2007 TOYOTA FJ CRUISER Complaints

2007 FJ CRUISER BODY PANELS INSIDE ENGINE BAY ARE BULGING AND SUBSEQUENTLY RIPPING APART FOR NO APPARENT REASON. TOYOTA HAS NOT ISSUED A PUBLIC STATEMENT ON THIS MATTER. FIXES FOR MY VEHICLE INCLUDE PULLING THE ENGINE TO REPLACE THE PANELS. HOWEVER, THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM THAT CAUSES THE RIPPING HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED OR ADDRESSED. *JB

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA FJ CRUISER. THE CONTACT NOTICED A CURVATURE IN THE INNER FENDER APRON OF THE VEHICLE. A MECHANIC STATED THAT THE INNER FENDER APRON CRUSH ZONES WERE RIPPING AND CRACKING UNDER NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS AND THE FRAME CONTAINED AN EXCESS OF FLEXIBILITY. THE DEALER FOUND NO FAILURES AND NO REPAIRS WERE MADE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 33,952.

THE INNER FENDERWELL APRON CRUSH ZONES ARE BUCKLING, CRACKING AND RIPPING UNDER NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS - IT APPEARS THE FRAME HAS TOO MUCH FLEX AND IS CAUSING THE WEAK SPOT IN THE INNER FENDERWELL TO BREAK. 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 HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE TOYOTA DEALER, AND A TOYOTA FIELD ENGINEER AND DISTRICT MANAGER EXAMINED THE VEHICLE, INCLUDING TAKING NUMEROUS PICTURES. NO REPAIRS WERE OFFERED AT THAT TIME, AS THEY WERE UNSURE OF THE CAUSE OR REMEDY. I AM AWARE OF AT LEAST 113 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. AS OF THIS DATE, I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT "TOYOTA WILL TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM", BUT HAVE RECEIVED NO SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON WHEN OR HOW. *JB

INSIDE FENDER PANEL RIPPING ON EITHER SIDE OF 2007 TOYOTA FJC MINE AND OTHERS, CAN SEE DISCUSSION ONLINE AT HTTP://WWW.FJCRUISERFORUMS.COM/FORUMS/PROBLEMS-DEALER-SERVICE/33440-ENGINE-BAY-BODY-RIPS.HTML SEEMS THAT TOOTA KNOWS OF THE PROBLEM AND IS OFFERING A FIX NOT PROVEN TO WORK, AND IS ONLY COVERING TILL THE 30,000 MILE WARRANTY IS UP, AFTER THAT IT IS YOUR PROBLEM, EVEN THOUGH IT SEEMS TO BE A PROBLEM MANY VEHICLES HAVE.

THE TOYOTA FJ HAS MASSIVE BLIND SPOTS EXACERBATED BY THE DESIGN OF THE SIDE MIRRORS AND THE REARVIEW MIRROR AND THE TIRE WHICH BLOCKS THE REAR. *JB

(1) I ONLY HAD JUST UNDER 12,500 MI. ON MY 2007 TOYOTA FJ CRUISER WHEN THE VEHICLE STARTED SWERVING AS I WAS DRIVING ~55 MPH DOWN THE HWY. I PULLED OVER TO FIND THAT MY 33" PRO COMP MUD TERRAIN REAR RIGHT TIRE HAD A BLOW-OUT. NOT A MINOR BLOW-OUT, BUT THE ENTIRE SIDE WALL COMPLETELY PEELED AWAY FROM ITSELF AROUND THE WHOLE TIRE. PRO COMP OFFERED TO REIMBURSE ME A PRO-RATED AMOUNT OF RETAIL PRICE FOR THE TIRE ACCORDING TO THE TREAD DEPTH LEFT ON THE TIRE. NO DAMAGE WAS DONE TO THE VEHICLE. (2) ABOUT THREE WEEKS LATER, THE VALVE STEM (WHERE YOU PUT AIR IN THE TIRE) COMPLETELY BLEW OUT OF THE FRONT RIGHT TIRE AND MY TIRE WENT COMPLETELY FLAT. THANK GOD THAT I WAS PARKED AND NOT DRIVING, SO AGAIN, NO DAMAGE DONE TO THE VEHICLE. AS OF NOW, NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM. I AM CURRENTLY TRYING TO GET TOYOTA (DEALERSHIP PUT ON THESE PARTICULAR TIRES BEFORE I BOUGHT THIS NEW TIRE, NOT A REQUEST FROM ME) OR PRO COMP TO REPLACE ALL OF MY WHEELS AND TIRES WITH A SAFER BRAND THAN PRO COMP. *TR

MY TOYOTA FJ CRUISER HAS DEVELOPED CRACKS IN THE ENGINE BAY BODY METAL. I USE THIS VEHICLE AS A TRAIL RIG AND IT HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT OR JUMPED. I HAVE VERY LARGE RIPPING ON BOTH SIDES ABOVE THE FRONT TIRES. *TR

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, I AM THE OWNER OF A TOYOTA FJ CRUISER 2007. AFTER ~3500 MILES, I DISCOVERED CRACKS IN THE BODY FRAME (FRONT INNER FENDER RAILS - ENGINE BAY). I DID ADDRESS THIS ISSUE TO TOYOTA, WHO VOIDED THE WARRANTY ON THE VEHICLE DUE TO "SIGNS OF IMPACT, NAMELY SCRATCHES ON THE UNDER BODY". I DO NOT CONCUR WITH THIS STATEMENT, SINCE SCRATCHES CAN NOT BE RELATED TO IMPACT STRENGTH. I USE THIS VEHICLE FOR OFF ROAD, WHICH DOES YIELD TO SCRATCHES IN THE BODY. I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANY IMPACT. INTERNET RESEARCH ON FJ CRUISER FORUMS SHOWS THAT THIS BECOMES A VERY COMMON PHENOMENON AND APPEARS TO BE A DESIGN FLAW IN THE FRONT END OF THE FJ CRUISER. I AM CONCERNED THAT DUE TO THE CRACKS IN THE BODY (CRASH ZONE), THE SAFETY OF THE VEHICLE IS NEGATIVELY AFFECTED. I WOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE YOU A VERY DETAILED REPORT ON THE FINDINGS, AS WELL AS WITH THE LINKS TO A NUMBER OF FJ CRUISER OWNERS FACING THE SAME PROBLEM. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR RESPONSE AND APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT IN THIS MATTER! *JB

I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE IN DEC OF 06 AND ONE MONTH INTO HAVING THIS CAR AND DRIVING ON MY NORMAL ROUTES THAT I REALIZE THAT THIS CAR HAS ZERO VISIBILITY. NO WINDOWS IN THE BACK THAT ALLOW YOU TO SWITCH LANES SAFELY OR EVEN BACK UP FROM A PARKING LOT OR AREA SAFELY. I JUST RECENTLY HAD AN ACCIDENT AS WELL. I ALREADY KNOW THIS CAR HAS NO VISIBILITY TO IT TAKES ME LONGER THAN USUAL TO BACK UP OR SWITCH LANES. I LOOK AT MY SIDE AND REAR VIEW MIRRORS AND DO A COMPLETE TURN PAST MY BLACK SPOT TO ENSURE NO CARS ARE THERE, HOWEVER EVEN DOING THAT YOU CAN STILL HAVE AN ACCIDENT LIKE I DID WHEN AFTER LOOKING WAITING AND THEN PROCEEDING THAT I MISSED A SMALL HONDA PRELUDE COME BEHIND ME. THIS IS A SERIOUS HAZARD FOR ALL DRIVERS. OWNERS AND OTHERS ON THE ROAD. I HAVE NEVER HAD AN ACCIDENT SINCE I WAS 18 YRS OLD AND HERE I AM 8 MOS INTO HAVING THIS CAR AND I HAVE ONE. *TR

I HAVE HAD THE VEHICLE FOR 5 MONTHS AND HAVE ALREADY HAD 3 CRACKED WINDSHIELDS. WHEN TALKING TO OTHER FJ DRIVERS, THEY COMPLAIN ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM. *TR