Anyone own a Toyota FJ Cruiser
 

Anyone own a Toyota FJ Cruiser...

I am thinking of getting an 18 month old one but wanted to know from an owner what's good & bad about them.

I can get a great deal on a used LandRover LR3 however would rather have a Japanese car for reliability & resale reason.

My brother has one. He let me drive it and it was interesting. He abuses the hell out of his, has over 100k miles on it, hasn't had a problem with it so far as I know.

my friend had one when he lived in Curacao, and he absolutely loved it. He liked it more than his Hummer H2..

I looked at them when they 1st came out, love the look, but decided to get a Landrover instead, you'll never guess which one :winkwink::1orglaugh The Toyota was too heavy on the gas, also 2 much 4 wheeling capabilities which I would never use:2 cents:

Love the landrover, but everyone that I've known that had one had an issue with lots of expensive repairs, without ever taking them off road at all. On the other hand I have a friend in Panama with the FJ, he spends a lot of time on some very bad roads and that thing is a tank. No problems.

My buddy has one and LOVES it. I've only ridden in it.

I don't...

I own one. Got it when they first came out in 2006.
No problems to date, the only thing you need to watch for is the flat windshield which will get a chip in it.
It's also a little hard on the premium gas, but if you can afford it, go for it. I love my FJ.

I <3 those things. I hear they don't handle very well, but its a truck.

I've owned 2 (both 2007's) and used them for offroading and just normal driving.
No problems at all. Good at street driving, good at offroading (you will beat a landrover offroading no problem)

That is exactly my concerns with the LR. I guess that's one reason the resale value is so poor on them. They loose like half their value in 2 years, crazy.

I loved my XTerra and Pathfinder.

The Xterra 4x4 is a lot of fun.

I always thought they look a bit like a hearse. But from what I understand they're good vehicles

I love them but they are 2 doors and I need 4

It should hold it's value really well if you take care of it. They stopped making them and they have a real cult following.

I have one. Fine for 2 passengers, but the back doors are a pain. You have to open the front door in order for the back one to open. If you have kids or frequent passengers it gets old quick. Its also a pain when parking at the mall because the door opens so wide.

Other than that its cool.

Actually they didnt. They may have reduced production after 2007, but I saw a 2011 available at Kendall Toyota.

I want one of these (Toyota Hilux)

2007 FJ ish
 

I had an older one (2007) on a two year lease, but now have an Xterra, which I like much better.

The FJ will hurt you at the pump if you're concerned about gas prices, requires premium gas. You may get some b.s. sales schtick at the dealership: don't worry about it, run it on regular... but you'll get knocking and pinging if you do, this I found out after I went to fuel up and and there was no premium so I had to put regular gas in it, ugh.

I don't know if some of the visibility and windshield issues were addressed in newer models, but the problems I found were:

Major blindspots due to the design of the FJ and the c-pillars, you felt like you were driving a truck and had to use the mirrors to make even simple driving maneuvers. I bought a stick-on convex mirror for driver side. It was definitely a transition from driving a standard SUV to the FJ, and IMO it requires more driver awareness when driving it. I never felt like I could just relax or enjoy the vehicle.

Rear windshield was so tiny, you couldn't really get a good rear view (yeah no pun intended there), so you had to check your side mirrors frequently for backing up. The spare tire also blocked part of the rear view. I think some of the newers models now have a back-up camera as an option.

Windshield, had it replaced once. Think there may have been a class action lawsuit re: the windshield issue.

The one thing about Toyotas in general is their resale value kicks ass over most other car brands.

I think everything I've written about can be looked up on google, cuz I googled it when I first noticed the problems. I guess I was just a little too excited during the test drive not to notice the driving issues or that new car smell is like a toxic drug and gets you high so you sign the lease.

I've had my '07 for 5 years, and I love it.

Blind spot is an issue. I do have some small windshield chips. Also, before the FJ I owned a Honda Element, and I was kinda taken aback when I realized the Element had more room in the back to lug stuff around than the Element.

Its one of the ugliest cars EVER

I looked at them but I ended up buying the 6.2L Ford Raptor instead. Best offroad truck ever.

Pretty much every vehicle mentioned in this thread is a major eyesore.

Do you make your vehicle buying decision based on what someone on an internet forum may think about what it looks like?

Of course not, still doesn't change what I said (which was just my opinion). The only thing worse looking than those SUV's is a Pontiac Aztec.

I was going to make an exception for your Raptor, I saw the Top Gear (US Top Gear I think) episode with the Raptor SVT and it's pretty sick :thumbsup

What the hell are the specs on your 6.2L anyways? I had a 300C SRT8 with a 6.1L and that had 425hp/420tq, do you have the SVT?

My sister has one. Drove it a few times. Its a fun little vehicle.

The Land Rover is great while it is under warranty. After that, not so much. The Toyota is solid, very reliable but sucks gas down like there is no tomorrow.

Yeah, that is odd as many people have said they were going to stop making them and I think Toyota started the rumor. Regardless, they are still holding their value pretty well. Probably because it has true off-road capabilities and is not just a road based SUV.

All Raptors are SVT, even the 5.4L model.

Mine has 411hp, 435lb-ft torque, and 12mpg.

The gas is a major concern. I don't want a car that does less than 20mpg average. Even my 535 bmw gets 23mpg and I am not light on the pedal.

I would like the FJ cruiser for use at the weekends however may have to re-think things.