VehicleVerdict

1998 Toyota Sienna engine problems

The 1998 Toyota Sienna has 38 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 11% of the year's total, and the first year with meaningful reports in this category.

38

Engine complaints

11%

Share of year

0

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Engine complaints by year

Sienna engine complaints by model year71 complaints1998: 38 complaints1999: 40 complaints2000: 71 complaints2001: 26 complaints2002: 19 complaints2003: 6 complaints2004: 60 complaints2005: 39 complaints2006: 15 complaints2007: 56 complaints2008: 52 complaints2009: 14 complaints2010: 9 complaints2011: 29 complaints2012: 10 complaints2013: 8 complaints2014: 10 complaints2015: 14 complaints2016: 4 complaints2017: 15 complaints2018: 5 complaints2019: 4 complaints2020: 6 complaints
Sienna engine complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“LOUD BANG FROM EGINE FOLLOWED BY FIRE. DEALER SAYS ENGINE THREW A ROD AND FOUND HOLE IN ENGINE. ALSO DAMAGE TO RIGHT AXLE FROM PROJECTILE FROM ENGINE. COMPLAINED ABOUT WHITE SMOKE AT STARTUP TO DEALER AT 22,500 MILE SERVICE, BUT DEALER FOUND NO PROBLEMS. NOW DEALER REFUSES TO HONOR WARRANTY…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · August 13, 2000 · fire

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 1998 Toyota Sienna have?

NHTSA has 38 complaints about the 1998 Toyota Sienna engine — 11% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.