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Changes to the 2002 model (found this info through my own research, not the dealer) -
1) Convenience Pkg (CQ) no longer includes the Keyless Remote Entry, a real bummer for a $40K vehicle,
2) Leather Pkg (PM), on the SR5, does not include heater seats even though the Toyota brochure says it does,
3) tires are now Dunlop not Firestone/Bridgestone (in the Baltimore MD area), and
4) SR5 can not order fog lights, this is now a Pkg including Keyless Entry & Fog Lights.
I found this information out after I ordered my vehicle. It would have been nice if the dealer, or Toyota, would have called me and told me of the changes before the vehicle was made.
BTW - - I'm purchasing the Seq through United Buying Service, has anyone else use this sevice? just wondering if its the best deal in town.
Enjoy
NL
I have a standard width garage and have had no problems fitting the Sequoia in (no need to retract the mirrors). The antennae does hit the bottom of the door if I forget to shut the radio off, but it's a small price to pay to have my truck in the garage during the long New England winter.
As to garage size, we have a 3 car garage so the Seq gets the two car side...no problem. I can even pull in with the Thule carrier on top. Lucky me.
For us...we really wanted the extra seat in the Seq. The minivans were ok, but with 5 kids we needed the extra room.
While driving it today I did try to rely more on the mirrors for guidance, as some of the posters suggested, and it was a big help. I can see how this can help overcome the blindspot issues.
As for the ride of the vehicle, we had NO complaints. I did notice that it had a burned oil type smell to it. I forgot to ask the dealer about this.
We hope to have a decision in a few weeks, I'll post when we do. Thanks!
1) I liked the fact that the middle and third seats are very high backed in the Sequoia...my little ones feel like they were more protected than any other SUV we checked out.
2)In addition, you don't often find a vehicle with lap AND shoulder belts for the middle seat position in both the 2nd and 3rd row. Great for securing car seats!
3) Finally, the leg room issue. We put car seats in a Durango and Explorer on the car lot. Impossible to install car seats in that narrow 3rd row seat of a Durango, regardless of what the salesmen try to convince you. And the 2nd row seat had my little ones' legs jammed up against the back of the front seat in the Durango and not much better in the Explorer. Another revelation was that the middle seatback in the 2nd row of the Durango DOES NOT LOCK IN PLACE!! I discovered this when I was looking for the tether anchor for the middle seat and there wasn't one. That's when I realized that the middle seat didn't lock in place and therefore, wasn't intended for a carseat. I couldn't believe it...it's more of a fold-down console. Who would want to ride in that seat?!! If you were hit in the rear, your car seat would just fold over with you. And if you had both carseats secured on the outer seats, an elderly grandparent would have to crawl over a childseat to get to the middle seat that doesn't even lock in place! What were the engineers thinking?!
Back to the Sequoia...The leg room in the Sequoia IS EXCELLENT!!! Lots and lots of leg room for children in car seats and adults!!!!
Finally, you asked about the size of the Sequoia. It took me a good two months to get used to the huge feel of the Sequoia. Still a little apprehensive backing up. But the side mirrors are great in this vehicle.
Funny that so many of us narrowed our choices down to the Sequoia, Sienna and Odyssey. I still worry about the rollover issue but do like that my children are in the middle of a big vehicle rather than a small car.
That's my two cents worth.
It's very easy to get used to driving this SUV. Even my wife, who was leaning more on the ODY, now enjoys the SEQ.
I waited for the MDX and test drove it on DAY ONE (release date). I really liked everything it had for the money, except that I could not figure out if it is a minivan or an SUV. There is just something in its stance that I could not quite figure out.
The heart and the mind: yes, just like choosing a wife.
Buying a car can be a heart and mind (I'd rather call it head and heart) thing, where your head tells you one thing (e.g. the Ody is just right for you), but your heart yearns for something else (e.g. the Sequoia and the "looks" from your friends and neighbors, not to mention your work colleagues)... oh it can be tough !
I am surprised though: are there that many people cross-shopping minivans and full-size SUV's... ?How so ? These two vehicle categories are in many ways, so so different. Minivans, are, well, minivans... They are often bland, and come in same shapes and size... very monotous, though quite competent in their functions... OTOH, SUV's come in a myriad of shapes and sizes, to your hearts (or mind's) content. If it is about price, these are incomparable; since many F/S SUV's are much more expensive than most minivans. If it is about people-space, maybe there is some similarity, and that may be all there is, really.
I have 2 small kids, but I'd never would consider a minivan. For us, we were in the market for an SUV, the question is which one: either mid-size luxury or F/S beast... That is where the Sequoia, the Expy, Tahoe and Denali (to mention a few) comes to mind. These vehicles are designed for many different purposes, purposes which are quite different from the functionalities found with minivans. Yes you can tow with a minivan, yes you can carry up to 9 people in a minivan, then what else ? An SUV can do these and more, and it will not help you if you are environmentally-inclined; it burns gas.
People with small kids need to be practical: get what you need NOW and not what you like. 5 years from now whent the kids are out of car seats, you can trade in that minivan for a nice, gas-guzzling SUV. If you get the Ody, which is a fine vehicle, you will retain good value and get a great trade for it then.
Tommyc6, be practical and go with the vehicle that makes the most sense under your circumstance. I am refering here to the Honda Odyssey. You will not regret it. Just MHO.
If I decide on the Seq. instead of the Oddy it will be for more concrete/tangible factors....more cargo space, more seating capacity, more off-road/snow capability.
If I decide on the Oddy it will be for convenience (easier entry, power sliding doors) and economics (purchase price and gas mileage.
I think both are fine looking in a" form follows function" kind of way.
Just my 2 cents.
However, several recent posts have mentioned that the Sequoia and other full size SUVs have superior cargo, luggage and passenger capacities than do minivans, like the Honda Oddy. This is not the case. The Honda has a luggage capacity of 38.1 cu.ft. and a maximum cargo capacity of 146 cu.ft. while the Sequoia has a luggage capacity of 27.8 cu.ft and a maximum cargo capacity of 128 cu.ft. And, many minivans have higher cargo weight capacities than the the Sequoia.
Concerning cargo, I observed that the cargo space behind the third row seats is greater in the Seq. as compared to minivans (have'nt checked the actual specs.). With three children, travel means that cargo will have to be placed with the third row seating left intact.
May the Souls of the dearly departed rest in peace, amen...
My wife is a happy camper and that is all that matters!!!!!
Lemon Lawed the 98 to a 99 Chevy 2500 Sub.
This one now has 57,000 and we have four kids-12,
10,5, newborn.
We're sick of the Sub, no brakes, noisey, boring, etc. We're going Seq. Only question is , at what level would a 2001 be a deal and what's the cost/
gain differential to owning a 2002?
Thanks to all. Buying services any good???
There is a turn on the road (there is usually a mix of sand and gravel on the road as I take the turn) on my way from work where I can periodically get the traction control to kick in and reduce the engine RPM. I usually drive in 2WD-mode but I have also experienced the reduction in engine RPM while in 4WD-mode on the turn. I will re-try this again during the next few days to be sure.
Hopefully buying soon.
As for those of you with the 4WD model, you are experiencing the VSC and not the traction control. VSC senses oversteer and understeer (skidding and sliding) and activates the brakes and sometimes will increase of decrease throttle input for short bursts to keep you moving in the direction your wheels are pointed. You can disable this feature only when in 4WD by hitting the "VSC off" button on the dash. I would offer a big word of caution here though in that if you disable the VSC, rather than a momentary loss of throttle, you may end up sliding off the road. This is a very different situation than described by variman who has trouble getting off the line into traffic.
Anyone else experience this? I tried posting to the Sequoia Owners: Accessories & Modifications board but got no response.
According to the press information that I have:
4WD models = VSC + A-TRAC (Active Traction control)
2WD models = VSC + TRAC
VSC is defeatable, but A-TRAC remains active at all times, applying brake pressure to the 4 wheels as necessary. With VSC deactivated, there is no torque reduction (i.e. no engine limiter). With the 2WD models, TRAC and VSC are completely defeatable, unlike A-TRAC which remains active at all times.
Drew
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
I agree that with a little caution and intelligent decision, we should not run scared and contribute to the accelerated downfall of the economy. My sister and I just recently contributed almost 80K for our two Sequoias. America is strong enough to overcome a tragedy of this magnitude.
On the Sequoia thread, can you please describe in a little bit more detail what it takes to install the Rear Wind Deflector (Rear Spoiler) on the SR5? You said it's simple and only takes 15 minutes. But I could not see any possible point of attachment of the spoiler. Is it just glued on the rear roof? Did you buy your spoiler from the dealership?
I just want to be sure that I can install it before I order it from Toyotaprts4u.com. The seem to have a lower price than what the local dealers are quoting me.
Thanks for your help.
1. Active-Trac can be disabled by putting the vehicle in the 4 wheel low range plus shifting the transmission into low (the low-low mode).
2. When in 4WD, the rev limiting "feature" of the traction control is disabled. This means that the engine will not loose power as a result of you hitting the gas too hard on loose surfaces. There is however a rev limiter associated with the VSC which *may* reduce engine power to prevent lateral skids and slides and this can be defeated by first placing the vehicle in 4WD and then turning off the VSC by pressing the button on the dash.
BTW, you mentioned that the torque reduction feature is disabled in 4WD mode. However, I recall seeing at least two instances of owners saying that their torque reduction did activate in 4WD Hi mode without any over or understeer occuring. I also recall you saying that you tried flooring the throttle in snow but the torque reduction feature didn't activate.
Since the system recognises slippage by the wheel speed sensors (and any subsequent variations in the wheels' speed), if all four wheels spin at about the same rate, then the system will perceive it as having no slippage and hence the traction control will not intervene. I can tell you that for the M-class or the X5, brakes are first used to slow down the spinning wheel(s) and only if that is not as effective does the torque reduction step in to assist. If in 4WD mode, only the brakes are utilised only with no torque reduction, if the vehicle's speed is too high and slippage occurs repeated, the brakes will be pretty useless, especially since they will overheat. That's apparently what the torque reduction is there for. To scrub off speed so as to restore traction to acceptable levels. If what you say is correct, then this would throw this thinking out of wack, which is why I'm still rather confused ;-)
Any thoughts on this?
Drew
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accesories message boards
As to the question of straight line driving and traction control activation and its impact on the brakes, I think this is not an issue. Think about this for a moment: You are traveling at 35 MPH and stomp on the gas... even on gravel, how likely is it that you will have excess wheel spin? Even if you had some, can you imagine it being bad enough to need to reduce the throttle if you were already in 4WD? I doubt it.
Finally, as to the question of the "low-low" situation, you are correct. The center differential is locked and you have open front and rear differentials. You are now in the same mode as every Toyota truck and yes, it is possible to not have power available if both left (or right) side tires are hanging off the side of a cliff. This is why I don't see a whole lot of use for this mode.
http://www.4x4abc.com/G-Class/flip.html
Drew
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
Please let me know if anyone else is having a problem with the braking system.
My wife and I are both realtors, stop and go city driving every day, one house to another.
90,000 miles on my Jeep and I just changed the front brakes for the second time. The backs still have plenty of meat.
70,000 on my Camry same story but had to change the back brakes both times, front breaks look like new (I'm not sure I understand why the backs are wearing out and not the fronts).
Good to have you back Cliffy, you must be feeling better, what exactly did you do anyway?
Cliffy, is there any truth to the suspicion that engaging the handbrake frequently, especially when the rotor is very hot, would cause warping on the rotors?
Finally, does anyone know what it really takes to install the Toyota rear spoiler on the SR5? Somebody said that it's so easy that it only takes 15 minutes, but in the TS site another poster said that we need to drill five (5) holes and run the electrical connection from the lower brake light. I just don't want to buy the spoiler it it takes too much to install it.
Thanks.
As to the question of using the parking brake, I really don't know how that applies to the Sequoia because it has discs in the rear. I do know that use of the parking brake on my Tundra with rear drums can cause the drums to warp and therefore reduce the life of the shoes. Somebody with more technical knowledge of this can answer this better with disc brakes.
Norwesterner, I damaged my ankle pretty badly in a boating accident. I am finally off crutches but am still walking carefully. There is a right way and a wrong way to extricate an anchor when it is stuck in a wreck and I did it the wrong way. It is amazing how much force and be stored in 100 feet of rope when 225 horsepower is applied to it. This took me off the sales floor and into the finance office where I don't have to chase down customers. I liked it so much, I'm staying here.