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Reliability report · 2016 Toyota Sienna · Updated July 2026 · ~$2,950/yr fuel · what it costs to keep →

The last of the good six-speed years — buy it for the drivetrain, inspect it for the doors.

This is the year to hunt if you want a third-generation Sienna. The 3.5-litre V6 is paired with the six-speed automatic that the independent Toyota mechanic in our sources calls problem-free — 'if you have a 2011 to 2016, zero problems' — and 2016 is the last year before Toyota swapped in the eight-speed that generates most of the powertrain complaints on 2017 through 2020 vans. He names 2015 and 2016 as the best years to buy for exactly that reason.

The price of admission is the doors. Recall 16V-858 covers power sliding doors that can open unexpectedly while the van is moving, and underneath the recall sits a long list of separate problems Toyota eventually paid for through a class-action settlement: cables that snap, centre hinges that corrode and jam, and front and rear latches that seize. Those programs run ten years from the van's first day in service — which on a 2016 means they are expiring now or have already expired. Check every door repeatedly before you buy, and check the engine bay for the leaks this V6 is known for.

Evidence: 75 NHTSA complaints · 5 recall campaigns · 5 mechanic & forum sources

Canary status

Chirping

What that means: 75 federal complaints — a small file for a minivan — and the shortlist is dominated by one part of the van: the power sliding doors. The engine and six-speed automatic are the versions an independent Toyota mechanic calls trouble-free, but the door hardware has its own safety recall, its own stack of repair bulletins, and its own class-action settlement, and the settlement's clock is running out on 2016 vans right about now.

CalmChirpingSquawkingFainted

75

Federal complaints

5

Recalls

Known issues

Ranked by the cost of ignoring them. Every claim carries its source.

Power sliding door can open unexpectedly — recall 16V-858

major

Toyota's own wording: if the power sliding door cannot open when you command it — for example if it is frozen shut — the door 'may subsequently open unexpectedly, possibly while the vehicle is moving.' The recall covers 2011–2016 vans built between January 2010 and August 2016 (Toyota's internal code for it is G04), and dealers replace the junction block and the rear sliding-door wire harnesses and add two sub-harnesses, free. Two things to know. First, the fix took time to reach owners: the recall was reported in November 2016 but repairs did not begin until late July 2017, and a large share of the 2016 complaint file is owners writing in to say the parts were still unavailable. Second, the federal file also contains owners describing doors sliding open on their own while parked with the engine running, and one rear door that closed on a six-year-old and trapped him. Verify this recall shows completed against the VIN before you buy — do not take a seller's word for it.

Recall repair at a Toyota dealer

$0

Sources: NHTSA complaint and recall databases, 2016 Toyota Sienna · NHTSA manufacturer communications — Toyota recall documents and sliding-door programs ZKI / ZH4 / ZH5

Sliding-door cables, hinges and latches — and the settlement that pays for themmajor

Separate from the recall, the third-generation Sienna's door hardware has four recurring failures, and Toyota has bulletins for all of them: the cable that pulls the door can snap (you will see it dangling above the rear tyre and the door stops working); the centre hinge corrodes so the door jams just as it finishes closing; and the front or rear lock assembly seizes, so the door will not latch. A class-action settlement produced what Toyota calls a Customer Confidence Program — a quiet extended-coverage scheme run outside the normal warranty — under program code ZKI, plus two Warranty Enhancement Programs, ZH4 for the front lock assemblies and ZH5 for the rear. The terms are stated in Toyota's own bulletin: cable sub-assembly, centre hinge and fuel-filler door are covered for '10 years from the subject vehicle's date of first use, regardless of mileage', and ZH4 and ZH5 run nine years from first use plus one additional year, also with no mileage cap. On a 2016 van that clock is at or past its end, so treat these as your cost from here, not Toyota's. Our mechanic source's standing advice is to call a Toyota dealer and ask about extended policy coverage before paying anyone — and a long-term owner in our sources had the latches replaced at around 50,000 miles and watched the same fault return by 85,000.

Sources: NHTSA complaint and recall databases, 2016 Toyota Sienna · NHTSA manufacturer communications — Toyota recall documents and sliding-door programs ZKI / ZH4 / ZH5 · Independent Toyota mechanic channel — 2011–2020 Sienna buying guide

$40–$50

Sliding-door cable part (mechanic-quoted)

mechanic calls it 'a very expensive part'

Rear lock assembly

$0

Covered repair while ZKI/ZH4/ZH5 still applied

The 3.5-litre V6's leaks — timing cover, head gasket, water pumpmajor

  • 3.5L V6

The independent Toyota mechanic in our sources is blunt about this engine: 'overall it's a great engine, however it is notorious for oil leaks, head gasket leaks, coolant leaks.' Three checks matter on a 2016. The front timing cover — the cover over the timing chain at the front of the engine — leaks oil, and he calls it 'a very, very expensive repair'. His inspection method is simple enough to do yourself: go under the van from the passenger side by the front wheel, look up, and confirm the area is completely dry. Second, the head gasket can leak coolant externally, which needs the engine dropped; he says 'it seems like the Sienna happens to be the worst for this leak, we've done so many of them,' and scopes it to 2011–2016 vans specifically. Third, the water pump both leaks and develops a bearing rattle that rises and falls with engine speed; a second source says the 3.5's water pump commonly leaks before 100,000 miles. None of these carries a Toyota program. Have a mechanic put the van on a lift before you buy — the head gasket leak is not visible from underneath on the ground.

Sources: NHTSA complaint and recall databases, 2016 Toyota Sienna · Independent Toyota mechanic channel — 2011–2020 Sienna buying guide

What you no longer worry about here: the eight-speedminor

  • 3.5L V6

2016 is the last Sienna with the six-speed automatic. From 2017 Toyota fitted an eight-speed (the UA80), and it produced the single largest complaint cluster anywhere in this van's recent history — a whine that builds into harsh shifting and then failure, with owner-reported replacement quotes in five figures. None of that applies to a 2016. Our mechanic source's guidance for the six-speed is maintenance, not repair: change the fluid roughly every 60,000 miles or six years and 'you should have no issues'. Ask for that service record; Toyota's schedule does not push it, so many vans have never had it.

Sources: Independent Toyota mechanic channel — 2011–2020 Sienna buying guide

Front struts, strut mounts and control-arm bushingsmoderate

Treat suspension as a running cost on this van rather than a repair. Our mechanic source says leaking front struts are close to universal — 'almost every other one I get in the shop' — and explains why the strut mounts rot: water running off the windscreen collects in the cowl and sits directly on top of the mount. Salt-belt vans add worn sway-bar links to the same job, and he has seen mounts separate completely. He also flags front lower control-arm bushings wearing 'at an alarming rate', with a test you can run on a test drive: at low speed, take your hands lightly off the wheel and brake hard — if the steering wheel jumps sharply to one side, the bushings are worn. Rear coil springs cracking is a rust-belt-only item worth a look underneath.

Sources: Independent Toyota mechanic channel — 2011–2020 Sienna buying guide

If it's all-wheel drive: no spare tyre, and run-flatsmoderate

All-wheel-drive third-generation Siennas have no room under the floor for a spare wheel, so they leave the factory on run-flat tyres. Both of our owner-side sources are unhappy about them and their numbers differ, so here are both: our mechanic source says expect uneven wear and replacement around 30,000 miles; a long-term owner of a comparable third-generation van says roughly 10,000 miles per set at about $1,000 a set. Either way it is a real recurring cost, and the mechanic's recommended workaround is to fit conventional tyres and carry roadside cover instead. Separately, the all-wheel-drive system itself gets a clean bill of health from him — 'a great system' — with one cheap wear item: a mount at the front of the rear differential that fails and produces a loud clunk or rattle from the back under hard acceleration. Toyota has a bulletin for noise from that same rear-differential coupling.

Sources: NHTSA complaint and recall databases, 2016 Toyota Sienna · Independent Toyota mechanic channel — 2011–2020 Sienna buying guide · Long-term third-generation Sienna owner review (~85,000 miles)

Seat-belt height adjusters and mobility-conversion recallsmoderate

Recall 16V-197 (Toyota code G0H) covers a narrow build window in February 2016 where incorrect front seat-belt height adjusters were fitted; in a crash the wrong adjuster can contact the B-pillar and tear or separate. Free replacement. Three of the other recalls on this year are not Toyota's at all — they belong to companies that convert Siennas into wheelchair vans: Braun (19V-410, brake-line fittings), Vantage/AMS Genesis (19V-553, rear brake hoses that rub the trailing arm), and Rollx (25V-876, wheelchair-restraint retractors that may not lock). A large share of used Siennas are conversions, so if the van you are looking at has a ramp or a lowered floor, run the VIN and check those specifically.

Sources: NHTSA complaint and recall databases, 2016 Toyota Sienna · NHTSA manufacturer communications — Toyota recall documents and sliding-door programs ZKI / ZH4 / ZH5

$0

All recall remedies

It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when the sliding doors go south.
From mechanic testimony (5 sources).

Open recalls

Free fixes at any Toyota dealer. Run the VIN — “completed” isn’t always completed.

  1. 16V-197Incorrect front seat-belt height adjusters on vans built 15–19 February 2016; the adjuster may contact the B-pillar and tear in a crash. Free replacement (Toyota code G0H).remedy available
  2. 16V-858Power sliding door that fails to open on command may then open unexpectedly, possibly while the vehicle is moving (2011–2016 built Jan 2010–Aug 2016). Dealers replace the junction block and rear sliding-door harnesses and add two sub-harnesses, free (Toyota code G04). Repairs began 28 July 2017.remedy available
  3. 19V-410Braun mobility-van conversions only (2014–2019): brake lines built with incorrect tube-nut fittings can lose pressure in the rear braking system. Free adaptor installation.remedy available
  4. 19V-553Vantage/AMS Genesis wheelchair-van conversions only (2012–2018): rear brake hoses too short and rubbing the trailing arm. Free replacement hoses.remedy available
  5. 25V-876Rollx Vans conversions only: QRT-Deluxe and QRT-Max wheelchair-restraint retractors may not lock. Free inspection and replacement; owner letters mailed 5 February 2026.VERIFY BY VIN

What it costs to keep

The purchase price is what you negotiate. These are the numbers you live with afterward — each one sourced, none of them blended into a fake total.

The ownership picture — 2016 Sienna

Four sourced numbers. No fake total.

Fuel

21 MPG combined (18 city / 25 highway) for the FWD, 3.5L on the EPA federal fuel-economy test.

Source: FuelEconomy.gov (EPA) — EPA’s federal fuel-economy test, recomputed with current gas prices. EPA record 37157 (Sienna 2WD).
Other builds EPA lists: AWD, 3.5L 19 MPG.

$2,950/yr

at $4.15/gal · 15,000 mi/yr · 55/45 city/hwy · pulled Jul 12, 2026

Crash losses

Collision losses run about average here. Neither a red flag nor a discount at the insurer.

Source: HLDI — the insurance industry’s loss-data institute — HLDI collision losses, 2014–16 models, published December 2016 (report R-16). 100 = the all-vehicle average. Series read: Toyota Sienna.
Other series: Toyota Sienna 4WD 104, where 100 = average.

103 vs 100

3% above average

Theft

Stolen at about the average rate.

Source: HLDI — HLDI whole vehicle theft losses, 2016–18 models, published May 2019 (report WT-18). 100 = the all-vehicle average. Series read: Toyota Sienna.
Other series: Toyota Sienna 4WD 64, where 100 = average.

91 vs 100

9% below average

Repair risk

What this specific year is known to need. Pulled from the issues above — the repairs owners actually report, at the costs they report them. Averages from other sites blend every year together; these are this year’s own numbers.

Source: this report — 01 Known issues.

Recall repair at a Toyota dealer$0
Sliding-door cable part (mechanic-quoted)$40–$50
Rear lock assemblymechanic calls it 'a very expensive part'
Covered repair while ZKI/ZH4/ZH5 still applied$0
All recall remedies$0
Why there’s no single “cost to own” number: sites that promise one are guessing at your insurance quote, your annual miles, and your luck. These are the numbers we can actually source — and each one carries its receipt.

Shopping this year?

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Before you buy

Print this
  1. 01Open and close both power sliding doors at least five times each, from the button, the handle and the key fob — watch for a door that jams as it finishes closing, or reverses instead of latching.
  2. 02Look above each rear tyre for a dangling door cable, and ask whether the cables, centre hinges or lock assemblies have ever been replaced.
  3. 03Ask a Toyota dealer to check the VIN against sliding-door programs ZKI, ZH4 and ZH5 — on a 2016 the ten-year clock is expiring, and you want to know which side of it you are on.
  4. 04Verify recall 16V-858 (sliding door) and 16V-197 (seat-belt adjusters) show completed by VIN.
  5. 05From underneath, on the passenger side by the front wheel, look up at the front timing cover — it must be completely dry.
  6. 06Have a mechanic put it on a lift and look specifically for an external head-gasket coolant leak; you cannot see it from the ground.
  7. 07Listen for a rattle from the water pump that rises and falls with engine speed, and check the coolant level and its history.
  8. 08At low speed, brake hard with a light hand on the wheel — a sharp jump to one side means worn front lower control-arm bushings.
  9. 09Check the front struts for oil weep and the strut mounts for rot, especially on a salt-belt van.
  10. 10Ask for a transmission-fluid service record; the six-speed wants it around every 60,000 miles even though the schedule does not insist.
  11. 11Close the rear hatch and look at the gap on each side against the tail lights — uneven gaps mean the hatch has been bent.
  12. 12If it is all-wheel drive, accelerate hard from a stop and listen for a clunk or rattle from the rear (differential front mount), and price the run-flat tyres before you commit.
  13. 13If it is a wheelchair conversion, run the VIN for the Braun, Vantage and Rollx recalls as well as Toyota's.

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