The Toyota Sienna was equipped with the A541E transmission in certain models. But they aren’t without their problems though, so let’s look at some of the most common Toyota Sienna transmission problems, look at cost estimates and figure out what you can do about them.
What Transmission Do I Have?
Toyota Sienna Transmission Models
Toyota Sienna: A541E Transmission
Toyota Sienna Transmission Replacement Cost Estimate
Pricing varies by model. To be 100% sure on pricing, have your VIN# handy and use our Get An Estimate feature to look up your transmission by VIN#.
What are the DTC codes related to Toyota Sienna transmission problems?
| Trouble Code | Description |
|---|---|
| P0753 | Shift Solenoid 'A' Electrical |
| P0755 | Shift Solenoid 'B' |
| P0770 | Shift Solenoid 'E' |
| P0773 | Shift Solenoid 'E' Electrical |
| P1705 | Nissan DTC: Throttle Position Sensor Circuit Malfunction |
Toyota Sienna Transmission Recalls
None Found
Toyota Sienna Technical Service Bulletins (TSB)
None Found
Common Toyota Sienna Transmission Problems
Lack of Response
Leaking Fluid
Low Fluid
Burning Smell
Grinding or Shaking
Whining, Clunking or Humming
Refuses to Go Into Gear
Torque Converter Issues
Valve Body Issues
Transmission Noisy in Neutral
Gears Slipping
No 3rd or 4th Gear
No 1st or 2nd Gear
No Reverse
Dragging Clutch
Trouble Codes / Check Engine Light
Can I drive with a transmission problem?
If your Toyota Sienna can still make it up and down the road, you might say “It’s fine, I’ll just drive it until I can get it fixed”. But that is not always a good idea, depending on the symptoms. You see, there are a lot of (very expensive) moving parts inside of a transmission, and if something isn’t right, continuing to drive with a transmission problem could damage something else.
How often does a Toyota Sienna transmission need to be replaced?
The overall lifespan of a Toyota Sienna transmission largely depends on how well it was maintained. Factory design flaws also factor into this equation, along with how/how hard you drive. But on average, we’ve seen the Toyota Sienna transmission last for between 130,000-180,000 miles. A high quality replacement transmission however, can last considerably longer if all of the factory design flaws have been addressed and the vehicle has been maintained.
How are Toyota Sienna transmission issues diagnosed?
It is fairly easy to guesstimate what the root cause of your Toyota Sienna transmission problems might be, but you won’t truly know unless you have the right tools and experience. A good mechanic or transmission repair center will be able to connect your truck to a computer and find out which diagnostic trouble codes (DTC’s) have been stored. Once they know what to look for, they can perform a visual inspection to verify the problem.
How is a Toyota Sienna transmission replaced?
In order to replace your Toyota Sienna transmission, the truck has to be lifted from the ground in order to gain access to all of the parts that will need to be unbolted. Then the transmission can be lowered to the ground (typically with a transmission jack), so the new transmission can be installed.
Recommendations for Toyota Sienna transmission issues?
To save time and get back on the road faster, have your 17-digit truck VIN# handy and you can get an online quote for a reman Toyota Sienna transmission here, then find a local shop using our Find a Shop guide to install it for you.
How to Solve Toyota Sienna Transmission Problems
Solution A: Buy a Used Toyota Sienna Transmission
The quickest way to fix your transmission problems is to simply buy a used transmission or used transmission. These can be found at most junk yards, and they often come with a 30-90 day warranty. However, there’s no way to determine the actual condition of the internal components, so you could be spending a bunch of money to have the exact same problems. Plus, that warranty only covers the transmission if it’s defective, not the labor costs that you’ll have to pay.
Solution B: Buy a Rebuilt Toyota Sienna Transmission
Another option would be a rebuilt transmission or rebuilt transmission. A local repair shop will remove your transmission, then install a bunch of new parts during the rebuild. The problem here is, the skills and experience of each transmission rebuilder will vary widely from shop to shop, so you could have problems from something that wasn’t adjusted properly. And the 1-2 year warranty might only cover you at certain transmission repair shops, in a specific geographical area.
Solution C: Buy a Remanufactured Toyota Sienna Transmission
Many owners depend on their vehicle to commute and get things done. Their gasoline engines are designed to go 100’s of thousands of miles, so it makes sense to invest in a remanufactured transmission.
What Transmission Do I Have?
What Problem Does Your Toyota Sienna Have?
Let us know the year, mileage and problem you’re having as well as any trouble (OBD) codes you’ve found. If you’ve been given a quote or paid for a repair, we’d like to hear about that too!
CAN A WEAK BATTERY CAUSE TRANSMISSION ISSUES. Please read on. I have a 2007 Sienna van. At 70 mph it will start shaking in the front end like your riding over rocks. If you speed up or slow down it will stop. It doesn’t do it all the time. Had the tires rotated and balanced. Still did it. But not all the time.Local shop thought it maybe bent drive shafts so I drove it to Atlanta which is 2 hours away. Half way there the transmission stopped working . Pulled off road checked transmission fluid. It was OK. Put van in drive it drove OK for another 5 or so miles. This time the transmission fluid started to smell bad. No lights on panel of any problems. But mechanic I called suggested that I go by a Advance Auto for diagnostic check. Code came up of solenoid problem. Had it hauled to transmission shop. Ended up putting a used transmission installed. But the van still has this problem. Now my question to you high end transmission specialist. My battery was 4 to 5 years old. The transmission shop kept my van 6 weeks due to employment problems. They had to put a battery charger on my van to keep the battery charge enough to crank it. When I recently replaced the battery in the last 2 weeks or so my problems have gone away. Can a weak battery cause transmission issues?
I have a 2005 and it goes in reverse and sometimes drive fluid is fine what would the problem be
Test drove an 09 sienna with about 180k on it. There was a slight grinding noise when accelerating and an occasional thunk when braking. I’m pretty much decided we’re going to pass, but I was wondering if that sounds like a transmission issue? Would it maybe be worth getting an estimate and asking them to knock that off the price? Kind of just for my own edification, I’m wondering what sorry of problem that is likely to be.
I have a 2005 Toyota Sienna goes into reverse immediately but has about a five-second hesitation into drive any ideas what it could be
2006 Toyota sienna LE front wheel drive will not reverse when you put it on reverse it will not reverse it’ll go and drive and drive forward but it would not go in reverse when you put it in reverse it doesn’t go nowhere what could be the problem and how to fix
My moms 2013 sienna does this too
Did you get an answer as to what was wrong
I just went out to run errands in my 2006 Toyota Sienna LE. When I went to park it, I noticed that the P and D lights were both on, even though I was in Park. Van runs fine – engine light is on, but not flashing. Have had it on almost the entire time since I bought i almost 2 years ago. Just need to use the higher grade gas and it goes out, but will come on if driving in heavy rain (which happened Friday). Just thought it was an unusual thing to happen. I hope it’s not the tranny as I can’t afford tat big a repair as I just paid off the van. As I said runs fine otherwise, not slipping at all. Thanks for any help!
My 2007 Sienna has 211,000 miles on it. I can’t much complain, considering 1. That’s a lot of miles, and 2. It was gifted to me by my mother in law after her youngest went off to college. 2 nights ago, driving home, it revved high and wouldn’t catch a gear. I thought I had bumped the shifter, so I told my husband to let off the gas and I bumped it to 4th and back to OD, but still, only revved. I had him stop (I’m the mechanic) and thought maybe something crazy had happened, jumped out and popped the hood, sniffed around, everything sounded fine and nothing smelled burnt. So I get back in bewildered, tell him to try again, he put it in OD like normal, and away we went. We were less than a mile from home, where the speed limit is 35, so we just putted the rest of the way with no issues. I’m beginning to think it was an isolated occurrence, but I’m going to have it checked out this afternoon. I have been too nervous the last day or so to try it out, but I guess there’s no time like the present 🤷♀️
sounds like a vehicle speed sensor. Pretty easy and inexpensive fix.
Toyota Sienna Transmission (at least the 2007 and later with the 3.5L engine, have to be removed from the vehicle as an engine/transmission assembly, They are lowered with the enging transmission cradle assembly out the bottom of the vehicle, along with the steering rack, control arm and axel assemblies as a single module. This approach requires considerable disassembly of the front components of the van as a whole. Not difficult, just time consuming …. 25 to 30 hours book time which equates to 40 to 60 hours in your driveway.
I just brought my 2006 ( barely 100,00. Miles) Sienna into the Toyota dealer because the engine light was on, that’s all. The car was running fine. They hooked it up and said it was the transmission. $4000. Later a few days, the engine light is back on! Now there telling me it’s the catalytic converter! Which costs an additional $1000. At this point I’m kinda done with Toyota 😄. Can anyone recommend a better car?
Hate to say this but Toyota is not all it’s cracked up to be. Siena along with a few others are terrible with the transmission.
Runs great but has flaring sometimes from 3rd to 4th it will give a pause then kinda shove you into 4th but not all the time and only on lite throttle if I’m medium to high on pedal never has an issue..any thoughts?
My 2007 Toyota Sienna I inherited from my late father in 2010, in 2015 at 78,000 miles I had to replace transmission, got a rebuild for about 3,000 dollars, now for about 3 weeks I have felt a slight mild feeling of like gear changing when driving. Then a bit of a jump now and then. I check my fluids every month or so and tranny fluid always good. Well its been a little over a month now since checked fluid and never new I had a small leak, until some one said that it could be tranny, so I checked the black mat I park on and it did have tranny fluid on it. My brothers friend who works on cars checked it out,said it had no tranny fluid so we put in a gallon or so,and when he drove it and needed to give it some speed to check it, now it feels worse. Really bucking, and leaking about 3 quarter size fluid a day. I took it to AAMCO and they said its got a leak and some internal transmission problems, Needs a New TRANNY again! I definately do not have the money, The car is one owner and only 106.816 miles and a body has a few scratches and 2 small dents but it is clean inside and out so I want to try and get atleast 1.000 I was told cannot get much because of transmission. I will not get a toyota thats for sure.
I have a 2018 Toyota Sienna. I’m hearing a rubbing noise in the stearing.
I have a 2010 Toyota Sienna LE with approx 129,000. I have a problem with it going into 3rd and 4th gears but it does run. I have had it looked at and been given prices of $3,600 to rebuilt my own transmission plus cost of parts and labor to $3,100 for rebuilt with 18 month warranty plus 1500 for labor. Is this considered reasonable?
I have a 2011 sienna LTD FW drive. 160K miles. Shudders hard when in reverse with initial acceleration. Backing off the gas calms it down and then it is fine
My wife and I have the same year make and model and we have the same problem
could be a misfire. Run the codes
I have an ’05 Sienna Limited AWD. Over last weekend, accelerated slowly into 2nd gear and heard a hard clunk, the van started to whine and there was a resistance. I came to a stop, put the van in nutral and then back in drive. Started back off and van drove normal. I got it to replicate twice that same night. Dropped the van off at the dealership and it had no problems at all. dealership says back driveshaft is not functioning and that transmission is bad. I drove vehicle home again and it went perfectly fine. The gave me a quote for a used trasnmission ($3K) and $2.7K to install. No way im putting $5.7K i a 05 sienna with 163K miles. Anyone ever heard of this problem?
Yes. My ’08 has 173,000 and has a clunk in the shift at around 30 mph .
What did you do? If repaired, what did it cost?
I have a 2014 Sienna SE with 72000 miles. It has a nasty chassis shimmy at 2000 rpm. Don’t feel anything through the steering wheel. First thoughts from the mechanic is torque converter. Can that be replaced without rebuilding the transmission, too?
My 2014 Toyota Sienna XLE V6 needs a new transmission at ONLY 125000KM on it! Just replaced the viscous coupling at 120000KM and now this! Think I have a lemon!
My 2006 Toyota Sienna with 115000 miles needs a transmission and transfer case I was quoted 3000 and 3600 plus 1760 labor and 150 for fluid. Does this sound right?
No, sounds like they priced the transmission and the transfer case/front diff. You don’t need the front diff, which bolts to the transmission, unless it is damaged.
Was it an AWD? i just got a $5.7K quote for an 05 Sienna AWD transmission.
My 2006 Toyota sienna transmission has started slipping while shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. I recently had the shift lock solenoid assembly replaced at Toyota. The slippage became more noticeable after the install. Took it back to Toyota and they said I need a new transmission. Was wondering how serious the problem is. Has 110,000 miles on it.
There was a bulletin on my 2004 for the 2-3 shift improvement. But I found a good transmission fluid flush can help the shift concerns.
2006 Toyota Sienna does not feel like it’s engaging into the lower gears when I downshift it on a steep hill
Combination of the vvt-I engine and the trans computer. It will not down shift if the rpms are to high for a down shift.