general problems of the 2001 Toyota Sequoia - part 1

While driving my 2001 Sequoia sr5 with only 74,750 miles on freeways at speeds between 55 and 65 mph, the SUV's braking system activates unexpectedly and without cause. The vsc check engine lighting and warning sound illuminate. My SUV veered to the right, the steering wheel vibrated, and it went into a skid when the brakes were abruptly engaged, causing it to skid. My SUV abruptly decelerated as if it had lost power. This situation was hazardous for other vehicles who could not tell if they were applying the brakes due to the absence of visible brake lights to prevent a collision. Fortunately, I responded defensively and avoided collisions with other vehicles and roadside obstacles. This issue is a safety concern; if it occurs at the wrong moment, a tragedy can be avoided. I've seen more than a hundred complaints from other proprietors and a completed NHTSA investigation. Sequoia models from 2001 and subsequent years were recalled for the same issue. Before a life is lost, Toyota must address this issue in all model years.

Abs kicks in while driving. It happens at a moderate speeds. It is a safety hazard since I am in the car with my kids and it causes the car to unexpectedly brake. The vsc light come on and blinks, there is a loud grinding sound. This was reproduced by mechanic. Safety hazard.

I was coming off the highway goi g down the off ramp at a rate of speed in line with the speed limit, and the vsc/abs/brake lights all came on. The truck started making a grinding noise and was difficult to control. I pulled over and checked underneath. Everything was fine and there was no sign of an issue. I turned the truck off and on, and all the lights cleared; however, the lights turn on again when the vehicle is cold. Once it warms up, and you turn the car on and off, the clear. No codes on the scanner. Forums say this happens regularly with this make, model and year, but no one is sure what it is. Everything from emissions, to the brake sensor to the yaw rate sensor.

Occasionally, while driving the vehicle the "vsc trac" automatically comes on causing the vehicle to brake and the steering is difficult to control.

Very bad resty frame and keep fixing shocks because the frame is bad on my Toyota Sequoia 2001 cause problem with brakes and shocks.

While I was traveling on the highway at 70 mph, the right front brake locked up momentarily and lurched the vehicle, the vsc and traction control light started flashing and a warning buzzer went off. After looking into things, there are known issues with the 2001 and 2002 Toyota Sequoia that cause this exact thing to happen to plenty of other people. I understand that there has already been an evaluation done on this matter and it was ruled that the severity of the issue does not warrant a recall. Why there is no recall being issued on the multiple failure points in the vehicle's system and people are required to spend thousands of dollars in repairs for parts and labor when the manufacturer's design didn't last? I purchased this vehicle for my father to feel more safe in, and that is the last thing that he feels while driving it. I am now required to drive our affected vehicle and have to be constantly paying attention so that the abs system doesn't shoot me into another vehicle.

Toyota rust issue on my 2001 Toyota Sequoia v8 sr5. Used to transport friends and family and children, but no longer safe due to excessive rust and inability to control the vehicle when slowing at higher speeds. Vehicle veers to right and left uncontrollably. Today, I almost sideswiped another vehicle on the highway. I was going around 60 mph and slowed to exit and almost lost control of my vehicle and ended up in a ditch. I took it to a mechanic and was told the vehicle is unsafe to lift due to excessive rust. Recommended to have the frame replaced, but that's well beyond the cost I'm willing to pay. Research tells me that this is a consistent problem for these vehicles and Toyota should do something about it -- if not pay to have new frames done or reimburse people for the many who have these issues. This vehicle has only 154,000 miles and is otherwise in immaculate shape and condition due to proper maintenance. This problem should be resolved quickly by Toyota. I no longer feel safe driving this vehicle for the reasons I've mentioned. Excessive rust and inability to control a vehicle is not something I should have to deal with on a vehicle that has low miles for the make/model, and has been meticulously maintained. Please expedite so I can recover financially from this or have a vehicle that I can feel safe using again with my friends and family.

Driving 45mph on straight road the vehicle vsc engaged pulling hard to the right and decelerating quickly. I pulled over, called dealership and was told to drive it the 2 miles to dealership. Within 100� of dealership I crossed intersection and car suddenly decelerated, engaged the assistance again and I was almost struck by truck that swerved and almost hit pedestrian. Dealer said it was a yaw steering sensor. Part was unobtainable or possible within 8 weeks, and no after market parts available. Mechanic recommended vehicle not be driven. Toyota declared part obsolete. I researched and found this was already at the NHTSA attention but that they closed the investigation. How is this acceptable?.

The frame is rust and I have problem sometime in stering sost�n and the trction control the light is on sometime and I need turn off my SUV whait a minute and turn in for the light turn off.

While driving going any speed low or high a vsc trac off light appears on the gage cluster and starts a high pitched noise and abs locks up on my passenger side pulling me to the right almost hitting another car or any pedestrians that may be there.

While driving on flat, dry, level pavement at freeway speeds the vsc has been activating causing the steering wheel to jerk to the right. As the steering wheel pulls the vehicle to the right there is a chime, then the vsc and trac system shuts its self off and the "off" light stays illuminated until the engine is shut off. Upon restart, the vsc is on again and the cycle repeats. The check engine light is not on. There is no way to predict when the wheel will be jerked again. Seems very dangerous.

Vsc trac light comes on while driving, activates brakes and car pulls and swerves while driving.

My complaint stems from the vehicle stability control (vsc) issue that commonly plagues the 2001-2001 Toyota Sequoia. As many others have filed complaints over this vsc issue, mine is no different. My Sequoia, a 4x4 sr5 with 160k miles, works flawlessly other than the vsc lights being constantly illuminated while driving. The results of the malfunction, possibly from the yaw rate sensor, present a momentarily loss of power and random unexplained steering events. The only way to temporary clear the vsc lights and the effects of the malfunction is to completely stop the vehicle, turn off the ignition and restart the vehicle. I fear a loss of control of the vehicle while my wife and kids are driving at highway speeds. I would like to see Toyota issue a formal recall or pay for a new yaw rate sensor and the consumer pays the labor. Other than the vsc issue, the Sequoia is a great vehicle overall.

Intermittent vsc control warnings, breaking engaged with pulling vehicle steering to the right. Sometimes with only the warning lights and check lights. First occurrence day after purchase of this used vehicle (50 miles). Took back to dealership and could not find nothing wrong, very scare . Speed has been between 10 to 65 mph. Highway and city driving.

While driving on dry roads, the vsc anti-slip comes on and starts braking, occassionally causing the vehicle to pull to one side, and engages the abs which makes the car vibrate and makes the driver question whether the brakes work or not.

Traction control malfunction. When in motion the car engages the brakes for no reason, intermittently applying the brakes causing the car to pull & swerve, and shudder. This happens when going straight, turning, or just driving down the road.

Regardless of speed a warning bell will sound, several instrument lights come on and the brakes activate causing the vehicle to pull to the right. I've experienced this numerous times with seemingly no common denominator. Neither speed nor steering input seem to be the trigger for this. I've taken it to my local Toyota dealership with no satisfaction and contacted Toyota of America customer service with no satisfaction.

Vehicle pulls to the right especially when stopping.

The vehicle skid control randomly engages for no reason. It causes lost of power and braking, causing steering to be very difficult.

Driving down road and drivers side front end dropped; the vehicle just seized. The ball joint snapped and the tire buckled on the vehicle there was no brakes or steering. Fortunately I had just exited a major highway onto a straight secondary road when this occurred. I feel if this had happened on the highway I would have been in a major accident; which would have included multiple other vehicles as well.

Vehicle's traction control system malfunctioned while driving on dry flat pavement. Skid light and sound came on followed by vsc and trac control lights. Vehicle pulled hard to the right, made loud grinding noise, and was extremely difficult to control steering and braking. This continued for approximately one minute, stopped, and then did it again. This is a very dangerous situation which could potentially lead to fatal accident if it occurs at higher speeds. It happened few times, took it to dealer can not find issue but appears to be a very common problem with this make/model. I would like to see a recall.

All of a sudden a grinding noise from front of vehicle, anti skid beeping, vsc light popped on. Very hard to steer and brakes not working well. Happened repeatedly. Pulled over, turned vehicle off. Engine on, drove off, 5 miles later, all over again, but more severe. Not safe at high speeds, more than 25 mph. This occurred in August, no snow, no rain, dry cement.

The contact owns a 2001 Toyota Sequoia. While driving various speeds, the vehicle veered to the right while braking. The vsc and traction warning lights illuminated. In order to stop the failure, the vehicle must be pulled over to a complete stop, turned off, and restarted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a malfunction of the yaw rate sensor, which needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 123,000.

While driving at 60 mph the vehicle pulled sharply to the right and its trac/vcs control lights began to blink and the warning sound came on as well. The vehicle made a grinding sound and I pulled over to the side of the road. I shut the car off and waited a few minutes. I turned on the vehicle and the indicator lights were off and it drove normal. This same incident continues to happen even after I took it in to get diagnosed. I was told by a Toyota technician that he could not find the problem.

Vsc trac, vsc off, trac, emergency brake & abs lights are all illuminated. Seems like every Sequoia 2001 - 2005 has this problem. After lots of research it seems like it's a fault with the vsc computer and ecu computer which dealers want $2000 and up! these malfunctions in computers affect the vehicles abs brakes, and stability control system which poses a threat to safety of driver and passengers.

Street driving, clear day and car dash board starts to alarm. Dashboard lights for vsc, antilock brakes goes haywire. Horrible grinding noise and vibration felt through the brake pedal, with loss of power, and pull to the right all simultaneously happening. Alarm bells all going off in the car. It is very loud noise for all occupants. Terrifying occurrence with loss of brakes and power. First event lasted approximately 20 seconds. Pulled over and the car seemed fine. This has been intermittent but occurred after car was warm and occurs more frequently when its is warmer outside as well. Now, 16 mos later, this happens all the time and Toyota dealer says there is nothing wrong with car and cannot diagnose the issue. It is a safety issue for sure. Will have to park the car now since they cannot figure out what is wrong with it.

Driving at 45 mph + a grinding noise starts coming from the front, no brake pedal, then a shaking sensation on the steering wheel, the abs/vcs lights start blinking. Pulled over and then it stopped. Very dangerous situation.

While driving on a smooth pavement the vsc/trac system engages for no reason. Sounding off the internal chime and turning the vsc/trac lights on the dash. The abs system kicks in and grinds on the brakes. Loss of steering is present as the vehicle pulls to one side.

The vsc and trac off lights came on. The Sequoia made a scrubbing noise and the vehicle skidded left and right a few times. Scary! the lights remained on. They went off later that night, but have come back on at least three other times since then. The vehicle has skidded all but one time. There should be a recall on this. I have seen many complaints but no recalls or help. The speed does not matter and there is no warning that this is about to happen. Help!.

Lower ball joint went bad. Had it fixed three times fir the same issue and it still is not working right. I was told by automatic that it could be a manufacturer damage because the ball joints it shold not keep wearing out.

Multiple times over the past 5 months my 2001 Sequoia will suddenly apply the brakes strongly while driving, sometimes causing the steering to pull to the right. Thankfully this seems to happen shortly after beginning to drive, so the speeds have been municipal speed, rather than highway. At the same time, a warning bell sounds and the vsc and abs lights come on in yellow. Sometimes when I start the vehicle, the vsc and abs lights are already on, so the sudden braking does not occur. If the lights are off, I have learned to prepare for the sudden braking. I will take this to Toyota before the snow flies here in northern NY because this is a definite safety hazard, and could cause an accident when the roads are snow and ice covered.

While driving forward from a stopped position on a flat, level, paved road with the outside temperature at 72, the vsc (vehicle skid control) activated and nearly pulled me into the lane next to me. There were no pot holes or anything in the road that would've caused it. It stopped after a few seconds and then again, about two minutes later at a 25mph speed , the system activated again and I had no control of the brakes or steering while the system was activating. The car is great shape, one-owner, well maintained and there seems to be a history with Toyota and the vsc system. Very dangerous situations that the vsc put me in.

I own a 2001 Toyota Sequoia and experienced a loss of steering control on three separate occasions. The first incident occurred while driving through a shopping mall parking lot at 5 mph. Our vehicle shuddered and swerved to the right while a buzzer went off & then the vsc and trac off lights illuminated. The next two incidents occurred over the next few days while driving on the highway between 20-25 mph. On both occasions our vehicle lost control and veered to the right before I was able to gain control of the vehicle. This is a serious life safety defect that has been acknowledged by Toyota for the 2003 Sequoia's and by the vast amount of complaints should extend to earlier models as well. I recently took our Sequoia into a mechanic and their trouble shooting revealed that the skid control ecu would need to be replaced, costing over $3400.

Tl-the contact owns a 2001 Toyota Sequoia. The contact stated that he received notification of a manufacturer's recall in regard to frame rust. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the technician confirmed that the frame was indeed rusted. In addition to the frame rust, the shocks, exhaust and the power steering lines were also found to be rusted. The dealer would only replace the frame. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and advised that they would not provide any assistance with repairs to any component of the vehicle other than the frame. The failure and current mileages were approximately 78,500. The VIN was unavailable. Mah.

Vehicle's traction control system malfunctioned while driving on dry flat pavement. Vsc and trac control lights came on, vehicle pulled hard to the right, made loud grinding noise, and was extremely difficult to control steering and braking. This continued for approximately one minute, stopped, and then did it again. This is a very dangerous situation which could potentially lead to fatal accident if it occurs at higher speeds. It happened with our children in the car and scared everyone. This is the second time it has happened to us, but appears to be a very common problem with this make/model. I would like to see a recall.