2002 Toyota Sequoia Problems, Recalls & Reliability
1,126 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2002 Toyota Sequoia, alongside 8 recall campaigns and 4 defect investigations. It scores 100/100 on the trouble index — one of the years to avoid for this model. Other leads the reports, typically around 123,665 miles.
Avoid this year if you can. The 2002 Toyota Sequoia sits at the top of this model's complaint rankings. Quieter picks in the same family: 2007–2008, 2010, 2012, 2018.
Avoid
Where 2002 sits among all Sequoia years
What owners report
“While driving, without notice, vsc and trac lights, grinding noise and vibrations, deceleration, and pull to the right.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2002 Sequoia
“I have a 2002 toyota sequoia limited. I've had two sets of brake pads and rear shoes and even new rotors but i still have a shaking problem. It fixes it for a few weeks and then it's right back to shaking. My braking distance has increased greatly”— owner report to NHTSA, 2002 Sequoia
“The brakes of the car ,and we i drive i can't drive more than 80 miles pr hour because it checks.i fixed the brakes and the light stay on for ever now every time i have to remember to take the foot brake.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2002 Sequoia
“Frame rust on the main areas where appointed from toyota reason for not taking the truck to the dealer is because there wer no recalls for the vintage but overall the the frame is my major concern.heavy spots on the frme”— owner report to NHTSA, 2002 Sequoia
“Tamara recall: i was going 60 mph when my traction control lights started blinking. It started making a grinding noise and front end shaking and loss of power steering it has 190,000 miles on it”— owner report to NHTSA, 2002 Sequoia
“Sudden transmission failure while driving on highway, caused an extremely dangerous situation for the driver and occupants of this vehicle.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2002 Sequoia
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 898 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 120,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 78,000 and 160,200 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (8)
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…
Fix: 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…
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. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as…
Fix: 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…
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,…
Fix: 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15V-043 and 15V-285 are under a Do Not Drive advisory. Owners of these vehicles are advised not to drive their vehicles…
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…
Fix: 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15V-043 and 15V-286 are under a Do Not Drive advisory. Owners of these vehicles are advised not to drive their vehicles…
CERTAIN CARDONE MASTER CYLINDERS WITH PART NUMBERS 10-2925, 10-2987, 10-2987MZA, 10-3083, 11-3015, 11-3042, 11-3044, 11-3045, 11-3047, 11-3064, AND 11-3156, AND WITH DATE CODES LOWER THAN DCA7078 SOLD AS REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT FOR USE ON THE VEHICLES LISTED…
Fix: CARDONE WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER TO REPURCHASE ANY DEFECTIVE MASTER CYLINDERS. THE RECALL BEGAN DURING APRIL 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT CARDONE AT 1-800-777-4780.
CERTAIN CK MOTORSPORTS COMBINATION HEADLIGHTS, CLEAR CORNER, BUMPER, AND SIDE MARKER LIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON THE PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM TO…
Fix: CK MOTORSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE NONCOMPLIANT LAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 1, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CK MOTORSPORT AT 1-909-610-7211.
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…
Fix: 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.
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…
Fix: OWNERS WILL BE PROVIDED WITH A CAUTION LABEL AND AN INSERT FOR THEIR OWNER'S MANUAL. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN JULY 15, 2002. OWNERS WHO DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME…
Federal defect investigations
Still open as of the last data refresh. An investigation is not a recall; it may close with no action. All open investigations →
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…
Led to recall campaign 13V172000.
Technical service bulletins
161 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on body & structure and electrical — are on file for the 2002 Toyota Sequoia. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2002 Sequoia TSB list →
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2002 Toyota Sequoia reliable?
The 2002 Toyota Sequoia drew 1,126 complaints in federal safety records — one of the years to avoid for this model. Its trouble index is 100/100, scored against the model's worst year (2002).
What are the most common 2002 Toyota Sequoia problems?
The top reported problems for the 2002 Toyota Sequoia are other (328 complaints), brakes & stability (203), and speed control (135).
At what mileage do 2002 Toyota Sequoia problems show up?
Owners most often report 2002 Toyota Sequoia problems around 120,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 78,000 and 160,200 miles.
Does the 2002 Toyota Sequoia have recalls?
8 recall campaigns apply to the 2002 Toyota Sequoia. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
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. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.