2007 TOYOTA FJ CRUISER Complaints

VEHICLE LIKE OTHERS IS STARTING TO EXPERIENCE BULDGING ON THE INNER FENDER APRONS. MINE HAVE NOT DEVELOPED TO CRACKS LIKE SO MANY OTHERS BUT APPEARS TO BE IN ITS INFANCY SINCE IT IS BULDGING. I WAS MADE AWARE OF THE COMPLAINT AFTER BROWSING THIS DATABASE. UPON FURTHER RESEARCH I FOUND FJCRUISERFORUMS.COM WHERE 155+ OTHER PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM! I HAVE NOT TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AS I HAVE HEARD HORROR STORIES AND THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN REMEDIED. I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE FRONT IN UNDER NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS AND ESPECIALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE VEHICLES CRASH RATING AND HOW IT HAS BEEN AFFECTED. IT APPEARS TO BE BULDGING AT TWO CRUMPLE ZONES ON THE UNI BODY. NO OTHER APPARENT BULDGES, RIPS, OR DEFORMITIES ANYWHERE ELSE. THE VEHICLE HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN IMPACT SITUATION GREATER THAN A SHOPPING CART AT THE SUPER MARKET ROLLING INTO MY VEHICLE. THIS APPEARS TO BE A NATURAL OCCURRING PROBLEM WHICH THE TOYOTA DESIGNERS DID NOT TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN BUILDING THE VEHICLE. THE FRONT END DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT ITS OWN WEIGHT. *TR

MY VEHICLE HAS BULGES IN THE ENGINE BAY ABOVE THE WHEEL WELL. THIS VEHICLE IS MY DAILY DRIVER AND HAS BEEN ONLY USED ON EASY TRAILS AND LOGGING ROADS. NO SERIOUS 4 WHEELING OR JUMPING. MILEAGE WHEN DAMAGE SPOTTED WAS 9,500 MILES. *TR

RIPS IN METAL "CRUMPLE ZONES" INSIDE ENGINE COMPARTMENT OF 2007 TOYOTA FJ CRUISER. VEHICLE HAS BEEN SLIGHTLY MODIFIED (SUSPENSION, TIRES), BUT NEVER 'JUMPED' AND ALL OFFROAD USE HAS BEEN ON SMOOTH, NON-TECHNICAL TRAILS (AS ADVERTISED BY TOYOTA). *TR

RIPS AND BULGES APPEARED ON THE INSIDE OF THE ENGINE BAY. THEY ARE APPEAREING IN A DESIGNATED "CRUMPLE ZONE" .. WHICH MAKES ME FEAR FOR MY SAFETY.. IT HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED BY HUNDREDS OF OTHER TOYOTA FJ CRUISER OWNERS AS WELL..... THERE WERE NO EVENTS LEADING TO THIS. TOYOTA HAS NOT AKNOWLEDGED THE PROBLEM IN ANY WAY.

THE INNER FENDERWELL APRON CRUSH ZONES ARE BUCKLING UNDER NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS - IT APPEARS THE FRAME HAS TOO MUCH FLEX AND IS CAUSING THE WEAK SPOT IN THE INNER FENDERWELL TO BREAK. THE BUCKLING ON THE PASSENGER SIDE HAS ALSO SHIFTED THE FENDER BACKWARD CAUSING A PINCH AT THE HOOD CORNER AND THE FRONT EDGE OF THE DOOR. I AM NO LONGER ABLE TO OPEN THE DOOR. I AM CONCERNED THAT BECAUSE THIS IS A SAFETY RELATED AREA OF THE BODY THAT THIS ISSUE MIGHT IMPACT THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE VEHICLE IN AN ACCIDENT, OR EVEN UNDER NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS. THE VEHICLE WILL BE TAKEN TO MY LOCAL DEALER THIS WEEK. I AM AWARE OF AT LEAST 150 OTHER SIMILAR VEHICLES WITH VARIOUS STAGES OF THIS IDENTICAL PROBLEM, SOME WHICH HAVE ALSO BEEN INSPECTED BY VARIOUS TOYOTA PERSONNEL. INFORMATION ABOUT THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN POSTED TO AN ON-LINE FORUM TO GATHER ADDITIONAL DATA - WWW.FJCRUISERFORUMS.COM - WHERE PICTURES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THE VEHICLES, EQUIPMENT, AND BUILD DATE / MILEAGE HAVE BEEN GATHERED. *TR

PAINT CHIPPING WITHIN THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF VEHICLE OWNERSHIP. CHIPPING ON THE HOOD AND FENDER AROUND THE HEADLIGHT. *TR

NUMEROUS PAINT FLAKING; EVEN ON NON LEADING SURFACES WINDSHIELD PITTING AND SPARKLING IN SUNLIGHT. *JB

FATIGUE STRESS IN THE ENGINE BAY SHEET METAL LOCATED IN SAFETY CRUMPLE ZONE AREAS. EVENTS LEADING UP TO FAILURE ARE ANYONE'S GUESS. NORMAL DAY TO DAY AND MODERATE OFF-ROAD DRIVING ARE THE ONLY CONDITIONS EXPERIENCE BY THE VEHICLE... NO COLLISION OR ACCIDENT INCIDENTS. TOYOTA HAS AGREED TO COVER THE REPLACEMENT OF THE PART UNDER WARRANTY BUT HAS GIVEN NO EXPLANATION AS TO HOW THE FAILURE IS OCCURRING TO VEHICLES ON A NATIONAL LEVEL, HOW THE FAILURE WILL BE HANDLED AFTER THE WARRANTY PERIOD AND PROVIDED NO RECOURSE FOR WHAT IS BOUND TO BE A DRAMATIC DROP IN RESALE VALUE DUE TO THE FIXING OF THE VEHICLE (MORE THAN LIKELY THE EXTENT OF THE REPAIR WILL BE AKIN TO FIXING A WRECKED VEHICLE. FRONT END DISASSEMBLY, WELDING, CUTTING, ETC.) *TR

INNER FENDER LINER METAL CRACKING AT THE CRUMPLE ZONE, SEVERE CRACKS DEVELOPING. *JB

SHEET METAL CRACKING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE INNER FENDERS WITHIN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. *TR