Toyota Sequoia reliability by year
26 recall campaigns and 922 owner complaints across 18 model years. Best year to buy: 2012. Year to avoid: 2005.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 3 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018 . Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 18 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 101, more than the 26 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Sequoia aggregated across 18 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Toyota Sequoia?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2012 Toyota Sequoia scores 7.8/10 — the strongest in the 2005–2022 range. 20 complaints on file, 4 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Toyota Sequoia year should I avoid?
The 2005 Toyota Sequoia scores 3.6/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 352 owner complaints with NHTSA, 11 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2005 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Toyota Sequoia should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2007 (high-risk ownership — reliability score 4.8/10 — below the segment average); 2006 (high-risk ownership — reliability score 4.4/10 — below the segment average); 2005 (high-risk ownership — suspension: 25 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 25,000–105,000 mi). The cleaner years on the data are 2018, 2016, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Toyota Sequoia are tracked?
18 model years (2005 through 2022) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 26 distinct recall campaigns and 922 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 101 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Toyota Sequoia?
airbags is the most-reported category — 114 complaints across 3 model years. Average shop repair runs about $1,100.