Toyota Sequoia

thirdsuv

Well I got a wide range of times from various dealers ranging from 6 weeks to 6 months. The dealer I ended up with quoted 12-14 weeks but was also talking about how a salesman wife got her special order in 7 weeks. As it turned out her special order was a limited and it wasn't as special as a SR5 with PM.

The 14 weeks wasn't too far off.

shelleybacon

Interior Quality Questions: My family is seriously looking into purchasing a Sequoia. We currently own a Chrysler Town and Country, and owned a Dodge Caravan before that. One of my chief gripes about the Chrysler products is with the interior components. We live in a rural area and have a short gravel driveway. We are barrage with small, annoying problems such a screws falling out, small parts breaking, trim pieces coming loose, etc. I would love to have some feedback from Toyota owners as to the frequency of these types of occurances in Toyota vehicles, the Sequoia and others. I realize that the Sequoia is too new to have experienced these problems over a significant time span, but many Sequoia owners have owned other Toyotas in the past. Please, please help me out and give me some feedback! I like my Chrysler van and replacing it with another would be cheaper than purchasing a Sequoia. However, I regularly drive by the dealership and drool over the new Toyota SUV and am seriously considering replacing our current van - with 111,000+ miles on it - with a Toyota product.

Thanks in advance for your help.

lcd1

Carpet short and not secured under the brake and gas pedal.

I've test driven the Sequoia 4 or 5 times. I sat in the back seat once. From the vantage point of the back seat I was able to see the carpet area under the brake pedal - it was not pretty. The top edge of the carpet was not secured and it seemed to to be a bit too short to complete cover the entire floor area behind the brake pedal. It seemed loose Has anyone noticed the same?
I hope the Seq. I've ordered won't have the carpet that is ill-fitted and cheap-looking as the one I saw.

geeper

Guess there are no more titles to be added to posts. Oh well.

Has anyone that did NOT get a CQ package been able to get a keyless entry system that activates the rear window up/down control ala the factory keyless system? The reason I ask is that I am contemplating ordering a rig through the dreaded GST network and have pretty much zero confidence in the 6-10 weeks leadtime quotes I am getting.

Alternate is to skip the CQ pkg and get something off a lot or in the pipeline. Believe it or not, CQ is not a very popular item on GST Seqs. My guess is that GST wants us to buy the Extra Mile C package instead. Problem there is that there is no Homelink/Trip computer post production option.

This kills me. I checked Tuscaloosa's website today and EVERY rig I pulled up (about 6) had both CC and CQ. In GST it's usually one or the other, or neither. Very few with both. Just not sure it is worth it to fly to B'ham and drive 1000+ miles home to get CQ.

drew_

Geeper, it's a bug and we've been working on it since this morning. Hopefully the title field will be up soon.

Thanks for your patience,

Drew
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mmcgregor

Well I hate to say it but it's PISTON SLAP and Toyota knows it. It looks like tloughr was right. I forget where all of the previous discussions ended but here is what I have found out (from a Toyota service rep).

The pistons on the V8 engines have tolerance problems than can lead to piston slap depending on how much the tolerance is off. A TSB has not been generated yet but I hate to think of what a TSB for piston problems might say. I don't like the idea of paying $40k+ only to find out that Toyota wants to fix a prevoiusly known problem by having to rebuild my engine.

I have heard about some engines that are very loud when first started but quiet down once warmed up. I'm not sure what the definition of quiet is but this is the scenario that Toyota is looking in to.

My noise is not quite so severe. It's an annoying tick that seems to be related to outside temperature and not engine temperature. Does anyone know if the computer changes any of the engine settings based on outside air temperature? Does anyone else have this symptom?

It appears that this V8 engine has four versions:
1 - quiet
2 - ticker (fuel injectors)
3 - tapper (?)
4 - knocker (pistons)

Are others hearing these noises or am I the exception?

shweggy

If anyone has an SR5 model and would like to install factory fog lights with a minimum of cost and headache, take a look at my web site below and look at the two links with pictures and instructions. I feel that this is the easiest route to go to install the lights and have a total factory look.

        http://www.geocities.com/shweggy/shweggys_page.html.html

714cut

shelleybacon

Toyotas are renowned for their fit and finish. The Sequoia is no exception. All reports and reviews state this as a strength of the Sequoia. This does not mean that there will not be individual problems, but compared to your Chrysler you will be very pleased

curiousx54

Limited Owners

Where exactly are the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth speakers on the car, cuz to my knowledge Im supposed to have 10 speakers cuz I have the 6 disc changer with the JBL speakers.

dforr

fit and finish -

Platitudes and truisms don't make a sloppy job better or a ticked off owner happy. I say, get Toyota to fix it and make it right if it's done poorly. If they have a reputation for quality, then they certainly won't accept that a job done poorly is adequate, even when compared to the traditionally sloppy work of other auto companies. If they give anyone a hard time, then their reputation for quality will be lost quickly - just ask Volvo how quickly a reputation for quality can be lost.

suvsrok

Unstable at Higher Speeds?

Recently bought a 4WD Limited and took it for a 1200mi trip with 6 people. Overall we're very pleased with it's performance, comfort, and utility but note a potential problem. When at freeway speeds (65-70 mph), periodically seems to swerve, feeling like a gust of wind is hitting the car. Doesn't result in any loss of control but annoying. Has anyone else noted this? Tire pressures were okay and has occurred both when loaded and with only a single driver and empty.

raybear

Keep in mind that vehicle is a truck and not a sports car.

seqlady

Had our first mini-road trip on Easter Sunday with the Sequoia and it was WONDERFUL! 3 kids (2 teens and a 9 yo) and 2 Golden Retrievers (each about 75 lbs), 2 adults. Everyone had plenty of room and was quite comfy. 1 dog and teen in 3rd row; 1 dog and 2 kids in second row. This thing is so incredibly quiet and smooth on the highway, no swaying whatsoever at speeds up to 70-73. Braking is fabulous. Climate control works beautifully. On the way home it was very rainy, dark and foggy...the Sequoia was stellar and we weren't even in 4wd. I can't say enough good things about this car - we came from a Grand Cherokee and there is absolutely no comparison. 1650 miles and still doing the Toyota jump for joy! I just wish those darned running boards would become available soon.

oac3

seqlady: ".. those darned running boards..." are available already, but on the west coast. Since you are on the east coast, you'd have to wait till the summer when Toyota promised to release the kit. Or get your dealer to install one for you, at a ridiculous price of $1400 w/out the kit. I hear that the kit will cost around $800 installed when it arrives from Toyota in late spring/early summer. Gotta wait.

suvsrok: I have occassionaly (:-)) driven at speeds up to 90mph in 2WD mode and there has never been any semblance of a sway or instability, whatsoever. Have you checked your alignment in 4WD ? I have read elsewhere (tundrasolutions) of issues related to alignment that may cause some instability; this is only in 4WD mode. Try 2WD and see if you get an instability at high speeds (>80mph).

mcmatt

I count 8 speakers in my 10 speaker LTD. They are: tweeters on windshield panel (2), door speakers with woofer and tweeter (4), rear door speakers (2). I haven't looked at the rear door speakers behind the grill. They may have two components or something, but that is the only way to make 10. I also have the electrical manuals for the Seq and there are only 8 speaker elements listed in the radio section.

Advertising problems????

tbever

Re speakers: the rear door speakers are 2 way coaxials, making total of 10 (I know because I replaced all the speakers: they are paper cone type speakers)

highhopes

This message is to address the question regarding short carpet by LCD1.

I took delivery of a Limited 2WD last week and my vehicle has the same exact
situation that he noticed. The carpet does not extend to the top of the under dash area
on the drivers side and the velcro strips that hold it up are badly mis-aligned causing an
ill fitting drooping effect.

Also save your money and do not order the floor mats, very thin and overpriced.

I must say that everything else is satisfactory but the thread regarding the bass on the
upgraded radio is right on, too much of it. Maybe a fix will be forthcoming.

714cut

dforr--a general question was asked about fit and finish. A response was given based on much feedback and fact. My response stated that there may be individual problems. No matter what the vehicle we would all expect these problems to be addressed by the dealer. I don't believe I suggested otherwise. The facts are Toyotas have better fit and finish than Chryslers. This is what the posting wanted to know. It has little to do with platitudes and truisms-but thank you for showing us your impressive vocabulary.

dforr

714cut -

yer welkom.

Opining that Toyota is better than Chrysler on fit and finish - now there's a comforting thought.

Appears that carpet is an issue on current finish of Sequoias. How's yours?

How about slamming those rear doors to close 'em? Fit issue?

Booming bass on upgraded radio? Finish issue?

Ticking problem or piston slap? Design issue?

Is the Sequoia or any other car perfect? No. Are these individual problems isolated to individual owners? Doesn't appear so, at least not by reading this forum or tundrasolutions.

So - I'd like to keep the dialogue going on owners and their observations and descriptions of problems - if Toyota doesn't get this feedback, how else are they supposed to know what needs fixin? And I'm not hearing much response from Toyota on TSBs that address these issues.

cliffy or dianne, if you know of tsbs that solve these problems, help clear the air. Or do you know of some Toyota service managers that frequent this forum that care to chime in and educate us on the current status of Sequoia's and quality.

Everybody wants a quality car, and I'm sure Toyota wants to build the best quality too. Now we'll find out how much quality you can get for $35-40K from Toyota. My expectations are pretty high at this level.

mcmatt

tbever thanks for the info on the speakers. In replacing the speakers, did you get some with less bass response, or have you had your dealer fix the booming bass problem????

lcd1

driving in reverse in 4x4 and 2 wheel mode

I've noticed that going reverse in 4x4 mode does feel different than going reverse in 2 WD mode. The steering felt stiffer when reversing in the 4x4, and the Sequoia felt heavier too. Anyone with similar observation? Could this be an inherent feel for driving in 4x4 mode?

slickrock

It was cold again this morning, so I started the vehicle to warm it up a little and went back inside to finish breakfast. About two minutes later, I heard this awful squeeky ticking sound coming from outside, and immediately thought the Sequoia had caught the dreaded ticking disease.

So I rushed out to the garage where the sound was a lot louder, but I couldn't exactly pinpoint where it was coming from. So I walked around the vehicle, and when I got to the garage door, I realized that it was coming from a car across the street in a neighbor's driveway.

Maybe I've been reading this board too long.

slickrock

My daughter and I went to the Black Hills for the four day Easter holiday, and I noticed two things.

First, it was very windy and gusty (~40-50 mph crosswind) on the freeways, and at 75, the Sequoia was definitely affected, especially when passing an 18 wheeler or crossing a bridge with barricades that temporarily block the wind. But it never felt unstable -- it just took some alert steering to counteract the wind effect.

Second, the last time I was in the Black Hills was in my Acura Legend, and I remember thinking how much fun it was to drive it on those narrow, windy roads (like 16A -- the Iron Mtn. HW). But the Sequoia actually did just great on those twisty, windy (but reasonably well-banked) mountain roads. The anti-sway bars and stiff suspension worked really well.

If the Acura was an 9 out of 10 on those roads, the Sequoia was at least a 7 (and that's pretty good for a truck). And the VSC never did go off.

dforr

So, if I understand correctly, Toyota counts a two-piece cone speaker as two speakers.

And a 79" wide Seq is really 89" when you measure the space needed to get it into a garage.

And the ground clearance is asteriked as well - sprung component clearance or some other mis-guided reasoning.

These people from Toyota must be recent graduates of American public schools - not only can't they count, measure or add, they forget that other people can.

What's up here? Can't they just say the upgraded radio has more speakers and sounds really cool???

johnmccool

Call me stupid but I can't find a way to put my rear window up using the keyless remote. Does anyone know how to do this?????

Thanks,
John

P.S., I'm too lazy to read my owners manual....

dianne4toyota

You can put the window down with the remote, but not UP. Safety issue.
You have to use the key to get the window up from the rear of the car, or use the dash-button if you are IN the car.

Dianne

mattw7

Whatever it is, mine has it and the supposed fix from the Gulf States rep as described at Tundrasolutions didn't work on mine like it had on several other's SEQs. Has anyone else tried having their injectors insulated lately?

thirdsuv

Re: Carpet
My carpet extends upto within one inch of the
gas pedal linkage. Personally I don't want it extending up any closer and possibly jamming up the works. You have to look REALLY hard to see the top edge of carpet from 2nd row.
I'd venture to guess that zero out of 100 passengers would notice, yet alone percieve it to be ragged.

Re: No UP on rear window...safety issue
Idiotic decisions like these surely have a lawyer involved.

RE: Slamming rear doors
I guess this is the down side to double and triple gaskets and a quiet ride. The gaskets will learn their shape over time and it's going to get easier. There is not a "fit" since the gaps are close and even.

zinny2

Well, I finally picked up my Sequoia last night! Great car and Craig Fuhs at Wilkins Toyota in Minneapolis Minnesota was the best person I have ever delt with when buying a car. Sold to me at an unbeliveable price. Email me if you would like his contact information.(my email is in my profile) He typically sells for about $500 over invoice.

The Sequoia is a very smooth car. I added PIAA 959 fog lights and I think it really looks sharp.

Thanks for all the advice over the past weeks.

Regards,

Zinny

klperkins

I want a Seq(SR5 2wd 4.7L), my husband wants to get (again) a mini van (yuk). I told him that the Seq is really a great buy plus a good looking suv to boot. Any suggestions to sway his tiny mind. Did I hear right that the Sequos' may be going up in price? Any way, appreciate any thoughts out there.

mmcgregor

Does yours tick all of the time or just when it's cold out? My magic temperature is 60deg. Haven't tried the injector fix yet because I know that's not the problem.

lcd1

It sounds like you don't have ragged carpet as I've seen or you're fine with ragged carpet. Come to think of it, the Sequoia isn't a luxury car, even though it is in $35-45K price range. I think consumers can and should demand a better quality product for that can of money.

I sometimes forget that this forum is full of people who are infatuated with the Sequoia. I like the SUV too. But I would hate to pay $40k and get less than I expect.

jcnew4whlr

Funny--when I bought my first Maxima many years ago I was told automatic up on the driver's window would be unsafe, and that automatic down on passenger side would be unsafe for chidren...but my Seq has automatic down and up on both front windows. I don't see it as unsafe, I see it as convenient. So, how unsafe could it really be to let the rear window go back up using the remote????

drew_

The front windows may have pinch protection, they stop or reverse direction when there is an obstruction while the window is going up automatically. Cliffy or Dianne, can you confirm or deny this?


Drew
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tbever

Speaker counting: the rear doors have 2 separate speakers each. They are mounted coaxially, but they are two separate speakers, not just a cone within a cone.

BTW: I replaced entire sound system not just speakers so I can't comment on a factory fix for the booming bass. Seems to be an amplifier problem that has been fixed on the Landcruiser, which had a similar but more severe problem.

RE: carpeting: what the heck? Mine fits like you would expect it to. It doesn't look ragged or poorly fitting and goes up about to about the middle of the steering shaft. If I were a rear seat passenger I can't imagine why I would even be looking down at the carpet.

RE: rear doors: mine close easily with a solid thunk. I can open them with my pinky finger. Non-issue with my Seq.

RE: crosswinds: I do a fair amount of freeway driving at 70+ and sometimes ++ MPH and on windy days you can feel the vehicle being buffetted, but I have never felt that it was unstable or difficult to control. This is much more noticeable compared to our other vehicle which is a 99 Odyssey but it is not a problem.

The only other Toyota I have owned was a 97 Camry. It was a great vehicle and was also made in the USA. The only quality issue I had with it was that the paint tended to scratch fairly easily and after 3 yrs it was showing its age. I think the Camry was much better in quality than our Odyssey which is made in Canada.

714cut

Wow, you really dislike Toyotas don't you. What do you drive? If it's a Toyota I'm sure you are not happy and have dealt with your problems accordingly. Maybe you could share your success stories with us. If you are not driving a Toyota you must be driving (no pun intended) the company crazy with all the problems you are having. Have you even driven a Sequoia? If not, maybe you should and then report back to the forum. It would be really easy for me to go to the Expedition forum and be negative. By the way, have you ever visited the other forums. You seem to be hung up on the Sequoia's carpet. Those guys are hung up on real problems like brakes, suspension and "pieces" falling off.

suznjones

I've been trying to find all weather mats for my Seq. Toyota only has the ones for the front seat and the rear seat. Does anyone know if the rear seat ones will fit in the third row? What about the cargo area? Any ideas? Thanks!

dforr

714cut - Are you sure that you're not a current or former service manager for a dealer? Your reference to "real problems" always strikes a nerve for me - I really don't enjoy being told how to define the word "problem". Granted, Expeditions have problems that are more serious, mechanical and definitely safety related, so maybe the better word is "serious problems". If that's what you meant, then ok, carpet fit and door slams are not "real" problems. But they are a definite annoyance.

I'm still in love, however, with old VWs. My old 72 VW beetle, like most beetles, had tight seals on the doors, and I was still slamming the doors shut after 15 years of ownership. So not all seals improve or loosen up with age (BTW, the heater boxes were rusted shut at this point as well). And the beetle came with "all weather" mats, since carpet was not on the options list - come to think of it, I don't remember any options available on that car when I bought it. Any ticking or tapping noises were easily adjusted by changing the timing using the strobe light and a wrench on the distributor. I can only imagine such simple fixes on the Sequoia. Sorry for wandering off, but that old car cost $2080 brand new in 1972, and the Seq on order now cost $36,000 and weighs 3x as much. I can only hope Seq achieves the same status as VW Beetles, but I'm not planning on it happening. Would be nice if it did though!

hookey

I actually know a family who has a brain damaged child who had his neck caught in the rear window of a station wagon when his sister closed the window while his head was out the window. This happened in the 70's. There were lots of law suits filed against car companies for injuries suffered when the rear windows were closed on children. That is why you can't close the window via remote control. They want the operator to be able to see what is happening so that if there is danger the window can be opened quickly.

mcmatt

That was my feeling also. The remote will work from 200 to 300 feet. It is not too far-fetched that the window could be rolled up by accident or by a child playing with the remote, etc. There would be no way to know if the window going up was a good idea at that time or not.

The safety reverse on the windows is for an emergency only, you don't want to have to rely on it. The manual even says not to test it. I imagine that it is possible to cause some misalignment or even damage if it has to be engaged.

lcd1

It seems that some people can tolerate minor issues, such ragged carpet, with the Sequoia. To them, problems with the Seq. are minor compared to other SUVs. To me, it's troubling to see that such comparison is made and that the important point is missed. As I am interested in the Seq. I don't care if the Expedition is less expensive or less reliable. However, I care about paying hard earned money and not gett excellent product.
I think with a low standard of expection, such as that of 714cut, we would have to settle for just mediocrity and not excellence.

cliffy1

Let me comment on the so called "booming bass" issue. I have yet to hear a complaint from one of my customers on this. In fact, I get quite the opposite reaction. One buyer called me back to rave about the JBL stereo. He had learned to adjust it correctly for the type of music/talk he was listening to. For music, he set the bass at +2, mid range at +1 and treble at +4. For talk radio, he set the bass at -2 and left the rest.

tmeframe

Believe me Cliffy - It's a problem. The bass produced from this audio system is entirely saturated, and severely overdone. While it may work with Rock, Pop, or Rap, it sounds like !@#$#$% with Classical.

-Steve

mcmatt

Yes this is definitely a problem. With settings all on 0, the sound should be rather flat. The JBL system has a lot of bass and reverberation especially at 100Hz. This is an annoying frequency for those who have messed with stereos a lot. I am probably classified as what would be called a "tweaker". I drive my wife crazy because I can notice when she has changed any stereo, by even a little, on its equalizer settings.

JBL made what appears to me to be an "auto-loudness" control on their amplifier. Most inexpensive stereos have a "LOUD" or "LOUDNESS" button to increase the bass at low listening levels. This lets the music have a full sound at low volumes. The bass is usually the first thing to disappear as you turn down the volume.

This JBL system seems like they tried to predict where the listener would want the bass when the car was off, running, and at low volume levels. The comments in the posts have supported my guess. I read things like "too much when engine running", or "sounds OK when volume turned up". I have also noticed the problem isn't as bad when listening to CDs. I think this is because the low level preamp signal from the CD head unit is higher than that from the radio, therefore the amp doesn't "think" it has to have the bass as high.

This is a real problem for me, that is why I have been monitoring these sites looking for some concrete answers. After paying $40K, I don't want to have to replace the stereo.

cliffy1

Let's define the word problem as it relates to a vehicle. A problem is something that is wrong WITH THE CAR. Contrary to individual expectations of what it should sound like at "0", it has a lot of bass. If you don't like how it sounds at "0", alter it. Turn up the treble and mid range and you will effectively drown out the excess bass.

Now, an individual may have extra sensitive ears or have expectations of what particular settings should sound like. This is not a problem with the car. The system is functioning as it was intended. If this is your complaint, alter the settings. Properly set, I have yet to find a customer who didn't enjoy this stereo. Improperly set, I have some customers who object to the bass level. I can't imagine a more simple "fix".

dolphan1

Cliff, Diane or whoever:

A previous poster who finally took delivery of a special-ordered Sequoia mentioned something to the effect that Toyota only forecasted the side-curtain air bag option for 5% of all Sequoias. I know in my area (So. Fla.) that I have yet to find a Sequoia with side air bags. WHY? For $500, the side air bag seems like a smart, safe option that many buyers would want. What am I missing? Are side air bags considered a hazard for kids or something? Are SUV buyers typically uninterested in such a feature? Any insight would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

zinny2

Is it possible to fold the side mirrors in if you do not have the power fold option?

Thanks,

Zinny

cliffy1

I don't know where the 5% figure came from. I think the actual number is 33.3% of all Sequoias. It all depends on your region, but up here in VA, all Limiteds come with them and only about 5% of the SR5s get them.

thirdsuv

That poster was me and that was the forcast of
the Southeast REGION only. I assume other regions would vary. Lastly, that figure was from a source (a district manager) that I have no way to prove was correct (although many other things he said to me were proven true in my paricular transaction).

dforr

DID YOU SAY? I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING OVER THE BASS ON THIS STUPID CAR RADIO!!!

grrr...if Toyota sells the radio installed in the car, then Toyota gets the call when the customer ain't happy. But if all it takes is moving the Bass knob, well duh, that's why they put it there - move the knob like it tells you to in the owner's manual. Personally, I move all sorts of knobs to listen to the same piece of music depending on highway speed, kids in the car, etc... You paid for the knobs, give em a twirl.