What 152 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Toyota Sienna

I, as well as other owners of 2017–2018 Toyota Highlanders and 2017–2018 Siennas are experiencing serious transmission issues—including high-pitched whining, erratic shifting, clunks, hesitation, and premature failure. My 2017 Toyota Sienna has the UA80 8-speed automatic transmission at issue and started whining upon acceleration in March/April 2026 timeframe. It has always had the clunking and hesitation problem. According to Gears Magazine, the issue stems from a flawed assembly process involving the counter drive gear support. A locking tab meant to secure a vital retaining nut was not bent properly during factory assembly. This leads to gear movement, internal wear, whining, and eventually failure. Unknown to me, in 2019, Toyota had acknowledged the problem in Technical Service Bulletins T-SB-0160-18, T-SB-0008-21, which only go to dealers, and implemented a limited Customer Support Program (CSP ZJC)—but only offered coverage to a narrow group of VINs, not to all VINs for model years that have these transmissions. My car is experiencing these same symptoms. My Toyota Dealer confirmed this problem and recommended a transmission replacement for $11,000 including labor. They said my VIN was not included in the Customer Support Program. Driving with a failing transmission is highly dangerous. A bad transmission can cause sudden power loss causing the car to halt to a sudden stop, unintended acceleration, or my car might get stuck in neutral while driving. I could lose control or be unable to get to the shoulder on the highway, cause a rear-end collision, or get stuck in busy traffic. DESIRED OUTCOME REQUEST: My VIN should be covered under the Customer Support Program in the category of cars that are “less than 10 years old regardless of mileage” or a full recall of all VINs of these model years with these transmissions should be executed. Thank you.

NHTSA ODI 11749682

I have a 2017 Toyota Sienna XLE with about 120k miles on it. Out of nowhere the transmission was gear hunting and surging. It eventually became impossible to get it above 30 mph. It seemed like the transmission just went haywire. No lights on the dash let me know anything was wrong. Thankfully I had just pulled off the highway. Otherwise it could've been bad. I couldn't drive it safely so I had it towed to the nearest Toyota dealership. They said that the transmission needed to be replaced. $9k....

NHTSA ODI 11746069

We experienced a high whine for a couple of months. No codes were being read by any mechanics. Then the transmission started slipping between 2nd and 3rd gears, and then we couldn’t reverse. Now it’s not switching gears at all. There is a recall for our year and type of transmission, for this issue, but our vin number is not included in that recall.

NHTSA ODI 11742281

I have a 2017 Sienna AWD with a UA80 Transmission and the Check AWD System light appeared. I was able to drive it to Towne Toyota in Ledgewood, NJ and they detected the Sienna having DTC Codes P07407E, P27137F and P27567F. They they recommended a transmission replacement costing $9260.84 before tax that I can't afford right now. I am still able to drive the Sienna but Towne Toyota said that the Transmission will eventually fail. After some research, I discovered there is "ZJC UA80 Warranty_Enhancement" by Toyota. I am troubled that the service folks in Towne Toyota did not make me aware of this program! I am afraid to drive the vehicle knowing that the Check Engine Light may reappear. Or worse, the transmission can completely fail unexpectedly that may prevent me or other vehicles from avoiding a collision. It could also strand me on a busy highway and can possibly put my family at risk.

NHTSA ODI 11739882

The transmission went out. It wouldn't shift going 45-55 mph. We stopped at a light and put it into Park, then put it into drive but it wouldn't go. We were stuck at a light in traffic 10:30pm. We had to call 911 to get a cop to sit behind us so we wouldn't get hit. My wife, my 3 kids, and I were in the minivan. While waiting for the tow truck I saw on reddit that many 2017/2018 Toyota Sienna's had transmission problems. The vehicle is at Milton Martin toyota in Gainesville, GA. Toyota says it isn't covered by Bulletin ZJC. Toyota said the transmission is the issue.

NHTSA ODI 11739526

Transmission is making a winning sound. Toyota had issued a Customer Support Program (Program ZJC/POL19-04) for some of that year but it seems to affect more than what they have allowed

NHTSA ODI 11738660

I am writing to report a safety defect regarding the 8-speed automatic transmission in my 2017 Toyota Sienna. The vehicle exhibits severe hesitation during acceleration, harsh shifting, and a high-pitched whining noise, specifically consistent with the 'whine of death' described in Toyota's Customer Support Program ZJC and related Technical Service Bulletin T-SB-0160-18.Despite these identical symptoms, my vehicle’s VIN is not included in the coverage list. This hesitation during acceleration creates a serious safety issue, as the car fails to accelerate unexpectedly when attempting to merge or cross traffic. My vehicle is equipped with the UA80F/E transmission, which is documented to have a faulty assembly (improperly bent washer tab). I request that NHTSA investigate the exclusion of my VIN from this program, as the defect poses a significant risk to passenger safety and the safety of others on the road.

NHTSA ODI 11737861

Loss of power highway speeds, jerky shifting, “sealed” transmission leaking fluid. Check engine light and service required light. I have noticed poor performance with this vehicle before and reported it to the dealer to no avail. Toyota has enacted “customer support program ZJC” but the dealership will not honor.

NHTSA ODI 11731925

My transmission has started with a whining noise, Toyota knows about this issue with thousands of cases regarding the faulty transmission, yet only a few are being covered under a customer support bulletin ZJC. We need to hold Toyota responsible for this issue. We were just told today they won't help us at all. Yet now we are left with a van that we can't use and if we decide to fix it for 10k they are saying the transmission is backordered for months We had to pay Toyota $180 to diagnosis what we already knew was wrong with the vehicle so they would even consider if they would cover it.

NHTSA ODI 11731611

In July of 2025 my 2017 Sienna started making a whine noise. Took it to mechanic and he stated it was likely coming from transmission but recommended we take it to Toyota dealership to confirm. So we took it to Toyota and sure enough they said the transmission was failing. They said it was due to high mileage but it only had just over 150,000 at time of incident. After doing some research on line and talking with other Sienna owners I believe our Sienna should fall under the UA-80 recall.

NHTSA ODI 11719297

The transmission started making a whining sound. There is a Toyota customer support bulletin pol19-04 that mentions this issue however the dealer says this car is not covered

NHTSA ODI 11718664

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, reversing, and then while driving 20 MPH, there was an abnormal whining sound coming from the front of the vehicle. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was currently being diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: TSB-0160-18 (Transaxle Whine Noise, Harsh Shift, MIL ON, or Reduced Power); however, the VIN was not included in the bulletin. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11712079

My 2017 Sienna has whine noise coming from transmission, the vehicle was inspected by Toyota dealership and confirmed that the noise is coming from Transmission. Toyota has already issued a recall for the 2017 Sienna with Transmission UA80 under program ZJC. My vehicle has the same issue, however, it is not being covered as it is UA80E. This issue seems common among all the 2017 model irrespective of transmission number. However, Toyota is not providing support to all customer and have limited to a only one transmission number.

NHTSA ODI 11708831

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30-40 MPH and releasing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle made an abnormal whining sound that progressively became louder. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and it was determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and denied assistance in covering the cost of the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000

NHTSA ODI 11698003

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle briefly hesitated before shifting hard into gear. The contact stated that after the failure, there was an abnormal whining sound coming from underneath the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to provide a specific diagnosis for the cause of the failure; however, the contact was informed that there were known issues with the transmission of similar vehicles. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to the Customer Support Program Bulletin: ZJC. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 40,000.

NHTSA ODI 11693385

My 2017 Toyota sienna has a whine noise coming from the transmission. Brought it to the dealer I have done everything at for this van and they say it’s the transmission and it will cost more than it’s worth. There’s a CSP-zjc but my vin isn’t on there. It’s presenting the same exact problem as the CSP. Unbelievably, Toyota CARES isn’t doing a “good will” service fix. Very disappointed in their customer service

NHTSA ODI 11686730

My transmission (UA80e) has started to steady whining noise when driving and has some choppiness when changing gears. The local Toyota dealership is recommending full replacement, the dealership said it is out of warranty. Toyota headquarters released a Customer Support Bulletin ZJC in 2019 covering this issue for the next 10 years, but they are saying they will not cover it under this bulletin even though my model year, transmission and symptoms all match the described issue.

NHTSA ODI 11677938

We have started to experience the transmission whine at that is specified in Toyota's CSP ZJC documentation. We took our vehicle into our local Toyota Dealership Service Center and they confirmed that the whine was a transmission issue and that the only course of action to take would be to replace the transmission. Our vehicle was manufactured in the specified window (manufacture date 10/2016, manufacture data window from the program 7/2016-2/2018), it has the specified transmission model (UA80), we are within the coverage window stated in the support materials (within ten years of first use), we are experiencing the same transmission symptoms described in the program support materials (whining transmission noise), and we have been recommended by our local Toyota Service members to replace the transmission. From this information, it appears that we meet the criteria and are suffering the same issues as are referenced in the ZJC materials, but our VIN is not included in the program. I believe that is an error and the program should be expanded.

NHTSA ODI 11667927

Transmission failure. The dealer confirmed the issue and was repaired at an independent shop. There are no warning lights and only audible sounds that caused us to have it checked out. This appears to be a more widespread problem as Toyota did issue a TSB for a subset of VINs of this model year.

NHTSA ODI 11657293

Pressure Control Soleneoid "A" Prformance stuck oof -P0746. Second opionin: Valve bddy Assembly clutch kits inside transmission. Toyota of Dallas refuse to provide service. I had done Tranmission service done by them . Need to get it fix van with new transmission installed and correct any other recall of 2025 to be fix.

NHTSA ODI 11644315

after hearing wining noise from transmission as driving down highway at full speed with out warning car suddenly and quit violently came to a stop . no waring lights ! transmission appears to be in two gears at once reverse and forward will only roll if put in neutral .internal failure in the transmission according to the dealer . The car not included in the recall issued for the same year make and model for the same thing. extremely dangerous wife and kids in the car when it happened.

NHTSA ODI 11629927

While trying to accelerate on an onramp to the highway, the transmission failed to enter into higher gear, and the check engine light came on. The 2017 Sienna currently sits at 112,951 miles. Leading up to this, we had noticed the van jolting when being put into drive or reverse, and acceleration was often sluggish, with a whirring sound. Inspection by the local Toyota dealership found that the entire transmission needed to be replaced. The serial number of the transmission starts with UA02, which wasn't part of any of the existing 2017 Sienna service bulletins.

NHTSA ODI 11619921

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware of a hard shift and a high-pitched whining sound while the transmission was shifting. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. In addition, the contact was informed that the repair was not covered under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

NHTSA ODI 11617302

On Sunday, [XXX] (at 78,793 miles), our MY17 Sienna XLE AWD suddenly displayed a Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) and a message advising "Check AWD System". The vehicle disabled its cruise control system and AWD system, and no longer displays the Eco indicator when traveling at constant speeds on flat terrain. There was no obvious change to vehicle shifting behavior; the shifting has always been sluggish and occasionally "hangs" at higher RPM before downshifting. There were no symptoms or MILs prior to this incident. We consider AWD to be a safety feature when driving with snow or rain, and we frequently traverse Box Elder Canyon where the summit is nearly 6K feet above sea level. We stopped by an auto parts store (O'Reilly) where they pulled codes from the OBD-II sensor. Their reader showed 3 codes: P2714, P0741, and P2757). The vehicle is currently at Young Toyota in Logan, UT. Young Toyota advised that while the vehicle codes are consistent with bulletin [XXX] , that it is not included by Toyota under their list of affected transmissions. The service agent said a solenoid that governs locking the torque converter was "stuck". Since it is outside the 60K miles/60 month powertrain warranty, Toyota is unwilling to provide goodwill towards a fix. The dealer recommended a "software fix", which may or may not solve the issue, and that a transmission replacement would follow. I am simply in shock that a vehicle we purchased new, have carefully maintained (including through Toyota's maintenance plan for 60K miles), could potentially have a failing transmission below 150K miles. This is the UA80F 8-speed automatic transmission, which I believe was first-equipped on the MY17 Sienna, replacing a reliable 6-speed A/T. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11579413

Mi toyota sienna 2017 se le daño la transmision con 62,000 milla de uso. Estaba transitado por la carretera aproximadamente a 40 milla por hora, cuando de repente pegó freno y se detuvo. Por poco provocó un accidente. La lleve a la toyota y me dice que es transmision. Pero me informaron que no era su problema. Estuve averiguado este problema y varios me dijero que ese era un problema común en esta guagua. Para mi esto es un problema de fábrica Se supone que lo arregle sin costo. Estoy en lo correcto o no

NHTSA ODI 11573031