Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2002 Toyota Sequoia owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
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. …
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!
My vehicle has randomly been flashing vbs/abs/traction control lights. Sometimes nothing happens other than the flashing lights. Other times I'll be driving & when going around a curve my car makes a beeping noise (sounds like the abs noise activated) & I'll feel a pulsing under the brake & hear a grinding sound. It doesn't allow me to brake effectively. Another time I was coming to a stop behind a car at a red light. It was clear as day, roads weren't wet & I couldn't have been going over 10 mph. When hitting my brakes, my steering wheel kind of glided back & forth for a sec and it felt like my tires "floated"in the same motion as wheel until it stopped.
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. …
The first time my ABS/vcs trac lights came on was after I had to brake hard on a downward hill. I accelerated to climb the other side of the hill and it was after doing that which the vcs trac and trac off lights first came on at around 168,000 miles. There was a fast beeping sound lasting for maybe 10 sec then it regained power. Now it will do it within just a few miles of our home. We have had several more occasions since this initial incident where there was a jerking/pulling of the right front tire. Also the air conditioning would come on and off like it was trying to surge. Also idles very low, below 500 RPM and then finally shuts off. This vehicle has become very dangerous to drive. …
The first indication that something was wrong was the first week of September 2019. I was driving down a county road when the lights indicator lights for the trac and vsc started flashing and beeping when I drove over some bumps. The lights would not go off even when pressing trac off. I turned off the car and restarted it and the lights were off but only for about 15 minutes into my drive. I took it to the Toyota dealership and the agent said he did not know anything about the system and I would have to bring it back for diagnostics. That night I was getting ready to go over a rather large bridge when all of the sudden the car jerked twice to the right with the second event pulling me off the road. It was extremely frightening and terrified us all. Thank god it did not happen on the bridge or under other circumstances. …
Grinding noise, beeping, warning lights flashing, difficulty steering, difficulty braking, clunking when braking, vsc and ABS lights on. Very scary. I was driving approximately 50 MPH. It also happened when my daughter was driving it. Very intermittent. I was going straight, no turning, no bumps in the road. So random. I have researched the much on youtube and the internet and there are many others who have experienced this scary situation. I am afraid to drive the vehicle and it is a major safety hazard and must be fixed! I heard they recalled the 2003's but not the 2002's but they have the same parts. I will send pictures of others who have similar complaints. If you go to the website I sent you will find many others who have experienced the same thing. I am sending only a sample. Please do something. Serious safety hazard, whatever the problem is! …
When I entered the freeway, my vsc trak and vsc off lights came on, and the vehicle pulled to the right suddenly. I exited the freeway, and inspected my vehicle, to find nothing visible. I re-entered the freeway, traveled approx 100 miles, with no issue. Then, the same evening, I exited the toll road near my home, when the vsc trak and vsc off lights flashed and beeped, and brakes locked up on and off violently, as if the vehicle was possessed. I managed to get it home, as I was only about a mile from there, where I parked it, and had it towed to a shop. The mechanic was able to pull a code...the yaw sensor. But, the mechanic said that he could not guarantee that this would fix the problem. This happens while driving straight, after turning left or right, at any speed, and with no warning or visible reason for doing so. …
The vsc/ABS indicator lights appear intermittently without any warning. The car beeps, makes a heavy grinding noise and the ABS brakes are automatically engaged without any action by the driver regardless of the speed, or whether driving on a highway or city street. The car will fishtail. Based on my research, I have found that this is a common problem among these vehicles and that there was a 2003 recall for this problem. This defect in the same model for the 2002 vehicles seems to be widespread. Must we first have an accident to win rights to be accommodated. Does Toyota not want to make good on its product and satisfy all owners/customers. I worry every time I drive my vehicle and thank god each time I reach my destination without incident. This is the only vehicle we have to drive our severely disabled 10 year old daughter and cannot afford a new vehicle. We are really scared! …
Brake complaints in other Sequoia years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2002 Toyota Sequoia?
NHTSA has 192 complaints about the brakes of the 2002 Toyota Sequoia, 29% of the model year's 666 complaints. The component named most often is antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (13 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2002 Toyota Sequoia brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2002 Toyota Sequoia, though it has 6 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2002 Toyota Sequoia brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 109,000 miles, and 10% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 1 fire and 5 injuries to brakes problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.