Symptom explainer · every vehicle on the site
Sliding door won't open, close or latch
Most reported: 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan with 394 reports. Across the 30 model years on this site with at least five, owners filed 1,371.
- 1,371owner reports
- 30model years affected
- 58,000median miles
- 7involved a crash
- 0involved a fire
Owners in this group describe a minivan or van sliding door that won't open, won't close all the way, or won't unlock, usually with a buzz or a grind from inside the door. A smaller share say the door kept closing on a hand or a child.
Which cars report it most · By model · When it happens · What it is and what to do
The 25 vehicles with the most reports
Each row is one model year. The bar is its count of sliding door failure reports; the share is how much of that car's complaint file this problem takes up. Bigger sellers draw more reports, so read the share alongside the count. Red dots mark crashes and fires in these reports; amber marks a recall on the same system.
- 139439% of its complaints60k mi
- 216139% of its complaints67k mi
- 32016 Chrysler Town & Country1 crash13826% of its complaints60k mi
- 411241% of its complaints56k mi
- 5616% of its complaints27k mi
- 65422% of its complaints72k mi
- 7465% of its complaints74k mi
- 8443% of its complaints28k mi
- 9427% of its complaints86k mi
- 103312% of its complaints78k mi
- 112015 Toyota Sienna1 crashrecall3214% of its complaints30k mi
- 122016 Kia Sedona1 crashrecall289% of its complaints70k mi
- 132014 Toyota Siennarecall2617% of its complaints66k mi
- 142022 Kia Carnivalrecall2619% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 152018 Chrysler Pacifica2 crashes223% of its complaints24k mi
- 16206% of its complaints77k mi
- 172016 Honda Odyssey1 crash176% of its complaints38k mi
- 18154% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 19143% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 202015 Kia Sedonarecall129% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 212017 Kia Sedonarecall129% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 222015 Honda Odyssey1 crash115% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 2393% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 2486% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 2575% of its complaintsfew mileages
Where it dominates the complaint file
Model years with at least 25 reports, ranked by the share of all their complaints that describe sliding door failure. That takes most of the sales-volume effect out (small sellers still swing more).
- 111241% of its complaints56k mi
- 239439% of its complaints60k mi
- 316139% of its complaints67k mi
- 42016 Chrysler Town & Country1 crash13826% of its complaints60k mi
- 55422% of its complaints72k mi
- 62022 Kia Carnivalrecall2619% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 72014 Toyota Siennarecall2617% of its complaints66k mi
- 82015 Toyota Sienna1 crashrecall3214% of its complaints30k mi
- 93312% of its complaints78k mi
- 102016 Kia Sedona1 crashrecall289% of its complaints70k mi
By model, every year together
The 8 models with the most reports. Each chip is a model year; the darker chip is its worst year.
When it happens
715 of the 1,371 reports state a mileage. The middle half fall between 40,000 and 77,000 miles; the median is 58,000. Each column is a 20,000-mile band.
Reports by model year
Every report of sliding door failure, grouped by the model year of the car. 7 involved a crash and 0 a fire. 45 people were hurt.
What owners describe
Share of the 1,371 reports that use each phrase. One report can use several.
What got replaced
Reports that name the part, across every vehicle.
What it is and what to do
About 1,400 complaints on this site fit, and one vehicle year, the 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan, supplies nearly three in ten of them. Other Grand Caravan years, the Chrysler Town and Country and the Honda Odyssey fill out most of the top of the list. About four in ten say the door won't open, about one in five mentions a buzzing, grinding or clicking noise, and about one in five names the actuator. The median is about 58,000 miles among the reports that give one. About one in six talks about a child, a finger, a pinch or something in the way of the door.
A door that won't open in an emergency is what puts this close to a safety issue. In PE21-016, NHTSA looked at 364 complaints about 2016 Grand Caravans and Town and Country minivans whose sliding doors couldn't be opened with the handle or the remote. Many owners said they had to get rear passengers out through the front doors, a window or the hatch. The investigation closed in 2022, and it notes that FCA told dealers to replace the door lock actuator rather than the whole latch assembly. FCA also extended the warranty on the sliding door lock actuators to 15 years or 150,000 miles from the in-service date for vans built from May 1, 2015 through January 9, 2017, and said it would pay back owners who'd already paid for the repair.
Recalls cover different faults, so match yours to the campaign. Toyota's 16V858 covers Siennas whose power sliding door can't be opened when commanded, such as when it's frozen. The others:
- Won't reverse on an obstruction: 18V338 (2015 to 2018 Kia Sedona, fix is a software reprogram) and 23V236 (2022 and some 2023 Kia Carnivals, a control module update after PE22-004 looked at arm and hand injuries).
- Won't latch or won't open: 18V795 (2018 and 2019 Honda Odyssey, power sliding door rear latches that may stick) and 20V437 (2018 to 2020 Odyssey, outer handle cables that can freeze in cold weather).
If the door won't open, don't force it with passengers inside. Get them out another way and have it looked at before the next trip. If it won't latch, don't drive with anyone in that row.
Tell the shop which side is affected, whether the fault is power only or the handle fails too, whether it happens in the cold, and what sound it makes. Run the VIN through NHTSA's recall lookup. Recall repairs are free. If the car is inside its warranty, get the visit on a repair order, because the FTC says a defect reported during the warranty period must be fixed even if the warranty expires before the repair.
Sources
- NHTSA investigation PE21-016, sliding doors inoperative, 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country (NHTSA investigation file)
- NHTSA investigation PE22-004, power sliding door auto reverse failure, 2022 Kia Carnival (NHTSA investigation file)
- NHTSA recall 18V-338, Kia Sedona power sliding door
- NHTSA recall 23V-236, Kia Carnival power sliding doors
- NHTSA recall 18V-795, Honda Odyssey power sliding door latch
- NHTSA recall 20V-437, Honda Odyssey sliding door handle cables
- NHTSA recall 16V-858, Toyota Sienna power sliding door
- Check for recalls, NHTSA
- Warranties, FTC Consumer Advice
- Complaint counts, mileages and phrase shares: NHTSA complaint files as tallied on this site
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints on the 1,043 vehicle model years that have a page here, grouped by the word patterns described on the method page. A vehicle needs five matching reports to be counted in this ranking. Checked Sep 29, 2026. All problem explainers.