Home · 2017 Toyota Sienna · Complaints

What 152 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Toyota Sienna

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (152)Crash / fire / injury (20)Transmission & drivetrain (36)Electrical system (20)Fuel system (17)Wheels (16)Engine (15)Body & structure (13)Brakes (11)Steering (7)Visibility & wipers (7)Speed control (6)

4 of 152 complaints match · Engine · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

May 22, 2022Electrical systemEngineFire

I was driving my 2017 Sienna on 5/10/2022 and was approaching a roundabout. As I was going thru the roundabout, my van stalled. I coasted into a gas station. After a few minutes I notice smoke coming from under my hood. I popped the hood and noticed the smoke was coming from the air intake. We called AAA and they towed it to the dealership we bought it new from and had all services done at. The next day we authorized them to do a diognostic on it where they found a burnt airfilter and melted housing. Heiser Toyota in Milwaukee WI has not repaired the van yet and we wanted to talk to Toyota customer service and your office to see what we should do. We called insurance and a claim has been started - not sure if they have inspected the van yet. It is available for you to inspect. All warning lights were on when it stalled. There was no power loss or any warning before it stalled.

NHTSA ODI 11465602

Oct 19, 2021EngineFuel systemCrash

On 10/14/2021, as my wife was pulling into our attached garage, the vehicle suddenly accelerated, hitting a metal storage shelf located at the back wall of the garage. The impact of the crash caused the vehicle and the shelf to extensively damage the dry wall of that area of the garage, as well as to damage the pedestal supporting the house water heater, which resulted in the water heater detaching away from the wall and being destroyed. There was, of course, also major damage to the front bumper area of the vehicle. It is my contention that the cause of the accident lies in some component of the vehicle acceleration system. I believe this to be true because of two prior incidents which occurred within the month before this happened. On 09/16/2021, I was driving this vehicle and wanted to make a U-turn. I was traveling at approximately 10 MPH, but as I began the turn, suddenly, the vehicle accelerated to about 25 MPH, even though my foot was off the accelerator. My wife and granddaughter were in the vehicle at the time and both expressed alarm, somehow thinking I had purposely made this maneuver, which I assured them that I had not. Then, approximately 7-10 days later (I am unsure of the date), I was driving, alone, in this vehicle and went to make a left-hand turn. The vehicle again accelerated, even though I had removed my foot from the accelerator pedal and was applying the brakes. I estimate that as I began the turn, my speed was 10-15 MPH, but the vehicle accelerated to 25-30 MPH. I dismissed both of these prior incidents as not too important and attributed them to some unknown anomaly on the road. However, after the latest incident involving the damage to my garage and vehicle, research showed that several Toyota models and specifically the Sienna have had similar issues in the past. I am reporting this incident to Toyota for their evaluation, but wanted to make your agency aware, also.

NHTSA ODI 11437319

Sep 4, 2018Electrical systemElectronic Stability Control (esc)EngineFire

HUSBAND LOST CONTROL OF THE CAR DRIVING 75 MILED PER HOUR ON HIGHWAY. "AWD BRAKE OVERRIDE. CONTACT DEALERSHIP" CAME ON A GAUGE. PULLED OFF SIDE OF I-95 AND CAR SHOOK AND CAME TO A COMPLETE HAULT AFTER MAKING A LOUD GRINDING NOISE. WE IMMEDIATLEY NOTICED FIRE COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD ON DRIVER SIDE. EVACUATED, CALLED 911. CAR WAS A TOTAL LOSS. PLEASE GET TOYOTA TO INVESTIGATE SINCE THIS IS NOT THE FIRST 2017 TOYOTA SIENNA TO CATCH ON FIRE IN THE SAME MANNER.

NHTSA ODI 11124206

Jul 1, 2018Body & structureEngineFire

I WAS DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE AT APPROXIMATELY 65 MILES PER HOUR. MY 'CHECK ALL WHEEL DRIVE SYSTEM' WARNING ALARM CAME ON SHORTLY FOLLOWED BY THE: CHECK ENGINE, BATTERY ALARM, COLLISION BREAKING SYSTEM, ETC. I'M CERTAIN THERE WERE MORE ALERTS GOING OFF; HOWEVER I WAS TRYING TO STEER A CAR, THAT HAD LOST POWER OFF THE ROADWAY. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR SAFELY ONTO THE SHOULDER WHERE I ATTEMPTED TO TURN OFF THE VEHICLE. I COULDN'T TURN THE CAR OFF UNTIL I REALIZED I NEEDED THE CAR TO BE IN PARK. AFTER I TURNED THE CAR OFF I NOTICED BLACK SMOKE COMING FROM THE ENGINE AND COULD SMELL SOMETHING BURNING. I OPENED THE DOOR & GOT MY THREE YEAR OLD SON OUT OF THE CAR & NOTICED MORE BLACK SMOKE. I QUICKLY DISTANCED MYSELF FROM THE VEHICLE & NOTICED FIRE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. I CALLED 911 BUT THE CAR WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES WITHIN MINUTES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDED WITHIN 5 MINUTES & WERE ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE. *JS

NHTSA ODI 11105014

Working with the data? Download all 152 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2017 Toyota Sienna verdict →