general problems of the 2002 Toyota Sequoia

To whom it may concern, I recently purchased a 2002 Toyota Sequoia. I brought the truck to a local shop for a (overall assessment of the vehicle) since I just purchased it. The shop owner ( I have their name address if needed). The chassis is rusty and has holes sue to rust. If someone can get back to me it’s much appreciated.

Rack and pinion rusted out and had to be replaced. It cracked in the middle of the highway and left me inching to safety. Never fully recovered 186k, frame is fully rusted and will not pass inspection due to faulty oxygen sensors and excessive rust and corrosion. Will need to replace exhaust to input a new sensor at 4k vechicle is fully operable and functional but cannot pass inspection without the safety of rust treatment or replacement it’s a great vechicle but unfortunate that the 2002 series is left out of the recall . There are a lot of early generations that have these issues and although the trucks are reliable and have a long life , are undriveable because they can’t pass inspection. Please consider extended the rust recall to 2001-2003 Sequoias. This was my grandfathers truck and really would like to keep his memory in the family and drive my grandfathers truck as it still runs perfectly but has on going issues with rust and frame issues . There was an extended warranty for 2002 Sequoias that expired in 2014. This is a point where most sequioas weren’t experiencing this issue. Dealership or recall will not honor and denied any claim for rust it is unfortunate because I am now disabled and love my Sequoia so much and was hoping to drive to appointments and gain my health back. It has become more than I am able to afford to fix an entire frame of the vehicle. It’s evident that early generations all that his issue but has not been honored for repair. I’ve repaired things over the years with hopes to pass inspection and now have insight as to what the real issue is. The excessive rust and damage to the frame.

On parkway 50 to 55 mph driver side ball joint broke. Truck could of flipped or hit another vehicle. Could of caused damage to my body or death. No warning of impending breakage. I do have pics of broken balljoint and it did cause damage to driverside fender. Frame is rusting. Worried about frame unsafe could brake at any time. Toyota refuses to check and replace.

The frame of the vehicle has severe rust and now has holes in the frame, making it unsafe to drive and possibly causing an accident. Meticulous care has been taken of this vehicle and it is never taken off road or abused. I’ve had several other vehicles and have never had this frame rust safety issue.

The left rear frame broke away from rear sway bar. I was just leaving my house when I heard a thunk. I noticed the problem when I turned onto the faster road as I accelerated the whole backend moved right, pushing the front end left (into oncoming traffic). Letting up on the accelerator cased the reverse to happen, the back end swung left and the front turned right. So, glad it happened slower streets and not the highway. There was a limited service recall on this model to coat with a rust proofing paint and we had the service done in 2012. This failure would have probably killed someone if it had happened on the freeway or cloverleaf. These vehicles should be either repaired by Toyota or off the road.

The vehicle was raised to perform an oil change, and the technician noticed the frame had holes in it from rust. He explained that the entire body and suspension was connected to this, and if a component came loose the vehicle could crash. Toyota was notified about the issue, but did not take action.

After driving roughly 40 minutes on a straight dry highway at a constant 70 mph, my vsc off and trac off lights suddenly came on for no reason, accompanied by a loud high-pitched alarm. The steering felt like it was dragging, was grinding, and pulled to the right. Felt like something was breaking apart. Very scary since I was in the left lane with no shoulder. I decreased my speed to about 60 and moved to the right hand lane. After several seconds, the alarm and grinding/dragging stopped just as mysteriously as it started before I'd even gotten to an exit. The lights stayed lit. Before I used the vehicle again, I inflated the tires from 32. 5 to 35 psia, just in case that might have contributed. The next day, I drove on the highway for 40 minutes with no problem, but on the way back home, the same thing recurred after about 20 minutes, again at highway speeds on a straight section of dry road. This time the dragging and grinding was worse and the alarm lasted much longer. Again, it mysteriously stopped as I was preparing to exit the highway. Searching similar anecdotes seems to imply a known failure of the yaw sensor. That sensor has triggered the lights to come on from time to time ever since 2002, but it never caused the loud alarm or struggle to steer the vehicle before. This should definitely be a recall item. I think I'm going to have to disable the variable speed control and traction control features of the vehicle by removing the fuse just so I can keep driving it.

Frame rust. My mechanics will not lift the truck because of extensive frame rust.

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Sequoia. The contact stated that the vehicle's suspension detached from the vehicle due to severe rust on the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to the Toyota of grand rapids dealer who stated that they previously repaired the vehicle by replacing the frame. The contact called the manufacturer and was informed that the vehicle was previously included in an unknown recall regarding the same failure and had already been repaired. The manufacturer opened case number: 1707172761. The approximate failure mileage was 180,000.

2002 Sequoia purchased used, vsc trac desengages without warning at any time, slowing down the vehicle and making grinding noice in the suspension or breaks, it will reset again after park and shutting the engine off, this problem had happen at least 10 times in about one year that I am driving it, due to the unexpected desengage of the vsc trac at any time slowing down the vehicle with out warning and no break light it is a safety concern, I have look in the internet and this problem is very common with this vehicles equiped with the vsc trac, I have called Toyota and there is no recalls for the issue, I believe it it is a malfunction of the system it should be take care unless they are waiting for something drastic to happen, hope I can get some where with this complaint, this is a second Toyota at home and I like to keep both cars for as long as I can. This particular problem does happen at any time in the street at 20 miles higway at 50 some times at 60 miles, during straight ride or turning left or right, please advise I should not have to incurre expences on a factory defective issue.

Took vehicle in for safety inspection and was informed there was a rust hole in the frame. Called Toyota 800-331-4331 spoke to alejandro c and was informed that Toyota will do nothing to help me at all. Case # 1504071904. Help.

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Sequoia. The contact stated that the track warning lamp illuminated upon making a turn and that the steering wheel was tight and vibrating. The contact mentioned that the suspension was unstable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was not able to replicate or diagnose the failure. In addition, the contact was included in NHTSA campaign id number: 14v312000 (air bags) and stated that the parts needed were not available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the delay. The approximate failure mileage was not available.

I drive a 2002 Sequoia and have had about 8 instances where the trac off, trc vsc, and slip indicator lights all come on while the truck feels like it locks up and a beeping alarm sounds and a pulling to the right with a grinding noise . This morning the slip indicator lights stayed on with the grinding noise seems like a few seconds longer than yesterday . I was about to pull off of the road when the other two lights came on and the car drove normal when the lights are on . When you turn the engine off and restart the lights go off. However the error occurs on a daily basis now . The roads I travel are mainly higway and have been dry . I have noticed that there are many complaints for the same issue and that Toyota did issue a recall for the 2003 model year . . This is a very dangerous issue and needs correction . One would think that the recall should extend to all years .

I have a tremendous amount of frame rust on my 2002 Sequoia. I have been issued a service campaign from Toyota and have been proactively called upon by a local dealer to provide the service. After reading on the NHTSA web site and other forums about structural issues and the way Toyota is handling this issue I want to be proactive in my complaint. Spraying or frame replacement is the only option I have been provided to date. This issue appears to be widespread and caused by Toyota's manufacturing processes. That being the case, it appears that Toyota is not stepping up to buy back those vehicles that require this drastic measure. They should buy back the effected Sequoias much like they did regarding the exact issue with their tundra trucks a few years ago. The Sequoia and the tundra share the same frame, so why wouldn't the buy back effect both vehicles given safety implications.

Vehicle was traveling at 65pm all of a sudden the trac control light and vsc light came on, was unable to control the truck due to the steering wheel getting light. Pulled over and stopped called Toyota customer care they states we are own our own with that problem.

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.

In 2002, I complained of rust rapidly accumulating on the vehicle. I was told by the dealer that rustproofing came on the vehicle and they would reach out to Toyota directly to get an exclamation. They inform me that Toyota confirmed that statement the rustproofing was provided. In 2013, I received what was called the �limited service campaign� stating that the incorrect rustproofing was applied to the vehicle for cold weather states that use salt in the winter. At that time was severe corrosion in the body that was separating from the frame. I wrote a letter to Toyota ceo and the us office intercepted the letter to communicate with me. I requested the replacement of my vehicle from Toyota. In 2017, I wrote a letter to the ceo's office in japan and the matter was sent back down to the same office in the us. There is severe corrosion all over the body rust breaking through corroding all components. Toyota then requested all records related to repairs associated with vehicle. I was sent a denial to my request for another vehicle with a suggestion to communicate to national center for dispute settlement but was not return the document copy highlighting the determination of damage as a result. I'm very dissatisfied and concerned with the way this was handled because I informed Toyota during the first-year ownership of the problem, told 11 years later that I was correct, and then treated as if I'm trying to get something out of the company after I have been a customer of Toyota for over 25 years. Every component exposed to the air outside of the replaced frame rotting away and has caused significant repair bills in damage. The file(s) that I'm going to upload does not include all repair bills because of the file size limitation by your site. I'm available for discussion and will submit additional records if requested.

Our 2002 Toyota Sequoia has a completely rusted out frame, rear differential and other parts such as brake lines etc. While driving on the highway the rear differential exploded and the car would not drive any further. I put the car in park, turned off the car and the car kept rolling despite being in park. I applied the emergency brake to stop the car. The rear differential housing was completely rusted through and leaking fluid. We then discovered that in addition the frame of the car was completely rusted through. The car is no longer safe to drive because of the rusted frame and under carriage. Our dealership has been wonderful and rented me a car and will replace the frame but Toyota is saying that I am responsible for the differential replacement.

Frame of vehicle is rusted and very thin in areas. The suspension and rear axle housing is rusting also. Frame is very close to developing holes and is DE-laminating I believe it is unsafe to drive and Toyota will not do anything about it.

Dealer reports that frame (crossmember) is rotted to the point of being unsafe to drive.

The vsc lights come on when driving, the rear differential seal was completely rusted through and should be on a recall, the frame was on recall and replaced in 2014, but the rear seals were rusted thru and Toyota after costing me thousands does not want to cover rear seals why ? right after the frame was replaced and the Toyota dealer in deerfield beach, FL said the rear differential is also way rusted out and may blow the seals, well they did during a oil change and check. If Toyota knew of the extreme rust on the frame that it was also on the rear differential as confirmed by 3 different mechanics one being Toyota. Toyota wants me to pay $2,000. 00 to fix which is outrageous.

I have a 2002 Toyota Sequoia. The frame, undercarriage and hitch are all rusted. The undercoating peels right off at the carwash. I asked my Toyota dealer about it when it was in for a oil change and he said nothing to worry about. Every year it is getting worse and my husband said it is something to worry about. Is Toyota going to stand behind there products? I am worry this year about it passing inspection.

While driving the vehicle swayed from left to right. .

Vehicle drifts suddenly to the right or left. Steering wheel does not pull to either side but requires corrective movement to straighten vehicle's path. This condition is more severe on a windy day or when passing a truck or bus or larger vehicle. Potentially dangerous condition. Two new Sequoia SUV's were purchased at the same time. The Sequoia with the steering and handling problem came with michelin tires. The other Sequoia came with bridgestone tires and does not have this problem.