Toyota FJ Cruiser. Any experience with one?

I had one for a couple years (a 2008) and then traded it in on a Tacoma because my wife hated driving the FJ.

I loved the thing. I put a lift on it and some 33s. If you are not rock crawling, it is tremendous off road. Mine was an auto and I bought it after selling my manual wrangler that I had for three years. The FJ is waaaaay smoother off-road on washboard and old logging roads like we have here in CO. It was a great hunting companion and held a good amount of gear with the seats down.

Assuming no kids, add a roof rack and it is almost the perfect single guy vehicle.

I had no problems with blind spots or reliability. It was extremely well built and the front seats were comfortable.

My Tacoma tows better (2013), but I liked the engine in the FJ better. The grand new Tacoma’s have it. The Tacoma is better for back seat (quad cab)and having a truck is more versatile...but the FJ was just more fun.

Tundra is too big for logging roads.



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Bet you could get a similar mileage xterra off road (with the rear e-locker) for less $$$ than an fj and I sure preferred the ride in the x.

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Originally Posted by Timberridge

I put 375,000 on one or was it 385, can't recall...never any major issues. Sold it for $8500. I replaced the wheel bearings a lot because it liked to go in rivers. Had a better highway ride than 4-Runner.

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That's a shit ton of miles, do you drive for uber?

IMO Taco or 4Runner is what you want. The FJ Cruisers are getting collectable and expensive. Not to mention the difficulty of parts. Get yourself a 4 door Tacoma or 4Runner in whatever vintage and mileage you prefer. Unless you're building an offroad specific vehicle, the aforementioned vehicles will do everything you need.

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Originally Posted by saukit

IMO Taco or 4Runner is what you want. The FJ Cruisers are getting collectable and expensive. Not to mention the difficulty of parts. Get yourself a 4 door Tacoma or 4Runner in whatever vintage and mileage you prefer. Unless you're building an offroad specific vehicle, the aforementioned vehicles will do everything you need.

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honestly, most 2012 on tacos and runners are out of my price range but FJs for sale locally are not. it won't be offroad specific but i will take it offroad once or twice a week at a minimum. i really prefer the look of the FJ anyway. i am a single dude with a family hopefully far ahead in my future so space isn't a concern at all. i just want something fun and think that the FJ fits that bill.

I've got a built fzj80 land cruiser I'd sell you.

If you can get an FJ Cruiser cheaper, go for it. Pretty sure they run the 4.0 V6 which is bulletproof. Other than the visual line of sight issues others have mentioned, don't see how you can go wrong. I'm legit surprised they're cheaper. In my area they're even more ridiculously expensive than the other Toyota 4x4s. Good luck man!

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Originally Posted by Cruiser

Bet you could get a similar mileage xterra off road (with the rear e-locker) for less $$$ than an fj and I sure preferred the ride in the x.

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Yuk and yuk.


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Originally Posted by ötzi

That's a shit ton of miles, do you drive for uber?

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I can't lease.

My goal with every car I buy is to drive it to the moon (theoretically). That FJ overshot the landing a bit. The Range Rover has 255K on it right now. I've achieved that goal.

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Originally Posted by gretch6364

Yuk and yuk.

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I'll see your yuks and raise it a yuck.

a Range Rover with 255K has to be some sort of a record.

It's a testament to the persistence of the human spirit to triumph over the demons of British engineering.

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Originally Posted by ötzi

a Range Rover with 255K has to be some sort of a record.

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Well, it was in the shop every 6 months getting a major system or component of the vehicle being replaced, so I'm not sure it's that big of a triumph.

^ LOL

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Originally Posted by The Artist Formerly Known as Leavenworth Skier

I've got a built fzj80 land cruiser I'd sell you.

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Hey OP, this is the right solution. That's a great truck, the FJ - not so much.

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Originally Posted by The Artist Formerly Known as Leavenworth Skier

Well, it was in the shop every 6 months getting a major system or component of the vehicle being replaced, so I'm not sure it's that big of a triumph.

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Triumph, another British icon of engineering.

Hey, if I'm up in Idaho one day, you think you could fix the console fridge for me?

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Originally Posted by stealurface831

My Suburban is on her last legs and I must move on. The FJ is at the top of my list. I am ballin on a budget here so looking at ones with 100k+ miles. By all accounts they are dependable cars and I could easily get 100k+ out of one but that is all according to google. Has anyone owned one? What is the beta? Could I actually get 250k+ out of one?

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I had a current version FJ as a company vehicle for a few years. Drivetrain was fine, capable vehicle and all that, but I only had it for about 3-4 years so no long-term opinion for ya.
I found it to be very claustrophobic to drive in. The low roof line and smallish windows left a lot to be desired. Shitty blind spot for the driver as well. I wouldn't buy one.

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Originally Posted by ötzi

a Range Rover with 255K has to be some sort of a record.

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honestly. i've known a lot of RR owners and don't know if any one of them got their's to 100k.

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Originally Posted by stealurface831

honestly. i've known a lot of RR owners and don't know if any one of them got their's to 100k.

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I have a friend who gets a new car whenever the tires wear out. He owned his for 50K. We work opposite ends of the depreciation curve together.

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Originally Posted by Timberridge

I have a friend who gets a new car whenever the tires wear out. He owned his for 50K. We work opposite ends of the depreciation curve together.

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it sounds like he and i are quite a distance from one another on the wealth spectrum as well.

On the FJ. I had a 2007. I think in 2008 they changed the engine a bit which moved the oil filter from the top of the engine to underneath above a skid plate and instead of a spin on it became a cartridge. The 2007, I could change the oil in 15 mins in my garage. The 2008 was a bit of a process 'cause you had to wrestle off the skid plate and remove a bunch of shit. And then put shit back on. Making it like a 45 min -1 hr process. 385/8.5 equates to 45.29 oil changes I made on that thing. Buying a 2007 I calculate I had 1350 minutes more leisure time than if I had owned a 2008.

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Originally Posted by Timberridge

It's a testament to the persistence of the human spirit to triumph over the demons of British engineering.

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If they don’t put that thing in a museum in the Midlands then someone’s missing out.

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Originally Posted by Timberridge

On the FJ. I had a 2007. I think in 2008 they changed the engine a bit which moved the oil filter from the top of the engine to underneath above a skid plate and instead of a spin on it became a cartridge. The 2007, I could change the oil in 15 mins in my garage. The 2008 was a bit of a process 'cause you had to wrestle off the skid plate and remove a bunch of shit. And then put shit back on. Making it like a 45 min -1 hr process. 385/8.5 equates to 45.29 oil changes I made on that thing. Buying a 2007 I calculate I had 1350 minutes more leisure time than if I had owned a 2008.

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that is definitely something to consider. i read something about 2007s having an issue with engine shudder at highway speeds. was that your experience? the ones i am looking at are 2010-on so maybe they moved the filter again.

i'm interested to hear more about your experiences with it off-road.

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Originally Posted by stealurface831

honestly. i've known a lot of RR owners and don't know if any one of them got their's to 100k.

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Mine is still a teenager with only 123k on it. TR is the senior player on the team.

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Originally Posted by stealurface831

that is definitely something to consider. i read something about 2007s having an issue with engine shudder at highway speeds. was that your experience? the ones i am looking at are 2010-on so maybe they moved the filter again.

i'm interested to hear more about your experiences with it off-road.

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I'm not a Rubicon trail type guy, more camp roads and dashed line roads. So if you want to put a 3" lift kit on it and go to Mexico I'll defer.

That said, its a frame truck so it can take some abuse. The double wishbone suspension up front makes it handle quite nicely at the expense of some wheel travel. It's got a way nicer ride on road than a Wrangler as a result. The breakover ground clearance is excellent stock or if you want to put a bit of lift on it. I recall you can add about 1.5 inches with resorting to changing out suspension parts and control arms. The front sits a bit lower than the back. Make sure you don't try to level it out with the back otherwise on road handling gets funky. The plastic bumper wings are just begging for dents, so a lot of off road guys replaced them with metal.

I never experienced any engine shudder.

The Toyota AT's of that era had some problems with torque converters so maybe that's the shudder issue?

Anyway it was super reliable and had a nice highway ride compared to anything else in the category.

The ride was definitely better than my Wrangler.

I never had shudder in my 12, but the driveshaft did clunk if you didn't keep slip yokes greased. Pretty standard issue for the GX and 4 Runners also. Toyota sells replacements that remedy the problem for like 350 bucks.

I currently have 20 cars/trucks, +/- 3.

My daily is a 2008 fj (oil filter is still on the top, love that) with a manual.

BEST MOD
Manafre +18 gallon supplemental tank

Second best
360 camera system, stereo hands free phone.

Third best
Meteltech prerunner bumper.
I also did the body mount chop, door pocket on the back, 285 bfg's
I painted the yellow white top, artic white

Pros
Driver side glove box. I LOVE IT. Why nobody else does that baffles me.
Awesome in the snow-legit awesome
Manual trans
Highest residual value out there (95% after 5 years, the thing is free.)
No brakes, shocks or anything done to it, 100k so far.
I've carried 10' sticks inside it with the window open.

Great downtown car
Easy to park, I stuff it in compact car parking.
Turns nice.
I don't care if you hit me.
Its been hit 3 times and you can't tell.
My wife hates it, so she stays out of it.
Its 13 years old and I have no plans of selling it or want anything else.

Cons
Mileage and horse power kind of suck.
1 part white painted top is crap and kind of yellow, so I painted it.
The back doors swing... dumb.
The vertical wind shield hates rocks.