NHTSA Complaint #10322783 — 2002 TOYOTA SEQUOIA

WHILE DRIVING AT EVEN SPEEDS AND WITHOUT TURNING THE WHEEL OR APPLYING THE BRAKES OR GAS, THE CAR WILL SUDDENLY SWERVE TO THE RIGHT ALL BY ITSELF. ADDITIONALLY, THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKES SEEM TO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ENGAGING EVEN WHEN I AM NOT IN A SKID OR HEAVY BRAKING PATTERN. I HAVE FILED TWO COMPLAINTS WITH TOYOTA CORPORATE AND HAVE BEEN TOLD THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO. THE PROBLEM HAS GOTTEN PROGRESSIVELY WORSE AND BECAUSE I FEAR FOR MY SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF MY PASSENGERS, I HAVE TAKEN MY CAR TO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND HAD THE "YAW RATE SENSOR" REPLACED. I VISITED TWO DEALERSHIPS IN MY AREA AND BOTH WERE FAMILIAR WITH SEQUOIAS (MODEL YEARS 2001-2003 AND SOME 2004) HAVING THIS PROBLEM. MY INTERNET RESEARCH SUGGESTS THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE HAVING THIS PROBLEM. ACCORDING TO TOYOTA, MY YAW RATE SENSOR IS FAULTY AND IT DETECTS THAT MY CAR IS SKIDDING EVEN THOUGH IT IS NOT. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, THE SKID CONTROL SYSTEM ATTEMPTS TO CORRECT THE SKID. HOWEVER, SINCE I WASN'T SKIDDING TO BEGIN WITH, THE CORRECTION CAUSES THE CAR TO SWERVE RAPIDLY AND UNCONTROLLABLY TO THE RIGHT, GENERALLY INTO THE NEXT LANE. I HAVE NARROWLY AVOIDED HITTING CARS SEVERAL TIMES. TOYOTA TELLS ME THAT THERE IS ALSO A BRAKE BOOSTER PROBLEM AND THAT I MAY NEED TO REPLACE THE SKID CONTROL COMPUTER. I FIND THIS UNACCEPTABLE. I DO NOT HAVE THE $3-5K TO DO ALL THIS WORK. I DID REPLACE THE YAW RATE SENSOR, WHICH COST ME $811 AND I'M HOPING THAT WILL FIX THE PROBLEM, BUT THIS IS NOT A MAINTENANCE OR REPAIR ISSUE. THIS IS A FAULTY PART SOLD BY A CAR MANUFACTURER AND THEY ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING TO HELP THE CONSUMERS WHO PURCHASED FROM THEM. BASED ON MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, I AM CERTAIN PEOPLE HAVE DIED OR WILL DIE FROM THIS PROBLEM. IT COMES ON SO QUICKLY THAT YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY AVOID IT. I FEEL THIS WARRANTS IMMEDIATE INSPECTION BY THE NHTSA. THIS STARTED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO ON A SPORADIC BASIS AND HAS GOTTEN PROGRESSIVELY WORSE/MORE FREQUENT.