Problem 2001 Toyota Sequoia

rawhite07

I brought the above in March of this year. For a few weeks I thought I was in heaven everytime I got behind the wheel, till one day i accidently hit the curb while parking in my driveway. I continued to drive the vehicle until it was apparent that I needed a wheel alignment. Well you must think that this is the hardest thing in the free world to repair. After taking the vehicle to two different dealers in NY, Plaza in Brooklyn and Potamkin in Manhattan, THREE times to each, my vehicle continues to preform poorly. The truck continue to ride choppy and not smooth. The steeling wheel wants to go to the right even on smooth surfaces. So I just recently took the vehicle to Hudson Toyota who supposely did another alignment and guess what. The truck continues to ride choppy. At slow speeds you can see the truck bouncing from side to side. I can't believe that THREE dealerships made attempts to fix this problem and it still hasn't been done. Can someone help me because contacting Toyota is a bigger problem. Toyota only wants to save their good name and send these people that are trained to tear down the customer and go above and beyond to protect the company. I want to drive this vehicle into the showroom window of the dealer I brought it from and tell him to sholve it up his azz. I know it's harsh but I paid 37,000 for this truck and can't enjoy it...at my wits end.
Rick (201) 333-5190 - if anyone reading this has any ideas, I would love to know. Thanks

alcan

Put the spare tire on the front side you hit and see if the symptoms disappear. If so you have a bent rim or damaged belt on the tire.

rbussey

jgmilberg

Try a shop specializing in front end repair/alignment. It will cost around $50 to have it done but if that's the problem they will tell you, and if they see something out of whack they can fix it or at least tell you about it. If you hit the curb and that started it all I don't think that Toyota is responsible for the performance of the truck, so take it easy on them. Dealerships in my experience have never had the time or the properly trained technicians to do quality front end work, regardless of brand/company. How fast and hard did you hit the curb? Do you have steel or aluminum wheels? It could be as simple as a bent rim, or out of balance tire. Have you had the tires balanced? Hitting the curb could have knocked the weights off, causing a vibration, but wouldn't cause the truck to pull to the right. Takes it to a tire shop and have the tires balanced and rotated, and ask them to check for a bent rim. If no bent rim and the truck doesn't pull after the rotation, you could have bent the steel belt in the tire, causing the problem. Just to clarify I do not like imports, wether assembled in the US or not, so me saying not to take it out on them is not defending Toyota. The truck should be able to withstand a curb hit at least. I hope you didn't bend the hub, that could be costly. Good luck, and try to buy a Domestic car next time will ya!

opieluv

You're kidding, right? I would rather buy a Toyota and have front alignment problems than the slew of accidents waiting to happen with a domestic! Plus, Toyota BACKS its products, unlike most American auto companies, not to mention the fact that I would still have resale value with a Toyota after I drive it off the lot! No offense, but domestics have a LONG way to go before they can compete with the likes of Toyota. Have you seen the recent crash tests on the Toyota Tundra lately? Versus the American counterparts, people walk away from accidents involving Toyotas. Telling people to buy "domestic" on a Toyota message board sort of touched a nerve! Especially from someone who doesn't drive a Toyota anyhow.

Mr_Shiftright

Well, yeah, but he still had some good advice about how to deal with your problem, so give him credit for that. Sounds like a case of "to each his own", right? Let's be gentlemen.

Shiftright the Host

opieluv

Please re-read the posts....it was not MY problem this person was commenting on so I'll give no credit. I was merely commenting on his obvious disdain for Toyota products, and, last time I checked, Toyota Sequoia was what this particular board is all about. People who have already purchased a vehicle with an investment amount such as this do not need a "dig" regarding their choice. The person asked for suggestions regarding a problem, not the criticism they received about their personal choice. A host is supposed to be unbiased. "Buy domestic next time, will ya?" is hardly a gentleman's comment. Nor is the request from you for all of us to "be gentlemen" because you completey ignored the fact that I could be and am a FEMALE! I had no malicious intent, I simply took issue with the poor placement of a rather unrealistic bit of POST purchasing advice! If HE can voice his opinion, I certainly have a right to voice mine, or is this THAT kind of a message board?

ryanbab

Go back and take a look and rear the results of the crash test. If you were in the tundra you wouldnt walk away. Crawl maybe yes. Did you read about the leg injuries that can be sustained? Toyota had less physical damage to the truck but more to the occupant. If you were in the silverado you would have walked away. Totalled truck but you would have walked away.

To the person with the problem did you try the spare tire?

Ryan

teo

Some touchy Toyota lovers around here....LOL

mrdetailer

It may be more than an alignment.

My wife whacked a curb last January. I found out as I attempted to drive her to the airport for the Inaguration. She said don't drive the car until you've had the alighment checked.

Well, I took it in they replaced the wheel, but it wouldn't align properly. We had to replace wheel bearings, and a control arm. If the spare doesn't work then I would suggest having the steering system thoroughly checked out. Mine now works beautifully.

jodar96

Hitting curbs is hard on any car or truck. Domestic or import.

I have no doubt that Japanese cars and trucks hold their value better than domestic ones. I bought a 94 Honda Accord for $15,400, drove it for two years, put 30K miles on it, and sold it two years later for $14,200. That is value.

suv0111

Hi!
I really appreciate if anyone can tell me how to use the alarm system, because I followed the manual and it did not worked like it should, or please tell me where to obtain the operation manual of alarm system. Beside, when I started the engine, it sounded very noisy but when I shifted the engine, the noise was reduced, is it usual? I never had the SUV or V8 cars before. Thanks for your time. Please do not tell me to come back to my dealer, I did have a problem with the salesman. Oh! Can I bought a car in one dealer and bring the car to another Toyota dealer to service or complain during my warranty?

dodger44

suv0111, you can take your car to any Toyota dealer. You're not stuck with taking it to the dealer you bought it from. As far as salesmen giving you problems, complain about him to the service or dealership mgr. You don't have to take anything from him. You're the customer.

I don't have the alarm on my Tundra so I can't help you there. My engine revs a bit high for the first few seconds after starting but it is normal. Not sure whether this is your situation so if it isn't, ask the dealership (whichever one you take it to) about it.

Hope this helps.

clarkba

Could any of you describe to me sounds that might be associated with VSC being activated?

And.... once activated... how long is the sound on?

I am thinking that I may have triggered this after driving at a fairly slow speed on some fine gravel and then getting on an interstate on ramp...

I could use some help on understanding this.

newtoyowner

I have a problem with my My 2001 Toyota 4 Runner VSC control lights. This is the 2nd time at the dealer to fix this problem. The truck has less than 3000 miles and these lights just activate for no reason at all. The dealer initially reset the VSC and Check Engine Light and now it has activated again for no reason. Has anyone else had this problem. It is very annoying seeing all the lights on the dashboard and no apparent reason for them.

toyseq

Anyone else have a creaking noise from the top of the dash? I can't tell if it's at the base of the left hand pillar, the bottom of the windshield, or the dash. The dealer has tried three times, and now has it apart again. It's pretty annoying.

I bought mine on Nov 4, 2000, and have been REALLY happy until this event. My experience with the brakes at 15k miles, was like others, resolved by adding a little fluid - pad life is about 40% now.

Any help on the noise would be greatly appreciated - although I may be leading the contingent with milage and age. [ This is a duplicate of a post on the Sequoia page....seems a lot of repair issues are showing up there, and not here---anyway, there was no response there, so far.]Thanks!

toyseq

I posted on Oct 18, about creaking from the top LH side of the dash. The dealer has had the car for two weeks and still can't fix the problem. To their credit, they haven't developed deaf ears! It sounds like a broken weld, where the roof pillar meets the chassis...but they haven't been able to identify that either, since there multiple pieces of metal meeting that juncture. (No accidents in case you were wondering...)

Toyota says they've never heard of it, and is waiting to see what the dealer finds. My wife is concerned that they won't find the problem, and if it is a weld, then it's a structural integrity problem (roll-over protection...).

This is getting ridiculous. We could have bought Brand G.M. and had this kind of problem, but really thought Toyota would deliver on quality....it's not happening

We've loved the truck up to this point, and had a 16 year old 4Runner before it.

Any thoughts or help would be hugely appreciated!

teo

I have read about some Mercedes Benz ML430 Suvs with the same problem of a cracked weld in the left front A-pillar. Structural/weld related problems are just a pair of warning flags alerting the owner of some serious potential problems with the vehicle.

Have it lemoned. A re-welded car in such critical part of the structure will never be the same as it was done in the factory.