Tell me about your Toyota Sienna

Have you had any carseat install problems, etc... I'd also love to see pics of carseats installed in it, just for fun... We have only 1 child with a second on the way, but will have 4 seats installed in it regularly for my nephew & sisiter's baby on the way... eventually 2 boulevards, 1 regent & maybe an evenflo convertable...

We are seriously thinking of purchasing a Sienna due to the unsafe gen 3 seatbelts in our 02 Caravan (that we just finally have payed off)...

& I'd love to hear about what you like/dislike about your Sienna... we are leaning toward the 8 passanger seating... since we can take one seat out, can you think of any reason to not pay the extra $150 for the 8th seat?

Also, there is nothing used available in this area right now... but does anyone know what how much less we might be looking at if we could find something used, 1-3 yrs old with less then 30k miles? For a new 8 passanger it seems it will be about 25,500...

Thanks!

I am the proud owner of an 04 Sienna (8 passenger). I LOVE IT! Absolutely no complaints whatsoever. I have 3 kids- and all three in one row. With ours set up like that, however, the back row is useless. We are not having any more children and never have to transport anyone else so it works great for us. The 3rd row folds flat which gives us tons of space. The only thing is- if you need to have people going in and out of the back row you might want to consider just the 7 passenger (which my SIL has and also has 3 in car seats). It is much easier to get back into the 3rd row without that middle seat. As far as price, I am of no help- my BIL was the manager at the Toyota we bought ours at- so it was truly a no haggle situation!!

I'm another happy 8-passenger Sienna owner ('05 LE8 model) and only have two kids. We normally use both rows with each child riding in a center seating position, and grandparents ride with us frequently. We usually keep the second row passenger side seat removed entirely for easier third row access. The 7-passenger model gives you the option of moving the passenger side captain's chair over to the center position, and that arrangement might make third row access easier from the Sienna's passenger side sliding door. In both the 7-passenger or the 8-passenger versions, there are lower LATCH anchors and top tether anchors for all second row seats and for the third row passenger side and third row center seating positions.

I really love ours and I used to say I'd never own a minivan, lol. My only real complaint is the brakes aren't as strong as I would like, and stopping distances are longer than they ought to be. Another poster mentioned the brakes were greatly improved on the '07 model and '07 models also have a higher horsepower engine, vroom.

Our Britax Blvd. and Marathon convertible seats and the Regent all install nicely. So did a Baby Trend Latch Loc infant seat and a Graco SafeSeat 1 infant seat in the second row center spot. There are a few pictures in my signature's album of seats installed in the Sienna. The Regent and Marathon photos of DD1 buckled up were third row center installations, and there's a side view photo of the Blvd. rear facing in the second row center. I haven't tried the Radian in the Sienna (we just use it in DH's Saturn). I have heard that the Radian is incompatible for seatbelt installs in the third row due to the Sienna's short and stiff female seatbelt stalks.

It has been a couple of years since I priced used Siennas when we were van shopping. At that time, used '04 models cost about the same as a new '05 model, and we ended up buying new. You might be able to find a good deal now on a gently used one. Ideally you can find one with side curtain airbags which were optional in '04 and '05 models, and became standard equipment starting in the '06 model year.

Happy van shopping.

We just got a used 06 Sienna and love it! Everytime I get in it, I like it more and more... We got the 7-passenger b/c we don't really need the 8th seat and I didn't want to give up the armrests on the captain's chairs.

We've had no installation problems at all, but we've only installed a Marathon and a Triumph. Much easier than our Subaru Outback b/c the seats in the Sienna are cushier.

I just took it on our first extended road trip - just Nolan and myself from Virginia to Georgia, then to SC and back to Georgia again (still here). Love the way it drives. Love it. I really can't think of anything else to say

Like Jean, I have an 05 LE8 and I love it! I do have pictures of the whole van and car seats (a whole album lol) that I took for another tech, but I don't have it set up as a shareable album at the moment. It could be if you wanted, but for now....

I have 4 kids and have always been glad we have the 8th seat. Right now, the baby is RFing behind the driver's seat and my 5.5 yo is FF in a MA in the center. In the back row, the 10yo and 8yo are in a Husky and a Regent, both outboard. It's not hard for me to install seats in it and whenever I start to think so, I end up with a reason to put seats in dh's car and then I send up thank you prayers for my van rotfl (dh's car is a 95 Subaru Legacy and that's all I have to say about that for now hehehe).

There are a couple of seats I've been surprised to not have install great, but not too bad. The Touriva, for instance, would not install with the seatbelt in the third row (outboard) - at least not any install I'd be okay with. But with LATCH, it went in beautifully, which was another shocker for me, since I'm not normally very impressed with Touriva LATCH installs .

Um, trying to think of anything else. Last year, I put both Huskies and a RF RA in the center row (used LATCH for the RA in the passenger outboard seat and moved it up for a bit more access for three skinny little kids to squeeze by lol) and 2 FF MAs and a Graco Cargo in the 3rd row. The third row installs were a bit challenging, but it worked and my friend drove my kids and hers around for the weekend!

A couple of months ago, my dad and sister helped us move here from SC and I put the 3 older kids in the third row in a PW/MA/TB and we all rode together to go to dinner.

I honestly have no regrets with the van and none at all about having the 8 passenger. Happy van shopping!

Thanks for asking the question. I know i will be getting a van when i have my first and will need 4 car seats in it. So i was also thinking about the 8th seat. Thanks so much.

I'm searching now for an 8 seater 2004 or 2005, I'm planning to spend around $17,000 if that helps you at all. Here are the problems I'm having which might help you a bit. I'm searching for green which is hard because it wasn't very popular and have to get 2004 or 5 because they stopped making green in 2006. I want the automatic sliding door which is only on the LEs and higher so that eliminates the CEs. They only have 8 seat available on LE's and CEs. I also want side curtian air bags which isn't standard on the 2004s and 2005s so I have to find one where someone got that option. I've been looking for a month and plan to look for 6 before compromising on the color. I'll either have one shipped in through carmax and go to Kansas city to get it or go on a road trip to find it unless what I want happens to pop up for sale here. I believe the side curtian airbags are standard starting in 2006 but don't know for sure.

I want the 8 seater because we have 4 kids, have out of town guests a lot, and I think I might want to do home day care in the future and want to be able to take all the kids somewhere. Even with the 8 seater I could only have 3 day care kids and that is if I put my oldest in the front.

good Luck!

I have an 04 xle and love it! I do wish they made the 8 passenger xle in the states but otherwise I have no complaint. Carseats install very easily. I remove the headrest on the middle row for a better install.
My SIL has an 05 LE-8 and we have all three installed across the middle row. They are in britax Marathons and they touch a little but fit very well.

I highly recommend the Sienna to any mom who is in the market for a mini-van