try.vin
Log in

NHTSA vehicle safety data

2003 Toyota Sequoia Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

The 2003 Toyota Sequoia has 7 NHTSA recall campaigns and 565 owner complaints on file as of November 3, 2026. Recall repairs are usually free at an authorized Toyota dealer.

NHTSA recall and complaint data for the 2003 Toyota Sequoia, plus NCAP crash-test ratings. Recall data is refreshed daily from NHTSA.

Pre-purchase inspection checklist → Reliability & 5-year cost forecast →

2003 Toyota Sequoia owner complaints

Owners have filed 565 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Toyota Sequoia, describing incidents dated October 30, 2002 to August 11, 2026.

Most-cited components

  • Electronic Stability Control (ESC) 165 complaints
  • Service Brakes 152 complaints
  • Structure 98 complaints
  • Vehicle Speed Control 91 complaints
  • Electrical System 66 complaints
  • Traction Control System 51 complaints

Of the 565 complaints on file, 16 report a crash and 1 a fire; across all 565 complaints, owners report 21 injuries and 1 death (owner-reported, not verified by NHTSA).

Newest complaints

  • ODI #11761415 · Filed

    I was on the highway going 45 to And T-bone somebody who pulled out onto the highway the driver airbag did not deploy the seatbelt is the only thing that caught me and cause severe trauma to my chest neck and back for The car is totaled and it is being held at my insurer’s State Farm lot here in…

  • ODI #11757568 · Filed

    My 2003 Sequoia was in the garage for a check on the brakes. I also asked them to check the frame for any rust issues, because I had previously been concerned about it earlier. They reported to me that the car should be off the road because the rust in the frame was so severe. They said they would…

  • ODI #11576522 · Filed

    Front end in rolled shacking. Tires wearing extremely fast and uneven image. Unable to drive

Read all 565 complaints

Owner-reported

2003 Toyota Sequoia mileage at failure

418 of the 565 complaints on file for the 2003 Toyota Sequoia give the vehicle's mileage when the problem happened.

Mileage at failure by component, from owners' complaints to NHTSA
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)Median 85,000 milesMiddle half 55,000–115,000 milesBased on 144 complaints
Service BrakesMedian 75,000 milesMiddle half 50,000–110,000 milesBased on 122 complaints
StructureMedian 130,000 milesMiddle half 85,000–150,000 milesBased on 68 complaints
Vehicle Speed ControlMedian 85,000 milesMiddle half 60,000–120,000 milesBased on 77 complaints
Electrical SystemMedian 60,000 milesMiddle half 40,000–80,000 milesBased on 53 complaints
Traction Control SystemMedian 85,000 milesMiddle half 70,000–105,000 milesBased on 45 complaints

A component's median is its 50th percentile, and its middle half runs from its 25th to its 75th percentile.

Owners give the mileage themselves, often as a round number, and NHTSA doesn't check it. A complaint that names several components counts under each one, and mileages that can't be right, such as 999,999, or 50 miles on a five-year-old car, are left out.

These figures describe the complaints owners filed. They don't predict when a particular vehicle will have a problem, and vehicles that never had one aren't counted.

Mileage from NHTSA's complaints file of October 31, 2026. How these figures are worked out

NHTSA defect investigations

NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2003 Toyota Sequoia in 5 investigations. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.

Open and recently closed NHTSA defect investigations

Frontal Air Bag Inflators May Explode

NHTSA #19V741000 · Air Bags — Frontal — Passenger Side — Inflator Module · NHTSA notice

Reported October 17, 2019 · Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

Potentially affected: 928,220 vehicles

Repair completion: 72.6% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated November 3, 2026)

Toyota campaign J0A, J0B, J0C, JLI · Owners notified November 20, 2019 · Vehicles built April 2, 2002 – November 8, 2007 (per NHTSA) · Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation

Recall group: Takata airbag inflators

Defect description

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2010-2016 4Runner, 2003-2006 Tundra, 2003-2013 Corolla, 2009-2010 Corolla Matrix, 2004-2005 RAV4, 2002-2007 Sequoia, 2011-2013 Sienna, 2008-2012 Scion xB, 2008-2009 Lexus IS-F, 2007-2012 Yaris and Lexus ES350, 2010-2017 Lexus GX460, 2002-2010 Lexus SC430, 2006-2012 Lexus IS250 and IS350 and 2010-2015 Lexus IS250C and IS350C vehicles. These vehicles had their driver or passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Safety consequence

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Manufacturer remedy

Toyota will notify owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front driver inflator, front passenger airbag inflator, the airbag assembly, or the front passenger airbag sub-assembly and inflator. The recall began November 20, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are J0A, J0B, and J0C. Lexus' numbers for this recall are JLI, JLJ, and JLK.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Passenger Frontal Air Bag Inflator May Explode

NHTSA #18V883000 · Air Bags — Frontal — Passenger Side — Inflator Module · NHTSA notice

Reported December 12, 2018 · Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

Potentially affected: 168,993 vehicles

Repair completion: 74.53% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated November 3, 2026)

Owners notified January 23, 2019 · Vehicles built April 2, 2002 – December 21, 2004 (per NHTSA) · Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation

Recall group: Takata airbag inflators

Defect description

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2002-2005 Lexus SC and Toyota Sequoia, 2003-2005 Toyota Corolla and Tundra, and 2003-2007 Pontiac Vibe vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation.

Safety consequence

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Manufacturer remedy

Toyota will notify the Toyota and Lexus owners. General Motors will notify the Pontiac Vibe owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, or replace the air bag assembly that includes an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 23, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371, Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987 or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. Toyota's numbers for these recalls are J0A (Zone A Toyota), J0B (Zone B Toyota), J0C (Zone C Toyota), JLI (Zone A Lexus), JLJ (Zone B Lexus), and JLK (Zone C Lexus). Note: This recall includes vehicles that have had their air bag previously replaced under an earlier air bag campaign.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Passenger Side Front Air Bag Inflator may Rupture

NHTSA #15V286000 · Air Bags · NHTSA notice

Reported May 13, 2015 · Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

Potentially affected: 1,069,055 vehicles

Repair completion: 86.72% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated November 3, 2026)

Toyota campaign 14491 · Owners notified July 13, 2015 · Vehicles built April 2, 2002 – November 8, 2007 (per NHTSA) · Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation

Recall group: Takata airbag inflators

Defect description

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified the agency on May 13, 2015, that they are recalling 2005-2007 Lexus SC, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Sequoia, and Pontiac Vibe, and 2005-2006 Toyota Tundra vehicles that were originally sold, or ever registered, in Florida, along the Gulf Coast, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa. On June 16, 2015 Toyota expanded the recall to cover an additional 769,055 vehicles, including certain model year 2002-2004 Lexus SC, Toyota Sequoia, 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla Matrix, Toyota Corolla, Pontiac Vibe, and Toyota Tundra vehicles, as well the vehicles covered by the May 13, 2015 notification in the portions of Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas that were not previously included. The inflators in the front passenger air bags are susceptible to rupture in the event of a crash necessitating the deployment of the front passenger air bag.

Safety consequence

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Manufacturer remedy

2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15V-043 and 15V-286 are under a Do Not Drive advisory. Owners of these vehicles are advised not to drive their vehicles until the recall remedy has been completed. Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the passenger side front air bag, free of charge. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota began the recall on July 13, 2015. Pontiac Vibe owners may contact GM at 1-800-762-2737. GM began the recall on June 29, 2015. NOTE: This recacll supersedes recall 14V-655 in its entirety. For vehicles located in the U.S. states not listed above, please see Toyota recall 15V-285 which covers all other U.S. states.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Passenger Side Front Air Bag Inflator may Rupture

NHTSA #15V285000 · Air Bags · NHTSA notice

Reported May 13, 2015 · Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

Potentially affected: 1,973,468 vehicles

Repair completion: 89% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated November 3, 2026)

Owners notified July 13, 2015 · Vehicles built April 2, 2002 – November 8, 2007 (per NHTSA) · Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation

Recall group: Takata airbag inflators

Defect description

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified the agency on May 13, 2015 that they are recalling certain model year 2004 Sequoia vehicles manufactured August 18, 2003, to August 19, 2004, and 2003-2004 Tundra vehicles manufactured March 18, 2003, to August 25, 2004. On June 16, 2015, Toyota expanded the recall to include an additional 1,270,468 vehicles, including model year 2002-2003 and 2005-2007 Sequoia, 2005-2006 Tundra, 2003-2007 Corolla, 2003-2007 Corolla Matrix, 2003-2007 Pontiac Vibe and 2002-2007 Lexus SC vehicles. This is to address a safety defect in the passenger side frontal air bag inflator which may produce excessive internal pressure causing the inflator to rupture upon deployment of the air bag. This recall addresses both the passenger side frontal air bags that were originally installed in the vehicles, as well as replacement air bags that may have been installed as replacement service parts. A replacement air bag may have been installed, as one example, if a vehicle had been in a crash necessitating the replacement of the passenger side frontal air bag.

Safety consequence

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Manufacturer remedy

2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles that are recalled under both 15V-043 and 15V-285 are under a Do Not Drive advisory. Owners of these vehicles are advised not to drive their vehicles until the recall remedy has been completed. Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag. The recall began on July 13, 2015. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Pontiac owners may call 1-800-762-2737. NOTE: This recall supersedes recall 14V-312 in its entirety.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM

NHTSA #10V176000 · Electronic Stability Control (ESC) · NHTSA notice

Reported April 30, 2010 · TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Potentially affected: 50,000 vehicles

Toyota campaign AOG · Owners notified June 11, 2010 · Vehicles built April 1, 2002 – April 17, 2003 (per NHTSA) · Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation

Defect description

TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2003 SEQUOIA PASSENGER VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM APRIL 1, 2002 THROUGH APRIL 17, 2003. THE CENTER POSITION OF THE STEERING ANGLE SENSOR (SAS) MAY NOT BE STORED CORRECTLY DUE TO IMPROPER LOGIC OF THE SKID CONTROL ECU PROGRAMMING. THE VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL (VSC) SYSTEM COULD ACTIVATE AT LOW SPEED FOR A FEW SECONDS DURING ACCELERATION FROM A STOPPED POSITION.

Safety consequence

SHOULD THIS OCCUR, THE VEHICLE MAY NOT ACCELERATE AS QUICKLY AS THE DRIVER EXPECTS, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Manufacturer remedy

TOYOTA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REFLASH THE ECU. IF THE REFLASH CANNOT BE COMPLETED ON A PARTICULAR VEHICLE, THE ECU WILL BE REPLACED WITH A NEW ONE. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 11, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.

Notes

TOYOTA SAFETY RECALL NO. AOG.OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO <A HREF=HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV>HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV</A> .

FMVSS 108/AMBER SIDE REFLEX REFLECTORS

NHTSA #06E049000 · Exterior Lighting · NHTSA notice

Reported May 24, 2006 · CK MOTORSPORT, INC.

Potentially affected: 27,176 vehicles

Owners notified July 1, 2006

Defect description

CERTAIN CK MOTORSPORTS COMBINATION HEADLIGHTS, CLEAR CORNER, BUMPER, AND SIDE MARKER LIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON THE PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT.

Safety consequence

WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.

Manufacturer remedy

CK MOTORSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE NONCOMPLIANT LAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 1, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CK MOTORSPORT AT 1-909-610-7211.

Notes

THIS RECALL ONLY PERTAINS TO AFTERMARKET REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT AND HAS NO RELATION TO ANY ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT INSTALLED ON VEHICLES MANUFACTURED BY THE VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS.FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE LAMP MODEL NUMBERS, CLICK ON DOCUMENT SEARCH AND VIEW DOCUMENT TITLED "LAMP MODEL NUMBERS."CUSTOMERS MAY CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

BALL JOINT FAILURE

NHTSA #05V225000 · Suspension — Front — Control Arm — Lower Ball Joint · NHTSA notice

Reported May 17, 2005 · TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Potentially affected: 768,379 vehicles

Toyota campaign 50J · Owners notified July 5, 2005 · Vehicles built August 1, 2001 – September 26, 2003 (per NHTSA) · Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation

Defect description

ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, DUE TO A MANUFACTURING ISSUE IN THE FRONT SUSPENSION LOWER BALL JOINT, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE SURFACE OF THE BALL OF THE JOINT MAY HAVE BEEN SCRATCHED. THE BALL JOINT MAY EVENTUALLY EXPERIENCE EXCESSIVE WEAR AND LOOSENESS, RESULTING IN INCREASED STEERING EFFORT.

Safety consequence

THE LOWER BALL JOINT MAY SEPARATE FROM THE KNUCKLE CAUSING LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL AND A CRASH COULD OCCUR.

Manufacturer remedy

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FRONT SUSPENSION LOWER BALL JOINTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 5, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.

Notes

TOYOTA RECALL NO. 50J.CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

Other Toyota Sequoia model years

Check your 2003 Toyota Sequoia VIN

Not every recall applies to every VIN in a given year. Enter the 17-character VIN from your Toyota Sequoia at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether your specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

Check a Toyota VIN