2003 TOYOTA SEQUOIA Complaints

THERE IS AN EXTREME AMOUNT OF RUST ON THE FRAME OF MY WIFE'S 2003 SEQUOIA. THE RUST IS JUST FLAKING OFF IN HUGE CHUNKS WHICH IS MORE THAN JUST THE UNDER COAT OF PAINT, ITS ACTUAL CHUNKS OF DISINTEGRATED/CORRODED METAL. I CAN NOT BELIEVE THE TUNDRA FRAMES WHICH WERE PRODUCED ON THE SAME MANUFACTURING LINE AND USED THE SAME METAL AS THE SEQUOIA WERE RECALLED BUT THE SEQUOIA'S ARE NOT. MOST OF THE FRAME DAMAGE SEEMS TO BE ISOLATED TO THE REAR OF THE CAR. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA SEQUOIA. WHILE TRAVELING 20 MPH THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE AND NOTICED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESPOND. OCCASIONALLY, THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE WOULD RESET WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 85000 AND THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 84,000.

I JUST PURCHASED AN 03 TOYOTA SEQUOIA AND WAS UNAWARE OF A PROBLEM THAT IS VERY KNOWN BY MANY SEQUOIA OWNERS. I WAS LET KNOWN ABOUT THE SEVERE UNDERCARRIAGE RUST PROBLEM THESE TRUCKS HAVE BY SOMEONE AT A GAS STATION WHO OWNED ONE AND HAD TO GET RID OF THERE'S BECAUSE THEY WERE SCARED FOR THE SAFETY OF THERE FAMILY WHILE DRIVING THE TRUCK. WHEN I LOOKED AT MY TRUCKS UNDERCARRIAGE I COULD NOT BELIEVE THE AMOUNT OF RUST THAT I SAW. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND SAW SOME OF THE PICTURES OF OTHER SEQUOIA OWNERS AND WAS SHOCKED AT WHAT I SAW. ANOTHER THING THAT SHOCKED ME WAS THAT PEOPLE WERE SAYING THAT WHEN THEY WENT BACK TO TOYOTA AND TOLD THEM OF THE PROBLEM THEY SAID THAT THERE'S NOTHING THAT THEY CAN DO. UNTIL SOMEONE GETS KILLED! THERE ARE QUIT A BIT OF IMPORTANT COMPONENTS THAT ARE RUSTING UNDER MY TRUCK. THE REAR AXEL, ALL THE BOLTS ARE COMPLETELY COVERED IN RUST. TRANSMISSION MOUNTS, SUSPENSION PARTS. I BOUGHT THIS TRUCK THINKING IT WAS A SAFE AND RELIABLE TRUCK. I HOPE THIS MATTER WILL BE INVESTIGATED AS TO WHY ALL OF THESE TRUCKS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS. *TR

CONTINUOUS PROBLEMS WITH ABS VSC CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS. THESE LIGHTS HAVE GONE ON SEVERAL TIMES THROUGH THE LAST 9 YEARS, 90,000 MILES. WE HAVE BROUGHT THIS VEHICLE TO TOYOTA DEALERS AS WELL AS MECHANICS MANY TIMES. WE HAVE REPLACED THE YAW RATE SENSOR, OXYGEN SENSOR AND WERE QUOTED A PRICE OF 2500 TO REPLACE ANOTHER SENSOR/COMPUTER. OTHER TIMES THEY CANNOT READ THE CODES IN ORDER TO MAKE A DIAGNOSIS. A FEW MONTHS LATER THE LIGHTS ARE BACK ON. MANY OTHER 03 SEQUOIA OWNERS HAVE HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS. WE FEEL THAT THERE IS A MAJOR DEFECT IN THESE SEQUOIAS THAT TOYOTA HAS NOT TAKEN RESPONSIBILITY FOR. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE/CONCERN.THEY PREFER TO TELL US THE VEHICLE IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY ANYMORE. *TR

THE FRAME ON MY VEHICLE CRACKED, AND THIS CAUSED THE TOP OF THE STRUT TO COME UP THROUGH THE FLOORBOARD. THE TOYOTA DEALER, BODY SHOP, AND INDEPENDENT INSURANCE APPRAISER SAY THAT THIS WAS NOT CAUSED BY AN ACCIDENT OR OTHER IMPACT. THEY SAID THE FRAME HAD METAL FATIGUE AND SIMPLY FAILED. THIS POSES A SERIOUS HAZARD IF A LIGHTLY DRIVEN VEHICLE SUCH AS MINE, WELL-CARED FOR AND DRIVEN IN A SUBURBAN SETTING, THE FRAME WOULD CRACK IN 8 YEARS. I SAW ONLINE THAT THERE WAS A FRAME RECALL FOR 2001-2003 TUNDRAS AND SEQUOIAS (WHICH SHARE THE SAME FRAME). THE RECALL WAS FOR ONLY 18 STATES WHERE THERE IS HEAVY SNOW, CAUSING THE FRAMES TO RUST THROUGH. TOYOTA WAS FORCED TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE FRAME. I BELIEVE THAT THE FRAMES WERE FAULTY FROM A MANUFACTURING DEFECT FOR THIS TO OCCUR. I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THIS INFORMATION AS IT MAY BE PART OF A MORE WIDE-SPREAD PROBLEM THAT TOYOTA IS NOT TELLING ANYONE ABOUT. *TR

TOYOTA SEQUOIA (2003): JANUARY 2012 WE ATTEMPTED TO HAVE OUR 2003 TOYOTA SEQUOIA WITH 75,000 MILES INSPECTED HERE IN MAINE. IT FAILED DUE TO HOLES IN FRAME. AMAZING ISSUE IS THE BODY HAS NO RUST AT ALL! NONE, YET THE FRAME IS SWISS CHEESE. OUR WINTERS ARE HARSH, AND SO IS THE SALT OUR STATE DUMPS ON THE ROADS, HOWEVER, I JUST RETIRED MY 1990 TOYOTA P/U IN 2010 WITH 220,000 MILES DUE TO RUST (20 YEARS), AND WE TRADED OUR 1992 TOYOTA PRIVIA VAN IN 2009 WITH 225,000 MI. FOR A VEHICLE WITH DOUBLE THE FUEL ECONOMY....AGAIN NO RUST ISSUE IN 17 YEARS. IT IS QUITE CLEAR TOYOTA DID NOT TREAT THE METAL ON THE FRAME PROPERLY OR USED INFERIOR MATERIALS TO BEGIN WITH. THE TOYOTA TACOMA AND TUNDRA OF THE SAME YEAR BOTH HAD MASSIVE RUSTING FRAME ISSUES WHICH HAVE HAD RECALLS FOR REPAIRS, RECOATING, AND EVEN ENTIRE VEHICLES PURCHASED BACK BY TOYOTA. THE SEQUOIA WITH PRACTICALLY THE SAME FRAME AS THE TUNDRA HAS NOT BEEN RECALLED TO DATE LIKELY DUE TO THE SMALLER NUMBERS OF SEQUOIAS SOLD MAKING THIS VEHICLES SAFETY NOT AS IMPORTANT TO TOYOTA AND THE NHTSA AS THE OTHERS. MY MAIN OBJECTION TO THIS THEORY IS I BELIEVE THE PEOPLE IN THESE VEHICLES ARE AS IMPORTANT AND DESERVE THE SAME TREATMENT AND RESOLUTION. CAUTION: YOUR TOYOTA SEQUOIA MAY BE VERY UNSAFE IF INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT WITH THIS CONDITION. *TR

ANTI SWAY BAR CANNOT BE CONNECTED BACK TO FRAME SINCE THE FRAME IS RUSTED. I WAS TOLD THAT IN ORDER TO FIX IT, I WOULD NEED MY ENTIRE FRAME REPLACED AND THAT NONE OF THIS WAS COVERED UNDER ANY WARRANTY OR RECALL. ESTIMATED COST OF REPAIR IS ESTIMATED TO BE AT LEAST $13,000. THE VEHICLE IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. SINCE THE SEQUOIA HAS THE SAME FRAME AS A TUNDRA, WHY ISN'T THE SEQUOIA FRAME RUST PROBLEM ALSO BEING RECALLED LIKE THE TUNDRA? *TR

DURING MY WORK COMMUTE THIS MORNING THE "VSC TRAC" AND "VSC OFF" LIGHTS CAME ON AT THE SAME TIME AND STAYED ON. *TR

THE UNDERCARRIAGE ON MY SEQUOIA HAS MUCH RUST. IT IS AN '03 THAT HAS BEEN GARAGE KEPT SINCE NEW. MY HUSBAND HAS AN '03 ACURA WITH ABSOLUTELY NO RUST... YET HAS FACED THE EXACT SAME CONDITIONS. I SAW THE RECALL FOR TUNDRA UNDERCARRIAGE RUST AND WONDERED WHY THE SEQUOIA (WHICH IS BASICALLY THE SAME FRAME) WASN'T INCLUDED. I'VE READ ABOUT MANY SEQUOIA'S THAT WON'T PASS INSPECTION DUE TO UNDERCARRIAGE RUST. *TR

REAR DIFFERENTIAL ROTTED TO THE POINT OF LEAKING. I HAVE SEEN MANY REPORTS OF THIS ONLINE, TOYOTA TUNDRAS AS WELL, WHICH HAVE THE SAME DIFFERENTIAL AND FRAME, ARE UNDER RECALL. *TR