2007 TOYOTA FJ CRUISER Complaints

TAKATA RECALL- REAR DIFFERENTIAL WENT BAD, NO HARD DRIVING, AND CHANGING FLUID FREQUENTLY.

THE FRAME ON MY 2007 FJ CRUISER IS SO BADLY RUSTED THAT THE BRACKETS CONNECTING THE REAR CONTROL ARMS TO THE FRAME DETERIORATED AND THEY ARE NO LONGER ATTACHED. THIS WAS NOTICED WHEN THE STRAPS FROM THE GAS TANK ALSO RUSTED AWAY AND THE GAS TANK DROPPED. THE FRAME DAMAGE IS SO SEVERE THAT NO BODY SHOP WANTS TO TOUCH IT FOR LIABILITY REASONS.

RECEIVED WORD FROM TOYOTA SERVICE DEPARTMENT THAT THE FRAME ON MY 2007 FJ IS ROTTED, NOT REPAIRABLE, AND UNSAFE TO DRIVE. THIS SEEMS TO BE A MANUFACTURING DEFECT, NOT OWNER CAUSED. LOOKING TO TOYOTA TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. THIS SEEMS SIMILAR TO THE TACOMA FRAME RECALL.

DRIVER'S SEAT BROKE WHILE I WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE. A BOLT SNAPPED OFF UNDER THE SEAT FOR THE MECHANISM THAT CONTROLS THE UP AND DOWN HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT. THE SEAT WAS IN THE HIGHEST POSITION POSSIBLE WHEN IT HAPPENED AND AS A RESULT, THE SEAT DROPPED ABOUT 7-8 INCHES TO THE FLOOR, CAUSING A BACK INJURY FOR ME. WHEN THIS HAPPENED, THE DRIVER'S SEAT GEOMETRY WAS OFF SO SIGNIFICANTLY THAT THE BACKREST WAS RECLINED TOO FAR AND I COULDN'T SEE OUT THE WINDSHIELD OR REACH THE PEDALS. I AM DISABLED AND IT IS A MIRACLE THAT I WAS' IN AN ACCIDENT AS A RESULT OF THIS. I CONTACTED TOYOTA AND THERE HAD BEEN A SERVICE BULLETIN TO REPAIR THE DRIVER'S SEAT IN MY VEHICLE, BUT THE DEALERSHIP NEVER INFORMED ME OF IT, EVEN THOUGH I HAD COMPLAINED SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT THE SEAT LOSING ITS HEIGHT SETTING. NOW TOYOTA WILL NOT REPAIR THE SEAT BECAUSE IT IS OUT OF WARRANTY. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THE CAR AND IT HAS 111,000 MILES ON IT. THE SEAT MECHANISMS BROKE WHILE I WAS DRIVING OVER A ROUGH SECTION O CITY STREET IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA AT ABOUT 12 MPH. I WAS DRIVING IN A STRAIGHT LINE AND SLOWING DOWN TO STOP AT A RED LIGHT WHEN IT HAPPENED. I CAN'T DRIVE THE CAR FOR MORE THAN A FEW MINUTES AT A TIME WITH THE BROKEN SEAT BECAUSE IT IS TOO PAINFUL FOR MY BACK INJURY.

FRAME RUST - FRAME IS RUSTED SO BAD MECHANIC AND LOCAL DEAL SAID VEHICLE IS NOT ROAD WORTHY. IF I HAD NOT TAKEN MY VEHICLE TO A MECHANIC BEFORE SERVICE AND GENERAL MAINTENANCE REPAIRS, I WOULD HAVE DRIVEN ON A 2400 MILE VACATION ACROSS COUNTRY WITHOUT KNOWING THE DANGER OF A FAILING FRAME. MY INITIAL COMPLAINT IS I WAS UNAWARE OF ANY FRAME ISSUES WITH TOYOTA TRUCKS, THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A GENERAL RECALL/INSPECTION OF ALL TOYOTA FRAME VEHICLES FOR SAFETY INSPECTIONS. SECOND COMPLAINT IS THERE IS NO RESOLUTION AT THIS TIME, MECHANIC SAID IT COULD TAKE MONTHS TO GET AN ANSWER FROM TOYOTA AND EVEN THEN NOT SURE THEY WILL FIX IT. NOW I AM WITHOUT A VEHICLE.

WENT AND FILLED MY FJ CRUISER WITH GAS AND SOON AS I DID STRAP HOLDING FRONT OF GAS TANK UP SNAPPED ON BOTH SIDES JUST BOUGHT DAY BEFORE KINDA DISAPPOINTING BUT MAINLY A HUGE HAZARD TO BE DRIVING WITH 140+POUNDS OF GAS HANG THAT LOW FOR A QUICK FIX HAD TO START WITH BUNGEE CORD

A FEW WEEKS AGO I WAS WORKING ON MY VEHICLE AND I HAD TO REMOVE THE REAR BUMPER THEN I FOUND THE CHASSIS DAMAGED BY SO MUCH DEEP RUST, THAT FOR A MOMENT I JUST THOUGHT TO BRUSH AND PUT AN ANTI CORROSIVE BUT THE DAMAGE IS NOT FIXED WITH BRUSHING AND PAINTING. I CALL TOYOTA FOR A FRAME RECALL AND THEY DON'T HAVE ANY YET. MY VEHICLE IT'S NOT SAFE TO PULL ANYTHING. I ALSO FEEL THAT ONE OF THESE DAYS THE BODY CAN BE DETACHED FROM THE CHASSIS.

DRIVERS SEAT INTERNAL STRUCTURAL STEEL WIRES WELDS HAVE SEPARATED AND SHARP POINTED WIRE ENDS ARE PROTRUDING THRU THE FACTORY UPHOLSTERED SEAT COVERING. THE SEAT HAS AN INTEGRAL AIRBAG WHICH COULD BE PUNCTURED.

THE VEHICLE HAS A MAJOR FLAW IN THE DESIGN OF DRIVER AND FRONT PASSENGER SEATBELT, THE SEATBELT RETRACTORS ARE LOCATED INSIDE THE REAR SUICIDE DOOR OF THE VEHICLE. THE REAR DOOR OF THE VEHICLE WHILE SITTING OR DRIVING ALLOWS MOISTURE AND RAIN TO COME INSIDE AND DRIP DIRECTLY ONTO THE SEATBELT, WHICH OVER A PERIOD OF TIME STARTS TO RUST THE THE SEATBELT TENSIONER AND CAUSE A MALFUNCTION, I AS WELL AS MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVE HAD TO REPLACE MY SEATBELT DUE TO IT NOT WORKING. THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH ALL MODEL YEARS, IT IS DANGEROUS AND THE PART COST 300$ AND WILL KEEP GOING BAD IN ANY WET CLIMATE, THERE ARE MANY ARTICLES ON THIS ON THE FORUMS, ALMOST ALL OF THE SEATBELT MALFUNCTIONS ARE DUE TO THIS DESIGN FLAW. I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE MY PASSENGER SEATBELT AND NOW MY DRIVER SEATBELT.

I TOOK MY CAR IN FOR AN INSPECTION AT MY TOYOTA DEALERSHIP TODAY. I WAS TOLD IF I'M GOING TO SELL IT OR TRADE IT IN THAT NOW WOULD BE THE TIME TO DO IT...THE TECH SAID THERE ARE SOME VERY WEAK AREAS ON THE FRAME AND THAT IT COULD FRACTURE WITH IMPACT OR MAYBE WILL EVENTUALLY BY HITTING A BAD POTHOLE. THERE IS A LOT OF CORROSION AND IT SEEMS ODD BECAUSE THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN STORED ALWAYS IN A GARAGE AND ONLY HAS 55,000 MILES ON IT. IT'S BEEN MAINTAINED PERFECTLY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MAINTENANCE MANUAL. THE CLERK TOLD ME THAT TOYOTA CAN'T FIX IT AND WON'T BE ABLE TO FIX IT ONCE THE FRAME FRACTURES. IT SEEMED FRIGHTENING TO ME THAT THEY SUGGESTED I SELL IT TO SOMEONE ELSE AND NOT DISCLOSE THIS POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING ISSUE. I HAVE READ THE EXTREME UNDERCARRIAGE CORROSION IS PRETTY COMMON AND OTHERS ARE HAVING WORSE ISSUES THAN I HAVE SO FAR. I HAVE ALSO NOW READ THAT THERE WAS A MASSIVE RECALL DUE TO THE SAME ISSUE WITH CORRODED FRAMES ON SEVERAL OTHER MODELS IN THE TOYOTA LINE IN THE VERY RECENT PAST THAT ENDED UP IN A MASSIVE, ALMOST 4 BILLION DOLLAR RECALL. I'M PRETTY SURE THE FJ SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN IT. I HOPE YOU WILL LOOK INTO THIS BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE IT MAY SAVE SOME LIVES DOWN THE ROAD. MY FATHER WAS THE DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH FOR STATE FARM FOR OVER 30 YEARS AND WAS ON THE BOARD OF THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY SAFETY INSTITUTE AS WELL. HE INSISTED I REPORT THIS IMMEDIATELY AND WE BOTH HOPE YOU TAKE THIS INFORMATION VERY SERIOUSLY AS I AM NOT SOMEONE WHO COULD SELL A VEHICLE WITH SUCH AN INCREDIBLY UNSAFE FURTURE AND HOPE TOYOTA WILL DO THE RIGHT THING AND REPLACE THE FRAMES ON THESE VEHICLES AS THEY HAVE WITH ALL OF THE OTHERS.