Fellow 80 owners--does anyone own a Sequoia--wife wants one wanted opinions

[suxel 450]

We are on our 3rd Land cruiser and we may be adding a Sequoia (2001-2006) to the garage. Have any of you owned one? How don they compare to the 80? Really looking see if they have been as reliable and if they are decent for mild off-road use and how they are in the snow. I know they're bigger that's why she wants one.
thanks for the info

 

[LCHardriver_02]

My in-laws have a 2003. They purchased theirs 6 months before I purchased my '02 100 series. The Sequoia is a great people hauler and does fine on fire type roads, and mild wheeling. As for reliability, they have had theirs in the shop more than we have had wither of our LCs, but then again my FIL does not do any maintenance himself. The biggest thing has been the amount of windshields they have gone through. I believe they are on 4 or 5. This may also be attributed to my MIL's SoCal driving.

It would be hard to compare it to the 80, as they are very different vehicles made for very different primary uses. The Sequoia would win hands down as a people hauler and the 80 will win hands down as a 4-wheeler. Both are great trucks. It really just depends on how you will use it. As your wife's main hauler and for occasional camping trips, it will work great.

 

[LS1FJ40]

I owned a '03 and '04 Sequoia Limited 4x4. LOVED both of them. The '03 I totaled when I rear ended a semi that was stopped on the highway. I was going 55 mph and he didn't have lights and a huge gust of wind blew some snow across the highway. I hit my wipers and as soon as my windshield cleared I hit the trailer. The Sequoia was totaled. ZERO cab intrusion! Not a scratch on me. I called my wife. She picked me up in our '92 80 series and we went to the Toyota dealership and picked up an '04 (in silver this time instead of grey). Sold it to my brother 40k miles later. He still has it and it just hit 150k. Never had any issues with either one. He hasn't either. I take that back. The Bridgestone Duellers that come stock on them were s*** both times (loud as hell! And vibrated) dealer replaced with Michellin LTXs and no probs. It rates at lower hp than GM and Ford but she towed everything I needed her to tow (including my 80 on a flat bed across country).

They aren't LCs but they are capable of light off road driving. Say good bye to the running boards if you take her off road.

 

[sseaman]

We have an 04 Limited and love it. It started as my wife's kid hauler and when she needed a smaller car dor better mpgs we kept it and now it is my daily driver. I lifted it about 2 1/2" and running larger tires. It was great last year in the little snow and ice we get with Firestone Destination LE's, and also a little heaier snow when we hit the slopes. When I took over driving I thought about trading for a 100 series but knowing the mechanical history and the little extra room in the back pushed the scales to keep it. The 4.7 engine was the Toyota workhorse in the early 2000's and has proved its worth.

 

[Duane]

Sorry former 60 owner no 80 experience.
When I was shopping for used Sequoia's a few things became obvious for fixes and things I have found since.
- Rear hatch latch mechanism can fail...more quickly in dirty or gravel road use.
- 4.7L seem prone to cracking exhaust manifolds
- not sure how great the paint or perhaps primer is on a sequoia. Rock chips seem to offer good starting points for rust spots and I don't live in the salty eastern areas.
- plastic headlight lenses prone to discoloration/clouding from the sun I think
- 4.7 has that timing belt and is an interference engine
- power antennas are prone to buggering up. My 03 has a solid one 2000 4Runner same failure
- electronics?? I have some interior lights not all coming on when doors open but function manually? some cold mornings VSC lights on? and my brakes seem to lack booster assistance.
- dash rattles need some attention

Certainly a nice riding vehicle as we took an autumn road trip out east putting on about 6000 miles. Surprisingly peppy for the weight. Not certain how it pulls as I had an 05 dbl cab tundra and trailering a 60 around seemed like a pretty good load on it.

The 05+ Tundras got the bump in hp and the 5spd automatic. Perhaps this affected the towing ability or not???

 

[suxel 450]

Thanks to everyone for the opinions. Very useful. I appreciate the time.

 

[Duane]

I forgot 1 more problem.. recall on lower ball joints on my 05 Tundra.
My 03 already had them replaced as a dealer can pull up service work done at other dealerships.

 

[GDA62/100]

Don't have an 80, used to have a 100, still have a 62. Wife's 03 Sequoia is a great people hauler. Bigger than the 100 and a little better fuel economy. Just passed 105K or so. Still going strong. Tows our 6x12 enclosed trailer well, loaded to about 3000# gross with 6 people in the car. It's only a 2wd. Replaced the hatch handle twice so far. Keep the latch clean and lubricated--the handle is weak. Little plastic door in the left cargo area and trim bits don't stay put. The trim around the door openings is delaminating. Headlight lenses get cloudy. And, yes, paint chips rust easily, even in NorCal. Door lock actuator motors will fail like the ones on the 100 and are harder to get apart to fix, same little Mabuchi motors, though.

 

[KliersLC]

Nothing really to add to the above--my experience has been pretty much the same. Couple notes though.

-Power antenna--had to replace on the 80 and the Seq.
-Rear hatch handle-also had to replace on both vehicles, but the 80's is metal, so should last longer.
-Sliding third row is HUGE, however, if you don't regularly use the third row, the flip up seats are better than the fold and tumble.
-Cup holders are MUCH better in the sequoia(have had to repair the pull out cup holder though)
-Timing belt change takes less time than an axle repack.
-windows are faster on the seq
-center console is not too sturdy on the seq.


Anyhow, the 80 is a 97 with 193k and the seq is an 01 with 145k. Both of them go down the road very nicely, and both handle the snow very well with the nod going to the seq due to the VSC.

Anyhow, long and short of it is that they are both great rigs and complement each other well for big families.

 

[suxel 450]

Thanks again everyone. I sold my 97 LX450 (78k orig) and bought an 02 Sequoia 4wd limited with 77k. Looking forward to adding the miles.

 

[sseaman]

congrat, but we need pics

 

[suxel 450]

congrat, but we need pics

Here are some photos.

 

[suxel 450]

I just posted a few photos of my Sequoia. Fairly low miles at 78k when I bought it. Only issue so far is with the drivers side mirror. It won't power fold in and I can't adjust it with the control. Any ideas?

Other than that so far so good. Getting a new Pioneer touch screen with Sirius installed soon.

 

[sseaman]

It looks nice and clean. Sounds like a short in the wiring to the mirror since they are separate switches and motors dor those functions.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

Actually, it sounds like the connector could be loose (an open, not a short). I would start there and verify that you are getting power to the correct pins, given the switch being depressed at the time.