2005 sienna Dunlop runflat tire or mechanical problem?

Purchased 2005 Sienna LE AWD new 1 month ago. Noticed on day 1, a vibration in front end that shook steering wheel. Took to dealer, they tried to balance, didn't work so they rotated tires. Vibration moved to the back. Contacted dealer again, got a bunch of blah about tires wearing differently when in different places on the vehicle (Hello! vehicle was 2 weeks old and tires will need to be rotated at some point! I swear they see a woman coming 50 miles away!) They sent me to Goodyear (Dunlop) dealer. Can't replace tires there, no equipment to do so, doesn't carry tires, need to order! GRRR! Second visit, tested tires, not out of round, weights were missing on some wheels and non-existent on one wheel. They added missing weights where needed. Didn't notice vibration afterward, but only drove a couple of miles so far on slow city roads, need to test drive further. I'm still worried because tire dealer wrote down tires are "cupping possibly due to mechanical problem". What could this be? There are only 1700 miles on these tires! Also worth noting: transmission seems a little jerky compared to '99 Plymouth Gr. Voyager it replaced, wonder if this is normal? Also, it doesn't always start on first try. Wonder if it's a problem or normal for this vehicle? Haven't talked to dealer yet, but probably shouldn't wait. I'm so upset and disappointed. Aside from these problems I do have to say I love the vehicle. I chose Toyota this time around thinking it would be a reliable vehicle for frequent Winter travel with my family. Maybe should have stuck with Dodge, it had very few problems in 118,000 miles. Crying and waiting to hear from Toyota....:(

I would take the van to the dealership where you bought it right away and be persistent about getting the problems fixed. A vehicle that new with that few miles should not be having problems already. I have the 04 Sienna and have had no problems with it. I've even made several trips with it pulling my 2,000 pound pop-up trailer with it. It tows better then the exployer I had before it!

I would take the van to the dealership where you bought it right away and be persistent about getting the problems fixed. A vehicle that new with that few miles should not be having problems already. I have the 04 Sienna and have had no problems with it. I've even made several trips with it pulling my 2,000 pound pop-up trailer with it. It tows better then the exployer I had before it!


I agree. It is a brand new van. They should do whatever it takes to fix it so it performs like a brand new van. I am in the middle of negotiating a deal on a 05Le Awd as I type this.

Good luck with your negotiations rottlvr2.

After reading numerous articles on Edmunds.com, I have decided not to purchase an AWD Sienna. The dealership by my house had $2000 rebates on 05 Le AWD only. Now I know why. Buyer beware. I am starting to lose faith in toyota. Class action lawsuits over no spare tire and the runflat tires that were creating horrible problems and toyota did not want to do anything about them. My oh My.

Wow, thanks for the info! Like I said before, we have had NO problems with our 04 Sienna. It has been a great car for us and our first Toyota purchase, which was a difficult move for me considering I have a friend that owns a Ford dealership and another that owns a Chevy dealership. I read the reviews on the Sienna before we purchased ours and it was rated #1 by consumer reports. We've had the van for almost a year and 1/2 and I have nothing bad to say about it. I don't know much about the allwheel drive, so I can't help ya there. Well, atleast you did your research before you made the purchase. Good Job

We purchased a 05 ALE AWD and had the same problem coming off the lot. When we test drove it, never took the van over 25 mph since we had driven 5 vans that day (none were AWD). It took constant hassling with the dealer to get it right; took over a month. They ended up replacing all rims and tires and we haven' had the problem since. They said the problem was the rims were bent. They also gave us the premium maintenance package and a 2 yr extended warranty.

Keep bugging the dealer and get Toyota involved. We sent Toyota and the dealer a letter from our attorney and even got the state involved. Once that happened, they started worrying about us and not their $$.

Good luck.

Finally eight months later, a trip a month or more to dealer and they've determined that I'm not nuts! The rear axle is warped and needs to be replaced. Will be covered under warranty. Other problem, main belts squeaks, was loose, door squeaks, weld is broken, water leaks through dome light in middle seat, NICE! Disappointed in Toyota and the dealer. Never again. I'd rather buy a horse!

We've had so many countless problems with our tires on our 2005 Sienna. After about a grand down the drain for the tires I just found out at our 25000 mile maintenance that all run-flat tires need to be COMPLETELY REPLACED EVERY 20,000 miles. That's about $1300 each time. We are planning on trading in our minivan and never looking back.