NHTSA Complaint #10579059 — 2005 TOYOTA SEQUOIA

THE VEHICLE HAS A FAILED AIR INJECTION SYSTEM THAT CAUSES A REDUCTION IN THE ENGINE'S POWER OUTPUT. WHEN THE INITIAL FAILURE BEGAN THERE WAS A LOUD VACUUM SOUND UPON START UP AND ALL DASH WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON. OVER TIME THE SOUND WENT AWAY BUT ENGINE POWER IS STILL GREATLY REDUCED. THIS POSES A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY RISK AS THE VEHICLE CAN NOT ACCELERATE ADEQUATELY TO HIGHWAY SPEEDS OR MAINTAIN SPEEDS ON AN INCLINE THUS POSING A RISK FOR ACCIDENTS AND AS A RESULT POSSIBLE INJURY. TOYOTA WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE IN SUMMER 2012 BUT STATED THEY WOULD NOT COVER OR REPLACE ANY COMPONENTS RELATED TO THIS AS THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP TOYOTA SCION CONCORD (CONCORD, NC) AND A DIAGNOSTIC TEST WAS PERFORMED SHOWING A FAILED AIR INJECTION SYSTEM. THE REPLACEMENT COST ARE APPROXIMATELY $3,500 AND REQUIRES A SERVICE TECHNICIAN TO BREAK DOWN THE MOTOR TO REPLACE THE NECESSARY COMPONENTS. WITH THE COST OF THE SYSTEM BEING SIGNIFICANT THIS GOES BEYOND THE SCOPE OF A BASIC REPAIR. 2ND GENERATION SEQUIOAS (2008-CURRENT) ALSO EXPERIENCED FAILED AIR INJECTION SYSTEMS AND TOYOTA REPLACED THE SYSTEM IN THESE VEHICLES BUT DID NOT IN THE 1ST GENERATION ALTHOUGH THEY SHARE A SIMILAR POWERTRAIN. *TR