NHTSA Complaint #10266665 — 2003 TOYOTA SEQUOIA

THE CAR WAS BEING DRIVEN WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, ABS LIGHT CAME ON, THE VSC LIGHTS CAME ON, ALL ON MY 2003 TOYOTA SEQUOIA LIMITED. AFTER PARKING THE CAR FOR WORK, WHEN I LEFT WORK, THE CAR STALLED LIKE IT DID NOT WANT TO START. WHEN I GOT TO A STOP LIGHT THE CAR HESITATED TO MOVE WHILE I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. AFTER RESEARCHING THE ISSUE ONLINE IT TURNS OUT THAT THERE ARE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ON THE ECU OF THE YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL OF CAR. I ALSO READ THAT AN ECU UNIT CAUSED A FIRE, AND HAS CAUSED NUMEROUS ACCIDENTS AND SAFETY ISSUES. THE UNIT CONTROLS THE ABS, THROTTLE, AND OTHER IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE CAR WHERE THE UNIT TAKES CONTROL OF THE BRAKE AND ENGINE, DISABLING THE DRIVER TO BE IN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THE CARE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING AND THE ECU INFORMATION WAS GIVEN TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE DEALERSHIP KEPT THE CAR 2 DAYS TRYING TO AVOID CHANGING THE UNIT BECAUSE THE COST WAS 1800.00 AT THE DEALERS COST. SO THEY FINALLY SAID THAT T WAS NOT THE ECU BUT A PART THAT IS RELATED AND THIS IS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY, AND ISSUED COSTS IN EXCESS OF 2500.00. THE DEALERSHIP REFUSES TO COVER THE PARTS AND LABOR UNDER THE 8 YEAR 80,000 MILE WARRANTY. THE CAR ONLY HAS 56,000 MILES ON IT AND IT IS DRIVEN FOR LESS THAN A MILE A DAY. THIS IS TOO MUCH TO PAY FOR A PART THAT TOYOTA KNOWS WAS FAULTY AND SEVERAL COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN MADE. IT WILL CAUSE A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AND SOMEONE NEEDS TO INTERVENE TO PREVENT A DEATH TO A FAMILY, ESPECIALLY SINCE THE CAR IS MARKETED FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN. *TR