Most common 2002 Toyota Sequoia problems
Share of the 666 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Toyota Sequoia complaints by model year
Best Sequoia years: 2009, 2015, 2017. Years to avoid: 2004, 2005, 2007, 2006, 2008. Compare all years →
2002 Toyota Sequoia recalls (6)
Air bags › Frontal › Driver side › Inflator module
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2010-2016 4Runner, 2003-2006 Tundra, 2003-2013 Corolla, 2009-2010 Corolla Matrix, 2004-2005 RAV4, 2002-2007 Sequoia, 2011-2013 Sienna, 2008-2012 Scion xB, 2008-2009 Lexus IS-F, 2007-2012 Yaris and Lexus ES350, 2010-2017 Lexus GX460, 2002-2010 Lexus SC430,…
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front driver inflator, front passenger airbag inflator, the airbag assembly, or the front passenger airbag sub-assembly and inflator.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2002-2005 Lexus SC and Toyota Sequoia, 2003-2005 Toyota Corolla and Tundra, and 2003-2007 Pontiac Vibe vehicles.
Remedy: Toyota will notify the Toyota and Lexus owners. General Motors will notify the Pontiac Vibe owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator,…
Air bags
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified the agency on May 13, 2015 that they are recalling certain model year 2004 Sequoia vehicles manufactured August 18, 2003, to August 19, 2004, and 2003-2004 Tundra vehicles manufactured March 18, 2003, to August 25, 2004.
Remedy: 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15V-043 and 15V-285 are under a Do Not Drive advisory.
Air bags
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified the agency on May 13, 2015, that they are recalling 2005-2007 Lexus SC, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Sequoia, and Pontiac Vibe, and 2005-2006 Toyota Tundra vehicles that were originally sold, or ever registered, in Florida, along the Gulf Coast, Puerto Rico, Hawaii,…
Remedy: 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15V-043 and 15V-286 are under a Do Not Drive advisory.
Suspension › Front › Control arm › Lower ball joint
On certain sport utility vehicles, due to a manufacturing issue in the front suspension lower ball joint, there is a possibility that the surface of the ball of the joint May have been scratched. The ball joint May eventually experience excessive wear and looseness, resulting in increased steering effort.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the front suspension lower ball joints free of charge. The recall began on July 5, 2005. Owners May contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Wheels
On certain 4x2 vehicles equipped with an alloy wheel tire upgrade (options wm4, wm8, zl1-zl4, dh4, or dh5) installed by the processing centers in jacksonville, florida or commerce, georgia, a label identifying the spare tire as a temporary use spare tire was not installed.
Remedy: Owners will be provided with a caution label and an insert for their owner's manual. Owner notification began July 15, 2002.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 4 possible defects involving the 2002 Toyota Sequoia:
Yaw rate sensor malfunction
On June 14, 2016, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE16-006 to investigate 135 complaints alleging incidents of yaw rate sensor malfunctions resulting in unexpected Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) activations and steering pull while driving in model year (MY) 2001-2002 Toyota Sequoia vehicles.ODI identified a total of 958 incidents in complaints provided by Toyota or submitted…
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag…
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited.
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag…
What 2002 Toyota Sequoia owners say
Stability & traction control all 251 →
The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Sequoia. The contact stated that upon coming to a complete stop, the traction control system would independently activate, causing the vehicle to suddenly stop upon acceleration. The contact stated that the traction control light would intermittently illuminate during the failure. The dealer was notified of the failure and they informed him that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The contact was referred to NHTSA for assistance. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 270,535.
When driving 70 MPH on the interstate, the vehicle periodically yanks hard to the right, it sounds like I have a flat tire, front right tire feels and sounds like it stopped turning. Car slows, vsc system idiot lights flash and beep. After I have successfully though unintentionally run another car off the road it returns to normal. The idiot lights stay on until the car is turned off. Has been taken to mechanics numerous times in last few weeks, cannot find a problem. But keeps happening. Mechanic is aware of 2003 and newer recall for the same reason, tried recalibrating yaw sensor successfully. 3 days later it happened again mechanics says the sensor May be periodically malfunctioning, over correcting for a nonexistent problem. It has happened going 30 MPH once, as well as today the lights and beeping went off at a dead stop in my driveway. …
Brakes all 192 →
The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Sequoia. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle made an abnormal grinding sound and hesitated to respond. The contact depressed the brake pedal a second time, and the vehicle stopped. The ABS warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving and depressing the brake pedal. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
While driving on a curved road, the vehicle made a grinding sound with flashing VSC off and Trac off lights, as it pulled violently to the right and almost ran off the road with my two children in the back seat. This was an extremely scary incident. I 1. While driving on a curved road, the vehicle made a grinding sound with flashing VSC off and Trac off lights, as it pulled violently to the right and almost ran off the road with my two children in the back seat. This was an extremely scary incident. I do understand that many first generation Sequoia owners have reported similar incidents and that there were no recalls, however, I think this is a serious enough issue that will cost innocent people their lives. I was able to pull a reading from the OBD2 and it says there is a fault with the Yaw Rate Sensor. Please help before this causes someone's death. …
Speed control & acceleration all 135 →
While driving on a highway at about 60 mph, my vehicle made a loud grinding noise while the steering felt very difficult to control and then the VSC TRAC and TRAC OFF lights both came on. I got off the highway and pulled over to a parking lot to inspect the vehicle, but I did not see anything that would cause the vehicle to do that. After a few minutes, I restarted the vehicle and while driving on local roads to get home, the same thing happened again. I was extremely worried for the safety of my wife and children in the vehicle. After reading a few Toyota owners threads online, this seems to be a very familiar pattern with these Toyota Sequoias, and I strongly believe that this will result in very serious injuries or possible deaths if Toyota does not issue a recall to fix the problem causing such dangers for drivers. Please investigate the matter to save lives. Thank you!
Problem began in 2009 when the vsc locked up on my husband while on the freeway. This incident was reported to you and a complaint filed. When vehicle was taken to Toyota of escondido, we were told it checked out fine. The light continued to come on an off..taken in again, they pulled the computer system and found it registered the car had a total rollover..so not the case! Toyota had no answer, saying maybe computer malfunction..they did nothing! Over the year the light has come on and off randomly, when taken in for scheduled maintenance, we have been told it "checks out fine". On 12/22/2010 I was pulling out of a parking spot and noticed a feeling of total tightness over the vehicle. The vsc light was on. When put in drive (I had been in reverse) the car was fine and the feeling gone..light as well. One hour later, I was at a stoplight in heavy holiday traffic. …
2002 Toyota Sequoia engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.7L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 13 / 17 / 14 |
| 4.7L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 13 / 16 / 14 |
EPA ratings. Class: SUV.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2002 Toyota Sequoia a good car?
Based on 666 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2002 Sequoia rates avoid: 13.3× as many complaints as a typical year of the Sequoia at the same age. It is one of the Sequoia years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2002 Toyota Sequoia?
The stability & traction control — 251 complaints, 38% of all complaints for this model year, most often about automatic (asc). Next are the brakes (192) and speed control & acceleration (135).
How many recalls does the 2002 Toyota Sequoia have?
There are 6 recalls for the 2002 Toyota Sequoia, the most recent from October 17, 2019 (inflator module). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Toyota Sequoia?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2009, 2015 and 2017. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2004, 2005, 2007, 2006 and 2008. See the full Toyota Sequoia years comparison.
At what mileage do 2002 Toyota Sequoia problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 112,000 miles; 16% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.