Sequoia VSC TRAC problem

Here is the latest scoop if you're a Toyota Sequoia owner of 2003 to 2005 model. If you are having some problem with your Sequoia VSC TRAC sensor lights turning on and off and hearing grinding noise when it auto-engage and disengage, please immediately report it to Toyota Corp Customer Relation. This is a common problem that many Sequoia owners have experience. But Toyota will not do a recall on this. Make sure to review your warranty. If you're still within your warranty, that is 3 yrs/36,000 miles, and you're experiencing this problem, TAKE YOUR CAR TO THE DEALER IMMEDIATELY! But before you do, file a complaint to the Customer Experience Center (http://www.toyota.com/about/contact/index.html ) and call the number posted in the page. Make sure that you get a Case# filed. If you have passed your warranty, make sure to file the complaint immediately as well. Toyota knows this is a faulty part and they would only do a recall on them if every Sequoia owner would file a complaint. You can also file this problem to the Better Business Bureau and Local State Consumer agency. If you don't do this, to fix this problem could cost you a lot of money out of your pocket. I am sharing this with everyone because I just experienced this problem with my 2003 Sequoia. And it almost cost me half of my mortgage. The dealer was nice enough to recognize the problem since I filed a complaint and they only charged me with Labor cost. But still, I should have to pay anything at all. Good luck everyone and keep enjoying your Sequoia out there. It's a great SUV despite of the faulty computer part. :)

I am also experiencing vsc/trac problem on my 2003 sequoia. i am past the warranty at 45,000 mi. the dealer "has never seen this problem before" but just happened to have the part in stock and can fix it right away for $1400.00. i filed a complaint with the DOT Office of Defects Notification at www.odi.nhtsa.dot.gov (http://www.odi.nhtsa.dot.gov) and suggest everyone do the same. this is most definitely a safety issue because the vehicle loses all power momentarily. i have seen several complaints on many dif forums. we all need to report this and i am following the advice of agent phish also and really appreciate the help. toyota is usually a great vehicle but this really sucks and is very dangerous!

I am having the same problem on my 2004 with 32,000 miles. It started around 28,000 miles and I am about to take it in. I will let you know what happens.

Sincerely,

I have a similar problem and figured I would post it. My VSC TRAC, VSC OFF and ABS lights come on and stay on, they never go off. I have a '03 Sequoia 4WD LTD. The first visit to a dealer ended with them stating that they could not read any codes, so the VSC computer needs to be replaced, about 1500 total. The second visit to a different dealer found three different codes and said I needed to bring the vehicle back to check the complete braking System. The third visit to a different dealer found the yaw rate sensor is bad, about 750 total. The car is not experiencing any problems, but, the lights stay on.....Sequoia has 86k miles. Anyone offer any advice?

I have had a problem for some time with the lights staying on (ABS VCS Trac Light, Brake Light, etc.) While my car was under warranty it happened periodically and the service department could not isolate this issue. Now since the warranty has expired they told me the yaw rate sensor must be replaced. The cost quoted was about $550 plus the labor of $95 today just for looking. Some of the quotes above seem very expensive. Please complain to Toyota if you have this problem. This 2003 Sequoia is the worst vehicle I have ever had for it to have been so expensive. The first month I had the car it broke down in the mountains because of an air intake sensor issue. A female traveling alone (that is why I bought this car) but I had to depend on the 18 wheeler drivers rather than my new 2003 Sequoia. It only had 3000 miles on it when it failed.

My 2003 Toyota Sequoia also has the ABS and VSC TRAC lights on. It has 74,000 miles on it. I took it in to be diagnosed and the technicians had trouble reading the codes. The codes would go away and them come back on. They suggested replacing the Yaw sensor, but emphasized that they weren't certain that would fix the issue. I was thinking about taking it for a second opinion, but it sounds like a similar issue on this model vehicle.

Just filed a complaint about this problem over on https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ as gosi mentioned above. Also called the number on the toyota site that agent_phish posted and got a case number related to the incidents I've had with this problem.

The first time we took it in for this same problem they couldn't pull any codes. The agent that just helped me file the complaint/concern over the phone told me that I could take it in to the dealer right after it happens so the lights would still be on and the dealer could likely pull some codes then........really? Well wouldn't that be convenient for me to have this problem happen when I could drive right in to the dealer :sarcasm1:.....as it turns out this happened to me at 72 mph on Interstate 10 over the weekend. Luckily I maintained control as my Sequoia pulled to the right while the grinding/vibrating feeling was pretty strong.

This happened another time while my stepdaughter was driving and there was actually a loss of power (total loss of power - the vehicle shut off) Also lucky that she was driving at a much slower rate and only a mile from home. She was able to restart the vehicle and the lights were no longer on.

I'm really bummed at the prospects of having the dealer give me a lot of help with the cost since they won't see any codes, but I'm gonna have to give it a try again. Hopefully my dealer will also have heard or known of this problem with the 2002 model by now and might cut me some slack on parts and just have me pay labor. Hope to have good news soon.

We had our 03 Sequoia repaired in 2007 to the tune of $2,100.00. When the recall went out I waited for the "letter" from Toyota that was supposed to come out in May. Now the end of August and I still haven't received it.

I called the dealer the end of June. They said to wait until I receive the letter to request reimbursement.

Went to the Toyota website and it said to send in a copy of the work order and request the refund. Sent that - Six weeks later a response from Toyota that asked for proof of payment - cc receipt or statement, copy of check or letter from dealer that it was paid in cash, A copy of my title or bill of sale, And a repair order showing completion of SSG-AOG.

I sent that and now I have to wait 7 to 10 weeks for them to determine if they will issue a refund.

Love my Sequoia - not impressed with Toyota "customer Service"

Well I too have fallen to the 2003 Sequoia VSC/TRAC/ABS computer problem. The dealer gave me a break on the parts and I only had to pay $1100. But it seems the Sequoia also had nearly lost the reverse gear completely. Toyota would not rebuild but wanted to replace the tranny. I thought it was some of the VSC/TRAC/ABS problem. NOPE! I took it to the only guy that I trust to rebuild the tranny, $2000. I hope that I am done with the problems now! Toyota is wrong by not standing by a problem that is so wide spread. I have 139,000 on the Sequoia, it is in excellent condition(now), never wrecked and serviced regularly. I really expected Toyota to help out some. I could have gotten 140k miles from a Suburban without spending $3000.!!

I have this problem with my 2001 Sequoia. It quit for a while but started up again yesterday. I currently have 181,000 miles on it :)

I was wondering if there is a way to just disengage the VSC TRAC. I'm not wanting to put a lot of $$$ into fixing it.

It is now July 2013. I have a ten-year old (2003) Toyota Sequoia with just under 30,000 miles on it, that's right 30,000, that we bought new and keep garaged. I have had at least two issues with the VSC Trac and VSC Off lights coming on and staying on. The first time was just after the 3-year warranty point and Toyota paid for about half of the cost of repair for a new yaw rate sensor and within the past year the lights came on again with the same issue. I contacted what Toyota calls "Customer Care" and they were not willing to do a darn thing. They will not admit or agree that their vehicle part or design has any flaws regardless of the number of online posts I have read about this issue. I have replaced the gas cap, topped off the brake fluid and still have the lights on. If you disconnect the battery and then reconnect, the lights go away for a period of time but come back on. I have read about road dust covering sensors, etc. I don't know how important this part is but the vehicle seems to drive just fine. If I do have this repaired again, I probably won't go to Toyota, because to me they don't stand behind their products like they used to and they just want our money...I'd rather give the repair job to any shop other than Toyota at this point. Toyota is just not what it once was. I have a 1997 Camry with over 180,000 miles on it and it runs fine and has never broken down (knock on wood). Perhaps that's the problem, their cars worked too well and now they design them with more built in obsolescence in the parts so the vehicles break down more frequently and you and I get to spend more money fixing them. Anymore it seems it's all about the bottom line for most companies and to heck with quality...and if you made a mistake, don't own up to it; instead, let your customers eat the cost.

I had this VSC TRAC problem on my 2004 Sequoia when I had 26,000 miles and the vehicle was 4 years old. It was intermittant at first, and seemed to be more prevelant when it was raining. Now, the fault lights are on continuously, but there is no grinding or loss of power, as reported by others, and never has been. I paid Toyota $1200 to "repair" it in 2008 -- they replaced the big solenoid block that controls braking. Of course, the problem came right back, about 5 weeks later, just long enough for them to charge me again. So now it appears that the real problem is the YAW sensor. I wonder if I can simply get one and replace it myself.

So this may or may not help -
I drive a 2004 Toyota Sequoia SR5 with 130k miles and some after market parts.

A little while ago I had my check engine light, VSC Trac and VSC Off lights come on. After a little time I figured out that after uber many miles, puddles and all of the elements eating away my car that a heat shield on the exhaust, under the driver seat had worked its way loose and was occasionally bumping a sensor on the exhaust throwing off the lights. I re-secured the shield and haven't had an issue since.

If your having this issue with your vehicle, I would recommend purchasing an inexpensive code reader ( I have this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/can-obd-ii-professional-scan-tool-60694.html#pr-header-back-to-top-link ) I initially checked all my wheel sensors by power washing them, then checking the tire pressure and gas cap. I checked my power steering, brake, transmission and engine fluids to make sure it wasn't something simple/dangerous. I ended up clearing a p0420 code and after addressing the heat shield issue I haven't had any problems.

The VSC Trac and VSC Off lights are apparently dual purpose warning lights - a friend of mine that was a Toyota mechanic for some time said that they used those lights as dual warning lights because nothing super critical is linked to them (EG: your vehicle can still safely operate without VSC).

The check engine light is tied to critical warnings, that's why I did not include it in the above statement (Just so were clear). In any event, for $120 you might be able to avoid the entire "Dealer" trap and spending hundreds of dollars for some dude to throw parts at your car hoping to "hit the spot". Hope that helps!

Recall ID # 68549 - ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL Plus
Recall Date: APR 30, 2010
Model Affected: 2003 Toyota Sequoia
Summary: TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2003 SEQUOIA PASSENGER VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM APRIL 1, 2002 THROUGH APRIL 17, 2003. THE CENTER POSITION OF THE STEERING ANGLE SENSOR (SAS) MAY NOT BE STORED CORRECTLY DUE TO IMPROPER LOGIC OF THE SKID CONTROL ECU PROGRAMMING. THE VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL (VSC) SYSTEM COULD ACTIVATE AT LOW SPEED FOR A FEW SECONDS DURING ACCELERATION FROM A STOPPED POSITION.
Consequences:
SHOULD THIS OCCUR, THE VEHICLE MAY NOT ACCELERATE AS QUICKLY AS THE DRIVER EXPECTS, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy:
TOYOTA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL RE-FLASH THE ECU. IF THE RE-FLASH CANNOT BE COMPLETED ON A PARTICULAR VEHICLE, THE ECU WILL BE REPLACED WITH A NEW ONE. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 11, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.

Potential Units Affected: 50000

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2003/toyota/sequoia/recalls/#ixzz2voVARTlD

So my latest update to my VSC Trac problem is that I took my car to a local NON-dealer shop that repairs Toyotas and Hondas and had very good reviews on Yelp. Their system showed my 2003 Sequoia, under 35,000 miles, showing codes C1232 and C1234. During the diagnostic check, Larry noticed that the original battery was slow cranking and might be a contributing factor. This morning he installed a new battery and recalibrated stuff with his computer. He called to say one of the codes went away along with the dashboard VSC lights. Next week he'll see what is going on the with other code that he said shows an issue with the decceleration sensor that I think he said also has to do with the yaw rate sensor. So it appears that a battery that isn't 100% may cause some of the issues with lights coming on. Another piece to the puzzle.

(According to Toyota, my 2003 vehicle was manufactured outside of their recall parameters that is mentioned by some contributors below. Do I believe the 2003 Sequoias were magically fixed after a specific manufacture date? No.)

My VSC signal would flash when I made a right turn and the engine would stop until the turn was completed and then the engine would come back on. My car has 130k and it appears the brake system had never been flushed. I flushed and bled the brake system with fresh Dot 3 brake fluid. Since then the VSC light does not come on and the vehicle doesn't stall when I make turns. It appears the old, contaminated brake fluid and the air in the hydraulic lines and calipers was the problem. I woulds suggest anyone with any VSC related problems try this first as it's cheap,easy to do,and works. Honda suggest changing brake fluid every 2 years. Maybe doing so would prevent problems like this.

I have a 2002, I have the same problem. When I drive on a dry road / no curve about 40mpg, the VSC TRAC lights come on /flicker and the car pulled on the side with beep. I checked the brake and the fluid. They seem to be ok, but this problem comes on every time i drive it about a mile on the road.