Recently got the itch to buy one of these. Anyone on here have/had one? What was your experience? What should I look out for?

 

Mechanically, under the skin, it is the same as equivalent 4Runners of that-generation....the body and interior, of course, are different, but reliability should not be affected much.

 

My SIL had one and loved it. Only reason she got rid of it is her new job required her to do a lot of driving and her gas mileage was abysmal. I drove it a few times and if I remember correctly the only thing I was not crazy about was the visibility.

 

That's what I gathered as well, with the main thing to watch out for being undercarriage rust (same with 4runners)

 

Gas mileage is probably my main concern but also worth it if I like the vehicle enough. My other car is a C8 Vette, so I'm used to awful visibility haha.

 

Check for rust, timing chain stretch (very common on 07s), the timing cover leak that all GR engines have, coolant leak from the rad seams of higher mile ones, check rear end for the arms rusting through as well as brake lines etc, check all wheel bearings and brakes as they are somewhat expensive in parts for Koyo brand stuff.

Trans is generally indestructible as long as fluid level is good

Electrics are generally good as long as all the grounds haven't rusted off

I am not personally aware of any water intrusion common issues

 

all i remember is that the FJ held their value the most back in the day - is it still the case?

 

I have a cousin that has one with over 350,000 miles on it, its been wrecked twice and keeps on ticking...

 

get the FJ cruiser that has full time 4WD, not the part-time version .

 

We had one, Voodoo Blue. Loved it and loved the color.

It was fun for what it was and don't regret having it, even though we didn't have it for very long (3 - 4 yrs).

We had the 4WD automatic and didn't have any issues with rust.

 

Noted. Just to confirm, there are only two types:

1) 2wd with option to put in 4wd when needed
2) Full time 4wd

Is that correct?

 

There was also a 2WD or rwd version of the FJ. the full-time four-wheel-drive Toyota FJ is manual by the way. Early versions of the FJ also had less power in a different tuning of the engine

07 and 14 specs below

 

I had a 2008 FJ Cruiser. 6-speed manual transmission, full-time 4WD with off-road package. Full-time 4WD was only available with manual transmission, automatics had part-time 4WD or 2WD only.

Positives:
- Excellent off-road capability. Almost 10 inches of ground clearance. Better off-road than 4Runner because of smaller size.
- Very reliable, robust powertrain. Early models had only 230 hp, but later models had 270 hp. Same 1GR engine, but more modern fuel injection and other small changes.
- Reasonably comfortable. Probably not as good as modern offerings like current model 4Runner or Land Cruiser, but way better than Jeep Wrangler, for example.
- Simple, durable interior.

Negatives:
- Terrible visibility.
- Rear passengers hated it because they almost couldn't see anything due to small rear door windows.
- Awkward, small suicide rear doors. Getting into rear seats can be problematic for people with reduced mobility

There were a few well known issues with the model:
- Broken inner fender aprons close to the firewall. It never became clear what the root cause was, and as far as I know Toyota never addressed the issue. This structural problem affected some percentage of the FJs and did not appear to be related to rough off-road use. Even when the broken apron were replaced, the problem would return. Most FJs didn't have this problem, but those that did, apparently there was no solution.
- "Sinking" front seats. FJs had a manual seat height adjustment. In some of them, the seats would slowly sink down over a period of few days. The problem was common enough for Toyota to issue a TSB. Seats were replaced under normal 3 yr / 36k miles warranty. I had to replace mine at approx. 2 years. Full seat replacement was the only solution as the mechanism was not repairable.
- As all 1GR/2GR engines, oil leaks from timing chain cover were common.
- Frame and suspension corrosion. Like all Toyotas from that era, they tended to rust very quickly if driven in places were road salt is used in winter. Good aftermarket rust protection was a must if you wanted the FJ to last more than just a few years.

FJs are pretty old these days, so it you are planning to buy one, check for the issues listed above. While engine oil leaks are usually fixable, the other problems are unfortunately not repairable.