Minivan Automatic Doors

[dooleysm]

We've got 2 kids now (22 months and 3 months) and are hoping for more in the future. My wife has decided we need a minivan and we've been looking around at used ones (being fairly hand and fairly cheap in nature, we've been looking at 4-5 years old with 60k-90k miles).

We looked at a Chevy Venture last night that had the automatic open/close doors. I'm wondering if anyone has experience with these, as in how long do they last, how durable are they, what it takes to replace them if they wear out, etc.

Anything else we should be looking for or looking to avoid in the world of minivans.

 

[NSTractor guy]

Congrats on the new baby.

We have a Honda van with the power side doors and when the work they are handy, but when they don't they are a pain in the #I&^&*^$ to fix and expensive. The only reason I have them is because I bought the van used and it was a good deal.

My thing with cars is the more stuff it has the more to break, so I try to keep it as simple as possible.

Good luck with your choice.

NSTractor guy

 

[dooleysm]

That's exactly my feelings, I'd like to have the most stripped down version possible of any car I own. When you buy used though, you don't get to make those kinds of choices.

I was wondering if those doors are prone to breaking. Can you use the doors at all if the auto open/close motor breaks? Is there some kind of disconnect?

I guess it's along the lines of automatic windows. They are great to have, and rarely break (at least in my experience), but when they do break, you have to take apart the door and replace plastic gears to fix them, and you can't open/close the window once they break.

 

[Tom_H]

We've had a Plymouth Gr. Voyager and a Dodge Gr. Caravan without the power doors. Both those vehicles were endlessly in the shop, and closing the sliding door took a lot of pushing.

In Jan. we bought a 1 y.o. Sienna with 2 sliding doors. The right one has power (which can be turned on or off), the left door has no power. The irony is that you can close either door with just a little pinky pressure. My last Toyota, an '83 Tercel, had 248k mi., was almost never in the shop, and I sold it because the wife felt so strongly about it not having air bags. My current Corolla is never in the shop either. So far, the Sienna has not had even a hint of a problem. My experience with Toyotas has been very good. Go to http://www.cars.com and enter all of your search criteria. This is how we located the Sienna. It's a great tool for locating what you want in a used car.

 

[KubotaSteve]

My parents bought a Olds Silhouette with the auto sliding door as the number of their grandchildren grew. It is really nice especially if you are carrying a baby and have a 4 year old walking with you. Push the clicker and the door slides open. In around 80,000 miles they had a small issue with theirs, but they could still use it manually. When they first got it dad's concern was the pressure of the door going shut and if it could hurt a child, so he stuck his arm in it while it was closing. It didn't even pinch him or hurt, just reversed it's path. If I was in the market I would get one. It is just like any other upgrade on a car like 4 wheel drive or temp. control (they can be pricey to fix but are nice to have).

 

[Bird]

We don't have the power sliding doors, but we bought our 2001 Ford Windstar SE Sport on 12/26/02 with 27k miles on it from Carmax. It now has over 88k miles on it, and while it doesn't have the power sliding doors, it's got nearly everything else, power & remote door locks including the keypad on the door, power mirrors and driver's seat, CD and cassette player with the clock/radio, cruise control, tilt wheel, front and rear air, etc. I just put a whole new set of tires on it because we have no intention of replacing it in the foreseeable future; couldn't be happier with a vehicle.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

First, congratulation on your children, you've got to be busy with them that close and that young.

We have a Pontiac Montana which is the same as the Chevy Venture, a 2002, with dual electric doors. At the time we had three kids, the oldest 24 months, and we quickly found the electric doors indispensable. At the time of purchase I was skeptical, thinking it was just another thing to break, but a few months later I found myself loading the kids into another minivan and thinking that the manual doors on it were positively barbaric -- how could anyone live this way!

The only problem I have had is that the door will stop working if something gets in the track that the door slides in. This happens several times a year -- usually when it's raining, the kids are crying, and you were supposed to be somewhere half an hour ago -- and it's very frustrating. Most often what happens is one of the seatbelts falls into the track, which is a minor design flaw that the seatbelts don't retract fully without a little coaxing. But you learn to flip the seatbelt up before closing the door. Mostly...

When the door gets stuck, it's usually in an almost-closed position. In this position, a sensor thinks the door is open, so you can't open it using the motor or the handle. What you have to do is lean on the door to get the sensor to think it's closed, and then it will open. I've never had to take it to a dealer.

 

[LMTC]

2006 Sienna, bought after much researching and looking. R sliding door is auto, L is not....so we could always use the L if the motor failed. We like it....no small kids, but convenient for passengers and groceries, The Sienna handles very well, and has far more acceleration than I expected. After 16k miles our average is 23.6mpg. We looked seriously at an Odyssey, semi-seriously at the Nissan (Quest?) and not at all at others based on consumer reports repair records. I personally moved from a 94 LeSabre (which needed more repairs than I was willing to pay for) to this Minivan and am quite comfy (I am double XXL and then some). My wife was driving a 2003 4wd F150, and she is comfortable with the minivan too. We consolidated to the Sienna after I "retired". Still have a 4wd truck available that belongs to the business.

I would not miss the power sliding door terribly, as the other closes very easily, but it is convenient. I think the handling and acceleration impress more than anything else....far better than I expected from a minivan.

 

[ronjhall]

Had a 2001 Venture with a power sliding door. Never had a problem with it. sold it in 2005 for a 2003 Montana with the same door. Only problem I have had is with the contacts. They have to be cleaned about 2 times a year. With kids the door will get used much more than mine do. Oldest son with 3 kids beat the doors off their last minivan from kids opening and closing them.

 

[Bird]

Someone refresh my memory. Awhile back one of our members started a thread after his wife let her hand slip off the sliding door as she was closing it and it cut off a finger. Who was it? Or where is that thread? I know she had quite a rough time and I'm wondering whether it finally healed OK.