Curt

The traction control is the most annoying thing about the Sequoia. When I go out in heavy snow I can not get any wheel spin to clean out the tires.

Does anyone know of an after market product that will allow traction control to be disabled selectively?

ptrickGTS

Do you have a 4x4??? because on my 4x2 sr5 sequoia, there is a button to disable the traction control

Curt

I have a 4X4 so it is not a normal option. I also have not figured out how to lock the center diferential in 4x4 high range. Does anyone know if this can be done?

Joe

You can't lock the center diferential in 4x4 high range, according to the manual you have to be in low-range and 1st gear. The only way to disable traction control in the 4X4 Sequoia is to go into 4H.

Curt

4H does not seem to disable traction control, when I am in 4L 1st gear it does seem to disable traction control but you can not get much wheel spin and you are hosed if you have to go in reverse because the center diff unlocks. They were clearly not thinking about off road capability when they designed this.

I sure hope someone comes out with a computer bypass or something.

Darren

Hold on here a moment!

TRAC is not the culprit. That would be VSC that cuts engine power. I agree 100% that it is useless. In a 4WD environment, the TRAC is the only thing standing between you and open diffs, and is definitely a good thing to have if they aren't going to put lockers in these things.

To disable VSC, lock the center diff. You should be able to do it in 4WD high range no problem, just push the button! It's that simple. I apologize if the Sequoias are, in fact, different than the 4Runner and Cruisers in this manner, but I really can't see that being the case. If they are the same, the manual is being extremely conservative. Don't run in this mode on dry pavement though.

I didn't search for interior pictures of one, but don't you guys have a button to the left of the steering wheel with an "X" along the driveshaft of a basic 4WD symbol? When you enable it, you should have a lit up dot in the lit up symbol on the dash cluster and a "VSC disabled" somewhere.

If you can't lock the center diff in 4 high and can't have a conventional 4WD vehicle, well, oops!

Now, if one wanted to keep it permanently disabled, I would guess you'd have to pull a fuse, cut a wire or something. I think this has been brought up regarding 4Runners in the past.

I'm curious what you guys find out. You're making it sound unbelievably bad!

Curt

Well it appears the Sequoia and 4 Runners systems are quite different. I am starting to think I bought a vehicle for soccer moms

In the Sequoia this is a traction control issue and not a VSC issue. I have a button to disable VSC and it makes zero difference, the traction control also cut the engine even when VSC is disabled.

There is no button to lock the center diff in the Sequoia like there seems to be in the 4 runner. As someone else, as Joe stated above the only to lock the center diff is to do 4L then put the trans in 1st gear then the center diff light comes on solid. There is no other way that I have been able to find any place.

Darren

You might be right about the soccer mom thing then! Hmmm. I am very surprised about this. I'll have to do some searching around now just out of curiosity, not that I don't believe you guys though.

Sorry I opened my big mouth!

Joe

I initially purchased the Sequoia thinking it would be a "Super-sized" LC and very shortly thereafter found it to be a "Super-sized" soccer mom 4X4 so the War Department now drives it and I purchased a Tundra and found that to be a wimp also - nothing that $8K couldn't fix though .

I mis-spoke before about defeating A-TRAC, can't be done, but in 4 wheel drive it's not as noticable unless of course you're in loose gravel or mud. Traction control is standard on both four wheel and two wheel drive vehicles. It uses the same wheel sensors as VSC does, the four wheel drive A-TRAC system is suppose to maintain wheel traction on slippery surfaces, by automatically applying brake pressure to each wheel, independently. Two wheel drive Sequoia features TRAC, a system similar in operation to A-TRAC, but dedicated to rear wheels only. One major difference between the two is that the A-TRAC system is full-time (undefeatable), whereas the two-wheel drive TRAC system is defeatable. By turning off TRAC they get a hell-of-a-lot-more engine torque in sandy or muddy conditions at low speeds. Tell me the Sequoia 4X4 is for the "real" off-road man :pat:

hillbilly

There's still a lot of work in progress on this since I'm still gathering more info, but here's a description of how I figured out how to disable Active TRAC on my 2001 4Runner SR5 4x4.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...action+control

I've currently request Toyota release a TSB detailing how to do this, but they haven't been real open to doing so yet. Please contact them (via email/phone) regarding this issue to put some pressure on them to get a TSB initiated. Also, please tell any other Toyota 4x4 owners wanting to disable Active TRAC to contact Toyota directly also. I know this applies to 4x4 4Runner owners (sadly enough even '03 4Runners), but I'm pretty sure it applies to the Sequoia as well. Not sure about the Tundra's/Tacoma

Toyota's email URL: http://toyota.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/t...cGFnZT0x&p_li=

There's definitely time when the Active TRAC feature is great, but there's definitely time 4x4 owners should have the ability to manually disable it.

The more people Toyota hears from, the better chances of a TSB being issued.

Kookadala

Well smack my ass and call me Sally!
What the heck is a "center differential"? Are you talking about the transfer case? A differential is on the axle and is usually centered in the rear and offset to one side in the front. Maybe these post-millennium vehicles are just too complicated for an old mechanic like me who likes to woirk on vehicles from the 60's and 70's when you didnt need a computer degree to figure out problems.

Darren

Ha! A center diff is what allows AWD and, yes, it is in the transfer case so as to allow the front and rear driveshafts to turn at different rates.

TOR

There is always a way to accomplish something, however I seriously doubt that Toyota will make this option available. This opens the manufacture up to a huge liablility and will take away from the marketing capabilities for the fleet. I can say this, should you disable it and the dealership finds out you are looking at voiding some of the warranty. Just my thoughts.

Todd

Mbjany

I have sequoia 2012 sr5
Get the same problem which dis-able traction button not there in this option of cars.. After contact the Toyota services they said they doesn't have solution for this .. After searching on line I got to know that small connection of wire under the dash board u may use it to disable the traction and VSC off.. Would like to know if any one have the same problem, will this effect the ABS later?? I need more information about it

apieceobacon

I dont know how to disable traction control completely from OEM but if you go to bullydog.com they have a performance chip tuner that has multiple different things you can do to the vehicle including remapping your key fob to do certain things. The chip costs about $480 but with how much it can do while also increasing your power, it is more than worth it in my opinion.

If you already purchased one and you need to know how to disable traction control you will need the vehicle turned on and in park. Then you select menu on the chip monitor, scroll down to Special Options and select it. After that you scroll down to Traction Control, it will show a disclaimer that basically says that if you total your car then it's your fault and your dumb. Scroll down, hit accept and it will bring you to a menu that says enable and disable, select the one you want and then hit enter.

BIC performance

This is an old thread but a common complaint on these Sequoia. I live in Northern Canada where we have winter 6 months of the year, the TRAC and VSC gets old really fast on slippery roads.
There is an easy fix for this. There is a fluid level sensor on the brake master cylinder reservoir. Simply un plug this sensor and your Trac and VSC is off. If you want it on again, you need to plug it back in and cycle the key off and on. I am working on putting a switch in cab to break the circuit, and turn it off....done

jusant21

I have a 2002 4Runner. I have found that if I turn the key to "on" without cranking the engine and then engaging 4wd before I actually start my truck makes it so VSC is disabled. While my truck is running, I can then turn off 4wd and the VSC will remain off if I want to drive w/o traction control while in 2wd. Has anyone else tried this? For some reason, it works on my truck but I was wondering if anyone else had tried this. Although this cannot be done "on the fly" it is a much simpler than the other alternatives that I have heard of.