2021 Toyota Sienna consumer reviews

Imagine, we live in 2023. Today we test drove a 2021 Sienna LE. *A big design flaw is that it does not have a good rear bumper. If someone were to rear end you, your tailgate will be damaged as this vehicle does NOT have a rear bumper that sticks out like the older model. So the damage will cost more, will take longer to get it done etc. It's problematic. Especially IF parts are hard to come by. If it's your fault and you back into something, the repair cost is going to be on your insurance, they will, for much bigger payout, will raise your insurance premiums more than they would for a small bumper repair. Imagine a minivan that does NOT have power lift gate as standard feature and expect you to UPGRADE to a higher trim. I understand the sunroof, I understand power passenger seat etc. but power lift gate "optional"? That was a huge NO, a deal breaker, a big disappointment today.

My Sienna XLE is a 2018 Braunability handicap van with the 285 hp V6. I bought it new, it has 40k miles. I’ve serviced by the book, replaced battery this year, put one set of tires on it, and have driven it like I stole it. It’s never missed a beat, is comfortable, durable, dependable, averages 19 mpg on short runs of 15-25 miles. To my dismay, Toyota Sienna’s are only available after 2020 with the 245 ho 4 cylinder hybrid. I may be forced to buy a 4 cylinder Sienna, but I sure don’t want to. Don’t like the looks of the Honda, Pacifica, or others.🥴🥲

Many issues with wheel speed sensors, broken brake calipers, engine light coming on twice (the second was 3 days after repairing the first). All this in the first 2 months I owned it. "Malfunction in the electronic control of the engine, throttle, or automatic transmission"

I love the car but why oh why would you not put a key operated cargo opening! This Back hatch is so heavy! I didn’t even look at the lack of that feature when I bought the car. One would assume it would be there at this price point.

I test drove this van after having three other Toyota siennas that all performed very well. What I don’t like about this van is the center consul takes up too much room. The third row side windows do not open and since I sleep in my van, sometimes on a bed in the back, with my head near those windows, I can’t get as much fresh air as I did with all the other Sienna’s I had. The second row seats are supposed to not be able to be taken out, but I found a YouTube video that shows that you can take them out . I know it gets great gas mileage.

We bought this 2021 Toyota Sienna with the thoughts that it would be a great investment to be able to take the grandkids with us and save on fuel, because it is a hybrid. We paid for the extra online connections. We paid extra for the entertainment package. Bought it as the final car for us. We are old now. The entertainment system is a behemoth failure on Toyota. They have terrible support that really do not know anything about the car. We tried. We were told there would be no problems with this system that we have yet to use. Why are there problems? Because there is no DVD player and no easy way to hook one up. When we called the Toyota 1-800 help line, the girl on the other end said all we can use is the streaming option, but never mentioned that it will not stream with Apple products. You cannot mirror anything if you only have an iPhone. When you try to hook up the DVD player that you have to buy on your own, the hoops you have to jump through to make it work, it is useless situation AND it dominates the whole car system. You cannot use your GPS while they are using the video. What on earth were the manufacturers thinking? You use these commodities on long trips that you need your GPS. Then there is the option of purchasing the Entune system and still no guarantee it will work. Even when I tried to purchase the Entune, it is on the system, but then says it is not available for my car. The Internet THAT YOU PAY FOR randomly just turns off or may be on when you turn the car on. You just never know. IF you forget to check and you are on the road, the safety feature does not allow you to turn on the Internet. You have to be stopped. What were they thinking? Prevent distraction while you desperately try to access the Internet you paid for when all the kids are strapped in 5-point harnesses and not able to log until we pull off the freeway and come to complete stop while waiting to log on. Do you see a problem with that? The the seats are too hard. Not particularly comfortable. The leather is just hard. The fact that I did not know it did not have a heated steering wheel and when I wanted to have one put in, the answer was that Toyota does not upgrade and let you put one in. The only good thing, at this point, is it gets good mileage. I guess if I had never driven the earlier models with touch screen and the ease of letting the kids do the DVDs, I would not know what I am missing. FAIL! FAIL! FAIL! The interior is hard and cold and save your money on the entertainment center. In fact, safe your money on leather seats and just go with cloth. Even heated, they are not all that. Do not pay for Toyota to help you, either. The do not know what the car is able to do. Completely untrained. I am so stinking stuck and cannot do one thing about it.

I have been driving my new Sienna LE for a year now. I have a long commute to work so I have been happy with the gas mileage especially since gas is well over $4.50 a gallon. The ride is comfortable though I do wish the driver seat had more functions. The only real issue I have had with the van is the braking glitch when slowing down. The van kind of slides when the brake is hit. This does not happen all the time. But the first time it happened it felt scary. I will bring that up next time I take the van for service. Other than that I have had good customer service at the Toyota dealership. I am sorry I do not have the automatic button for the rear door, it is very heavy and when you have your hands full it is hard to pull the door down. I previously had a Ford van and the door was not heavy at all. I do like the Sienna a lot though.

The 3rd row seats bounce while driving and could potentially launch forward into upright position. Toyota has not engineered a fix for this serious safety issue- do not buy one.

I have driven Honda Odysseys for the last 18 years. This Sienna won me over and I switched. Love the smooth ride, ability for the 2nd row seats to be moved back creating an abundance of leg room. Some serious cons is the vehicle speeds up when in cruise and you put on your left blinker. Changing lanes usually slows car when you get behind someone else, however, recently I had to break quickly because the Siena did not recognize the car in front of me for some reason. Could have caused a crash. When breaking and you release the break pedal sometimes the car propels forward. This almost caused an accident. I had to break quickly again. My passenger got scared as she felt the car accelerate quickly. These are safety issues that need to be addressed. The 2nd row seats are not removable and do not fold flat-they slide up against the front row which reduces on the flexibility for cargo. The console design between drivers seat is useless, especially the open "shelf" below. Overall the van is nice but the uncontrolled self propelling has to be fixed

On first long trip got 39.5 MPG. Return trip- 41.9 MPG. All wheel drive is a bonus. There are so many great features. Lots of cup holders and USB ports. Very comfortable and flexible design for configuration of seats.