Minivan choices

Status
Not open for further replies.
Originally Posted by t1snwrbrdr12
Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by t1snwrbrdr12
We have a 2011 sienna. Got it with 40k and have it up to 140k now. It's been reliable, but I've never been a huge Toyota fan. I hoped this would change when I had one personally, thought maybe it was just drivers being hard on Toyota's around here, but they're still require more maintenance than I expected. I mean it's a heavy van so I may have had high expectations...

Have only been through 1 set of brakes and it was mainly bc the dealer put the cheapest pads possible on it.

Water pump whined for awhile but never leaked. Has since quieted down.

Rear shocks knocked, replaced, they began knocking again after another 30k or so...we just decided to get used to it unless they leak.

Front strut mounts are shot. Still ignoring it for the time being. Oem stuff is very expensive even with a technicians discount. Aftermarket is too iffy on quality for me to want to use it.

Steering intermediate shaft gets noisy every few years. Bought a special flat needle grease injector that quiets it down (TSB Toyota issued).

Eats tires. Got about 35k on some Firestone's new when purchased. Maybe 45k on some 60 or 80k rated continentals. Rotated every oil change, which I do around 5-7k depending on what's going on in life at the time.

**I was spoiled by an 03 accord that required next to no maintenance the duration of the 200k I owned it I think. **

I'd still pick the Toyota over a Honda due to transmission issues. I like the new Kia, but their first van that Hyundai shares was junk. I have no real knowledge and I don't know any Kia techs to get an educated opinion on the new ones. It'd be on my list to replace our sienna down the road, especially since Toyota is going hybrid.

I think I am there too at 69k. I took vehicle today for 50 mile trip in one direction to install hitch for bike rack, and it has been probably 6 months since I made such long trip with it. Rear suspension is hitting really hard. I am having a feeling I am in public trans. bus.


I just put a hitch for our bike rack on mine last week too. You should've done it yourself. Even alone, and I bought the hidden one that tucks up under the bumper, I was done in about an hour. It's only 6 bolts that are already a factory provision, nuts welded in. Not like some other cars where you're fishing a nut and large flat washer up into a cavity in the frame and hoping it'll stay put.

It was actually an emergency. I have hitch on Tiguan for bike rack, and we use Tiguan for biking around here. But, out of nowhere wife negotiated trip with other couple to the Rocky Mountain National park for few days. Bikes, small kids needing everything from house, will require trip with Sienna. So really did not have time to get hitch shipped bcs. everyone is biking and in Colorado Springs you cannot find hitch to buy or install same day (also, stores are out of bikes). I went to Pueblo to U-Haul to install it.
 
Originally Posted by JHZR2
Originally Posted by PowerSurge
^^^ A review by a Fiat fanboy that hates Toyota. Yeah, we'll pass.


Whats wrong with the review?

I had a sienna rental about a year ago - the radio controls were the worst Ive ever seen.

When we were shopping for vans I initially wanted a Sienna, because we had such good experience with our 94 Previa.

It quickly fell off our list to a toss-up between the Odyssey and the Chrysler products.

I know there re plenty that love them. Out neighbors have one that has gone through multiple new drivers, and multiple accidents. It gets fixed and then is hit and damaged again... And still runs.

Only thing that works for Sienna is possibility of AWD. Other than that, it is a fridge. IMO could not care less whether it is Toyota, KIA, Honda, Dodge as long as it is doing its job, hauling people. I got Sienna specifically bcs. AWD. Other than practicality (that every minivan has) it is an awful vehicle to drive.
 
I have a 2005 Sienna with 180k miles on it that I purchased new. I have done ZERO repairs on it, maintenance items only. It has been the most reliable vehicle that I have ever owned. I couldn't be more pleased. I would not hesitate to jump in it and drive it on a 4000 mile trip tomorrow. It is well worth the extra money. I would purchase another one in a heartbeat.
I have a close personal friend who purchased an Odyssey right after I got my Sienna. He has 150k miles on it and has spend a BUNCH of money on repairs in the last 3 years.
I have addressed the Sienna's tire wear issues at length in other threads and in other forums. In short, the solution to the Sienna's tire wear problem is to run the tires at 42 psi in the front, 38 psi in the rear (except on AWD Siennas, use 42 psi all around), and rotate them front to back ONLY every 6-8k miles.
 
Originally Posted by wag123
I have a 2005 Sienna with 180k miles on it that I purchased new. I have done ZERO repairs on it, maintenance items only. It has been the most reliable vehicle that I have ever owned. I couldn't be more pleased. I would not hesitate to jump in it and drive it on a 4000 mile trip tomorrow. It is well worth the extra money. I would purchase another one in a heartbeat.

2005 is a generation older than the OP would be looking at, no?
 
Originally Posted by wag123
I have a 2005 Sienna with 180k miles on it that I purchased new. I have done ZERO repairs on it, maintenance items only. It has been the most reliable vehicle that I have ever owned. I couldn't be more pleased. I would not hesitate to jump in it and drive it on a 4000 mile trip tomorrow. It is well worth the extra money. I would purchase another one in a heartbeat.
I have a close personal friend who purchased an Odyssey right after I got my Sienna. He has 150k miles on it and has spend a BUNCH of money on repairs in the last 3 years.
I have addressed the Sienna's tire wear issues at length in other threads and in other forums. In short, the solution to the Sienna's tire wear problem is to run the tires at 42 psi in the front, 38 psi in the rear (except on AWD Siennas, use 42 psi all around), and rotate them front to back ONLY every 6-8k miles.

Truedelta.com has the Sienna as having an edge over the Odyssey in reliability as well. Both are quite good compared to the Caravan and better than the average car.
 
Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by wag123
I have a 2005 Sienna with 180k miles on it that I purchased new. I have done ZERO repairs on it, maintenance items only. It has been the most reliable vehicle that I have ever owned. I couldn't be more pleased. I would not hesitate to jump in it and drive it on a 4000 mile trip tomorrow. It is well worth the extra money. I would purchase another one in a heartbeat.

2005 is a generation older than the OP would be looking at, no?
Yes, mine is a gen 2 Sienna. Actually, a generation and a half difference if you consider the fact that mine has the 3MZ-FE 3.3 L engine and the 2GR-FE 3.5 L engine came out in 2007, making the 2007-2010 Siennas gen 2.5's. But, the chassis in the gen 3 is the same as it was in the gen 2 and 2.5 except for stiffer springs and shocks in the 2012-2014 Siennas making them ride firmer.
Mine has a timing belt, like the Odyssey. This is fairly costly maintenance item that the newer 2007 and up Sienna owners don't have to deal with. My buddy has had some costly major problems with the A/C system on his Odyssey. I have not had to touch the A/C in mine.
 
Hello! I have a Toyota Sienna and it has 345,367 miles on it as of today. I change the oil every 20,000 miles using Mobil1ep 5w30 oil and the Fram ultra oil filter. It is a 2008 model. It has been a super van for my family. I didn't buy the Honda van because I didn't want to change out the timing belt every 105,000 miles. Plus I knew they had transmission issues. Then later on they had oil sludge issues due to using conventional oil for 10,000 miles instead of synthetic oil. They had this fuel management system that was horrible. I did a long term study from 2006 to 2008 before I bought my van from Toyota. I looked online, I talked to the people that had the van from Honda, Toyota and Chrysler. The people that had the vans I thought they would tell me the truth. One lady told me her Chrysler minivan had the ac compressor go out at 36,500 miles and the dealer refused to cover the item 500 miles out of warranty. I went with the Toyota and I wanted to see if their reputation of legendary reliability was dead on or not. ( It was!) The tires DO wear out faster than I thought they would. That is the only thing that I saw that surprised me. I thing that flipped me out was going 20,000 miles and NOT using any oil during the long oci! Your money your choice! Good luck! Bill
 
Originally Posted by brages
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
My favorite minivans are Honda Odysseys. They've always had a sporty look to them. They don't have terrible transmissions,people just don't properly maintain them.


1999-2004 Odysseys had terrible transmissions.


^^^ Thats right.
 
My family still has a 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan with over 200k miles and still runs like a swiss watch. Transmission was rebuilt at 180k miles. No other issues.

I would not hesitate at all in buying the Pacifica since the Caravan is discontinued. They are one of the highest rated, most innovative minivans from the people that invented them.

Don't let brand bias get to you. They are good vans.

The Toyota Van is good too, but knowing that if your alternator ever goes out on that Toyota V6 in that Van? They have to pull the engine to get to it. Go to the forums and hear the horror stories about the Toyota vans.

There will always be horror stories that is the thing, but for every bad story there are 10 good ones. So buy a van that suits your needs.

IMO the Pacifica is the best van around hands down. All the others are just ok.
 
Having driven a few Odyssey's and Sienna's I can say I'm always more impressed by the Odyssey. I remember driving a new 3rd gen Odyssey as a rental and being very impressed by it's car like handling which at the time was quite rare. Overall I think the Odyssey generally seems to have best in class handling and ergonomics and the excellent J series V6. In durability and reliability I think the Sienna would edge it out, but both vans are overall very reliable.
 
I'd look at the 2010 Sienna, same drive train as the next generation, but should save you some cash, and if you could get a low mileage little rust at a bargain price, that's close enough for a frugal oil guy. Engine problems were mostly worked out though there are always issues to watch for and preventative measures. The 5 speed transmission is better than the first of the next generation, the 6 speed had a issue with bearing shavings as I have heard, and the torque converters on the Rav4 issue may or may not be related but you'd have to look into that for yourself.

I think through 2013 Sienna did offer the 2.7 four cylinder, that's the one I'd choose being the simplicity of owner maintenance. Good luck, I got a 2010 Sienna, 212k, paid $4000 about 18 months ago, I am not against a high mileage vehicle as long as it had the scheduled maintenance which is mostly oil changes for what can be more easily verified. Now I should get to the spring cleaning I was going to do as I have wasted half the day but wanted to brag about my van...
 
I was just looking at my alternator today, 2010 Sienna 3.5 V6, and it is at the top over the ac compressor, so I wonder if it is the previous 3.3 V6 that has the alternator on the downside. Normally I'd verify this before posting, but as previous post, I'd better get back to the spring cleaning...
 
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
What about a Quest? Are they any good?


I forgot about those
lol.gif


The Quest is probably fine in terms of reliability, most likely a step below Toyota, but not bad. I rank the Quest over the Odyssey, sicne Honda still uses a timing belt and has a history of transmission problems.

My ranking in these minivans would be
4-cylinder Sienna > Transit Connect > V6 Sienna > Quest > Sedona > Odyssey > Chrysler

Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
Get a 4-cylinder Sienna. They are much easier to work on than any V6 minivan
smile.gif


And, he can get in shape when he pushes car to get to decent speed.


It has the same power as the pushrod 3.8 V6 Chrysler used before they swtiched to the Pentastar
 
A 4cylinder Sienna would be last on my list for minivans.It's probably reliable and definitely much easier to work on in that cramped engine compartment, but that must be the slowest vehicle on the road and would make driving much more of a chore.
 
Originally Posted by Jeffs2006EvoIX
The Toyota Van is good too, but knowing that if your alternator ever goes out on that Toyota V6 in that Van? They have to pull the engine to get to it. Go to the forums and hear the horror stories about the Toyota vans.


Not true. It's labor intensive, but you don't have to remove the engine.
 
Originally Posted by PowerSurge
Originally Posted by Jeffs2006EvoIX
The Toyota Van is good too, but knowing that if your alternator ever goes out on that Toyota V6 in that Van? They have to pull the engine to get to it. Go to the forums and hear the horror stories about the Toyota vans.


Not true. It's labor intensive, but you don't have to remove the engine.

Definitely not true. Water Pump and Alternator can be done in-car on a 2GR-FE. It is tight, but doable if you remove the thermostat housing and fan shroud.
 
We've owned the following minivans in this order over the past ~18yrs

2001 Ford Windstar LX
2007 Honda Odyssey LX
2013 Dodge Grand Caravan SE
2016 Nissan Quest SV

They were all great vehicles that we typically kept until 70-80K miles. The Honda and Dodge were bought new, the Ford and the Nissan were 1-2yrs old with ~30K miles on them.

My favorite was the Grand Caravan in terms of driving dynamics, comfort and value and it gave us no issues where all the others had things like A/C, suspension and other odd ball issues.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by JTK
We've owned the following minivans in this order over the past ~18yrs

2001 Ford Windstar LX
2007 Honda Odyssey LX
2013 Dodge Grand Caravan SE
2016 Nissan Quest SV

They were all great vehicles that we typically kept until 70-80K miles. The Honda and Dodge were bought new, the Ford and the Nissan were 1-2yrs old with ~30K miles on them.

My favorite was the Grand Caravan in terms of driving dynamics, comfort and value and it gave us no issues where all the others had things like A/C, suspension and other odd ball issues.


70-80k miles is nothing. A lot of people around here drive 20-30k/year. Long term reliability/durability is decided well after 80k
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

G
2024 Honda Odyssey
3 4 5
Replies
98
Views
16K
vwmaniaman
H
Another Minivan or a Suburban? WWYD
2 3
Replies
54
Views
6K
Triple_Se7en
W
Keep or buy used
2 3
Replies
50
Views
4K
IndyIan
john_pifer
We Bought a 2024 Odyssey
6 7 8
Replies
159
Views
17K
john_pifer
GR_CoB
2003 Lexus GS300
2 3
Replies
42
Views
6K
GR_CoB
Back
Top Bottom