What to look for in Sienna

[christineka]

As soon as our tax refund comes we get to go shopping. Yay!!! Dh wants a 2007. We need 8 passenger seating. What models are there with 8 passenger seating? What sort of features should we look for? Would you choose leather or cloth seats? (There is one for sale right now in our price range.) Any safety features or anything to look for?

If you are an anti dvd player in the vehicle person, would you still buy a vehicle with a dvd player? Can you take those systems out? (I am very much apposed to watching a screen in the car. So far my kids are perfectly happy with that too.)

[2 blueberry eye girls]

I do not blame you for being anti dvd player in the car. We have one in our car and the only time we use it, is when we go on our trips back to our family which is 17hr away. thats 2x a year. Other then that, I never use it in the car. I dont have anything to say about the sienna, as i drive a pilot, but wanted to put my :twocents: in on the dvd player.

Olivia 4.26.04 40lb 45in regent/gn
makayla 9.16.06 27lb 30in rf wizard

[oxeye]

They don't make 8 passenger Sienna's with leather. The 8 passenger is only the CE and LE models and only non-AWDs. So you'll have to forgo leather if you really need the 8 passenger.

[christineka]

This ad shows an 8 seater with leather. Is it not a real van?

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=&nid=443&tab=list/view&ad=1055208

Oh... it says there is a sale pending. That one looked really nice.

[Jeanum]

I suspect the leather seats in that particular '07 Sienna van are some sort of custom aftermarket deal rather than factory equipped, as are the headrest DVD/video screens, because leather isn't otherwise factory available in the 8-passenger Sienna, and the factory DVD player is ceiling mounted to the best of my knowledge. :twocents: It looks sharp, doesn't it? However, the aftermarket aspect of the leather seating is a concern from the standpoint of the front side torso airbags because they may not function properly if the aftermarket leather seat cover design doesn't allow them to deploy properly. A 2007 model would have factory equipped seat mounted side torso airbags for the front seats, and side curtain airbags for all three rows. I do not see a sign of the factory side torso airbag tags on the front seats, as though they're covered up entirely by the leather seating material, which may be due to the camera angle, but it's a caveat in my book that their functionality may be compromised. :twocents:

[emandbri]

I'm wondering if maybe the leather doesn't hold up well when flipping the seats to get the back, maybe that is why they don't offer it. I do remember someone on siennaclub bought an XLE with leather but he was in Europe and I don't recall the story.

[NannyMom]

Those seats must have been redone after buying the van. I have a Sienna LE (that van). There are no buttons to identify the LATCH anchors, and I don't see the tags on the front seats that indicate the airbags. I'd be very concerned, espcially because of the airbags.

As for the DVD players in the headrest, when I bought my van The dealer gave me the option of having that done or not. I don't let kids watch DVDs in the car. It wouldn't do much good since DD is rearfacing :) Sometimes I think it would be nice to have "just in case". But I think it would tempt DH too much to allow DVD watching in the car (he allows waaay too much when he's in charge at home).

The LE has 1 power sliding door (passenger side) and the CE has 2 power sliding doors (not sure if the trunk is power on the CE or only on XLE).

[christineka]

Okay, so leather seats are aftermarket and I should stay away.

How about this thing with power doors? I've never had a power door. Our previous vehicle was an Odyssey with the regular car type doors on both sides. We've had our aerostar for a few years and I hate having one door and that the kids have a hard time closing it. They also aren't the most willing to try. I frequently have to remind them (the two oldest) to close the door. When dropping off, I often have to get out and re close the door. But, we only have one, so maybe one power door would be enough? Or maybe with 6 kids I should have two.

So, should I look for 1 or 2 power doors?

[Minniemouse]

I would go on Toyota's site and play w/ their "builder." Use their comparison option as well.

I know you are looking for a 2007 but many of these options are still the same in the current models. It can give you a better idea of what is available for each model.

[NannyMom]

Okay, so leather seats are aftermarket and I should stay away.

How about this thing with power doors? I've never had a power door. Our previous vehicle was an Odyssey with the regular car type doors on both sides. We've had our aerostar for a few years and I hate having one door and that the kids have a hard time closing it. They also aren't the most willing to try. I frequently have to remind them (the two oldest) to close the door. When dropping off, I often have to get out and re close the door. But, we only have one, so maybe one power door would be enough? Or maybe with 6 kids I should have two.

So, should I look for 1 or 2 power doors?

In my previous vehicle, I had no power doors. I did nanny for a Woman that had the Sienna XLE with all power doors. WHen I bought my van, I was disapointed to find out it only had 1 :( But I figured I'd always lived with none, so I could live with 1 :) I would much rather have 2 now though. Especially since with carpool the kids are getting out the driver's side door (baby's seat will be on the passenger's side) and I have to get out to open and close for them (I'm cautious about them doing the door because of pinched fingers and such).

I think they told me on my new van (2008, bought the end of 2007) it would be a difference of $50/ month for the 2nd power door. But, it was too late for me.

[oxeye]

The LE has 1 power sliding door (passenger side) and the CE has 2 power sliding doors (not sure if the trunk is power on the CE or only on XLE).

The CE is the base model isn't it? I know the LE comes with passenger side power door (but I think it's an upgrade). I'd be kind of surprised if the CE came with both when it's the base model.

[codex57]

I love the 8 seater. Unlike pretty much every other vehicle (esp minivans), the 8th seat is a full size seat. I don't think leather is necessary either. My mom has the LE and BIL has the XLE or limited (whichever one was the highest). BIL's leather is just thrashed. He said it didn't provide any benefits over the cloth seats in his past car and the leather gets COLD during the chillier months.

I like the LE. I like how it has 1 power and 1 regular sliding door. Power can be nice on occasion, but I often find it too slow and I get frustrated by the speed. It's nice to have a choice of which one to open. Power if I have my hands full, regular for all the other times.

[NannyMom]

The CE is the base model isn't it? I know the LE comes with passenger side power door (but I think it's an upgrade). I'd be kind of surprised if the CE came with both when it's the base model.

I thought the LE was the lowest? I thought they'd told me LE had 1 power door, CE had 2. But, I could be wrong... It was a year ago :)

[Jeanum]

No, Roxie is correct. The Sienna CE is the base model and the LE is the mid-range model in between the CE and XLE models. :) I would be very surprised if the CE has more than one power door if it even has one power door available. When we were van shopping in '05, the LE could only be had with an optional power door on the passenger side, and the CE didn't seem to have a power door option at all.

[codex57]

A lot of dealers have no clue as to what they're selling. I wouldn't be surprised if they told you wrong. Hopefully unintentionally, but intentionally is not out of the question.

[Dawn]

www. sienna club .org
Lots of info and pictures.

CE-Base (7 or 8 passenger)
LE- Mid (7 or 8 passenger) 1 power sliding door.
XLE- High (7 passenger) 2 sliding doors and power lift gate
XLE-AWD and includes all of the above.


I have an 04 Sienna XLE but a base model. No leather, no dvd. It's been a good van. Check recalls on the website above. They have a section for just NTSB advisories.

[mamaofthree]

I vote for one power door, that way when they start to break, you only have to pay to fix one, or if you can't afford to fix it, you can only be annoyed by the one broken one instead of two.

Can you tell my power door is breaking? It still works sometimes, but most of the time it closes and then reopens. Drives me batty! Especially in the carpool lane, cause then I have to get up and climb to that side to pull it shut. At first I thought maybe it needed to be cleaned or oiled, but dh pointed out to me that a hook it is supposed to latch on when closing isn't lining up properly with the door, so its not catching. Its like the door is sagging a bit, and needs to be adjusted. I guess cause it is so heavy, it would have to do this over time? Its a 2004, and just started this. I need to take it in before I go cuckoo.

Kimberly

[oxeye]

Can you tell my power door is breaking? It still works sometimes, but most of the time it closes and then reopens.

That would drive me batty too! The people at the dealership just had to tell me how much it would cost to fix certain things in the van (the radio, power doors, etc) to convince me it was worth it to pay for the extended 7 year bumper-to-bumper warranty.

I'm going to have my van for a VERY long time .... and I don't intend to pay out of pocket to fix anything. ;)

[codex57]

That's why I like the LE. Only 1 power door gives you the convenience of a power door, but when you want to avoid the problems (like if it breaks), you still have one manual one.

[Jennifer mom to my 7]

You can actually shut that 1 power door off, too. There is a switch up front near the door lockouts. Came in handy when our battery died on us (which it tried to do while we were driving!).

[codex57]

Good to know, thanks!

[mommy2env]

I :love: :love: :love: my Sienna.

I have the 8 pass LE, and while ONE power door is good enough, I wish I had both. lol Oh, and there is a switch for the power door, like the pp stated.

It is wonderful for the school drop off, no need to get out or make your kid suffer trying to close it.

I think you cant go wrong with whatever trim you choose. :)

[hsjwmom]

I :love: my power doors. I had an '01 LE with one power door. It never gave me any trouble. I traded it in a couple years ago for an '06 Limited with all power...I love love love it. Am I getting across how much I love it? lol

My arms are almost always full and it makes it soooo nice to be able to just hit a button and open the doors. I also like being able to shut them from the driver's seat.

I prefer having leather because we all have the bad habit of eating and drinking in the van. I've spilled Starbucks, dd has spilled OJ, etc. It wasn't fun to clean up, but I can't imagine how much worse it would have been if we had cloth seats. As far as adding leather to a LE, I would be surprised if you couldn't have the dealership send it out and have it done. If they were the ones arranging it, I would assume (perhaps mistakenly) that it wouldn't interfere with and of the safety features.

I do wish that they had our package available in an 8 seater option... I would love to be able to have all 3 kids in the middle row in order to free up cargo space.

[brittany741]

The reason people are having problems with the doors is due to the factory welds failing on the side doors. The repair is extensive but it's happening in all Siennas.

Be sure the vehicles you are looking at have side impact airbags. They were an option in '04 and 05 model years, and very expensive so most out there don't have them.

We love our Sienna and I am very thankful we have 3 power doors. Any time you buy a vehicle with features and options, it means there are more items that can break.

A 7 passenger Sienna cannot be converted to an 8 passenger, so be sure you're only looking at the 8 passenger version. The entire floor configuration is different between the two and nothing can be interchanged.

The models without side impact airbags did not fare nearly as good as those with them so I would definitely recommend that.

[SavsMom]

You can get an 8 passenger LE with leather - it is part of a package. Also, if you live in GA, FL, AL, NC or SC you could find a CE 8 passenger with leather as well due to the fact the distributor for this region (Southeast Toyota) had leather as a stand alone port installed option on this van.

Having worked as an internet manager for Toyota for 5 years I had sold many many many Siennas and it is a great van. None of my customers had any complaints about the vehicle (with the exception of the package options being confusing).

If you have any questions just let me know as I am very familiar with the vehicle.