2002 TOYOTA SEQUOIA Complaints

I OWN A 2002 TOYOTA SEQUOIA SR5 AND HAVE HAD A COUPLE NEAR ACCIDENTS IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS DUE TO A MAJOR MALFUNCTION WITH THE SKID CONTROL SENSOR AND BRAKING COMPUTER. THE FIRST INSTANCE WAS WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE AT 70+ MPH. THE SYMPTOMS ARE THAT THE BRAKES PULSATE FROM RIGHT TO LEFT REPEATEDLY, WHILE I'M NOT BRAKING. THE CAR SHAKES VIOLENTLY AND IS DIFFICULT TO KEEP UNDER CONTROL. I HAVE BEEN TO THE LOCAL VERO BEACH, FLORIDA TOYOTA DEALER AND THEY RECALIBRATED THE SYSTEM ABOUT A MONTH AGO. THE PROBLEM PERSISTS AND IS APPARENTLY A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE. THE SKID CONTROL ECU IS FAULTY AND SEEMS TO BE VERY COMMON ON CONSUMER CHAT FORUMS I'VE FOUND ONLINE. THE ESTIMATE I RECEIVED TODAY FROM TOYOTA WAS IN EXCESS OF $3,000 AND STILL DOESN'T GUARANTEE A PROPER REPAIR. IT SEEMS THAT THIS PROBLEM SHOULD HAVE BEEN A CAUSE FOR A RECALL YEARS AGO, BUT NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO DATE TO MY KNOWLEDGE. I'M CONCERNED FOR MY FAMILY'S SAFETY AND FELT THAT YOUR FIRM NEEDS TO BE MADE AWARE OF MY SITUATION AND MANY OTHER TOYOTA SEQUOIA OWNERS FROM WHAT I CAN TELL. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY ADVISE. *TR

IN JULY OF LAST YEAR, MY 2002 TOYOTA SEQUOIA EXPERIENCED CAR TROUBLE. THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED 3 MAJOR PROBLEMS. FIRST, THE REAR WINDOW ON THE BACK OF THE VEHICLE WOULD SUDDENLY OPEN ALL BY ITSELF. THIS SELF OPENING WOULD OCCUR AT NUMEROUS TIMES. THE WINDOW WOULD OPEN WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN, WHEN IT WAS STATIONARY OR EVEN WHILE IT WAS UNOCCUPIED. THE SCARIEST HOWEVER, WAS WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN. FORTUNATELY FOR ME AND MY FAMILY NO ONE WAS INJURED. THE SECOND MAJOR PROBLEM OCCURRED WITH THE DOOR LOCKS. THE LOCKS WOULD LOCK AND UNLOCK THEMSELVES REPEATEDLY WITHOUT ANYONE TOUCHING THEM. THIS LOCKING/UNLOCKING WOULD AGAIN TAKE PLACE WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN, STATIONARY OR EVEN UNOCCUPIED. THE LAST COMPLAINT IS THAT THE GAS GAUGE WILL DROP TO EMPTY WITHOUT ANY REASON SO THERE ARE MANY TIMES THAT I DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH GASOLINE I HAVE LEFT IN THE TANK. THIS TOO IS OCCURRING ON A RANDOM BASIS. IT'S LIKE THE VEHICLE IS HAUNTED. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A USED 2002 TOYOTA SEQUOIA SUV WHICH WAS PURCHASED IN 2005. HE STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD ACCELERATE UNINTENTIONALLY WHILE IN THE PARK POSITION. THE RPMS WOULD IDLE EXTREMELY HIGH AND THE VEHICLE WOULD ATTEMPT TO ACCELERATE. HE HAD TO DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL HARD ENOUGH TO PREVENT THE VEHICLE FROM MOVING FORWARD. THERE WERE NO RECALLS DESCRIBING THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS AWAITING REPAIRS. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 99,500.

DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY, MY CAR "COLLAPSED". I WAS ABLE TO GLIDE TO THE CENTER MEDIAN AND STOP. AFTER TOWING MY CAR TO THE DEALER, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE BALL JOINT FAILED (THE BALL JOINT HAD BEEN RECALLED). I DID NOT RECEIVE THE RECALL NOTICES. WHILE TOYOTA IS WILLING TO REPAIR THE RECALLED ITEM, THEY ARE NOT WILLING TO COVER THE COST OF THE RELATED DAMAGE WHICH WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED IF THE BALL JOINT DID NOT FAIL. AS AN OWNER OF 5 TOYOTAS, WE FEEL THAT TOYOTA SHOULD COVER THE SUBSEQUENT DAMAGE AND THE COST OF THE RENTAL CAR SINCE IT TOOK THEM OVER ONE MONTH TO CONTACT US WITH THEIR ANSWER. *TR

2002 SEQUOIA LIMITED. VSC OFF, VSC TRAC, ABS LIGHTS ON. VEHICLE MAKES CRUNCHING NOISE IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT (ABS / VSC) AND BRAKES ENGAGE WHILE TRYING TO ACCELERATE. CONTINUES FOR APPROX 5 SECONDS. UNABLE TO ACCELERATE. *TR

OUR VSC STARTED ACTING UP WHEN WE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE 2-1/2 YEARS AGO FROM CARMAX. AFTER OWNING IT FOR NOT MORE THAN 2 MONTHS THE VSC LIGHTS AND BRAKE LIGHT WOULD COME ON AND STAY ON UNTIL WE WOULD TURN THE VEHICLE OFF. THEN THE COMPUTER WOULD RESET ITSELF. THEN OUR BACK PASSENGER SIDE WHEEL BEARING WENT BAD AND WE HAD TOYOTA FIX THE WHEEL BEARING PROBLEM. TOYOTA STATED THAT AFTER THEY FIXED THE BEARING THE VSC COMPUTER WOULDN'T COMMUNICATE WITH THE WHEEL THAT WAS FIXED. THEY KNEW THE VSC COMPUTER WENT BAD AND TOLD US THEY WOULDN'T FIX IT FOR FREE. IT WOULD COST $900.00 TO FIX THE FAULTY VSC COMPUTER. WE NEEDED AN INSPECTION STICKER AND THEY PASSED THE VEHICLE WITH ALL THE VSC LIGHTS AND RED BRAKE LIGHT ON. THIS MEANS THAT THE VEHICLE IS VERY UNSTABLE TO DRIVE. OUR SON HAS LEUKEMIA SO WE HAVEN'T HAD THE MONEY TO FIX THE ISSUE AND THE VEHICLE NEEDS AN INSPECTION STICKER. THE LOCAL INSPECTION PLACE IN TEXAS SAID THAT THEY WILL NOT PASS THIS VEHICLE IF THE RED BRAKE LIGHT IS ON. TOYOTA KNOWS THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THIS VSC COMPUTER IN THIS 2002 TOYOTA SEQUOIA. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 TOYOTA SEQUOIA. WHENEVER THE CONTACT DRIVES THE VEHICLE HE NOTICED THAT THE SKID CONTROL WARNING LIGHT WOULD APPEAR ON THE DASHBOARD, MOMENTS LATER THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKING SYSTEM WOULD ACTIVATE CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO DE-ACCELERATE ON ITS OWN. THE CONTACT ALSO NOTICED THAT THE FAILURE WOULD NOT LAST MORE THAN 15 SECONDS BEFORE CORRECTING ITSELF. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED BY THE DEALER. THE CONTACT PREVIOUSLY NOTICED THAT THE VCS LIGHT WOULD APPEAR ON THE DASHBOARD. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 127,000. UPDATED 01/05/10 *BF THE DEALER DETERMINED AN AFTERMARKET WIRING HARNESS FOR THE T.V, DVD AND VCR WAS INCORRECTLY ROUTED THROUGH THE STEERING COLUMN AND ATTACHED TO THE VSC AND STEERING POSITION SYSTEM SENSOR WHICH CAUSED THE FAILURE. THE WIRING WAS RE-ROUTED AND THE PROBLEM WAS SOLVED. THE ORIGINAL DEALER INSTALLED THE WIRING HARNESS INCORRECTLY IN 2002. UPDATED 01/06/10*JB

SIGNIFICANT RUST ON FRAME AND UNDERBODY OF 2002 TOYOTA SEQUOIA HAS BEEN IN EVIDENCE DURING THE LAST 3-4 YEARS. RUST IS SPREADING TO BODY PANELS AS WELL. MECHANIC COMMENTS REGULARLY ABOUT UNUSUAL AMOUNT OF RUST. *TR

ACCORDING TO THE TOYOTA TUNDRA RECALL FOR EXCESSIVE RUST AND CORROSION FROM USING HIGH SALT USAGE FOR SNOW.NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 09V444000 I HAVE 2 ISSUES. 1ST I LIVE IN WASHINGTON STATE WHICH USES HIGH SALT ON ALL ROADS FOR EXCESSIVE MONTHS DURING THE YEAR AND SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL. 2ND THEY AREN'T RECALLING ANY TOYOTA SEQUOIAS WHICH ARE THE EXACT SAME FRAME AND CROSSMEMBER AS THE TUNDRA AND SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL AS WELL. TO DO ONE AND NOT THE OTHER MAKES COMPLETELY NO SENSE SINCE THEY ARE THE SAME MINUS THE SHELL. *TR

WRECK AVOIDED BY GOOD DRIVING, BUT THIS IS THE COMPLAINT: TRAC LIGHT/VSC LIGHTS COME ON WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD . WITHOUT WARNING THE CAR JERKS TO THE RIGHT AND A GRINDING NOISE SOUNDING LIKE THE CAR IS LOCKED UP. THE JERKING TOOK ME ACROSS THE LINE IN THE ROAD JUST MISSING ANOTHER VEHICLE. I WAS ABLE TO REGAIN CONTROL BEFORE HITTING OTHER CAR. THIS IS A DANGEROUS MALFUNCTION AND I CANNOT BELIEVE THERE IS NO RECALLS FOR THIS, AFTER SEEING THAT THERE ARE MANY OTHERS HAVING THIS SAME OCCURRENCE. IT HAPPENED 3 TIMES THIS WEEKEND, TWICE WHILE GOING AT A SLOW RATE, BUT THIS ONE MENTIONED ABOVE I WAS TRAVELING THE SPEED LIMIT OF 70 ON THE TURNPIKE. *TR