2003 Toyota Sequoia problems
Owners have filed 878 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Toyota Sequoia. Brakes is the most reported problem area, at 19% of complaints. After that come stability control (19%) and body & structure (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 878 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 19% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 28 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 35 and 3
- Typical mileage
- 85,000 miles 670 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 55 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 49 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 92 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 95 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 112 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 84 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 60 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 33 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 30 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 24 |
| 200k+ miles | 36 |
What the data shows
Among the 670 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 85,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 73,000 miles (135 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 28 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 35 injuries reported; 3 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Toyota Sequoia with enough data (308 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
When we first bought the vehicle the trac system lights kept coming on and the brakes felt mushy; we took it in to toyota and they replaced the computer system which seemed to rectify the problem. Then about 9 mo to a year later the lights kept coming on again and the brakes failed twice, toyota stated they would replace the brake system fluid and the master cylinder at our cost because we had taken it elsewhere and they felt that it had contaminated brake fluid, which our mechanic stated in writing was not.
While driving, the owner smelled gas fumes from inside the vehicle. The fumes seemed to be coming from the vents. When the window was opened the smell became worse. The fumes made the owner nauseas which also caused her asthma to flare up. The consumer called the dealership, but nothing was corrected.. The dealership informed the consumer the reason she was smelling gas fumes was because she was using 89 octane gas instead of 87 octane and the computer was programmed for 87 octane.
2003 sequoia. Vsc/trac lights come on just driving down the road. Plus parking brake light. Have to shut car off to reset. The dealer said my computer is not part of the recall so I must pay out of pocket. Looked on-line and found dozens of sites and thousands of people with the same problem.