Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Toyota Sequoia owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
A couple of days ago, when I was driving on the highway, my Sequoia suddenly stopped accelerating. Trac light and vsc light and check engine light came on. My speed would not go above 40mph and would not even brake. I was in the left lane and the cars behind me were going pretty fast and almost hit me. I am lucky there was no car in the right lane, so I pulled to that lane just in time. It was a scary moment for me because my kids were with me also. I always thought of Toyota of having safety in their cars, but when I came home to research what might be happening to the car, I found out many people are having the same exact problem and thus it is a manufacturers problem. I am suprised Toyota is not doing anything about this. Do they not care of the safety of the consumers? The milage on my Sequoia is only 39,000 and I do not drive it too often, and also have maintained it very well. …
While driving at 35 MPH, the check engine light, vsc off light, vsc trac light, and the emergency brake light all came on at once, and the vehicle stopped accelerating, and I experienced a dramatic decrease in vehicle power. I drove the vehicle home noticing a drastic change in acceleration as the Sequoia would not accelerate normally; it would accelerate at a significantly reduced rate, topping out at 35mph on the flats, 30 MPH on an incline, I was able to reach 70mph going down hill on a highway. Since that day, during start up, the engine makes a high-pitch vacuum noise, which drops off and normal engine sound returns. All dashboard lights are normal, until 10-15 seconds after start, when the vsc off/vsc trac/brake lights all illuminate, and remain on until the engine is turned off and the poor acceleration and decrease power are now the norm. …
On 11-08-16 during a pennsylvania state inspection for my 2005 Toyota Sequoia I was informed it would not pass because of frame rot. The dealer stated it went into service the end of January 2005. How could this be for an 11yr youcng Toyota? The frame has rusted in several areas, the rust hole was rusted through from the inside. This vehicle was my choice for my wife and kids due to the reputation and longevity of Toyota's vehicles. This is a major issue that needs to be resolved, as it is a major safety concern that could potentially be fatal if unchecked. What should me my future actions to this matter?- also , when in stop and go traffic, every light on the dash will go on, vsc,trac,ABS, losing braking power and acceleration. No accident to date because of it's infrequence, but also a major concern!
My 2005 Sequoia has the vsc off and vsc trac lights on and it causes a hesitation in acceleration - which is a significant crash hazard. I notified Toyota about this and asked if they would fix it because they recalled other years of sequoias for the same problem. Toyota will not fix it and said that the 2005 has different parts than the years that they recalled. That is silly because the problem is there even if the parts are different. The hatchback latch has also broke and the hatchback will not open. I looked online and saw that this is another well known problem with 2005 sequoias that Toyota refuses to fix despite the dangers if there were a crash and somebody needed to exit from the hatch area.
Oyota Sequoia 2005 engine light on ,vsc off light and trac vsc light on. These complaints are about this problems http://www.automotiveforums.com/t544406-sequoia_vsc_trac_problem.html,http://www.carcomplaints.com/Toyota/Sequoia/2003/electrical/vsc_trac_lights_are_on.shtml,here are tons of other complaints on this problem and it is not limited to our year model. If all of the complaints were compiled in one area and presented to the ntsb, I'm sure that Toyota would be forced to deal with this issue and correct it. Its a big issue estimated cost for that around $ 2000 to $ 5000 I don`t know if u investigate or no .I am not going to get this issue repair until I will hear from you .please take it seriously
We noticed that our frame had severe rust last winter. (2/14) we always did the regular recommended maintenance. We purchased this new in '05. I'm sure others haven't reported this as they haven't looked for this problem not expecting it from such an expensive vehicle that you would expect to be very reliable. We did put in a claim to Toyota last February and we were told that it wasn't a problem that they had many complaints on. I know there were recalls in the past with Toyota vehicles that had the tubular frames. This also has a tubular frame. We also have the same problem with vsc and tracking that many others on this site have complained about.
When accelerating from low speed or stops the Sequoia activates the vsc and the traction control system and refuses to accelerate. Happens consistently but not consistently enough to know when to expect it. The traction control/skid control light activates for around 5 seconds and then vehicle returns to normal operation. It can be nerveracking. From all my investigation it seems identical to the problems that LED to the 2003 Sequoia recall. I do believe that this is a significant safety issue. Again from my research this is a very common problem among many model years of sequoias.
The vsc trac, vsc off, brake, and ABS lights all come on all at once. This has happened numerous times since I first bought the used SUV in May 2013. It worries me as I am on the freeway not knowing what will happen. Not sure how this will affect my vehicle in the long run. It normally comes on when I drive the vehicle for more than one hour at a crawling speed. For example, there have been times the freeway hits a rush hour moment and everyone will start rolling/crawling with their vehicles. As this happens, the lights will come on at least two times in a 30 minutes to one hour time frame.
Vsc vsc traction control lights came on as well as the check engine light. The vehicle was accelerating poorly. The dealer replaced the air injection control drivers and then all of the warning lights were off. The following day all of the warning lights were back on again and the vehicle was accelerating poorly again. I returned the vehicle to the dealer and I was told that another repair was needed now. The air pump set needs to be replaced for $1,700.00. Thousands of Sequoia owners have reported this problem but Toyota has not issued a recall.
I experienced a problem with engine warning and vsc trac off lights going on. The check engine light also came on. My family and I were on a trip and our Sequoia all of a sudden lost power. It slowed down dramatically even though the engine was fine. It was a very dangerous situation because we were on an interstate where the speed is 70 MPH. I also experienced all the brakes making a massive grinding noise while going slow into a restaurant. (the brakes have less than 3000 miles on them.) the parking brake light also comes on periodically.
Traction Control complaints in other Sequoia years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2005 Toyota Sequoia?
NHTSA has 110 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2005 Toyota Sequoia, 31% of the model year's 352 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2005 Toyota Sequoia traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2005 Toyota Sequoia, though it has 9 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 2005 Toyota Sequoia traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 92,000 miles, and 2% before 25,000 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.