Anybody have/had an FJ Cruiser?

[Grandturk]

Thinking of getting one to replace my beater Civic. Opinions, views, problems, praise?

Negatives I've experienced and heard have been about the "over the shoulder" visibility.

[Spivonious]

I think they're really ugly. Haven't heard much else about them though, which is a good thing.

[Hellbat]

Negatives I've experienced and heard have been about the "over the shoulder" visibility and the old "stuck wide open throttle" problem.

Fixed

[Grandturk]

Yeah, I still don't buy it about the "unintended acceleration."

[dannyr]

My wife drives one that we bought new about 2 1/2 years ago. I can't really say anything bad about the vehicle. No problems at all. The visability is the only slight drawback, but you learn to deal with it, just use your mirrors. Also, there have not been any recalls on it-must use a different accelerator than what they are having problems with.

[RacerX]

This vehicle is not on the Recall list. I know you were making a joke Hellbat you fugger but that's how rumors start.

[skorb]

I've heard they are great tough SUVs but they eat gas so be prepared to pay out the ass for that commodity.

I got a Prius recently and it's amazing not having to go to the gas station except every other week or so.

[Grandturk]

I got a Prius recently and it's amazing not having to go to the gas station except every other week or so.

I hear you on that. I routinely get 40 mpg in my Civic, but I look at it like this - anything larger (and that's what I want) is going to be in the 25 mpg range - and to me, dropping down to 15-20 mpg isn't that bad in comparison. I'm not going to get a vehicle big enough that's going to match my Civic, so I'm not as worried about that.

[Grandturk]

My wife drives one that we bought new about 2 1/2 years ago. I can't really say anything bad about the vehicle. No problems at all. The visability is the only slight drawback, but you learn to deal with it, just use your mirrors. Also, there have not been any recalls on it-must use a different accelerator than what they are having problems with.

Thanks for the info!

[fordsho90]

Its a good truck, we had one for a year and we drove the shit out of it. No issues at all and it was a pleasent riding truck, like already stated it takes a bit getting use to driving due to its shape and sight lines (or lack of). Only thing that seems to be an issue out there is that it says on the filer cab to run Premium but you dont need to you can use reg. unleaded and it runs just fine, there will be a small loss of power and minmal mpg drop and thats it. The only reason we still dont have it is I couldnt justify having three gas gusslers two is enough for me I sold it to my next door neigbor and they still have it two years later and no issues and its a daily driver for her.

[Grandturk]

Only thing that seems to be an issue out there is that it says on the filer cab to run Premium but you dont need to you can use reg. unleaded and it runs just fine, there will be a small loss of power and minmal mpg drop and thats it.

Good info - thx

[MetalMedal II]

Been drivin one for the past 3 1/2 yrs without any trouble w 38,000+ miles. Was a little hesitant as it was a first year model...but it's a Toyota and they've got an impeccable track record, right?!

Been happy w the car. If I were to do it over, I might have gotten the auto transmission over the manual, at least so the wife could drive it...then again, that ain't such a bad thing! I got the thing the month before I met my wife...actually I first met her picking her up in it. She doesn't care for it cos of the truck ride, oh, and that no one in her side of the family can drive it. Funny, cos I was the last on my side to drive a stick.

The half-door is good for getting a kid in and out of the car seat...Not as good as a 4 door, but way better than 2. But hey, I was single when I got the thing and it's working out. It doesn't have too much with luxuries, as it's pretty bare bones, unless they changed their option packages, but it also doesn't approach the Landcruiser price tag either. I wanted something bigger than my last vehicle, a RAV4 (first year style).

As for blind spots, I placed a bubble mirror sticker on the main mirror on the driver side when I towed a Uhaul and still use it. The side rear windows are a bit small, but okay to check traffic. I use the parking assist (radar thing in the back) a lot to parallel park in the city. Because of the short height of the windshield, it's hard to see the overhead stoplight if you're first in line, unless you dip your head down.

[Grandturk]

Great info - that's just what I was looking for.

You're driving that around in NYC? That's one of the concerns my wife and I have - navigating the traffic with the sightlines the FJ has. We're obviously used to driving a little go-cart around the city.

Sounds like you would say the back up radar thingy is a must. I know they have the back up camera now, too.

[MetalMedal II]

When I had my RAV4 in Boston, I was a parallel parking king. I could size up a space park with only inches of clearance on either side. But that was a smaller car and I was doing this every day. In NYC, I actually use FJ very sparingly, just for family outings/Costco runs or getting out of the city. Cos of that, my parallel skills are out of practice. Plus, like most medium to large SUVs, the ability to see out of the rear windshield is nil, especially with the spare tire mounted on the back. So the parking assist is very handy.

The blindspot is bigger than most cos the pillar is so wide between the window of the half door and the window on the very back right. A low riding car/cab can hide in there when you turn your head to the back right to look out the window…and these windows are small to begin with. But you know, these cabs weave in and out so much, it doesn’t matter if you have no blind spot. The passenger mirror is a bit convex to widen the view, so you can adjust the mirror to accommodate. I use my mirrors more than anything. I think it’s this issue that doesn’t sit well with some drivers and is a reason why they sell em. Consequently, you can probably get a good deal on a lightly used one. Hell, with gas prices still relatively high and the probs Toyota has, you can likely get a new at a great price!

Because I don’t use it during the week, I actually rent a space in the south Bronx and keep it there. If u plan on keeping it in a garage, most garages have an automatic upchange for SUVs/4X4s. Also, some garages have height issues. I don’t have a roof rack on mine (cos I didn’t want one), and never had a prob getting into garages, but it might come up w the rack in place.

They might have changed the standard package, but the side air bags were an option on the 1st year model. I wanted one with that option, a std transmission, and no roof rack. It didn’t come with a tow package, but I later bought an OEM hitch from some dealer on Ebay and had a local dealer install it and used it without issues. In my old car, I got a hitch thru U-haul which worked, but rusted after one winter. The OEM is powdercoated and has not yet rusted after 2 winters of having it. I had the dealer install it cos they need to dismantle and reinstall the parking assist around it. I still saved major bux getting it online versus getting it at the local dealer. I also got an aftermarket alarm from the dealer.