Toyota Sequoia Years to Avoid — and the Years to Buy
Every Toyota Sequoia model year from 2001 to 2022, benchmarked against each other with 4,811 federal complaints, 30 recall campaigns, and the odometer readings owners put in their reports.
Avoid: 2001–2003. These years top the Sequoia's complaint rankings by volume and severity.
Safer bets: 2007–2008, 2010, 2012, 2018 — the quietest years with at least four years on the road.
The method in one line: every NHTSA complaint for this model is counted, weighted for crashes, fires, injuries, and deaths, and each year is measured against the Sequoia's own worst year — full methodology.
Under investigation. Federal regulators currently have 2 open defect investigations on the Toyota Sequoia.
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
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,…
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
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…
An investigation is not a recall; it may close with no action. All open investigations →
The trouble strip
One cell per model year. The whole answer in one glance — click any year for the full report.
The defining problem
Other tops the Toyota Sequoia file with 1,263 complaints, concentrated in the 2001–2004 model years, most often reported around 89,375 miles. The year pages break down what fails and when.
Every year, ranked
| Year | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | Top problem | Trouble index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Few reports | 1 | 2 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | Few reports | 4 | 2 | — | 1 |
| 2020 | Few reports | 4 | 2 | — | 1 |
| 2019 | Few reports | 8 | 6 | — | 1 |
| 2018 | Better year | 36 | 5 | — | 3 |
| 2017 | Few reports | 8 | 3 | — | 1 |
| 2016 | Few reports | 14 | 3 | — | 1 |
| 2015 | Few reports | 15 | 3 | — | 1 |
| 2014 | Few reports | 25 | 3 | — | 2 |
| 2013 | Few reports | 16 | 3 | — | 1 |
| 2012 | Better year | 33 | 4 | — | 3 |
| 2011 | Few reports | 21 | 7 | — | 2 |
| 2010 | Better year | 38 | 10 | Engine | 4 |
| 2009 | Few reports | 9 | 9 | — | 1 |
| 2008 | Better year | 95 | 9 | Other | 9 |
| 2007 | Better year | 194 | 9 | Airbags | 20 |
| 2006 | Typical | 293 | 10 | Other | 25 |
| 2005 | Below average | 558 | 11 | Other | 46 |
| 2004 | Below average | 579 | 9 | Other | 52 |
| 2003 | Avoid | 877 | 7 | Other | 78 |
| 2002 | Avoid | 1,126 | 8 | Other | 100 |
| 2001 | Avoid | 857 | 3 | Other | 75 |
Technical service bulletins
Beyond complaints and recalls, 4,606 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, service campaigns, warranty extensions — are on file for the Toyota Sequoia. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
Browse the Toyota Sequoia TSB list by year →
Questions buyers ask
What Toyota Sequoia years should I avoid?
Federal complaint records point to 2001–2003 as the Toyota Sequoia years to avoid — they drew the highest volume of serious complaints relative to the model's other years.
What is the most common Toyota Sequoia problem?
Other tops the Toyota Sequoia file with 1,263 complaints, concentrated in the 2001–2004 model years, most often reported around 89,375 miles.
What are the best Toyota Sequoia years to buy used?
The quietest Toyota Sequoia years in federal records are 2007–2008, 2010, 2012, 2018 — each with at least four years on the road and well-below-average complaint volume for this model.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Counts cover the Toyota Sequoia only, scored against this model's own worst year — not against other models. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.