2002 TOYOTA SEQUOIA Complaints

MY VEHICLE FRAME WAS REPLACED BY TOYOTA DUE TO A RECALL. WHEN I GOT THE CAR BACK, I NOTICED A WHINING SOUND, BUT DID NOT THINK MUCH OF IT SINCE THE MECHANIC SAID IT MIGHT TAKE A MONTH FOR THE FRAME TO SETTLE. I RETURNED ONE MONTH LATER TO HAVE THE WHINING SOUND CHECKED AND WAS TOLD THE POWER STEERING LINES WERE RUSTED AND NEEDED REPLACED AT THE COST ODF$ 750. TOYOTA ASSURED ME THAT THE SEQUOIA SHOULD LAST A LONG TIME!!! I NO LONGER FEEL SAFE DRIVING THIS VEHICLE. I WONDER IF THE RUSTED POWER STEERING LINES ARE PART OF THE RUSTED FRAME RECALL. I HAVE REALLY LOVED MY SEQUOIA, BUT I DO NOT WANT TO PAY FOR ANY MORE REPAIRS!!!! PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF OTHERS(EITHER THE TOYOTA TRUCK FRAME OR SEQUOIA FRAME), HAVE HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM. *TR

I OWN A 2002 TOYOTA SEQUOIA, SR5, 4WD. I HAVE THE SAME SAFETY ISSUE THAT WAS FIXED WITH THE RECALL (4/28/2010) FOR THE 2003 SEQUOIA VSC SYSTEM. I AM AFRAID TO PULL OUT INTO TRAFFIC AT STOP SIGNS ON SLIPPERY ROADS. THE VSC SYSTEM REACTS AND THE TRUCK WILL NOT MOVE BECAUSE I CANNOT ACCELERATE. AT TIMES I AM IN AN INTERSECTION AND THE VEHICLE WILL NOT MOVE. *TR

MY WIFE AND I WERE ON THE WAY SOUTH I-405 FROM WORK TO GO TO THE CHURCH. I MADE EXIT AT FAIRVIEW, AND THEN LEFT ON BAKER STREET. I FELT THE STEERING WHEEL WAS VERY HEAVY AND UNCONTROLLABLE. THE CAR CRASHED. THERE WAS NO OTHER CAR INVOLVED. MY BREAST AND HEAD ARE IN PAIN RIGHT NOW. *TR

TRAVELING HOME AT NORMAL SPEED THE VSC/TRAC LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE VEHICLE BEGAN VIBRATING AND MAKING A GRINDING NOISE. AFTER STOPPING ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, I TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND ON TO POSSIBLY RESET THE VSC/TRAC. IT SEEMED TO WORK BRIEFLY BUT IT STARTED TO DO IT AGAIN. WE ATTEMPTED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE STORE AND THE PROBLEM STARTED AGAIN. WE NOTED AUDIBLE ALERTS AND THE VSC/TRAC LIGHTS ILLUMINATING, GRINDING FROM WHAT SEEMED TO BE THE PASSENGER SIDE FRONT TIRE. HE HAD TO PULL OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD; HOWEVER, FOUND IT DIFFICULT TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. THE SPEED WAS ESTIMATED AT 35-40 MPH, DRY CONDITIONS WITH NO OBVIOUS ROAD CONDITIONS OR ISSUES. THIS PROBLEM HAD BEEN NOTED SEVERAL TIME RANDOMLY OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, BUT HAS SEEMINGLY BEEN RESOLVED BY TURNING THE VEHICLE OFF AND BACK ON. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT THE ISSUE HAS PERSISTED, AND THE INCREASED DIFFICULTY IN STEERING. *TR

MY VEHICLE WAS RECALLED FOR FRAME ROT. TOYOTA WOULD NOT BUY THE VEHICLE BACK. INSTEAD THEY SPENT $11,000.00 +/- REPAIRING THE VEHICLE AND GIVING IT BACK TO ME. THE RECALL WAS FOR ALL OF THE NORTHEAST AND UPPER MIDWEST. SAND AND SALT USE ON THE ROADS CAUSES THE FRAMES TO ROT AND MAKE THE VEHICLE UNSAFE TO DRIVE. I WANT TOYOTA BE FORCED TO BUY THE VEHICLES BACK INSTEAD OF REPAIRING THEM. I KNOW MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP HAS DONE OVER A DOZEN RECALLS. *TR

THIS VEHICLE HAS A RUSTED FRAME WHICH TOYOTA WILL REPLACE. THEY WILL NOT REPLACE WITHOUT CUSTOMER COST SEVERAL PARTS AFFECTED BY THE FRAME REPLACEMENT. THIS IS THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS REQUIRED BY THE CUSTOMER THAT OTHERWISE WOULD NOT BE REQUIRED. I WANT TOYOTA TO PAY FOR THE FRAME AND THE OTHER REQUIRED PARTS. *TR

I HAVE BEEN A LOYAL TOYOTA OWNER AND HAD 7 TOYOTAS SO FAR FROM A 1990 WHITE COROLLA, 1996 WHITE LAND CRUISER, 2007 WHITE RAV4. I CURRENTLY OWN A 2010 WHITE PRIUS, A 2006 WHITE VENZA, A 2005 SILVER PRIUS, AND THIS 2002 BLACK SEQUOIA LIMITED. AFTER SPENDING ALMOST $1500 TO ELIMINATE THE SHAKE @65 MPH FROM A SET OF NEW TIRES, 1MAGS THAT IS WARPED, AND ALIGNMENT TO NO AVAIL, I RESEARCH THIS SITE AND FOUND OUT THAT THE EXTENSIVE FRAME RUST THAT I JUST PAID MY MECHANIC OVER $500 TO CHIP AND 3M RUSTPROOFED IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE IN THIS CAR. INITIALLY, I FOUND A 3"X1" HOLE IN THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE FRAME AND UPON MY INVESTIGATION I WAS ABLE TO RETRIEVE A 2"X1" RUSTED PIECE OF METAL INSIDE THE FRAME. LOOKS LIKE THEY FORGOT TO PUT A DRAIN OR TOYOTA USED A SUB-PAR FRAME. WHEN MY MECHANIC LIFTED THE CAR, HE SHOWED ME AN EXTENSIVE RUST ALL OVER THE UNDERSIDE OF THE VEHICLE. IT REALLY GAVE ME CHILLS SEEING ALL THE PARTS RUSTED AND AFFECTED AND FELT UNSAFE DRIVING THE CAR. WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND IS IF THEY RECALLED THE SIMILAR FRAMED TUNDRA NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 09V444000, WHY DIDN'T THEY INCLUDED THE SEQUOIA? SEQUOIA SHOULD HAVE HIGHER PRIORITY SINCE IT CARRIES UP TO EIGHT PASSENGERS AND A MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE CAR. I THOUGHT TOYOTA CARES AND SEQUOIA IS SPECIALLY MADE TO HAUL FAMILIES...I TOOK IT TO INTERSTATE TOYOTA WHERE IT WAS PURCHASED AND SERVICED ALL IT'S LIFE AND DON THE MANAGER TOLD ME THAT THERE WILL BE A RECALL COMING SOON. HE TOLD ME THAT THEY WILL ORDER THE FRAME AND TO CALL AFTER 2 WEEKS. I JUST CALLED YESTERDAY AND HE TOLD ME THAT IT HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED YET BY CORPORATE. I'M ASKING EVERYONE WITH SIMILAR SEQUOIA TO CHECK THE FRAMES AND FILE YOUR COMPLAINTS HERE TO SPEED UP THE PROCESS. TOYOTA, PLEASE RESTORE MY WANING LOYALTY TO YOUR COMPANY AND RESTORE MY TRUST IN MY SEQUOIA FOR MY FAMILY'S SAFETY. I'M SCARED TO DRIVE IT UNTIL IT IS FIXED! HELP! *TR

WHILE TRAVELING HOME AT NORMAL SPEED THE VSC/TRAC LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE VEHICLE BEGAN VIBRATING AND MAKING A GRINDING NOISE. AFTER STOPPING ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, I CALLED MY HUSBAND AND WAS TOLD TO TURN THE VEHICLE OFF AND ON TO POSSIBLY RESET THE VSC/TRAC. IT SEEMED TO WORK BRIEFLY BUT IT STARTED TO DO IT AGAIN. AFTER MAKING IT HOME, MY HUSBAND DROVE THE VEHICLE INITIALLY WITHOUT ANY ISSUES. HOWEVER, HE ATTEMPTED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE STORE AND THE PROBLEM STARTED AGAIN. HE NOTED AUDIBLE ALERTS AND THE VSC/TRAC LIGHTS ILLUMINATING, GRINDING FROM WHAT SEEMED TO BE THE PASSENGER SIDE FRONT TIRE. HE HAD TO PULL OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD; HOWEVER, FOUND IT DIFFICULT TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. THE SPEED WAS ESTIMATED AT 35-40 MPH, DRY CONDITIONS WITH NO OBVIOUS ROAD CONDITIONS OR ISSUES. SMOKE WAS OBSERVED COMING FROM THE PASSENGER FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. THIS PROBLEM HAD BEEN NOTED SEVERAL TIME RANDOMLY OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, BUT HAS SEEMINGLY BEEN RESOLVED BY TURNING THE VEHICLE OFF AND BACK ON. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT THE ISSUE HAS PERSISTED, AND THE INCREASED DIFFICULTY IN STEERING. *TR

OVER A YEAR AND A HALF AGO MY HUSBAND NOTICED RUST DEVELOPING ON THE FRAME OF HIS VEHICLE. HE REPEATEDLY MENTIONED THIS TO THE DEALERSHIP, WHOSE RESPONSE WAS THERE ARE NO RECALLS SO YOU SHOULD BE OK. IN DECEMBER DURING THE VEHICLE'S MAINTENANCE THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED MY HUSBAND THAT THE FRAME WAS RUSTING OUT. THERE WAS NO PROPOSED SOLUTION OTHER THAN TO SCRAP THE THING. TWO WEEKS LATER WE RECEIVED A LETTER FROM TOYOTA STATING THAT THEY WERE CONDUCTING RESEARCH REGARDING FRAMES RUSTING OUT ON LIKE VEHICLE. WE WERE INSTRUCTED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR INSPECTION AND POSSIBLE FRAME PATCHING OR REPLACEMENT. THE DEALERSHIP RECEIVED THE OK TO REPLACE THE FRAME. HOWEVER MULTIPLE PARTS AROUND THE FRAME ARE ALSO RUSTED OUT. THE COST FOR COMPLETE REPAIR INCLUDING THE FRAME IS 15K. WE WERE TOLD THAT WE WOULD NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COST OF THE FRAME REPLACEMENT, HOWEVER WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR EVERYTHING ELSE, AROUND 10K. IT WOULD SEEM IF THE FRAME HAS A KNOWN RUST ISSUE, OTHER PARTS ON THE VEHICLE WOULD HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. WHY WOULD THE COMPANY NOT BE RESPONSIBLE TO PAY THE TOTAL COST OF THE REPAIR. WE HAVE CONTACTED TOYOTA AND ARE WAITING TO TALK TO A CASE MANAGER. *TR

VEHICLE SKID CONTROL SIMPLY ENGAGES AT NORMAL SPEEDS AND NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS. HARD GRINDING, PULLING TO THE RIGHT OR LEFT AND ALMOST NO BRAKING. YES, THEY RECALLED 2003 TO 05 BUT NOT 2002? WHY? IT'S THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. SOMEONE WILL BE INJURED AT SOME POINT AND IN FACT, THERE ARE SOME ACCOUNTS OF INJURY. IN MY FAMILY'S CASE, THIS HAS HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 8 TIMES SINCE WE PURCHASED THIS FROM A PRIVATE DEALER AND AFTER WE HAD A CERTIFIED MECHANIC CHECK IT OUT. THIS IS ON TOYOTA. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS. THIS IS TOTAL NEGLIGENCE AND DISREGARD FOR INDIVIDUAL SAFETY. *TR