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Comments
Now that you have explained how all this technically works, how do I get it
working on my vehicle. The Opeators Manual is terribly deficient on this subject.
I won't have a chance to implement these procedures until I get my 4WD/VSC problem
fixed later this week.
Also, why can't I lower the back window from within the car. I can only open it using the
key on the back door. My 4Runner has this capability, and I use all the time.
We're in your neck of the woods (south shore) and, while Chambers is definitely on my list, I'm willing to travel around MA, CT and RI. In your search, any other dealers you'd recommend (e.g. McGee, Weymouth, Boch)? We're thinking about a late Q1, early Q2 purchase, but I'd like to get on the stick now. It's heartening to read that you and others are obtaining good deals and, just as important, are positive on the SEQ.
Thanks in advance.
McGee indicated that they would be willing to deal, but had nothing to deal with. I will be using them for service, but don't have much in the way of feedback on their sales.
Boch said they would come down $1000 from MSRP, but I was a little hesitant to deal with them anyway. I had a bad experience with them a few years ago when we were looking for a car for my wife. They pulled the hostage' technique on us and I practically had to threaten to call the police to get our trade in's keys back.
Attleboro Toyota seemed very willing to deal and was offering about the same discount as Chambers. The guy I dealt with there was John White. He was very responsive and pleasant to deal with over the phone.
No experience with Weymouth Toyota this time around. If they are the dealer I'm thinking of (on route 3A), they seem to have changed hands alot. Are they the old Atlantic Toyota?
My best advice would be to initiate contact with the internet sales manager at the dealers. Most dealers seem to have one and they tend to be more willing to quote prices over the phone or via email. If you get this done in advance and are happy with the deal, then all that's left to negotiate is trade in. Kelly Blue book was the best gauge for what to expect on trade in.
Yes I got $2000 off the Sequoia and what I thought was a decent trade on my vehicle. I went in expecting to get a wholesale value on my trade and therefore was not disappointed.
If you can possibly sell your current vehicle privately you would probably get more for it.
Remember, the sales person is as important as the dealer. The guy I dealt with was Bob VanWert at Herb Chambers. John White at Attleboro was good to work with as well.
Best of luck.
Tires also. Saw some early posts about going with Michelin over the factory standard, but nothing since. Anyone have recommendations or problems with tires?
This has been a very educational site, thanks.
Clearly the reason you shift into low is to gain the benefit of the locked center differential (hopefully with the help of ActiveTRAC)! If you could lock the center diff in D or 2 (by pushing a button), that would obviously be the better choice, but you lose the locking capability in those cases.
I think there is a lot of confusion about this (as we have seen on this forum), and some of it has to do with the nomenclature Toyota has chosen. On their Sequoia Specifications site they actually refer to four distinct systems:
Vehicle Skid Control (VSC) Standard on all models
Traction Control (TRAC) 2-wheel traction control Standard on 2WD models
Active TRAC 4-wheel traction control Standard on 4WD models
Multi-Mode 4-wheel drive with locking center differential Standard on 4WD models
I think these terms and systems are easily confused and interchanged, and probably noone in the world is absolutely sure how they really work.
Some of the Toyota Land Cruiser feature descriptions that I have seen is even more confusing, referring to "Active TRAC with locking center differential" implying (in any form of English that I have ever seen) that they work together.
I also went and reread the Motor Trend (01/01) preliminary Sequoia test report, and they said "you cannot manually deactivate TCS [aka Active TRAC] even with VCS switched off and the truck in low range. More than one hillclimb was accomplished with the gas pedal on the floor and a myriad buzzing and clicking as the TCS governed progress."
Maybe they had a pre-production unit that worked the way nature intended it...
By the way, re: "Low gear range on an ML" -- I certainly couldn't find any.
I have the Bridgestone Dueler H/T tires and have had no complaints. The ride is smooth and quiet - handling is very good. I don't see any reason to shell out extra money for different tires. I seem to recall Consumer Reports rating the Bridgestones at the top of the list for SUVs.
I don't have any experience with the VCR, so I can't help you there.
I got a Desert Sand Mica SR5 and am really happy with the color choice. Like the silver and gray, the two tone exterior is pretty muted in this color.
Another good forum to check out is www.sequoiasolutions.com if you can't get your answers here.
Due to a large number of demands, Toyota would have to build a lot of Silve Sky Seq's bcos this is the ONLY color that is monotone (int. and ext.)
If you ever buy this car, you will love it. Just check to make sure that during the test drive the only sound you hear are no more than 2 clicks for the VCP and Traction Control 'self-checks'...
Would someone of some sort of authority on the Sequoia answer my simple question with a simple answer?
BTW, I think Toyota is not doing a good job at providing information on the Sequoia as they should. Their web site does not seem to offer much of an explaination on how the features on the Sequoia work. I've been monitoring this discussion just to get more info on the truck. Thanks.
We did not get the Desert Sand Mica that we were promised and did use that as a bargaining tool for a little more $$ off MSRP. (Only because our expectations were not met.) However, in retrospect I am happy because Desert Sand only comes in SR5 model. I don't want the color of my car (even though it is a SR5) to be associated with only the "base version" at resale time. If resale time ever comes. (My 7 year old son has his sights firmly set on my car for 2010!)
As for you cliffy1, I'm sure that you are aware that there could be a plethera of reasons why the dealer you commented on could have had a Chestnut Sequoia on the lot for 6 weeks without a sale. (Other than the color) You are a dealer, right? I think that any dealer willing to deal would be able to sell these rigs with polka dots! Besides, this car in this "too brown" color is absolutely beautiful. (What color is yours, anyway?) And as I have mentioned, the chestnut elicits tons of comments every day. I doubt I'll have problems selling this one...I ever choose to do so.
Rosemarie
Rosemarie
Toyota's. web site is terrible about info on the Mufti-mode 4WD. I called and em-ail them and those answers were no better.
re moonroof: I have driven with this open many times and I love it. I had a dealer installed wind deflector on the vehicle (no choice) and there is no wind noise at all with the moonroof closed. With it open there is moderate noise as to be expected but the wind deflector seems to keep things under control. In my opinion although the moonroof is about 1000 extra it is worth it.
Check out the following site. It describes when the luxury tax applies.
http://www.a1.com/ada/lt.html
But as I understand it, all trucks are exempt from luxury tax.
I'm not the expert.
You're right re the Bridgestone Duelers. Con Reports Nov 2000 issue rated them the top all terrain SUV tires. On a personal note, we had them on our Subaru wagon. I take the car up to Maine quite a bit and ran it over miles & miles of logging roads. They performed very well, but I wasn't particularly impressed with their longevity - or lack thereof. We had to replace after 35k miles (despite being rotated every 6k and checked for pressure religiously).
Slickrock, I see your points but I have to admit I needed to read the comments over 3 times slowly. 4wd mag rated the 2001 models and mentioned some of the concerns you raise. Take a look.
I dont think anyone thinks the Seq can out 4wd SUV with locking centers and rear limited slip with low range but then again with a vehicle the size of the Sequoia why would you try. I think it is better suited to moderate off roading and winter driving with a large cargo capacity, smooth ride with good reliability. "toyotatoys", this is not a negative comment just an objective opinion.
It would be interesting to do the test you mentioned.
I dont believe the ML has low range and this SUV is even one more step closer to a Subaru than a truck (better handling, lower ground clearence, etc) so it really doesnt need a low range in my mind as it is not intended to need it.
Hope this clears things up! Oh and BTW, since the ML has 3 open differentials, low range can be used on all road surfaces up to 80 km/hr (at which point the tach is at 5000rpms, even with 5 gears for the transmission).
Drew
Host
Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
Toyota dealer ACCIDENTLY charged you a luxury
tax. I find it hard to believe that they're that stupid.
I'd be calling back to that dealer and asking
for some compensation for your time to research this topic. Oh... I'd go for about 10 hours at $50 and hour for a total of $500. If they don't agree, I'd think I'd mention calling your
states attorney general. Some people might call
that blackmail, but I'd say that it was just compensation for your time and effort.
Then to prove it wasn't blackmail, when I recieved the $500 check, I'd call the attorney general anyway. I'd give even odds that they
made this "accident" to hundreds of buyers.
Jim
It's good to see that being a part of this, actually helped someone save some money.
Or, in this case, not get ripped off.
For all those interested, I got my Seq. Limited in SD for
$3835 off the MSRP or $1500 over Dealer Invoice.
This is approximately 3.75% over Dealer Invoice.
It took me about 3 hours of negotiating before they finally made this offer.
It wasn't stressful. I actually had a great time negotiating.
I was only willing to pay $1200 over dealer invoice. I was fully expecting to walk away from this
car because I felt they would not come off their $1500 off MSRP price. I got lucky!
Your e-mail is currently private.
I've made mine public for the time being.
If you could e-mail me.
Lcd1, the short answer to your 4WD question is the yes, the Sequoia can safely be left in 4WD all the time. Your mileage will suffer a bit but nothing else.
Drew
Host
Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
Hope this helps!
Drew
Host
Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
I too would like to know the scoop with that pricing - would like to E-mail you.
Your e-mail is currently private.
I've made mine public for the time being.
If you could e-mail me.
I'll see him tomorrow, we'll find out if the personal visit is as positive as the phone call.
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Safety-wise, they both have their pluses. The Sequoia is heavier, and hence that helps in a collision. It also has stability control (which helps significantly to prevent skids and rollovers), available side curtain airbags, front seat pretensioners/force limiters, as well as selectable full-time 4WD. There have been no crash tests as of yet on the Sequoia, but its cousin, the Toyota Tundra pickup has been tested in the NHTSA's 30mph full width non-deformable barrier test. I was a little disappointed at the 4 star (out of 5) driver rating, and the 3 star front passenger rating. However, I tend to put more emphasis on the IIHS's 40mph offset crash test. The Sequoia nor the Tundra have been tested for this as of yet. Despite this, the Sequoia would still be my pick if I was in the market for a full-size SUV.
As for the M-class, because it is smaller, lower to the ground - lower centre of gravity - and has a four wheel independent suspension (the Tundra only has front wheel independent suspension and a solid rear axle; good for towing, not so good for handling), permanent 4WD and near 50/50 weight distribution, it is a lot more agile and will be upset much less in sudden emergency lane change maneuvers (active safety), even without its stability control system turned on (it's on by default and should remain that way). It is even fun to drive with its accurate steering. Passive safety-wise, it has dual stage/dual threshold front airbags and side impact airbags in all four doors. There are also seatbelt pretensioners and force limiters in all outboard seating positions front and rear. Child seat tethers are in every rear seating position.
Crash test-wise, the M-class was very good in the NHTSA's crash test (4 and 5 stars), and received a good and best pick in the IIHS's offset crash test. Real world performance has also been very good, showing that the strong safety cage holds up even in rollovers (which seem to involve only '98 ML320s with no stability control systems). You can see accident pictures of a few M-classes here: http://go.to/m-class
Good luck with your decision! FYI, the M-class discussion topic is located here.
Drew
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Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards