Used 1999 Toyota Sienna Minivan Consumer Reviews
Used Sienna for sale
2...
See Edmunds pricing data
Has Your Car's Value Changed?
Used car values are constantly changing. Edmunds lets you track your vehicle's value over time so you can decide when to sell or trade in.
Good Car, Doors Are Terrible
michaelia, 02/19/2012
1999 Toyota Sienna LE 4dr Minivan
15 of 16 people found this review helpful
It's reliable most of the time. We had to rebuild the alternator twice. Mechanically, it seems to do great, but it's the little things that drive me crazy. In the 4 years we've owned the vehicle, we've had to fix the doors 3 times (3 outside door handles, 1 inside door mechanism). Seems minimal, right? No. Each fix cost us between $200 and $300 because they have to take the door apart from the inside to get the handle in. It's all Labor. The sliding doors have always stuck too. My suspicion is the previous owner had these issues too because the inside sliding door panel on the right side won't stay in place, Probably been taken apart too many times. Current issue: stuck ignition switch.
Side Door Handle
lushbutterfly, 02/16/2010
1999 Toyota Sienna CE 3dr Minivan
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
Bought this new--it's been great with regular maintenance. Replaced the battery twice, we're on 125K now. The side rear door handle on the outside broke off in my hand. $100/part alone. The inside rear door handle has stuck for about 10 of the 11 years--never worked, gets stuck in and then you can't close the door without prying it loose. The only drawbacks are the one side door and the lifting of seats in/out of the van. The newer ones seem a lot better designed. Overall, we love this van and we'll keep driving it till it dies...
The Camry of Minivans
MtnRoad, 03/08/2016
1999 Toyota Sienna CE 3dr Minivan
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
I have a 1999 Toyota Sienna CE with 3.0L V6 with 80,000 miles, sliding doors on both sides, grey cloth interior, light green paint on exterior. This is a fantastic car. When friends ride in it they immediately comment on how smooth the ride is. The engine is the same V6 they put in the Camry and acceleration is great. Functionality of the van is awesome. When you want to load groceries or other items in tight parking spaces the sliding side doors and huge lift back make everything so easy. I think having sliding doors on both sides was an option so not all Sienna's have that but one will still work out great in those tight parking spaces. I bought the car used from an older couple who had the 3rd row seating removed and a hydraulic lift installed for a motorized wheel chair. I had the lift removed and sold it, and I most likely won't hunt down some replacement 3rd row seats. I own rental properties and the Sienna is perfect for hauling all the stuff I need for work and keeping tools safe in parking lots. I don't like showing up at my rental properties in fancy new cars and the Sienna is perfect for maintaining the look I want in front of people who pay me rent. There is a lot of room in these vans to go camping, or haul stuff and people comfortably. I recently took my Sienna on a huge road-trip with a girlfriend to follow the Seattle Seahawks on some road games and the vehicle performed flawlessly. I set it up to sleep in the back of the van if I wanted, and when I did it was roomy. I don't have much to complain about but if I did it would be the power window control on both the driver and front passenger side short out every now and then and I have to pry them up and fidgit with them a bit to get them working again. The car is a 1999 so no big deal it comes with the age. The replacement part is cheap at the dealership but I'm holding out. The paint is pretty badly oxidized. I live in Arizona and the car is older so it's expected but looks kind of bad. The model I have is the CE edition and it came with steel wheels that had hubcaps and I regularly lost hubcaps (mostly because used ones have broken clips and they don't secure well). In fact there probably isn't a used Sienna hubcap within a 50 mile radius of my house because I have gone through them all. I finally just bought some late 1990's Toyota Camry alloy wheels off eBay for $200 and although they are scuffed a bit they match the age and condition of my car and maintain the original look of the vehicle. Door handles seem loose and ready to break and apparently its normal for Toyota's of this age but it still is something to look for if buying used because replacement cost and labor can run $75-100 for each handle. The only other thing I guess I would mention is the 3.0L V6 for this model uses a timing belt instead of a chain. My car has low mileage but due to the age of it I had the timing belt and water pump changed at the Toyota dealership with a coupon I found on their website. It cost $1500 to have that done along with a complete tune up with spark plugs, wires, etc. Sure, you can find some shade tree mechanic shop to do it for $150-200 less but I got genuine Toyota parts / service / and warranty. I recommend this model to anyone who wants reliability, a good looking vehicle, smooth ride, and lots of room. Sometimes people try to race around me on the freeway on-ramp but they get a nice little reality check when I throw that V6 into action. LOL eat my dust!!!
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
Most reliable thing on the road!
Armani, 11/30/2006
1999 Toyota Sienna XLE 4dr Minivan
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I bought this minivan in May 99 and got the XLE because of the power door feature which surprised me, but was not happy that the power door needs repairing so soon. So far I have 88k miles and have never encountered problems with the engine because of its perfect realiability. A previous minivan didn't make it up hills had so many problems but the Sienna goes up hills with authority.
SLUDGE
wilmore, 05/15/2002
1999 Toyota Sienna CE 3dr Minivan
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
This van was not as good inside as my plymouth van. It's hard to get into the very back seats. My plymouth was roomier. Since I've had sludge problems it's been downhill from there.
2...