NHTSA Complaint #10509907 — 2003 TOYOTA SEQUOIA

CONCERN STARTED WITH A VSC AND TRACTION CONTROL WARNING LIGHTS IN INSTRUMENT CLUSTER COMING ON AND OFF IN AN INTERMITTENT FASHION WITHOUT PATTERN OR EXTERNAL CAUSE. THE WARNING LIGHTS WOULD NOT REMAIN ON BUT INSTEAD WOULD GLOW FOR A BRIEF BIT OF TIME AND THEN EXTINGUISH. THE VEHICLE DID EXHIBIT A SPONTANEOUS DECELERATION ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS WHILE OPERATING AT LOW SPEED (LESS THAN 20 MPH) AND ON LEVEL, SMOOTH GROUND. THE EPISODES WERE BRIEF AND NORMAL BRAKE OPERATION RETURN IMMEDIATELY ONCE SPEED DROPPED TO APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH. IN THE DECADES THAT I HAVE OPERATED THIS AUTOMOBILE, THE WARNING LIGHTS WENT FROM LIGHTING INTERMITTENTLY TO BEING ILLUMINATED CONTINUOUSLY; THE SPONTANEOUS BREAKING HAS SEEMINGLY CEASED SINCE THESE LIGHTS HAVE REMAINED ON. DEALERSHIP AND FACTORY WERE INFORMED OF THIS CONCERN WITH EACH SERVICE VISIT. DEALERSHIP RESPONSE WAS THAT THEY WERE UNWILLING OR UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE AN INTERMITTENT CONCERN. ONCE THE LIGHTS REMAINED ON, I WAS INITIALLY INFORMED THAT THEY SUSPECTED A DEFECTIVE YAW SENSOR AND MORE RECENTLY, MALFUNCTIONING BRAKE BOOSTER COMPONENTS; WARRANTY PERIOD HAD LAPSED AND NO EXTENSION WAS OFFERED. ATTEMPTS TO CORRECTLY DIAGNOSE AND REPAIR THIS CONCERN HAVE DRAGGED ON FOR 10 YEARS WITH DEALERSHIP AND FACTORY POSITION THAT REPAIRS, BE THEY DIAGNOSTIC (THE YAW SENSOR REPLACEMENT) OR DEFINITIVE (BOOSTER AND BRAKE SYSTEM), WERE NOT WARRANTY ISSUES DESPITE THEIR INTERMITTENT PRESENTATION DURING THE WARRANTY PERIOD. MY PERIODIC PRACTICAL TESTING OF THE BRAKES DEMONSTRATES THAT THE ABS SYSTEM FUNCTIONS PROPERLY DESPITE WARNING LIGHT INDICATIONS TO THE CONTRARY. CURRENT DEALERSHIP ESTIMATED COST TO REPLACE BRAKE BOOSTER AND ACTUATORS IS $3800 WITH A 12 MONTH WARRANTY. TOYOTA USA'S POSITION IS THIS IS NOT A WARRANTY ISSUE AS OF APRIL 2013. *TR