Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE - BODY | |||||
| 00604 | 05/31/2004 | 10007636 | Moon roof (sliding roof) creak noise. *tt | 07/07/2004 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE | |||
| 09/01/2010 | 52000 | ||
| Tl - the contact owns a 2003 toyota sequoia. the contact stated that the interior door molding was bending and looked as if was melting or coming apart. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that she would have to replace it. the manufacturer was not contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage were 52,000 . pm | |||
| 03/05/2010 | 100000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota sequoia. the contact stated there was severe rust and corrosion deterioration on the frame of the vehicle. the dealer advised replacing the rear axles at the owner | |||
| 08/14/2007 | 84000 | 3 | 02/01/2003 |
| The rear latch of the vehicle rotted out and the tailgate opened while on the highway, also the two front door handles cracked on the inside at separate times not allowing you to get out of the vehicle from the inside. the new handles and latch were replaced. *tr | |||
| 06/01/2005 | 15000 | 3 | 06/01/2003 |
| Toyota sequoia - consistent failure of the traction control system while driving. this issue has been addressed by the dealer multiple times to no successful repair. we also have had significant issues with the rear window seals leaking and causing the window motor to fail. *nm | |||
| 02/13/2006 | 10 | ||
| I purchased my vehicle from sunnyvale toyota in oct of 2002. it is a 2003 toyota sequoia. from the time i reached home found multiple problems. start with hub caps not seated correctly, defective roof racks, entry door molding with inked print on them. went on to a defective air conditioner compressor, pungent awful smell from the ac, defective radio/ cd changer. brakes are spongy and don't respond well. if you pump it once it works well. the vehicle repeatedly veers to the right. they have checked it at least 15 times. there is hair in the paint. i went through the ncds process and ended up with a judgment to have them repair the veering problem and air conditioning. toyota never complied and ncds closed the case without my consent. i worked with toyota and they finally worked on the trouble. i got a new set of tires but the veering returned. what happens is the tires wear more on the outside of the front right tire. as you rotate the trouble goes away until the tire wears and the problem becomes more pronounces. now the tires are bald and ncds is giving me trouble to reopen the case or stand behind the arbitrators judgment. now even the door molding are coming off even with no damage. *jb | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY | |||
| 07/21/2012 | 84000 | 1 | |
| I took the sequoia to a mechanic to repair a clunking noise in the front and squeaking noise in the back. upon examination, the mechanic noticed unusually advanced rust and corrosion for a vehicle of its age. for safety reasons, the mechanic warned against driving the vehicle until repairs were made. mechanic had to cut out front passenger control arm bolts, rear shock mounts, and other hardware due to the corrosion. mechanic noted that future repairs will require the same cutting and replacement of new hardware. this corrosion issue may be related to the 2000-2003 toyota tundra recall of 2009, since the sequoia shares the chassis and manufacturing facility with the tundra. *tr | |||
| 07/21/2012 | 84000 | ||
| I took the sequoia to a mechanic to repair a clunking noise in the front and squeaking noise in the back. upon examination, the mechanic noticed unusually advanced rust and corrosion for a vehicle of its age. for safety reasons, the mechanic warned against driving the vehicle until repairs were made. mechanic had to cut out front passenger control arm bolts, rear shock mounts, and other hardware due to the corrosion. mechanic noted that future repairs will require the same cutting and replacement of new hardware. this corrosion issue may be related to the 2000-2003 toyota tundra recall of 2009, since the sequoia shares the chassis and manufacturing facility with the tundra. | |||
| 06/15/2012 | 130000 | 1 | |
| We had intermittent off/on of interior lights while driving, but only during left turns. there was no (important) door ajar alert which normally would present as a red icon warning on the dash, there was no warning light. i worked as a mech. engineer and tested all doors for play, how tight the door closed. the right front passenger door was loose. i opened the door, checked if the seatbelt was shut-in with the door but all was normal. i wiggled the latch which is screwed in by 2 large star/allen screws. that was it, it was very loose, it took 5 turns to tighten each one. i checked the other doors, all were just fine. the door would have opened if this latch came all the way out, even belted in, a person could be injured. *tr | |||
| 06/15/2012 | 130000 | ||
| We had intermittent off/on of interior lights while driving, but only during left turns. there was no (important) door ajar alert which normally would present as a red icon warning on the dash, there was no warning light. i worked as a mech. engineer and tested all doors for play, how tight the door closed. the right front passenger door was loose. i opened the door, checked if the seatbelt was shut-in with the door but all was normal. i wiggled the latch which is screwed in by 2 large star/allen screws. that was it, it was very loose, it took 5 turns to tighten each one. i checked the other doors, all were just fine. the door would have opened if this latch came all the way out, even belted in, a person could be injured. | |||
| 11/25/2011 | 104000 | ||
| The frame on my vehicle cracked, and this caused the top of the strut to come up through the floorboard. the toyota dealer, body shop, and independant insurance appraiser say that this was not caused by an accident or other impact. they said the frame had metal fatigue and simply failed. this poses a serious hazard if a lightly driven vehicle such as mine, well-cared for and driven in a suburban setting, the frame would crack in 8 years. i saw online that there was a frame recall for 2001-2003 tundras and seqouias (which share the same frame). the recall was for only 18 states where there is heavy snow, causing the frames to rust through. toyata was forced to replace the entire frame. i believe that the frames were faulty from a manufacturing defect for this to occur. i want to make sure that you have this information as it may be part of a more wide-spread problem that toyota is not telling anyone about. | |||
| 01/06/2012 | |||
| The undercarriage on my sequoia has much rust. it is an '03 that has been garage kept since new. my husband has an '03 acura with absolutely no rust... yet has faced the exact same conditions. i saw the recall for tundra undercarriage rust and wondered why the sequoia (which is basically the same frame) wasn't included. i've read about many sequoia's that won't pass inspection due to undercarriage rust. | |||
| 10/13/2011 | 81880 | ||
| Brought vehicle in for service/schedule maintenance which was not completed; was advised by service technician that there was a hole rotted in the frame behind the driver side front wheel. was advised to call customer experience center & open a case number with them. was advised similar problem with the tundra & tacoma models. | |||
| 10/04/2011 | 147500 | ||
| Frame has rusted through | |||
| 08/29/2011 | 130000 | ||
| Took 2003 sequoia to baierl dealership on august 26, 2011 in cranberry, pa for 130,000 mile check up. mechanic noticed hole' in frame behind front right wheel. upon further inspection with another mechanic there are several areas where frame is rusted through behind front wheels. toyota says this issue is not covered under warranty. upon investigation on this site and others, it seems that model years 2000-2003 tacoma's, tundra's and sequoia's all have this issue. toyota has extended the warranty to address this issue on tacoma's and tundra's, but not sequoia's for some reason. the vehicle will not pass inspection now and toyota themselves have said i would have to take it to a body shop where it could possibly be repaired, but no guarantees. i am looking for a resolution to this issue. | |||
| 06/25/2011 | 64000 | ||
| When i came to pick up my vehicle from my personal mechanic (june 2011) after he had replaced the brake pads and rotors, he warned me about serious undercarriage rust. despite my vehicle only having 64000 miles on it at the time he indirectly suggested selling the vehicle in the next year or two as this premature rusting will be a very serious problem that i won't want to deal with. i wonder why the tundra had a recall on the frame and not the sequoia? is this vehicle safe? | |||
| 07/13/2006 | 52000 | 1 | |
| In july 2006 at 52000 miles i went to exit the vehicle and the door handle breaks off in my hand. dealer said not covered as it is wear & tear. i am not a tough guy, but cheap plastic handles, especially on the driver door as it is the most used? $139 is a waste of consumer $ and for an extra dollar they could have made a stronger handle. *tr | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - DOOR | |||
| 08/17/2005 | 68000 | 1 | |
| Every interior door handle has broken at one time or another. i have had all of them replaced at least once (at a cost of $175.00 per handle) and i have to replace one for a second time. the handles are made of plastic that cracks easily and eventually breaks. all of the handles were broken during the course of normal use. no undue or excessive force was exerted when the handles were broken. when the handles are broken, it is impossible to exit the vehicle unless someone opens the door from the outside. if my family and i were involved in an accident and needed to get out of the vehicle quickly, they may not be able to get out in time. this is not only expensive, frustrating and inconvenient, it can lead to a deadly situation. there is no reason that equipment as important as door handles should ever break under normal circumstances. *tr | |||
| 03/25/2007 | 2 | 04/28/2003 | |
| My 2003 toyota door handles are breaking off. the driver door broke off at about 41,000 miles and they said i would have to fix it at a cost of 180.00 dollars. then at about 56,000 miles the right rear passenger door handle broke off. if i was to get into an accident god forbid, i would be unable to get out of the car. i have written toyota several times and no response. *tr | |||
| 04/12/2005 | 20000 | 5 | 11/11/2002 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota sequoia. the contact stated that the door handle broke off the inside of the vehicle, which prevented him from exiting the vehicle. within a year, the remaining four door handles have broken, including the handle on the hatchback. the dealer stated that they were aware of the failure however; this was not included in the warranty. the contact submitted a complaint to the manufacturer. as of december 5, 2007, the dealer had not repaired the vehicle. the failure mileage was 20,000 and current mileage 35,000. | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - DOOR - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS | |||
| 01/15/2004 | 3 | 01/20/2003 | |
| My 2003 toyota sequoia's interior door handles, 3 of them, are made of plastic and were broken after a year of usage. with the hot weather here in florida, these door handles becomes weak, easily cracked and then broken. this is going to be an emergency issue because we open our doors from the outside. with the heavy and large doors of these sequoias, the plastic handles are not heavy duty enough material like metal to withstand the open and close operation of these heavy doors. these are defective or below quality to use plastic material for these doors. please help in correcting these manufacturer defect. i owned several toyotas like a 1987 toyota corolla,1991toyota camry, 1997 toyota avalon and a 1999 toyota tacoma...all of which i never had a problem with the interior door handles because they're made of metal. i don't know why they used plastic to the heavy doors of the sequoias...thank you. *tr | |||
| 04/06/2007 | 77000 | 1 | 02/11/2003 |
| The vsc & vsc trac has failed twice on this vehicle with costly repairs, the dealer was of no help with this situation the interior door handle snapped on this car. *ak | |||
| 07/15/2005 | 38000 | 1 | 12/19/2002 |
| Dt: the interior door handle on driver's side door fractured with very minor force. there were no previous problems with the door handle, this was the first incident. took vehicle to a dealership, who did not have part in stock. the part itself was plastic, no metal reinforcement. however, consumers felt the part should be metal. vehicle had not been repaired at this time. consumer did contact toyota's complaint line and filed a complaint with the company. *ak | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE | |||
| 07/14/2007 | 66000 | 1 | 07/30/2003 |
| Rear window began operating only off and on over a long period of time. finally it quit working completely in 2007. fortunately it was closed, so owner just didn't use until having it fixed along with rear door hatch. a new power motor assembly was installed at owners expense. the incident date is actually the date of repair. *tr | |||
| 07/14/2007 | 66000 | 1 | 07/30/2003 |
| Rear hatch handle inoperable, replaced at owner's expense. *tr | |||
| 12/04/2004 | 29000 | 1 | 07/30/2003 |
| Trac,vsc, brake light had been coming on and then going out. this particular incident involved them coming on during a turn into traffic at which time all power was lost nearly causing an accident. dealer treated this as 2 different problems:an induction service was performed for the hesitation at my expense, and a brake booster gasket and assembly were installed under the warranty. the lights continued to go off and on from time to time, but the car did not lose power again after this fix.the lights continued to come on and off intermittently until in august 2006 the check engine light and vcs/trac lights came on and would not go out. this time, my dealer replaced the oxygen sensor at my expense. now, with 70,000 miles on 9-26-07 the vsc/trac & check engine lights came on while traveling on the road and will not go out on turning off the engine as they sometimes did in the past. i believe after reading all the complaints about this problem on various internet sites some sort of action should be taken at toyota's expense. i am also filing a report about the new rear window motor and hatch release handle i had to replace in july on this vehicle which also is mentioned in many reports i've read on the internet. i can't tell you how many failures on the light situation i've had because they've been in the dozens. *tr | |||
| STRUCTURE - FRAME AND MEMBERS | |||
| 10/13/2011 | 81903 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota sequoia. the contact stated that the vehicle was taken in for a routine maintenance when she was advised that the front frame was rusted, corroded and exhibited a hole in the frame. the dealer then advised the contact that the vehicle was unsafe to operate. the manufacturer was notified of the failure who offered her a credit to purchase another vehicle but the contact declined. the failure mileage was 81,903. kmj | |||
| 08/17/2011 | 141000 | ||
| My 2003 toyota sequoia was rustproofed annually but exhibits an unusual amount of rust on the frame. the spare time is ready to fall off . | |||
| 02/20/2011 | 100000 | ||
| 2003 toyota sequoia has an unusual amount of rust on the undercarriage . could present a safety issue. | |||
| 08/15/2010 | 141000 | ||
| My 2003 toyota sequoia vehicle has experienced severe corrosion of the fame, resulting in under-body mount spare tire sparation and rear brake failure. the affected behicle was purchased in in. | |||
| 08/10/2010 | 139000 | ||
| Tl. the contact owns a 2003 toyota sequoia. the contact stated while having general maintenance done to the vehicle at a local mechanic. the mechanic notice rust on the frame of the vehicle. the contact took the vehicle to a dealer and the dealer took pictures of the vehicle and sent them to the manufacturer. the manufacturer stated to the contact their is no program in place to replace the rusted frame so the contact is liable for the repairs. a year ago the contact took the vehicle to the dealer for frame inspection and the dealer notice rust build up on the frame but stated the vehicle was safe to drive. the contact stated the vehicle is unsafe to drive and will not pass inspection. the contact stated the manufacturer should replace the frame with no cost. the failure mileage was 139,000. jo | |||
| 12/07/2009 | 1 | ||
| The rust recall for the 2000-2003 toyota tundras should also include the toyota sequoia's for they are built on the same chasis. i have a lot of visible rust on my 2003 sequoia and am getting worried about driving my kids in the truck. we do live in illinois which is one of the states involved in the recall. *tr | |||
| 03/26/2009 | 1 | ||
| I have a 2003 toyota sequoia and the door lock was vandalized in 2007 the door lock was opened and the windows down. now it happened again in 2009 and how it is possible that this sequoia came with factory alarm which is | |||
| 06/08/2008 | 88577 | 1 | |
| In june 2008 at 88,000 miles i brought vehicle in for service, and was told the sway bar links were broken. this was covered under my extended warranty. *tr | |||
| STRUCTURE - FRAME AND MEMBERS - UNDERBODY SHIELDS | |||
| 08/10/2012 | 133432 | 1 | |
| Frame is completely rusted and cracked in various areas. *tr | |||
| 07/21/2012 | 103000 | 1 | |
| While driving my 2003 sequoia on vacation, a part fell off from the bottom of the car. we took the car to a local mechanic who raised it on a lift and said that the part was the protective plate covering the gas tank. it had eroded off. he said worse than that, the entire frame was rusting and rotting out and felt that the car would be unsafe within the next year or 2. *tr | |||