2008 Sienna AWD 2k Mile Check-In

Two thousand miles have rolled past the Sienna’s odometer and I figure it’s time for a check in. One thing I’ve noticed since buying our van is that there are a LOT of Siennas in the Bay Area. If you’re waiting at an intersection, you’d be hard pressed to not have at least one Sienna pass you by. Furthermore, most of these Siennas aren’t the cheap, entry level model. I see a lot of XLE and Limited vans out there. Buyers are ponying up for the good stuff and in my opinion it’s worth it.

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The Sienna is worlds quieter than the 2004 Odyssey it replaces. Also of major benefit is the fact that the doors don’t rattle like a can of rocks. I test drove five or six 2008 Honda Odyssey’s and they all rattled over railroad crossings, etc. Very frustrating.

There are downsides to all this plush comfort. The steering wheel is school bus big and the steering is way too light for my tastes. The handling can best be described as Tippy Canoe and Tyler, too. If you’re looking for driver involvement, this van isn’t going to be your trusty steed.

The in car electronics are also one generation behind the Chrysler vans. There’s no hard drive for ripping music or movies. You load the DVD in the back, which is a real stretch for the wife. Loading a DVD in the front console would be much nicer. The Bluetooth system doesn’t support using your cell phone’s voice dialing. That means you can’t get in the van, pair your phone and say “Call Mamma.” There also seems to be an issue with auto connect not switching between previously paired phones. If I get into the van and my wife is not there, the system should detect and pair to my phone. Sadly, this doesn’t happen. I have to go into the menu, select paired phones and press the button for my phone. Of course, I forget to do this until I’m on the road and then as you might have guess the option is disabled. When the wife gets in the van, she has to repeat these steps. There’s only one screen in the back and no Sirius TV. Adding satellite radio can be a pain. The satellite module that interfaces with the Sienna’s system is spendy and your other alternative is the 3.5mm jack in the dash. Honda’s top end products come with XM standard, there’s no retrofitting of an antenna and module later on. If you have a recent Garmin or Tom Tom navigation system, you’re going to find the Toyota’s clunky and not as friendly to use. While driving, your passenger is really limited in what they can do to help co-pilot as most buttons grey out at speed. You can’t use the voice command system to say something like Nearest Starbucks. Instead you have to say Nearest Coffeehouse and literally that’s where it will take you, to the nearest coffee house. You can’t see all the nearby coffee houses unless you come to a stop and press or say “show list.”

I am impressed at the van’s turning radius. I am able to execute much tighter turns than in the ’04 Odyssey and that is really convenient. I am no longer an Austin Powers, 50 point turn around artist.

The Sienna is supposed to have battery rundown protection, but it doesn’t apply to the cabin light switch. My two-year old loves the cabin light switch and subsequently I have had many dead batteries. Some Sienna owners have retrofitted their own “battery minder” of sorts, but I’m a bit disappointed that the built-in system isn’t more effective. I have purchased a portable jump start kit and placed it in the back.

Because our van is AWD, it is equipped with run flat tires. Many owners howl against these tires and have fitted regular tires and a spare as a replacement. I pumped up the tire pressure to 41PSI and have kept a careful eye on them. I’ll definitely rotate every 5,000 miles and we’ll see how they hold up. Hopefully these measures will increase the tires’ longevity and eliminate any weird wear patterns. Frustratingly the low tire pressure system doesn’t report back the actual pressure in each tire like 2008 Odyssey Touring does. Instead the system measures rotational differences and then reports back if one tire spins at a different rate than the others. There’s also a calibration button that you’re supposed to press so that the system will know what normal conditions look like. L-A-M-E. This cheap solution is of little help and doesn’t always report back accurately. True, there are hassles with other sensor based systems, such as reprogramming when you rotate the tires, but I think it is well worth it. I want to be able to get into my van in the morning and see what all the tire pressures are. I am willing to pay for that privilege.

The laser based cruise works fairly well, but sometimes cars slip in from the side and take a moment to interrupt the beam. I’d prefer a system that was RADAR based for better coverage, all weather performance and less susceptibility to damage. I’d then link the sensor into a pre-collision warning system ala Volvo and others. The Xenon headlights are great and thankfully they have manual leveling via a switch on the dash. I’ve seen a number of auto-leveling systems fail on other cars equipped with Xenons, so I’d rather adjust them myself.

The interior plastics are a huge cut above the competition. The top of the dash padding is soft and inviting. Ralph Gilles of Chrysler says that no one touches the top dash, only the glove box, so they don’t use premium plastic there. I disagree as I touch the top of the dash all the time. In any case, the only downside of the trim is that it seems to mar easily. My son has already scratched the center console in several places. Speaking of the center console, there is no power port or audio hookup located in there. The deep cave would be a great place to stash your goodies, but there is no place to charge them. The excuse is that the console is moveable, but that’s not holding any water with me. The sunglass holder is placed where the driver’s assist handle should be. This location isn’t very handy and a tough reach for the wife. Honda has figured out how to house a convex “conversation mirror” and a sunglass holder in one unit. Why can’t Toyota do the same?

Mileage for such a large bus is what you might expect: no so great. If you stay on the highway, you can run an average of 21mpg. However, in day to day use with a lot of stop and go driving in town, the wife is averaging around 16mpg. The typical fill up is now running $70.

Overall, we are quite pleased with the van. I know it sounds like I have a lot of complaints, but to be honest the van does most things just fine--I'm just trying to perfect it. Since we spend a lot of time on the road, it made sense to me to buy a top of the line model So far, I haven't regretted the decision.

HITS: Navigation/Backup Camera, power doors, roll down sliding door windows, split folding rear seat.

MISSES: Lifeless steering. So-so brakes. Older in-car electronics.

WANTED: Pre-Collision avoidance, Blind Spot Monitoring, Cooled front seats, Hard Drive based entertainment system, LED brake lights, Amber colored rear turn signals, Active front headrests, Diesel or hybrid option