Sequoia buying advice

[inthejungle]

Evening- my kids are getting older and we are going to need to add another vehicle. We decided we would like to add a 2nd Gen Seq. Wanted to ask for advice on best years, things to look for and what you would expect to pay ?
We are thinking we could go two ways buy an 18-22 with lower miles and pay more or buy something older with more miles and spend some money on major services. My wife’s current car is a 2011 Sienna with 170k.

What do y’all think? Any recommendations on how to find a good one that has been cared for?

Thanks

 

[vtl]

Compromised sealant in 3UR has been fixed in later years, 18-22 is a good choice. 19+ will not have transmission cooler. If you tow, you better add one. Otherwise that extra A/C fan that Sequoia has, it takes care of ATF temperatures. I never saw ATF temps as high in wife's '22 Sequoia as in my '19 Tundra.

If I had to buy a Sequoia again, I would skip TRD PRO and get a Platinum or SR5.

Platinum, because they have air suspension. We take Sequoia for long camping trips, with Yakima EXO and all the gear rear sags like mad. I've added Timbren SES, it is better now, but not perfect. Air suspension would solve it.

SR5, because I don't care about faux leather seats. They s*ck in fact. Cold in winter, hot in summer. Cloth seats with Wet Okole seat covers in my Tundra are awesome. Also SR5 would have to have a second row bench, not captain seats we have now. My 3 kids could fit in the second row of this wide Sequoia comfortably, leaving the enormous third row for camping gear. Which means we don't need to have anything on the hitch. And, likely, could avoid roof basket or box.

Besides possible frame rust, especially in the rear, behind the bumper, I can't see anything that can be significantly wrong in this Sequoia. It's a very solid vehicle built to last.

At one point wife's got a vertigo, Sequoia was too boaty for her. I upgraded the rear sway bar to TRD (the red one), it helped a bit. Was also fairly cheap and easy to install.

Truly fantastic vehicle.

 

[MACFJ60]

We had a 2014 Platinum Sequoia for 10+ years and there was nothing not to love about it. Uber reliable, low maintenance costs and a fantastic road trip car. Super quiet even on 33” KO2s and Toyo AT3s. The one downside was fuel economy, but expected given its size. It would still be in the fleet if I didn’t have a love affair with Land Crusiers.

 

[vtl]

The one downside was fuel economy, but expected given its size.

I still can't believe it, but wife once got almost 22 MPG with 3 adults, 3 kids, Yakima EXO and one box on the hitch. She regularly gets 19-20 MPG, which is not bad at all. But the way she drives, she drives me mad =)

Driving with family (2+3) Boston to mountainous Newfoundland and back we've got 16-18 MPG, driving even without thinking of saving fuel. A lot of extra weight and air drag. I can't even call it bad.

Here for example we had 1 short ton less, 1 kid less, twice less camping gear with us, a fully flat road and still got only 18 MPG of 93 gas (unlike 87 of Sequoia)

Maybe a modern family van will give you a better MPG, but Sequoia is basically a Tundra SUV, and it will go anywhere and back.

 

[inthejungle]

Thank you- y’all are confirming what I had been thinking. My wife wasn’t so sure about the size at first but when we looked at one the other day she was impressed. The challenge we are having is finding one that’s is a bit older but has had good maintenance. If y’all were looking for one how would you locate a good one?

 

[MACFJ60]

I still can't believe it, but wife once got almost 22 MPG with 3 adults, 3 kids, Yakima EXO and one box on the hitch. She regularly gets 19-20 MPG, which is not bad at all. But the way she drives, she drives me mad =)

Driving with family (2+3) Boston to mountainous Newfoundland and back we've got 16-18 MPG, driving even without thinking of saving fuel. A lot of extra weight and air drag. I can't even call it bad.

View attachment 4111053

Here for example we had 1 short ton less, 1 kid less, twice less camping gear with us, a fully flat road and still got only 18 MPG of 93 gas (unlike 87 of Sequoia)

View attachment 4111056

Maybe a modern family van will give you a better MPG, but Sequoia is basically a Tundra SUV, and it will go anywhere and back.

We were lucky to get 18 on the freeway and got 14 MPG around town. Your wife is a magician!

 

[vtl]

We were lucky to get 18 on the freeway and got 14 MPG around town. Your wife is a magician!

6th gear with 0.588 ratio and locked up torque converter is the magic. 3UR does not burn much fuel at like 1200 RPMs.

 

[OldSalt73]

Evening- my kids are getting older and we are going to need to add another vehicle. We decided we would like to add a 2nd Gen Seq. Wanted to ask for advice on best years, things to look for and what you would expect to pay ?
We are thinking we could go two ways buy an 18-22 with lower miles and pay more or buy something older with more miles and spend some money on major services. My wife’s current car is a 2011 Sienna with 170k.

What do y’all think? Any recommendations on how to find a good one that has been cared for?

Thanks

My input... get the newest one you can find between 2020-2022 for the updates. I think '21-22 there was a nice infotainment system update to include wireless CarPlay. Look for the Limited or Platinum trim, as it includes some niceties like heat/vent front seats and a bunch of nice driver aids. As with any of these, service history rules. Some recent YouTube videos include the Sequoias as one of the value vehicles that are languishing on use lots, so finding one at reasonable price should be relatively easy. Here are a couple of resources that may be useful:





The MOST RELIABLE SUV Ever Made. 2nd GEN Toyota Sequoia - https://youtu.be/RUnMX8rrk4g?si=AvDnx_S0-uq6kZ79

Pros and cons of every mod. Toyota 2nd gen. Sequoia. (With links) - https://youtu.be/Kmj1Gmf7lh0?si=nnFUT1OuWj5dKtE8