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I have an '05 Sienna. At 7 this morning, it was making a knocking noise when I went to leave for work. It had been off since about 9:30 last night. Clicked unlock on the remote and nothing happened. Had to unlock it with the key. Internal unlock button does nothing as well. Turning the key, it acts like the battery is low, i.e. dashboard lights come on but are dim and the car won't crank. The knocking noise is louder inside the car than it is outside. Disconnecting the battery stops the noise, but it starts again as soon as I reconnect the battery. The sound seems to be coming from the back passenger sliding door, but since there is no way to unlock it, I can't even open it to look for any issues there.

Here is a (not great quality) video: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.camp.77/videos/10206960190140779/?pnref=story

Any suggestions?

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  • Does the car have power sliding doors? If so there should be a switch that toggles power to the doors. Try turning it off. I'd suspect that the motor that pulls the door shut is stripped.
    – Ben
    Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 23:07
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    It does kind of sound like maybe a motor / solenoid / actuator of some kind on the door (or its lock) has been running nonstop and run down the battery. I would find the fuse for the door mechanism and pull it, and see if that stops the noise. If so, then try to jump start the car or otherwise recharge the battery, then investigate the problem further.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 23:08
  • It sounds like the shutting mechanism for the door is not quite getting the door closed, or maybe the switch which tells the door closer to do its thing is broke. As @NateEldredge says, get the battery recharged completely and investigate further. Once it's recharged, try to open and close the door from the side the noise is coming from (assuming it has two passenger doors ... also assuming it has automatic sliding doors). I'm just wondering if that action alone will solve the issue.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 23:13
  • "Internal unlock button" - does that mean the power locks? There should be a mechanical lock/unlock on the door itself as well, have you tried that?
    – Nate Eldredge
    Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 23:17
  • @Ben yes, but there is no way to unlock the door.
    – Kevin
    Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 23:23

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It sounds like the shutting mechanism for the door is not quite getting the door closed, or maybe the switch which tells the door closer to do its thing is broke. As @NateEldredge says, get the battery recharged completely and investigate further. Once it's recharged, try to open and close the door from the side the noise is coming from (assuming it has two passenger doors ... also assuming it has automatic sliding doors). I'm just wondering if that action alone will solve the issue.

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