Ball Joint problems of the 2001 Toyota Sequoia

I am the original owner. The ball joints have failed on both sides, with the wheels falling off while driving. At speed, my family would have been killed -twice! the wheels have fallen off twice. I have kept this vehicle in excellent repair. I have owned 4 Toyotas and currently own three. Ball joints should not fall apart under any circumstances. Toyota has a recall for this problem back to 2004. However, they refused to stand by me on this, even after I paid over $2200 for the last repair. This is a dangerous situation for all Sequoias prior to 2004. I can probably get a photo of the wheel off of the car where it skidded to a stop.

Last year my car while traveling at a speed of 50 mph just collapsed. My ball joints fell completely off. My the grace of god I wasn't killed because I was on the interstate. I have since had it repaired but not by a Toyota dealer. At the time as now, all my lights were lit vsc trac, abs etc. I have had this problem throughout having this Toyota and it has been very costly. Now as we speak my car is at a dealer and I can only imagine they will tell me it's the faulty computer chip. I will also have them check for rust since I'm hearing of all these cases of rust. My car has been in tip top shape due to my husbands knowledge of cars. However, some of these reports appear to be incidents beyond our control. I'm lucky to be alive. I guess if I had been killed Toyota would still be denying their product is faulty. I would like Toyota to step up and pay for some of these issues I've had and if my car needs this expensive computer chip. . Abs is engaging my brakes they pay for it. This is the second time I've made a report and I haven't heard anything from Toyota. . .

Thursday may 20th 2001 ball joint failed on left front, doing 35mph. Wheel came off. Recall starting with Sequoias manufactured August 2001. Mine was manufactured may 2001. My vehicle was not under recall so they refused to fix it and the dealer wants $4800 for the repairs. They cited on the estimate that reason for failure is "unknown". They stated the right side ball joint is fine but they suggest replacing it for another $500. I was could have had a car full of teenagers going down the freeway at the time, my daughter wanted me to drive carpool for a field trip, luckily I couldn't drive for them.

The contact owns a 2001 Toyota Sequoia. While exiting the highway at 35 mph, the contact attempted to make a right turn and it felt as if a tire had blown. The steering wheel became extremely hot and he was barely able to maneuver the vehicle off the highway. He noticed that the tire detached from the mounting. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and they stated that the ball joints failed. No repairs have been made. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 127,000.

Vehicle: 2001 Toyota Sequoia sr5 2wd. Front suspension problem. Since obtaining the vehicle in April 2001 I noticed a problem in the stability of the front end of the vehicle. I took it to the dealership (I-10 Toyota in indio) on 3 separate occasions and they were unable to identify the problem. When I heard about the recall (o5v225000) I anticipated that this was the trouble that I had all along with the Sequoia. When I looked into the recall it turned out that it referred to 2002 to 2004 vehicles only. Common sense tells me that if the trouble existed on subsequent models after its inception to the market, it is only obvious that 2001 models are to be included. I understand that recall letters will be issued starting in July 2005. I am filing this complaint because I am aware that 2001 models will not be included and I respectfully request that 2001 year models are also recalled. The instability with the front end continues. The tires have been changed 3 times to different types and the instability continues. Please verify with your internal engineers if the ball joints utilized on 2001 models were any different than latter models. You will find that the same mechanisms have been used until now that this issue is being addressed by your office. Your attention and subsequent positive inclusion of my petition is appreciated. Hector casas.