NHTSA Complaint #10372308 — 2001 TOYOTA SEQUOIA

I AM EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH THE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM ON MY 2001 TOYOTA SEQUOIA. UNEXPECTEDLY, SOMETIMES AT HIGH SPEEDS, THE TRACTION CONTROL ACTIVATES AND CAN SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT STEERING AND BRAKING WHILE DRIVING DUE TO STRONG GRINDING FEELING DURING THE TRACTION CONTROL ENGAGEMENT. AGAIN, THIS ACTIVATION HAS NO APPARENT CAUSE AS IT OCCURS ON FLAT DRY PAVEMENT AT VARIOUS SPEEDS. LUCKILY, I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE DESPITE THE SIGNIFICANT EFFECT THIS ENGAGEMENT HAS ON THE VEHICLE. AT A MINIMUM, THERE SHOULD BE A LONGER DELAY BETWEEN AN INITIAL WARNING LIGHT AND THE ACTUAL ENGAGEMENT OF THE SYSTEM. THERE IS NO TIME TO REACT WITH THE CURRENT DESIGN. ON MY SECOND TRIP TO THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, THEY HAVE DETERMINED THAT THE YAW RATE SENSOR SHOULD BE REPLACED. DURING MY FIRST VISIT, THEY COULD NOT DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM AFTER PLUGGING THE CAR INTO THEIR COMPUTERS. I PAID THE DIAGNOSTIC FEE AND HOPED IT WAS AN ISOLATED INCIDENT. OF COURSE, IT HAPPENED AGAIN ABOUT A WEEK LATER (DECEMBER 22, 2010 TO BE PRECISE). I'M CURRENTLY WAITING FOR THE PART (YAW RATE SENSOR) TO COME IN AS I MUST GET THE VEHICLE FIXED. *TR