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Old 06-10-2017, 07:59 AM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
11,157 posts, read 13,919,914 times
Reputation: 14935

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Discuss Toyota's line of full size SUVs and pickups here!

A few weeks ago I bought my second Toyota Sequoia. I drove a Mustang and have some issues with my left knee due to some injuries and surgeries. Here in the D.C. area traffic is awful and I just couldn't do it anymore. For personal reasons my wife and had wanted to wait another year before replacing that Mustang. I am in the military and we were waiting to see what our next set of orders would have in store before replacing the Mustang. Because we bought before we really wanted to, I told myself to look for inexpensive options.

I was actually looking at 3rd generation 4Runners. We had a 2000 years ago and sold it. I found a few that were pretty solid options and at reasonable prices. The issue was some of them were a good distance away so it would be harder to go see them, and in some cases sellers wouldn't respond to my inquiries (in some cases their CL adds were only a couple hours old when I contacted them).

At a standstill and on a bit of a whim I did a search for Sequoias too. I found a 2002 Sequoia SR5 for $8900. It was immaculate, with only minor flaws on the interior and exterior. It had just 81,100 miles on it. There were a couple other options available, (some listed at lower prices, some a better color, etc) but the mileage is what kept me coming back to this one. The car checked out nicely and I went ahead and bought it. The price was at the top of expected private seller value, but I found it worth it because of the mileage and there being no other major flaws with the vehicle. It is a minimal payment and I can keep this car for 10+ years get far more than $8900's worth out of it.

The 2002 Sequoias had the 4.7 iForce V8 rated at 240 HP and 315 ft-lbs of torque. While we've seen V6 motors in the ensuing years reach and exceed that kind of power production, this motor is more than adequate for this vehicle. Acceleration on the highway is solid, and I've already had a trailer hitched to it. Pulls it like it's not even there. I'm definitely happy with it, and driving a large SUV in traffic is a lot easier than a 5-speed. Perhaps the only thing that was a disappointment about this one is it's not 4wd. That's not really that big a deal because it's replacing a Mustang (not like that vehicle had 4wd) and our other Sequoia has it so if I do need 4wd I just swap vehicles with my wife. So far there's nowhere I routinely go where 4wd has been a requirement. Still, it would have been nice to have.

Our other Sequoia is a 2010 that we bought new. Even at 7 years old and with our kids making every effort to destroy that thing, we still love it. We currently have about 119,000 miles on it. By the time the 2010 models rolled out, the motor had been upgraded to the 5.7 iForce V8 with 381 HO and 401 ft-lbs of torque. As heavy as that vehicle is, it'll get down the block in a hurry if you lay into the throttle.

Seeing the two body styles side by side, I can't help but think Toyota nailed it on both. The 2002 feels and looks more sporty, almost like giant 4Runner while the 2010 (I believe the body style began in 2008) has a more luxurious feel, almost like a poor man's Land Cruiser. We like them both.

If we ever decide to buy a full size pickup it's not even a contest: the Tundra is the obvious choice. I'd think it's worth making this conversation about both lines of vehicles because they are closely related and the Tundra pickups seem to be far more popular than the Sequoia SUVs, so there's likely more experiences to share when the discussion is about both types.

We're completely satisfied with both of our Sequoias and will be driving both for many years to come.
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Old 06-10-2017, 08:07 AM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
11,157 posts, read 13,919,914 times
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here's my "new" Sequioa.
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Toyota Sequoia and Tundra Thread-img_1154.jpg  
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Old 06-10-2017, 07:48 PM
 
Location: Eastern NC
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Very nice find. I always like the older Sequoias.
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Old 06-12-2017, 10:11 AM
 
Location: central NH
421 posts, read 536,759 times
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I have a 2010 Tundra, it's a 4.6 4x4 double cab (not the crew cab, so I have a 6.5' bed). With tow package. I think in flat lands it'd be fine, although I think I'd rather have the 5.7 in our hills. The 4.6 does like to wind up a bit on hills, any amount of load and it will downshift. Nature of the beast, is what it is, that's what the transmission is for, etc--but I think I'd have gladly traded the 1mpg for more power.

Aside from being awful in snow (snow tires help but the primitive part time 4x4 system is more of a drag than I anticipated) it's a nice truck. Quiet, does what I wanted, etc. On snows I get 16mpg highway in winter; summer 20+ mpg is not out of the question. Carefully driven mind you. I do find myself wanting a backup camera more and more, and sometimes I wish it was built lower to the ground.
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Old 06-12-2017, 11:16 AM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
11,157 posts, read 13,919,914 times
Reputation: 14935
That's good to know about the 4.6 if I ever look into getting a Tundra. I wonder how much longer the 5.7 will be around before they upgrade it. It has a few years under its belt.

Price wise what was the difference in your truck and a similar trim but with the bigger engine?
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Old 06-13-2017, 11:58 AM
 
Location: central NH
421 posts, read 536,759 times
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Dunno. I bought my 2010 as a CPO in 2013. New I think the 5.7 was but a $1k bump. BUT... mine is a base model, while I suspect most 5.7's get dressed up a bit more than the norm. Making it harder to shop equivalent.

I didn't spend enough time shopping, honestly. I had been looking at other trucks when I found mine. As it ticked off all the boxes I wanted, I settled. Later on I read about 4.6L regrets. I'm not sure I really regret it--I don't tow, so I really don't need that extra power. But when advising others, I generally recommend "go big or go home".
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Old 06-13-2017, 03:44 PM
 
Location: Floribama
18,923 posts, read 43,211,623 times
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I've had a few little issues with my 2009 Tundra 4.7 2wd (currently at 98k) but nothing major, bought it about 6 years ago. Water pump started leaking around 55k and was replaced under warranty, went ahead and changed timing belt at the same time. Air injection pump went bad at 90k but was replaced under extended warranty. Lately I'm experiencing a bit of a misfire upon acceleration, and I suspect it's a leaking o-ring spark plug tube seal allowing oil to foul a plug. While the 4.7 isn't a super powerful engine, it is very durable... I have towed a cargo trailer and a Kubota tractor with it many times with no problems.

A few weeks ago my spouse bought a 2002 Tundra Limited 4.7 4x4 to drive to TX for work, that truck has 195k miles on it but has been very well kept, even has a TRD supercharger and TRD exhaust. It did need a new radiator but otherwise runs like new. Even with the supercharger though it still seems to have less power than the '09, maybe it's the big mud tires on it.

In addition to these two Tundras, we also recently bought a 2007 Tacoma V6 Pre-Runner TRD. Great little truck with JBA headers and Dynomax cat-back exhaust. It just turned 100k miles, so hope to get many years of use out of it.
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Old 06-16-2017, 03:40 PM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
11,157 posts, read 13,919,914 times
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I stumbled into this pic earlier today and thought I'd share it here. This was last summer when I bought all that rock for a land scape project I was doing. That's our 2010 Sequoia pulling and while it did feel different pulling a load that heavy (1200 pound trailer and a couple tons of rock) it did also pulled it like a champ.
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Toyota Sequoia and Tundra Thread-img_0515.jpg  
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Old 08-12-2017, 12:41 AM
 
2,203 posts, read 3,874,122 times
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I'm the original owner of a 2003 Toyota Sequoia SR5 4WD and a 2016 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. The color of the former is Desert Tan and has 262,000 miles, whereas the latter is Quicksand and has only 8,000 miles. I drive the Sequoia locally and take the Tundra on interstate drives. I still have confidence in driving the Sequoia long distances but I my exhaust is sounding louder. I suspect I have a leak somewhere. I hope it's not the catalytic converter. Anyway, once I get the exhaust repaired, I plan to take it on long drives.
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Old 08-14-2017, 07:48 AM
 
4,138 posts, read 11,440,552 times
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We now have 3 Toyotas. One is a 2004 Sequoia. We just drove it from NC to CA and back last month! It runs great and has about 175,000 miles on it.
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