I know there are many posts on power sliding door problem, door lock problem but one thing I really want to udnerstand is how they supposed to work in the 1st place.

Power Sliding door:
1) use keyfod to open and close door by pressing the button twice
2) inside the van, use the over head console to open the sliding doors (doesn't matter it is On or OFF)
So what does the on/off button mean? I think it means when ON, the side button near the middle row "work"
3) Here is the part I am not sure: if the overhead console set to ON, can you open the power door from inside by pulling the door handle (not the button)
4) What about from outside? if the overhead console set to ON, can you pull the outside handle, let go and assume the door will open by itself?

If only 3, 4 are not working, what is the problem?

Power Lift gate
1) use keyfod to open and close door by pressing the button twice
2) inside the van, use the over head console to open the lift gate (doesn't matter it is On or OFF)
Again, So what does the on/off button mean? I am not sure for the power lift gate
3) Here is the part I am not sure: if the overhead console set to ON, can you open the power lift gate by pressing the latch outside
I heard some motor noise but the lift gate didn't open (does unlatch) but then when I press it again, it locked itself.
What's the problem here?

thanks

 

Bingo! The on/off toggle overhead enables/disables the POWER buttons in the middle.

Yes but it isn't power. You are just sliding it open manually.

No, from the outside, the handle is manual ONLY. You can only open it with power from the outside with the remote.


No problem. Working as intended.


Doesn't affect lift gate operation. On/off button is only intended to stop little back-seat fingers from opening the doors when you don't want them to.

Outside latch is, once again, manual lift only. You can also only operate the power lift gate from the outside with the remote.

No problem at all. Motor releases the latch and allows you to pull door up manually. If you only press the latch and then don't lift the gate, the motor will engage again to re-latch the gate.

 

thanks for the info.
Now I got answer from most of the questions. One feedback I want to make is on our 04 Sienna, anyone from the outside can open the sliding door by pulling the handle then the door will open automatically (unless you disable the power on/off inside the car). Not sure why T&C only provide manual openning by using the handle from the outside.

I also found it hard to open the door manually, tried it a couple times and I ended up open the door, then press the inside power door button to have it open all the way. I guess I am getting too old

 

I think your Sienna is like that because there is no manual door open feature. You can ONLY open it with power.


The t&c's door should not be hard to slide manually. If it is, the clutch on the motor might not be disengaging.