A few weeks ago I rented a 2004 Sienna (7 passenger FWD LE with
package #4). My wife and I have been thinking about buying a minivan,
and we had been considering either the Honda Odyssey or the '04
Sienna....we really enjoyed the Sienna, but we had a few gripes that I
wanted to see if others had too.

1) The seatbelt on the second row passenger side seat. It retracts
into the seat back (which I'm OK with - it keeps it out of the way if
you choose to set up the seat in the 'middle' position). The issue we
have is that there is a little plastic tab on the bottom of the seat
retractor mechanism (hard to describe if you havent seen it) that the
seatbelt kept getting wedged into, sticking the seatbelt in one
position. Was 'mine' just wierd, or "they all do that"?

2) The second row seats seem to be REALLY difficult to remove and
replace - I scratched the blazes out of the plastic 'carpet protector'
bits (glad it was a rental!) trying to replace the seats. I also
managed to lock the seat down in the 'wrong' position and it took me a
good half-hour to figure out how to unlock it from that spot. Does
this get easier with time, or is this such a royal pain that nobody
wants to remove the seats (as I ended up feeling about it)?

3) Driver's sunglass holder (above the driver's head). Both times
that I put my sunglasses in there, they got stuck and I had to darn
near break the holder to get them back out. Does this happen to
others, or do I need to sign up for a class at the dealership, or ???

Anyhow, we're really strongly leaning towards buying a Sienna (even
with these issues), but I would like to know about others' experience
before taking the big plunge.

Thanks
-Sean

We are very happy with our '03 Symphony Sienna. Very agile and fast.





"Sean" <jrdalys@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:b411fd0.0310031325.705ddd9e@posting.google.co m...

My local Toyota dealer is selling the 04 Sienna at a premium... and didn't
even have any on the lot to look at. So with the premium, we decided to pass
on the 04 Sienna.

I can tell you that the 2nd row seats in our 2000 Sienna are also very
difficult to get in & out, and yes if you get the seat "half-way" in but not
lined up exactly right it is difficult to free-up the latches and try
again... so that sounds the same.

The 04 Odyssey is still relatively unchanged for the past 4 years...
probably due for a makeover in the next year or two... but no good discounts
on that either. Thus a lightly used Odyssey may be a good deal.

We also drove the new 2004 Nissan Quest, that's worth a drive if you haven't
tried it yet. It seems the Quest is selling near sticker, but there may be a
little wiggle room... unlike the Sienna or Odyssey. A COOL feature with the
Quest is that the second row also FOLDS FLAT (well almost flat)...

For now we've decided just to hang on to our 2000 Sienna a few more years.

Good luck!
Dave

"Sean" <jrdalys@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:b411fd0.0310031325.705ddd9e@posting.google.co m...

In article <b411fd0.0310031325.705ddd9e@posting.google.com> ,
jrdalys@comcast.net (Sean) wrote:

I did have some trouble getting the second row seat out, but not that
bad. I don't know about the other items you mentioned. I'm impressed
with the turning radius this vehicle has also the ride and handling.
It's very quiet too. I'm comparing to a 94 Caravan which was a
reliable vehicle. Time will tell if the Sienna is ok. So far I'm happy
with it.
dale
--

Did you read this Scott. His Caravan was reliable and he's hoping his
Sienna can perform comparably.


<nospam@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:nospam-0FB3A4.18144703102003@hermes-ge0.rdc-kc.rr.com...

Think really hard before buying the car. My 2001 Avalon had quirks
that I thought I could live with but they got more annoying as time
went on. I didn't rent one in advance of buying so I didn't know all
the quirks. Wish I had. Would have kept on shopping.



"Sean" <jrdalys@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:b411fd0.0310031325.705ddd9e@posting.google.co m...

We have a 1999 Sienna and the first time we removed and replaced the
back seats it was a challenge. But it was our first minivan and after
the the first time we learned how to remove and replace the back seats
and it was easy.

As for the sunglasses holder - you have had a rental vehicle that was
abused. The Sienna uses the same sunglass holder as the Camry and we
have not had any problems with this part - but we did not jam it or pry
it or abuse it either.

We are very happy with the Sienna and will consider a new Sienna when
the time comes.

Sean wrote:

On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 04:12:42 GMT, "Art Begun"
<begunaREMOVESPAM@mindspring.com> wrote:

Yes I did, Art <g>


Scott in Florida

In article <cvbtnv8bsk4qou2ekrq6743tqn53s4f1fa@4ax.com>,
Scott in Fla <NotNow@earthlink.net> wrote:

Come on guys gimmy a break, you know what I mean.
dale j.
--

"Art Begun" <begunaREMOVESPAM@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:yOrfb.19152$f11.2206@newsread1.news.atl.earth link.net...
We wish you would have too - then we wouldn't have to listen to your
constant nit-picking and complaining around here. ;-)

Sean:

I've got an '04 Sienna LE and agree that that removing and replacing the middle
row seats could be easier. The mechanism is tricky and they're heavy. On the
other hand, they'd probably be less comfortable if they weren't heavy. You
definitely need to read the instructions and make sure you're lining thing up
correctly when re-installing, as you learned the hard way. Also, like you,
I've torn up the plastic protectors on the floor a bit (I've learned to be
careful). In spite of this, I don't hesitate to remove seats when needed.

Can't comment on the seatbelts in the middle row, as those seats are for the
dawg and we can't get him to use the belt. Also haven't tried the sunglasses
holder (there are about 14 other places to put your sunglasses). I'd have to
walk waaaaaaay out to the garage to check these things out.

So far (3-1/2 months, close to 9k miles) I'm happy with the van overall and
don't regret the purchase. I think the goods outweigh the bads.

Regards,

Tom in PA

Just got my 2004 Sienna LE a week ago. Got the "safety package"
(forget that the number was - maybe BW or something like that. That
includes side airbags for passenger and driver, curtain airbags for
2nd and 3rd row, traction control, 16" alloy wheels, and a bunch of
other features. So far the wife and I just love it. We also tried
the Odyssey (a friend owns one), but favored the Sienna.

I did not notice the issue with the second row passenger seat belt.
However, we have our 3 year old in a car seat in that seat, so the
seat belt is always locked into the car seat (i.e. we never use it).

Have not tried to remove the second row seats yet. It seems like it
might be a hassle but so far we have no need to do so. I guess I will
wait until the time I need to remove them before I start screwing
around with them. I think that might want to remove them once or
twice a year so I am not too concerned. Plus, I have an SUV if I need
to haul very large items (even though the Sienna has more room inside
with the 3rd row folded and 2nd row removed than my Ford Explorer).

Sunglass holder - I agree. That is a hassle. I had my glasses stuck
in there once and it took some fiddling to get them out. Also, it is
a pain to reach them when you are driving (have to reach your hand all
the way on the left). But it is such a small issue that I am not
concerned with it. Sometimes I just leave the glasses on the center
console. There are a bunch of other places to store them. One thing
the 2004 Sienna is not lacking is storage (tons of cup holders and
compartments throughout the minivan).

What I love about the 2004 Sienna - the ride is so smooth and quiet.
The turning radius is amazing for a minivan. The overall quality of
the car is very solid (doors feel solid, etc.). Very UNLIKE my 1999
Ford Exploder XLT. And there is an amazing amount of room in the car,
especially in the trunk - even with the third row in place. My wife
loves the deep recess that can store tons of groceries, etc. Of
course the Odyssey has this as well, but I think the Sienna is a
little bit larger.

Overall, I am sold on the quality of the minivan and happy I waited
for it (ordered end of August). It is definitely an improvement over
the earlier models in terms of available cargo and passenger space.
The Odyssey was our second choice and we could have gotten it cheaper.
I paid a little under MSRP for the Sienna but still consider it a
better value than the Honda after comparing the two cars.

Also, the 2004 Sienna was ranked tops in the most recent Consumer
Reports and Smart Money magazine. Even nicer to see that AFTER you
already bought one :)

So far so good. We are very pleased with the minivan.



On 3 Oct 2003 14:25:14 -0700, jrdalys@comcast.net (Sean) wrote:



"No computer components were harmed during the creation of this post,
however several billion electrons were abused to ensure its safe delivery."

Art Begun wrote:
LOL, well, if he thought is Caravan was relaible, then it wont take much
to beat his expectations, but soon, he w ill be throwing rocks or
realizing his idea of reliable was using the "domestic scale"

Art Begun wrote:


Or do like Art and buy a car that is doing so poorly, they have stopped
production because of slumping sales.

By the way, although I am not an Explorer fan, the new version is
supposed to ride much better than the old.


"Blade" <blade@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:osktnvsji2qsdpqercqpo298mmuutbhav1@4ax.com...

Thanks alot for all the info....we'll probably be ordering a Sienna
this week

By the way, can anyone tell me what the 'Rear Seat Audio' is all about
(the one you get on most LEs if you don't get DVD)? Does it have a
seperate radio tuner, and if not, what's the point of it?

-Sean


Blade <blade@nospam.net> wrote in message news:<osktnvsji2qsdpqercqpo298mmuutbhav1@4ax.com>. ..

Sean:

You get two headphone jacks (and, according to the manual, you can also buy
wireless headphones) with separate volume controls. You also get a remote that
allows you to choose the audio source and do simple stuff like skip CD tracks.
The main benefit, as far as I can see, is that the folks in the back can pick a
different source than the one running through the main system, so the kids can
listen to a CD while you're listening to FM radio.

Regards,

Tom in PA

Sean:

Since you're obviously doin' your homework before making your minivan purchase
decision, you might be interested in knowning that Motor Trend just (November
issue) did a Odyssey/Quest/Sienna comparison test. I subscribe and received it
yesterday: it will probably be at the newstands pretty soon. Also, Consumer
Reports compared the same vans last month.

Regards Again,

Tom in PA

I read the CR comparison. Seems to me that they don't value brake
performance sufficiently. The stopping distance of the Sienna was
much worse than the Odessey and everything else compared pretty
closely. I was surprised that their math put the Sienna on top.


Of course tires that happened to come with their car might have
effected stopping distance.



"Vmcw" <vmcw@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20031005210633.25557.00000375@mb-m05.aol.com...

In article <Vm4gb.31844$3S.11327@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink .net>,
"Art Begun" <begunaREMOVESPAM@mindspring.com> wrote:





Five feet was the difference. Not much to worry about as far as I'm
concerned. The Sienna that I have seems to stop very well.

In the bumper impact tests, front/rear, the Sienna would cost $421/$528
to repair. The Odyssey would cost $1169/$1139, quite a difference.

By the way the Odyssey was much worse than the Mazda for stopping, 12
feet.

Dale