I was planning on trading in my FJ Cruiser, so I took it to our local mechanic to look it over. After he put it on the lift, he showed me that the frame and gas tank straps were rusted out and that it wasn't safe to drive. I took it to another body repair shop and after putting it up on the lift, he said he has never seen a frame so rusted out in his twenty five years of doing body work. I contacted Toyota and they said they would NOT repair the frame.
2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser body complaints
Page 2 of 9: complaints 11 to 40 of 238, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Backing out of my driveway we heard a slight pop and a dragging feel on the right passengers front.( thought I ran over a landscape brick) Stopped and inspected nothing was under the vehicle starting to leave my complex vehicle started to shake some. When I got up to 20 MPH it was obvious I should not drive. Called tow truck. Thought I needed ball joints or something similar. Mechanic said frame was completely rusted out and unfixable. The Toyota FJ cruiser is suppose to be a tough off road SUV which I never used for off road driving They even advertised how tough the frame is in commercials . I see there has been recalls for other Toyota models of SUV and trucks of the same year and their is a class action lawsuit already started I think in California. If I would have continued to the freeway A serious accident would had happened. I contacted Toyota and opened a case # [XXX] which after two communications they closed because there is no recall on the vehicle. The car is in great condition other wise. A frame should last more than 15 years on a truck \SUV designed for off road driving . her are some details of the pending lawsuit: Plaintiffs allege that a manufacturing defect causes excessive rust and corrosion to the frames of 2007-2014 FJ Cruiser vehicles. The suit claims the defect weakens the structure of the vehicle, therefore posing a serious safety threat to vehicle occupants. In some cases, vehicles failed to pass safety inspection and are no longer safe to drive. As a result, owners find themselves stuck with a vehicle that is no longer legally allowed on the roads with a greatly diminished resale value. Toyota Activity Marketed the FJ Cruiser with Special “Electrocoat Deposition” Rust Protection Coating Despite Toyota’s marketing highlighting the “Electrocoat Deposition” protective coating, plaintiff’s claim FJ Cruiser frames prematurely rust and corrode at an accelerated rate. The suit states Toyota had been aware of the frame defect, but fail INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFOR
Toyota used interior metal to make the frame and it has rusted to the point the whole frame needs to replaced.
Frame rust has become a major safety issue even though we do rust prevention twice a year.
Massive amounts of rust underneath the car on the frame and pretty much everything is affected around it. Concerned for my families safety…Toyota needs to address this immediately!!!
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser. The contact stated while having the vehicle routinely serviced, the mechanic observed that the subframe showed severe corrosion. The contact had taken the vehicle to another independent mechanic and had the subframe inspected. The contact was informed that the subframe was dangerously corroded and perforated and that the vehicle should not be driven. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
I purchased this vehicle used in April 2022. It was not driven much until June 2022 because the car was purchased for our son, who attends school at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The goal was to get him a car before his 3 week summer break and he and his sister and his best friend would drive it out to Colorado for him to use throughout his last two years. Their trip began on June 16, 2022, leaving central Ohio. We started getting texts from our daughter about loud noises the car was making while she was sitting in the back seat. Then we started getting texts from our son about noises by the rear tire. We had him check the tires for proper inflation or for any damage. None was reported. My daughter complained about the handling of the vehicle when she was driving. Saying it was not easy to control when going 70 through the plains of the US. They were very pleased to arrive in one piece out in Colorado. My son started to think it was a suspension issue because of the way it handled going over bumpy roads. He took it to a dealer and the dealer took video of the frame, and the black goo used to try and cover the holes and cracks in the frame. $21,000 was their estimate to put a brand new frame on the vehicle. This is a known defect with this vehicle. We should not have to pay for such poor manufacturing.
The vehicles frame and other underbody components have rusted extremely badly. The fuel tank straps broke due to rust, the radiator splash guard fell off while driving due to being very rusty, exhaust clamps have also broken due to rust.
While working on car notice extreme rust and broken frame welds
Heavy rust continues to occur and rot frame from seemingly within the frame. Terrible build quality. I have spent thousands keeping this car alive. Plenty of 07-era cars on the road with not this much rust and I clean my CAR!
The SUV frame rails are prematurely rusted completely through from within the frame rails at a minimum of four know locations while other areas of the frame still appears solid (a further deeper inspection will be performed and repairs will be made after documenting the rust failures). We were at risk of the frame rail failing completely under load due to the size/length of rusted our areas which measure up to 12-inches or so, which would lead to loss of control of the vehicle while driving. The vehicle is home in my driveway for repairs of the clutch system (after failure on the roadway at 65mph) when rusted areas were observed April 2022. The dealer performed a recall for an unrelated part on the vehicle in April 2020 along with performing an oil change, however the dealer did not report an issue to me at that time.
Major frame issues due to poor quality steel.
Possible structural frame rust. Just like every other FJ cruiser Toyota has built. I’m making this complaint in hopes that the federal safety agency will force Toyota to recall FJ cruiser frames due to the amount of FJ cruisers that have the same frame rust issue.
Frame ha rusted to the point of failure after only 14 years.
FJ Cruiser in Tennessee Was filling up gas tank and heard a noise under the car. I looked and noticed that the back of the gas tank was hanging down. After I got it home, I discovered that the rear fuel strap had broken due to rust. The front fuel strap was also extremely rusted and probably would have failed also
Undercarriage of vehicle was not properly rust coated by manufacturer. Undercarriage is so rusted that my mechanic advised it may need a new frame.
Frame rust all over, going to cost tons of money to fix. Rust rotting through the frame of the car. Shouldn’t be a problem dont live near water or salt area.
Rusted frame. The factory trailer hitch failed because of frame rot and dropped a travel trailer to the ground while towing. Luckily it did not cause an accident and I was able to get another vehicle to tow the travel trailer. I am part of a Facebook group for FJ Cruiser rusted frame owners. This is a common problem on FJ Cruisers and should have been a recall as Toyota did for similar vehicles of the same years that had the same rusted frame issues.
Excessive corrosion on frame.
The frame on my 2007 FJ cruiser is rusting very badly. There are large holes in my frame and I have had one of my rear sway bars rust all the way off. I feel like at any moment my car could just fall apart and cause me to wreck.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser. The contact stated upon inspection, the mechanic discovered that severe corrosion had formed on the entire undercarriage of the vehicle. Prior to the discovery, the contact stated that an unknown part had separated and detached from the vehicle in his driveway due to the corrosion. The dealer then took several pictures of the corrosion on the vehicle. The contact was warned by the dealer to not drive off road or use the vehicle to tow due to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000. Vin was not available.
The back portion of the frame is completely rusted out, has a rot hole, and cracked. It is the same problem that has been happening to similar year model Tacomas, Sequoias, and Tundras. The FJ cruiser now needs to be included in this recall for rusty frame issues. I'm not even in a rust belt state. I'm in Florida. A rear end accident could cause the whole vehicle to collapse and make kill passengers in the back seats. Tons of other complaints filed here. There's a facebook group "FJ Cruiser Rusted Frame Owners Unite". Vehicle has been inspected by insurance for repairs, may just get totaled out as of this writing. No warning symbols or lights.
recently purchased used from dealership. Excessive rust on lower frame and other components (transmission and power steering lines) as well as suspension. This is not a flood vehicle. Initially took it to Toyota for repairs of the lines and trans. The quote was too high, so I took it to local shops for repair. The local shops were surprised by the amount of rust. Trans was fixed but the shops refused to fix other components that attached to the frame because they fear they will cause more damage. Visited several FJ Cruiser forums and frame rust issues are incredibly common with the FJ, to the point where there are class action lawsuits. Toyota needs to step up and fix this issue for FJ owners!
Frame rust and fuel tank strap rust
Excessive rust on frame components from inside frame rails. Failure of suspension mounting points at the rear axel. Failure of the rear cross member and hitch due all due to excess rust.
Frame structural rust/ fuel tank strap rust On going problem with this one and many others
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to replace the gas tank trunk strap. The mechanic informed him that the undercarriage of the vehicle was extremely corroded and that the vehicle was not safe to drive. The local dealer was contacted about the failure and he was informed over the phone that the entire sub-frame of the vehicle needed to be replaced out of pocket. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 81,875.
RUST! Frame rust!
Our 2007n Toyota FJ only has 135, 000 miles on it and runs well. We love the vehicle and have a severely rusted out frame. the truck has been adequately maintained but is now unsafe to drive. There are several large areas of rusted frame that are gone, motor mounts have fallen off the frame, the rear axle is barely hanging on because the rear frame is brittle. on the passenger side almost 3 feet of frame is gone from the underside of the vehicle. There is very little metal left to weld to making repairs not possible. Toyota Corperate refuses to assist us and we are stuck with a vehicle that is near total failure.
Rear cross member rusted completely through to the point of almost ripping off during towing. The remainder of the frame has excessive rust/corrosion that is not present on other vehicles of the same year.
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