Problems with 2003 Toyota Sequoia SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

The brake system warning light comes on daily for no apparent reason. the system resets when the car is restarted. dealership, toyota of plano cannot find the cause for this, and says it is just a glitch in the system with no fix. how is the driver to know when to ignor the light or respond to the light. *ak

2003 sequoia limited vsc / trac control lights have been on almost continuously since 3/1/2007, indicating that the stability control and traction control were not functioning. at various times the abs kicked in even though the brakes were not applied. in wet conditions on 3/17/07, the suv did not properly respond to brake or steering, causing the suv to drift into the oncoming lane. fortunately, there was no traffic in the lane at the time. this was a huge safety issue. at the dealer, codes c1241, c1231, c1223, and c1203 came up. diagnosis - translate and skid control computers needed to be replaced. toyota tsbs br002-03 and br003-03 appeared to be related, and lead me to believe there was a known flaw in computer logic. *ak

The vsc & trac lights are on constantly on my 2003 sequoia. my wife seems to lose control of the car when the brakes lock up at about 2-3 mph, especially when trying to make a right turn. this is extremely dangerous and i am concerned for her and my children (3) in the car should the accident occur due to this problem. i will take action in court against toyota should they not fix it. *nm

Vsc/abs skid control ecu failure on 2003 sequoia. ecu failure is a known issue by every toyota sequoia owner, but toyota claims that it's not an issue. this failure requires that vsc/abs skid control ecu be replaced at a cost of $1300 - $2100 depending on location. this should be recalled by the manufacturer or, by government intervention due to the severity of the defect and the potential for accidents and/or death resulting from the defective computer system causing the vehicle to lock up and lose power. *jb

Vsc off ad vsc trac warning lights come on unexpectedly in 2003 toyota sequoia. car often feels unstable for a moment when this happens. dealer has looked at the problem several times and has been unable to identify or repair cause. problem dates back to 2003. *jb

Vtrac failure indications while driving my 2003 toyota sequoia. 66,213 miles. had this checked while under warranty at 30,000 miles but it was not a hard failure so it was called intermittent. current failure clears after ignition cycled but dealer says fail codes do exist that show computer is failing. toyota has a service bulletin to replace computer if under warranty. research on the internet showed countless failures of vtrac computer on this model and the tundra with the full failure causing vehicles at high speed to go from 70 mph to 1 with no power assistance and uncontrolled deceleration. toyota is aware but doing nothing to remedy except repair if brought in at owner expense if not under warranty. *jb

The vsc and trac trouble lights are coming on. the car occasionally thinks that we are skidding out of control and begins pulsating the brakes. this is very dangerous. the failure codes in the computer indicate that the skid control ecu needs to be replaced. this is expensive and not covered by warranty, but should be covered by toyota via a safety recall with an improved version. i have found a lot of complaints on the internet by owners having the same problem. *jb

Vsc/abs/traction control computer failed. *jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 toyota sequoia. the contact stated while driving the vehicle his vsc light andthe abs light would come on. the contact stated that it does not matter how fast he is going for this to happen. he contacted the dealer and they told him it was a computer malfunction. the failure mileagewas 30,000 and the current mileage was 90,000. the vin was not available.

Dt*: the contact stated the abs light illuminated constantly. also, while driving at 30 mph on wet roads, the vehicle skidded when the brake pedal was depressed. the vehicle was taken to a service dealer who determined that the vehicle stability control was defective. updated 9/13/2006 - the deceleration sensor was replaced. the vehicle extended warranty did not cover the cost of the replacement. *nm

Braking system module. *nm

Vsc/abs skid control ecu failure is a know issue by every toyota sequoia owner, but toyota claims that it's not an issue. this failure requires that vsc/abs skid control ecu be replaced. while vehicle is under warranty, toyota will try to do anything and everything possible not to replace the part, but once the warranty expires and you bring the car for repairs, first thing they tell you is that you need a new ecu costing close to $3000.00. *jb

In april 2006 at 50,000 miles at an inspection it was recommended to replace front & rear rotors as they were rusted & could effect the safety of occupants as the brakes may not respond appropriately. hello, i am in chicago! rust should be expected here, but not to the point of safety. solution - spent money replacing all brakes & pads, then move south. *tr

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

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 15 mph and slowing to a stop, the antilock brakes failed causing the check engine and vsc traction light to illuminate. this occurred while attempting to apply brake pressure during normal braking on normal and snow covered roads. the vehicle has been to the dealership four times for inspection due to the antilock brakes. upon inspections, the dealership reset the computer to make the lights go off. the manufacturer was notified, however no repairs were made. updated 3/9/2006 - *nm

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota sequoia. the contact stated that the instrument panel lights remained illuminated. the dealer stated that the skid control ecu for the abs malfunctioned and they made the replacement. approximately one year and seven months later, the failure recurred. the dealer repeated the repair and charged half the cost. the failure mileage was 38,000 and current mileage was 59,000. updated 01/09/08. *lj updated 12/12/07 *tr

Vehicle makes a loud grinding noise from the front of the car when put in to gear. vsc trac and vsc off lights light up and buzzer sounds. once the lights and buzzer go off the grinding stops but the lights remain on. when driving the car feels very loose, like it is going to lose control. i brought the vehicle in to the dealership and they said that 2 computers , the vsc computer and the translator computer, failed. the dealership said that there have been many instances of this occurrence, and that the software used in the computers was bad. all of this happened at 39k miles and the warranty was up at 36k. toyota has been negligent in the fact that this is a known manufacturers defect and there is no recall or warranty for these defects. i am not sure if this issue can cause injuries or death, or possibly re-occur. *jb

My vsc & track off lights will not turn off. i lose control of my car at about 5 miles per hour due to this problem about once every other day. toyota advertises this break system as a safety feature on their website, yet dealership says it's not a safety issue. the dealership told me that the computer controlling this has failed & needs to be replace at a cost of $1300. my car is not yet 3 years old but just out of mileage warranty, so they said this cost was up to me to pay. my mother owns the same model & year sequoia & the exact same problem happened to her car & the same dealership fixed her problem at 36k miles but won't fix mine @ 46k b/c i'm out of warranty. my husband's employer had same problem at 40k miles on his 2003 sequoia & had to pay for the repair. i know personally 5 families who own sequoias & 4 of us have had the exact problem. the 5th just bought their car 4 months ago, so we are just waiting for their problem to occur. i'm meeting with the district factory rep tomorrow & will bring up the number of complaints on this website about the vsc computer failure. *nm

My 2003 sequoia has 31,000 miles and already the front brakes have been replaced three times, back brakes replaced once and the rotars resurfaced three times. from what i've read on the internet others have had the same problems. my friend who had a 2001 model had the vehicle taken in and the whole brake system replaced due to a tsb. when i called the dealers they told me that the tsb only affected the years 2000 & 2001. however, the 2003 seems to have problems, too! i've never had brake problems until this vehicle. the first time i had the vehicle serviced at 6700 miles the service technician told me my front brakes had premature wearing and accused me of braking too hard but agreed to have to have them replaced under warranty and the rooters were machined. the second time the service engine light came on and at 17,500 miles our front brakes were touching metal to metal. the roters were also resurfaced at a cost of about $500.00. at that time the service manager convinced us that this was normal i've had other mechanics say it is not. at 30,000 miles i was infromed that my front and back brakes needed to be replaced and the roters again were resurfaced. we went to another mechanic and paid $400. i've read that the braking system on the sequoia is inadequate, tundras are having similar problems and the calipers are too small thus causing warping and the brakes to wear out prematurely.

A few months after we purchased the vehicle in december 2004 we noticed that the traction lights are coming on periodically. we took the car to toyota service to check the issue and been charged hundreds of dollars for diagnosis and sensor replacement. however the problem was not solved and even got worst: the traction and brake lights were continuously on now. in 2010 we received a notice about a recall with regard to the above issue and brought the car to toyota dealership located at 4248 morse rd., columbus, oh 43230. the car was serviced but a few hours afterwards all the lights were on again. when we returned to the same dealership with the same complaint we were told that the recall was on the vehicle computer adjustment, which was done, and that and any additional services will be charged in full. we looked up the recall document and realized that it is clearly specified under remedy that: if the reflash cannot be completed on a particular vehicle, the ecu will be replaced with a new one. this service will be performed free of charge. since the manufacturer dealership is refusing to comply with the recall requirements we would like to bring the issue to your attention and seek your intervention. *tr

The vsc and brake lights on our toyota seqouia 2003( 4wd ltd, 9000 miles) comes on without warning and goes off usually when the ignition is turned off. the cars seem to handle fine but i am concerned for our safety.

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

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. although we tried numerous times to have toyota fix it under warranty; we got the vehicle repaired through our own mechanic and then shortly later the brakes failed resulting in a crash on the freeway. when it was decided that the seq would be repaired via ins there was a code that showed up on the computer system that showed that brakes indeed did fail; however when taking it to toyota the same code did not show up. the vehicle did well, however we live by a dirt road and when traveling down the road or going around a corner quickly the trac system lights go on and now the vehicle acts like it won't go when the trac system is on and you slow down or start up again--at present the system is turned off; it has really never worked correctly. *nm

While consumer was driving the check engine light/trac light, and abs braking light appeared on the dashboard and remained on. then, vehicle stalled. consumer was unable to restart vehicle, and had vehicle towed to dealer for inspection. mechanic determined that the battery needed to be replaced. consumer informed mechanic that this problem recurred and had not been resolved. *ak

Dt: brake system will grab and throw car into skid, but parts are failing intermittently. the switch on the dashboard does not shut it off. consumer had no control of vehicle. it has been in the repair shop, and found out steering angle sensor was bad, and replaced it. also, computer was defective. *ak the vehicle's computer was replaced also. the technician could not confirm what failed first, why either failed, or why he could not find any trouble over one year ago, when consumer noticed blinding lights on the dashboard. the consumer feels that this is a safety hazard because drivers do not have control over this active 4 wheel drive system. also the dash control will not shut off vsc (vehicle skid control), nor any other fuse, switch, wire, or other vsc's.*sb

Inadequate braking, interior noises, oil pressure gauge. *ak

Our 2003 toyota sequoia has the vsc, traction light, emergency brake light, and trac off light are all coming on. the dealer told us that we need a brake job and the problem that i have is that this will be the third set of brakes in 25,000 miles. i have been reading quite a bit on this same problem with other sequoia owners on the edmunton's website forum and it is concerning to me for the saftey of my family and my self not too mention the brake jobs at every 7,000 miles. the dealer tells me that this is normal for brakes with heavier vehicles but that has not been my experience with suv's in the past.*ak

Rotors have excessive vibration, despite good pads. turning and replacing do not help--problem appears associated with poor design--rotors and pads are simply too small for suv. *jb

I own a 2003 toyota sequoia. at 10,740 miles, the front disc brakes were worn out and required replacement. the brakes should have lasted longer and suggests an undersized design of the braking system. toyota did perform a "courtesy" replacement of the brakes but i am concerned this is a safety issue needing investigation. *la

Braking system warning lights - on four different occasions, the brake system warning lights have come on requiring that i pull the vehicle off the road and shut the ignition off to reset the lights. error codes in the computer have resulted in replacement of brake booster / master cylinder assembly replacement, brake fluid sensor check, brake pedal switch adjustment. braking on this vehicle is inconsistant with overall concerns regarding brake system performance. *ak

2003 toyota sequoia limited, 5 months old, 5200 miles, check engine light came on at the same time as vsc lights. seems to be other reports of same incident. also, brakes seem to be inadequate for vehicle weight with loing stopping distance, and significant travel when parking brake applied (low pedal)*ak