I was forced to get rid of the Sienna. Glad I was not offered another one.
THIS WAS A MOBILE GAS CHAMBER. BEWARE--BEWARE!!!!!!
Crash2609 wrote at 2008-07-30 14:36:54
I have a 2004 Sienna Van and this is the SECOND condenser that has failed!!! The first was under warranty, and now the second one is way past my warranty. My quote was $2800. Ridiculous! I bought a Toyota becuase of its reliability, how wrong I was!!!
Al wrote at 2008-07-30 17:06:59
I am sitting at a Toyota Service center at this exact moment with this problem. Have an 2004 Sienna XLE Limited with 58k miles. AC quit working yesterday. Dealer told me that entire AC system was shot and needs replacing. $3526 to fix, about 10% of the new purchase price and 20-25% of the present worth. I balked at the price. They showed me the TSB on the AC system to prove that only a Toyota Deler could fix it. Right now they have a call with the Area Director to see if Toyota will cover the cost of the parts and I'll pay labor.
Let you know how that works out.
Darlene wrote at 2008-08-01 20:03:26
Dear Al..owner of 2004 Toyota Sienna..I wish I could read your feedback from Director of Toyota Cooperate. I am experiencing the same problem with my 2004 van at 67K miles I lost a/c...they said it was the compressor belt...now at 68K I have no a/c at all and told "I" need to have compressor clutch/coil fixed at a cost to me for parts and reduced labor fees ($70.00 from $92.50/hr) they are blaming it on the Maine winters and "crap" getting under the hood!! I am so upset with Toyota..I have seen numerous complaints for same problem with AC and when I asked about the TSB they said that was for their knowledge to help the technician, not a recall! How awful of Toyota to not stand by their minivan! I have been a loyal customer for 4 years and have serviced this vehicle as recommended. I am supposed to go back Monday for a repair that will cost me over $500 and 2 1/2 hours of waiting time. Never mind that I have been there 2 days this week for over 5 hours while they so say "fixed" the a/c one day only to fail that afternoon and couldn't "fix it" today!!! I wish the Better Business Bureau would help customers with this...in todays economic times who can afford to pay over $1500 dollars in service like I have in 4 months. I will not be buying a Toyota in the future...they are showing they do not stand by their customer when a costly repair needs fixing. Good Luck Al!!!!!
Bridget wrote at 2008-08-17 00:11:03
THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPLY!!!! We just had our 05 Sienna XLE Compressor/Clutch go out. And in the heat of Southern California we also found out that there is a national backorder of the parts so our local dealer (Quality Toyota) can't fix the problem for 2-3 weeks. Great news huh? Thanks for the additional information about the Service Bulletin. I complained about 2 years ago about the air being wierd and I wonder if it's somewher in my notes through my service guy. Would this hold up to the case if I noticed problems with the air back then? I am hoping that I won't have to pay for this new system even though my minivan too doesn't fall under the warranty (it's at 60K miles and a little over 3 years old).
Off to take care of our little newborn (another reason I need AC asap).
Bridget
Kikie wrote at 2009-07-16 00:58:17
I guess I got a few extra miles out of my 2004 Sienna XLE in N. Bay Area, CA before this design flaw manifested itself in my vehicle. I am at 68K miles and the quote to fix is $4,809! One reason I spent so much more for the Toyota minivan is for vehicle reliability. Really disappointed... not sure what we will do.
Pam wrote at 2009-07-22 20:52:18
Just had the same issue, one week before leaving for vacation 12 hr drive away with two small kids. Needless to say we had to get it fixed in a hurry and had to pay the price. Though we got it fixed at half the price from Tuffy instead of the dealer. Toyota dealer denied a technical service bulletin (TSB)out there or that other people were having the same issue. Of course our van was out of the 3 yr 36k mile warrenty. But Tuffy gave us a copy of the TSB when we got it fixed. Researched on the web and found tons of others with the same issue. Don't know that this helps but you are definitely not the only one experiencing the issue.
Angela wrote at 2009-07-24 06:54:59
July 23, 2009-My ac went out and I am at 140,000 miles. I guess I am lucky. I forgot, my ac went out last year and I choose not to get it repaired. Now it is too hot and I got it repaired by someone other than the dealer. The dealer quoted me a cost of$3,400.00 including labor. I was able to get Nu's Auto Body and Repair to fix it at $688.00. They replaced the ac compressor with a new Denso, flushed the condensor, put a new receiver dryer on and flush out the expansion valves. My clutch on the ac compressor stopped working. I had cold air,it just worked intermittently. I have always bought Toyotas and my next car was going to be a Toyota Highlander. Now I think I will buy Hondas. This problem appears to be a recall item that needs to be addressed. I have loved owning a Toyota. I will miss not purchasing another one.
type47fan wrote at 2009-08-07 06:19:15
Comment from Carlsbad, CA: On July 15, 2009 I had a "catastrophic" compressor failure on my 2004 Sienna LE/AWD. The car has approximately 93,000 and has been perfect, up to this point. The local dealer quoted >$4,300.00 to replace entire system because of fine metal particles throughout. The service writer said there are TSBs for the AC compressor in this model. There are no preventive maintenance remedies. It can happen at any time. Check other similar forums. It seems to be a problem that is happening more than Toyota wants to admit.
