Slide door on Toyota Estima hard to open - Previa Toyota Cars & Trucks

SOURCE: 2005 Toyota Sienna sliding door problem

You have a sticking fuel door lock-device. Look to see if the tab is in the down position.

SOURCE: could not open driver side manual sliding door in my 2003 Sienna

need to remove inner panel.. be careful not to break panel... ck latch seems broken.. o

SOURCE: 2000 Toyota Sienna Sliding Door Latches Stick - Safety Hazard

clean and lubricate door sliding mechanism and locks with silicone spray lubricant, clean all door seals and jambs 

SOURCE: the sliding door on my 2004 toyota sienna won't close

Try this.....Find the latch on the door, stick your finger in the hole, lift up and pull the door handle at the same time, the inside latch mechanism should go up, then try the door again. It would be nice if that's all it was huh? Sometimes they stick when they get too cold. If this works for you....spray it with some WD-40 or graphite. Hope this worked for you. Cheaper than the 2000.00 motor!

Bryon

SOURCE: 2004 Toyota Sienna power slide door won't open all the way

The suggested fix above did fix my problem. The problem is that a 2.5" hinged finger that pops up from the floor of the door opening to block the door. Apparently, the finger should, but doesnt go back down after the gas flap is closed. Even after I got hinged finger down (so that the sliding door would open/close all the way), it still would not go back down after the gas flap has been opened. i.e. I have to push the finger back down every time after we fill up with gas. It looks like there is a little wire/spring that should pull the finger back down, but it is off of the finger. I think that replacing this back on the finger should fix the problem permanently.