2nd Generation Sequoia...what year is the best?
- Thread starter LX470Airstreamer
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In about 10 years of my used Volvo ownership I paid a new Volvo price, just in parts I had to replace. Just to make sure it's not a one-off, I had two more Volvos sharing the same platform, and even a brand new, latest-greatest one. All 4 were truly modern day vehicles where owner is a source of constant cash flow.
So the next time I needed a vehicle I looked on the Internet what is the most reliable vehicle on the market today and bought my Tundra. And then the Sequoia for wife.
My Tundra may be pin-striped, but is maintained meticulously, have the frame rust prevention done properly while it was still spotless, etc, etc.
We were in the same situation. Wife’s GX is ready to be my adventure vehicle and is feeling too small for our 3 growing kids (11, 8 and 8). I wanted a 200 series but the Sequoia is just so much roomier. After lots of research I settled on looking for a ‘13+ Limited or Platinum. They are getting extremely hard to find in Southern California without accidents on the CARFAX. I just picked up a dealer maintained 2014 Limited with 108k. I opened a Chrome browser for all SoCal Toyota dealers and they had just posted the vehicle on their website but it had not hit AutoTrader yet. They are also overpriced right now…. I negotiated it down to $25,600 from an asking of $29,500. Blue book is $24k on the high end! Good luck with your search.
I’m looking possibly older and higher miles like >180k and sub $10k. What are some common failure points, also being a 4wd, from 200-300k?
Typical wear issues from age and mileage is what I would expect as long as the truck has been well maintained. There is an ‘08 with 275k for sale locally that I checked out. It had both the valley plate leak and the cam tower oil leak. Had impeccable maintenance history and was a 1 owner car. It also felt tired… the windows rolled down slow, weatherstripping was failing, and it felt more aged than my ‘05 GX with 200k miles.
I bought a 2014 GX in 2020 w/ 99k miles that already had the CVP and the cam tower leak. I DIY the CVP but forget me with that CAM tower leak. It’s really just a seep that makes things a little messy. All that too say, I thought it was more a catastrophic issue with more specific models then ubiquitous to these 4.6/5.7s. At least I know what to look for :-(
Good points about the other smaller wear items. The other thing is I’ll need to figure out how to determine the center lock still engages…
From thecarcarenut:
and
and
Toyota V8 New Problem Trend is Starting To Worry Me! Here's How to Prevent It. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfGTI0sWozc&ab_channel=TheCarCareNut
He mentioned that it seems 2014 and on 3UR 5.7 engine have less issues with the head gaskets from the coolant becoming a bit too acid for the head gasket coating. Lots of great info by him on these videos.
and
and
Toyota V8 New Problem Trend is Starting To Worry Me! Here's How to Prevent It. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfGTI0sWozc&ab_channel=TheCarCareNut
He mentioned that it seems 2014 and on 3UR 5.7 engine have less issues with the head gaskets from the coolant becoming a bit too acid for the head gasket coating. Lots of great info by him on these videos.
Not sure if sub 10K will happen with that low of mileage - these things hold value like nuts. I haven't shopped for a while but my 2021 TRD Pro is worth the same or more than I paid for it new. I think you can probably find some 2008/09 models around that number but the mileage is likely to be higher, and you'll likely have to travel to get it
Yep, ridiculously hard to find. Hold their value well and are currently a bit overpriced due to supply and demand, tariffs, whatever. Hard to gauge values of bulletproof Toyota products though… What you get with the purchase of a 2nd gen Sequoia is pretty great. Very simple, durable and extremely well made. Has that same bare bones Japanese goodness that my ‘91 pickup evoked. Even though made in the USA!
Finally found my Gen 2. I saw a good deal on a 2010 SR5 4x4, cloth interior, 2nd row bench, 217k miles with a decent dent on the liftgate, 1 owner (Tennessee and Arizona),good car fax, and maintenance records from 2016 on at the local Nissan dealership. Less than 500 miles ago they did:
I’ve been driving it every day and it’s been great. Really exceeded my already high expectations of Toyota. It just feels good having something that didn’t cost much and will last me a long, long time. Now to find a Slate Metallic liftgate!
- All four pads and rotors
- Alignment
- All new shocks/struts
- New upper control arms
- Spark plugs/ignition coils
- Battery
I’ve been driving it every day and it’s been great. Really exceeded my already high expectations of Toyota. It just feels good having something that didn’t cost much and will last me a long, long time. Now to find a Slate Metallic liftgate!
Congrats! It will last another 15 years with little effort. Don't know how stock Sequoia rides, but TRD PRO wife drives is certainly the smoothest ride I can remember.
Tailgate is all metal, can't you PDR it? Show pictures?
Doesn't look to bad to me. I've fixed worse dents on a car with like 3 times sheet metal rigidity than Toyota does. Finger does not flex it no matter how hard you try, and the dent is pretty hard to work with. Contrary, fixing basketball dents on the roof of my Tundra is nearly zero effort. It just pulls right back with no visible indication of the past damage.
However. I see the wiper rest is missing. This means a lot of water intrusion into the tailgate. It likely has a lot of rust already developed inside. So I would direct that $1k towards a good used tailgate in this case specifically. In case you decide to work with your dented tailgate anyways, have it inspected inside for rust. It would be pity to bust time and money, only to find a through hole a couple years down the road.
Yeah, inspect yours. If the corrosion looks minimal then just spray it with Noxudol 700, it will stop it once and forever. And patch those holes over. With the tailgate pulled apart you may assess the damage done to structural elements. I think your body shops stay away from fixing body elements with structural damage, because this may be against the law, even if the damage is nominal.
Congrats on the purchase! Looks like a great truck that should serve you well.
@hankstruck do you mess with your cars/trucks yourself? There's "2011 Toyota Sequoia Shop Service Repair Manual Complete Set" on ebay. I bought one for myself, it turned out handy a few times already.
Yes. However I found it is easier to search the 35 lbs of dead wood. Also if something goes amiss in that not very friendly dump of TIS, buying the 3 days access would cost a considerable chunk of the paper set price.
I plan to keep our Tundra and Sequoia until they stop selling gas, so this set looked like a good investment. Also it was cheaper.
