r/Toyota

Curious about everyone's Toyota stats. I read on here someone's Rav got to 540,000 wow.

2024 Sequoia: cup holder spill reached transmission/4WD electronics — $9,363 repair estimate, Toyota denied coverage

2024 Toyota Sequoia owners — you need to know about this.
We had a drink spill in the factory center console cup holder of our 2024 Toyota Sequoia.
Not all over the dash. Not into an open electronic panel. Into the cup holder.

Apparently the cup-holder assembly is not sealed, and liquid can travel underneath it into the transmission / four-wheel-drive electronics located directly below.
After the spill, the vehicle was able to back out of the driveway, but when I tried to put it into Drive, it would not shift normally and instead went into S mode. Then all the lights started to pop and couldn’t get the car into gear.
Toyota inspected the vehicle and the current repair estimate is $9,363.50.

Toyota corporate has denied coverage or that this is a design flaw.

My issue is not simply “someone spilled a drink.” Cup holders are literally designed to hold beverages. Spills are completely foreseeable. If an ordinary spill in a factory cup holder can reach drivetrain electronics and cause thousands of dollars in damage — or potentially leave the vehicle unable to shift normally — that seems like a serious design or safety problem. Luckily I was not on the highway when this happened.

What’s even more concerning is that I’ve found other Sequoia owners reporting very similar failures involving liquid getting through the center cup holder and damaging electronics underneath it.

So I’m posting this for two reasons:

To warn other 2023+ Sequoia owners: be extremely careful with any liquid in the center console cup holders.

To find other owners this has happened to.
If you have experienced liquid getting through the cup holder/center console and damaging the transmission controls, 4WD controls, shifter electronics, wiring, modules, etc., please comment or message me.
I’ve already contacted Toyota corporate, and I am also documenting the issue for NHTSA.
I am not claiming every Sequoia has this problem. I am sharing exactly what happened to ours, what Toyota diagnosed, and what the repair estimate currently is.
$9,363.50 from a spill in a cup holder is something other owners deserve to know about. This is also an initial estimate that may go up once they get power to the wiring harness and see what else was affected.

Please share this with anyone who owns a new-generation Toyota Sequoia.

I have been told that 3rd gen Toyota tundras also have this design issue.

#toyota #ToyotaSequoia #toyotatundra

Lower demand for electric vehicles and the surging popularity of hybrids is reshaping the race for U.S. sales supremacy between General Motors and Toyota.

GM’s U.S. sales declined 6.3 percent through September, to 2.01 million vehicles, while Toyota’s volume rose 0.6 percent to 1.88 million. Fewer than 37,000 vehicles separated the two automakers in the third quarter; Toyota trails by fewer than 130,000 year to date.

I’ve had my Prius for almost 15 years now. 

It’s a 2012 with about 132k miles on it, and I love it dearly. 

However, it’s in need of repairs, one of which is urgent, and expensive. I’m curious about prices and people’s experiences with independent shops, especially if you’ve had these issues before. 

Basically, I’ve brought my car into Toyota for everything. All of the maintenance work over the years, every single oil change — it’s literally never even seen the inside of a Jiffy Lube, lol. 

I know that this has all cost more than it would at an independent shop, but I was young when I got it and after a while of going to Toyota for everything it just became the place I could trust to have it taken care of. 

Until recently, I have had no issues with my car, but I know that at this age there are things that will start to give out. I also know how much I have in my bank account, and I just spent $1200 at Toyota doing a brake repair a week ago. 

While driving (exactly one week later), the ABS light, BRAKE light, and traction control light all turned on at once. 

I bring it back to Toyota and was quoted nearly $2000 because the diagnosis says:  “replace of both rear wheel bearings and cables.”

It also needs an upper motor mount repair, but that costs over $700 and I planned to put it off until my next oil change. 

I guess all this is to ask:  

1. Is this price reasonable?
2. What would this cost at an independent shop?
3. How do I find a good independent shop I can trust with my Prius?

I honestly can’t afford to spend $2k more on my car right now. It’s a lot of money and everything is so expensive. How long can I drive with those lights on? I’m contemplating just trying to put off this repair until I can save more money for it. The lights are intermittent, so they don’t always come on, but I hate the idea of not fixing this issue before driving it. 

Sorry this is long, thanks in advance. 

TLDR:

• 2012 Toyota Prius with 132k miles. 
• $2000 to replace both rear wheel bearings and cables. 
• $729 to replace/repair upper motor mount. 
• $621 to replace 2 tire pressure sensors (I plan to never do this… I have a gauge and am not spending over $600 just to get that light to turn off, lol). 
• Has anyone had experience with these issues and/or can give me an on what the cost would be at an independent shop? How do I even find one I trust?!?

Thank you all in advance.