2001 Toyota Sequoia | Retro Review

Based on the Tundra platform, the Toyota Sequoia was the first full sized Japanese SUV ever introduced to the US...
Show 2009 | Original Airdate 11-04-2000
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[@marr6339]

Still see these on the road today

[@Welcometofacsistube]

No you dont

[@bikdav]

@marr6339: I still see a few also. But, they made this one for a few years.

[@adeyemiolaogun4512]

Still have mine. 2004 with 207k miles.

[@thatcarguy1UZ]

I own a 2003 model it's virtually identical to this one. I absolutely love it. It's extremely comfortable and has plenty of room for my family (my wife and I have 5 kids) and it is easy to work on in the rare instance that it actually needs anything done to it. It's never let us down, and it will do absolutely anything that I ask of it, except pass a gas station. That's the only downside to this big girl. She's thirsty.

[@adeyemiolaogun4512]

@@thatcarguy1UZ agreed! Thirsty. 15mpg is about average.

[@keontaheri3944]

My dad bought this brand new in 07 and this car took me to my first day of preschool. Now I drive her to college.

[@shizzy_Snorlax]

One thing about Toyota, that reliability is legendary. I still see these on the road.

[@jeffreypaul9428]

Yep, they go forever.

[@tylermacconnell217]

Actually, these rust out as fast as anything in the snow belt areas.

[@dcjohnson2490]

I still see 1st-generation Sequoias on the road today and nearly all of them look impeccable.

[@Turshin]

Not in Michigan

[@dcjohnson2490]

@@Turshin I should’ve clarified where I live lol I’m in NC

[@joshuamccormick5497]

There’s so many of these in Texas you’d think they’re still selling them at dealers

[@elext9q]

Mines an 01 with 180k, solid frame and just some bubbling rust in the fender. Drives amazing too

[@Turshin]

I can make any vehicle last in Texas or North Carolina. Show me a vehicle that can do work and still not rot away after years sub zero temperatures, snow, ice, salt, and destroyed roads.

[@JoePez]

My grandmother has a 2003 Tundra. She’s had absolutely zero issues with it and has almost 300k miles on it, and it still runs like a top.

[@timmcpeck2764]

Still see these on the road today. Those engines are one of the best made.

[@captainamericaamerica8090]

Me gramps' sequoia has 658! 000! Miles.😚😌

[@SURENITY]

Incredible ​@@captainamericaamerica8090

[@tinhinnh]

These look better than the 2nd gen imo

[@dcjohnson2490]

They do! 2nd generation looked too bloated

[@nwezetx1]

Ah 2000! Crazy how that's no longer just 5 years ago, but almost 24 years ago. My uncle was an engineer on the American development team out of Ann Arbor in 1996-97. The team had a problem designing it in 1996-97 when they realized that the (upcoming) actual Tundra headlights were too small and the front fascia as well, that they had to make it wider in a time crunch, to meet a design deadline of December 1997 and release date of November 2000. You can see that with the 2004 Double Cab being a better match. I remember the first time I saw one of these. Illegally parked, in the humongous cul-de-sac of a fancy house party circa Thanksgiving 2000. I didn't realize they existed until that moment and then my uncle later shared he was an engineer on that project. 2000 being a quarter century ago is already depressing.

[@matthewcaughey8898]

What’s even more depressing is it’s the price of $30,000 won’t even get you a friggin car these days

[@crryder44]

FINALLY this came across my feed!! I have an 03. 2in lift on 33s. Flowmaster super44. 280k miles. LOVE this sucker

[@YeahYall]

Bro that 4.7 is the best! My Tree is at 280k as well.

[@joncassidy5663]

Love my 2001 sequoia with 18" tundra trd wheels on it. And 297,000 miles and still going strong

[@fernandorocha-dx1wv]

Toyota Sequoia and 4Runner is best SUVs of Toyota

[@Thecarguy1254]

My family has had our 2001 Sequoia for 20 years now and it has been stupid reliable all these years.

[@redamouftah9313]

This version of the Toyota Sequoia is very perfect and we have a great demand for it in Libya. We import it used from the United States and use it on much worse roads. It is used very poorly. However, it maintains its quality. Its only flaw is the ball joint always breaks. If it were not for this defect, it would be the most complete car even. now

[@damilolaakanni]

We had this happen to ours (2004 Limited 2WD) in 2014. Replaced it with a high mileage 200 series Land Cruiser (4.0 V6) shortly after. That turned out to be a bad decision as it currently is in need of a new engine.

[@dakotakline461]

I have an 01. Love it. 229k miles. Will try to keep it for as long as I can.

[@dohc1067]

A legendary name and platform that says it all.

[@LTCEZIO]

These are going to be on the road even when my great grand kids are having kids…. And sellers on FB will still be asking more for it then it should be sold for

[@grantwebster395]

I learned to drive on a 2004 and it’s still running today 20 years later at almost 250K miles

[@jeremyanderson1139]

The Sequoia is still popular today

[@nwezetx1]

Not really

[@damilolaakanni]

Not as popular as their other body on frame SUVs though.

[@Bob-Sacamano]

"the Toyota Sequoia was the first full sized Japanese SUV ever introduced to the US..." Wouldn't that be the Toyota Land Cruiser?

[@damilolaakanni]

True, but this was bigger than the Land Cruiser, despite both being full sized.

[@James-ne3lc]

Land Cruiser wasn't marketed as a grocery getter.

[@Gabez82]

The LC was(is) a global platform vehicle. The Sequoia was a North American model platform, as was the Tundy’s platform it was based on. So I think that’s what John was referring to in the video.

[@ExiledWolf84]

Another example of a car that is all over the roads, but there are barely any for sale because nobody ever wants to get rid of them.

[@TV-ht5bw]

I bought 2nd one off the lot & still going strong. Same engine has 540k on it.

[@TheCarCrazyGuy]

I had a 2000 Tundra. It was a cool truck.

[@diegoarza4082]

I remember reading about a 4.7 engine that reached a million miles, insane.

[@princeplotena]

I've been waiting for this one!! We have a fully loaded 2001 Limited. Same colour as the video.

[@YeahYall]

I own a 2003. 280k miles. Still drive it.

[@thetravellingpicker5096]

Just bought one today, under $3000, under 200K, runs and drives and looks new. Amazing vehicle. Feels like my suburban, but softer ride. Excited first time Toyota owner.

[@bigdlife86]

These were SOOOO good.

[@JRB41]

I still see these on the road! I’ll stick to my 11’ BMW 328i Sport Wagon, but these things last forever

[@smuckerst8355]

This was a tacit admission by Toyota in 2000 that the Land Cruiser had become so expensive and uncompetitive that there was enough space for another 3 row SUV with the same engine.. This was the start of a 20 year period where the Land Cruiser was completely redundant between the Sequoia below and the Lexus LX above. People outside NA don't understand this, but the LC was only available fully optioned, this is why they're so uncommon and how the Sequoia came to exist.

[@nwezetx1]

Well stated. I remember reading when the Land Cruiser 100 was introduced in spring 1998 and journalists interviewed both Toyota spokespeople and American execs about it, Chrysler of course gave no comment, while Ford's spokesman obnoxiously laughed at it being compared to the Expedition and Navigator, due to size and sales volume. GM said little, but brought out the Yukon Denali and was finishing up the original Escalade. The Land Cruiser problem was, how rapidly it became very lofty after its first facelift in late 1992 with the new I6. It became full blown luxury in early 1995, on the eve of the LX 450. Land Cruiser 100 doubled down, by gunning for being the sole 7-8 seater global luxury SUV, something Land Rover didn't really offer. The Discovery wasn't as luxurious as the Range Rover P38A and Land Cruiser 100. It was pretty spartan, save for some mild luxury touches. Toyota knew by 1995, how luxurious the next generation 100 Series was designed to be and began developing an SUV, off of the new 1500 class pickup in January 1996. By the end of 1997, the Sequoia was already completed and sent to testing through 1999. There are some 1998 spy shots of this winter testing covered in camouflage. I recall the main inspiration being the 1995.5 Tahoe and the Land Cruiser moving upscale, forcing Toyota management to create the Sequoia. Edit: Toyota engineers hardly knew about the Ford Expedition and 1998 Lincoln Navigator outside of spy shots, when they began developing the Sequoia in 1996. GM's 4 door Tahoe was made a priority with the T-100 successor. However, what Toyota didn't realize is that not everyone bought it for prestige. They bought it because it was the biggest Toyota after the Previa and when the Previa was discontinued, many just didn't like the dopey first gen Sienna. When something else was offered cheaper and even bigger, it was the slow death of the fullsize Land Cruiser.

[@johnbogue9081]

These are still all over the road today. Had this as a family vehicle growing up. Owned it up to 235,000 miles until it was sold off. Never a single issue.

[@THE-xp3hp]

Jhon Davis with another certified Banger

[@sv1000rider]

Great vehicle!

[@harisasidhar]

30,000 USD for base and ULEV designation for v8. Folks we have come a looooong way....

[@smartman123]

amazing quality

[@iluvcamaros1912]

For some reason as a kid it never occurred to me how much this era full size Toyota aped the F150/Expedition. Even the interior looks like a (much higher quality) F-150 dash.

[@jimmyjimjims7483]

Doesn't get much better than this, mine was a 2002 Sequoia Limited 4WD in Imperial Jade green. Drove it 220k miles and sold it to my friend who still drives it to this day. A literal tank

[@jpete3027666]

I bet the one from this video is still going strong with 400k.

[@RogBeasly]

Hey after owning a sequoia and many Toyota’s thru out the years 1 thing I can say there are very reliable!! Never had an issue.

[@vine2244]

I still daily drive my 2002 sequoia. 245k on the clock. Love it so much and still take it across the country. I get 14 city 16 hwy mpg. Worth it for the space and comfort!

[@Benjamin06267485]

Seeing them with 292,837,271,919,191 miles and brand new still.

[@BernonCars]

Excellent!!!

[@stupidvideos1449]

How is that ultra low emmissions with 16 mpg?

[@mr.c493]

I wonder if that specific one is still going!

[@CACressida]

First gen Sequoias were awesome and popular. Too bad its successors weren't.

[@matrixrevolution6209]

Wish we're had this in Australia

[@nwezetx1]

It's interesting how similar Australians and Americans are. It's unfortunate logistics. If Australia was LHD, I don't think Toyota would even have skipped a beat and you'd have plenty of them. I think they opted to offer cheaper versions of the 100 Series in Australia above the J90 Prado (and upcoming J120), as they refused to do so in the USA nor increase the wheelbase to better match the Tahoe and Expedition.

[@DiRF]

From what I know (as an outsider) about the car industry in Australia from the time, despite having many wide open areas and lonely roads, Australian cars were still generally smaller than American cars. Even large domestic Australian cars like the Caprice/Statesman and Fairlane/LTD were smaller than American "large" sized cars of the time. The first-gen Sequoia being even larger than an equivalent-era Chevrolet Tahoe may not have been appropriate for the Australian market.

[@cavalierliberty6838]

They wouldn't sell well down under.

[@bradfromthevalley]

@@cavalierliberty6838 would think they would be wanted for the outback as they seem to be excellent offroad rigs. once the value dropped on the used ones they became a popular choice for modifying for offroad and once lifted with the offroad bumpers and racks they look pretty mean.

[@lucif3r839]

I have an 07. Last year of this generation. Thing is a tank.

[@ambienteterrazas]

I offroad and camp in my 2002 4wd Sequoia, tuff suv's the only thing to look out for is lower ball joints and timing belt changes, other than that they are ultra reliable.

[@ORuelas702]

First gen sequoia FTW 🙌

[@limixz28]

I park my 99 land cruiser next to one of these. Love the similarities.

[@bryanberg8132]

This generation is still a really good looking body design even almost 25 years later.

[@GXKid06]

Why did motor week only het base model toyotas?

[@T-Rex-nm1se]

We have a black 2007, still going strong after all these years

[@ricepony33]

Tanks!

[@DnaturalBreaux]

My wife's 03 is still rolling smooth at 262k on the ⏰️

[@jimsomerville3924]

Wish they'd just sell these new today. So much better than current model.

[@buckfiden2988]

The wife loves her Sequoia.

[@maxrx7]

That was a good Mexican you had here testing out the review Motorweek, what happened to him?

[@matthewcaughey8898]

Now 30k ain’t even going to get you a base 2wd midsized truck

[@Cannisseur119]

We have 2 first gen Sequoias

[@BReal-10EC]

Too bad about the rusty frames on these things. They were solid SUVs.

[@mattwolf7698]

I always found the styling on these to be pretty boring but they are great cars and will last forever, many are still on the road.

[@lukerinderknecht2982]

This looks promising. I have a hunch Toyota will sell a decent amount of these.

[@evansmith8621]

Do the Lexus GX470 next!!

[@jgg204]

Now they are $80K+

[@Thankyou_3]

If I could turn back time, would have bought 3 of these and kept two of them inside Cheyenne…the first one would still be on the road after 20 years. Cars made in 2024 are absolutely garbage…well many of them. Thankfully, the 5th generation Toyota 4Runner still made with bulletproof engine and transmission.

[@user-cj4sm8hv9y]

A New SUV Tree

[@deznut564]

I have and 04 trudra 4wd 264k miles on it still ryns like a top olmt problem was a radiator easy fix though

[@colin-nekritz]

My neighbor still owns one identical to this with 310,000 miles. Everything works and he said other than going through O2 sensors and a water pump everything is original save for wearables. It’s a tank that will outlast you.

[@Skeeballman64]

My Dad owns one of these and it still goes, even with some of the idiot lights on.

[@micbad4689]

Those days are no longer.

[@davidedens7391]

I have one with 282k with no leaks or anything or any engine lights

[@goingindieEN]

30K back then is around 51k in 2024. So not that off in today's prices interesting enough.

[@sillyputtytastesgood]

A few months after this went on air folks stopped buying vehicles altogether.

[@nwezetx1]

???? Nothing like that happened in early 2001.

[@sillyputtytastesgood]

I didn’t say early 2001. Have you ever heard of Sept 11 2001? Some people refer to it as 9/11. Look it up. The entire world’s economy went to shit almost overnight.

[@user-cj4sm8hv9y]

All In Us

[@anthonychihuahua]

If anyone sees one of these with under 100k miles for under $30,000, please let me know, lol!

[@Chickenpatty878]

The one in this video had under 100k miles

[@ghosttheone007]

390k on mine

[@johnbogue9081]

Sr5 model going for 30k in 2001. 2024 its almost 80k

[@drpork1360]

Thats the Gavril Roamer not a Toyota

[@4HBirtcher]

Supposed to be a Land Cruiser replacement!

[@James-ne3lc]

These are so small compared to the newer Sequoia's and Tundra's.

[@Skeletor1]

Not really

[@peterdaniel66]

12 mpg IF you’re lucky.

[@GalenlevyPhoto]

I liked the sequoia but the thirsty on gas is what kept me from buying one. Don’t like paying so much on gas.

[@user-cc7vx7sw4z]

But it’s an ultra-low emission vehicle … with a v8

[@nickcastillo738]

you gotta pay $50k plus to get anything like this now

[@thecutlemon8101]

Sequoia yo mama

[@alexsuniverse384]

I see this when I get to work and it makes a bad carbon monoxide smell

[@Skeletor1]

Probably o2 sensor needs to be replaced and is burning rich

[@jasonthach44]

Whoever butchered that Toyota logo needs to go.

[@YourMom-vl2sp]

$30k won't even get you an entry level sedan now

[@tinhinnh]

yes it will bud

[@slowbastardo9101]

They don't make sedans anymore... At least the USA big 3

[@nwezetx1]

That's not even true. 🙄 Plenty of entry level sedan are well below $30k, including the LE Camry. Uninformed commentary as expected. Since this was taped in October 2000 and aired November 4th, I went by inflation figures for $30,000 in October 2000 and it comes out to being $53,175.34 in January 2024 money. $30,000 was expensive in 2000 for sedans, Lexus territory or even loaded Camry XLE V6 Gallery Series. The actual MSRP for a base 2001 Sequoia in November 2000 was $31,115 equaling $55,120 in today's money.

[@nwezetx1]

​@@tinhinnhThe OP is a dbaxx. Always good to see you tinhinnh.

[@anthonychihuahua]

Crazy thing is that they're still selling for and getting this price for very nice ones! 🤯

[@eternalthread7846]

Great power train but bad interior quality

[@nwezetx1]

Yes indeed. Land Cruiser 100 was worth it.

[@anthonyrivera4735]

It's grotesque that this generation of sequoia lasted through the 2007 model year.

[@workingcountry1776]

Nice for a Toyota. Typical Toyota road noise. Big issue was the 4.7 was not a long lived motor. Major flaw is that it has timing belts like a throw away car. Either the engines fail catastrophically at 100-150k miles or you spend alot of money to rip the whole front of the motor apart to replace belt, water pump, and other related parts. They also had oil consumption issues that would take out engines due to oil starvation.

[@Fantazmic9554]

That's bullshit these engines literally burn zero oil. The timing belts can also last 200-300k miles, seen it many times and with a non vvti engine if the belt even broke while in operation you can just replace the belt. With a timing belt job you're also replacing tensioner, pulleys and water pumps. These engines are the most reliable engines on the road

[@Welcometofacsistube]

Toyota: rust holes the size of a fist within 3 years of ownership included

[@joshc606]

Riiiiight

[@777jones]

That only happens after a Ford SUV has been at the recycling yard 6-7 years. But yes, it happens and there are solutions.

[@Andrew_460]

Havent seen one of these in years. Probably because they sold so poorly. There were much better options for a lot cheaper. Thats why they didnt sell good. Still see lots of first gen Ford Expeditions on the road. These not so much lol.

[@Fantazmic9554]

Maybe you live in the northeast and don't think of them often. But I see these everyday

[@ubeuonly]

Worst driving non-existent technology economy box one of the worst for utilities ever made

[@DoSum4Me]

Engine lasts forever, frame rots quickly tho