2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser owner complaints

Had vehicle lifted by Toyota and paid Toyota for this modification. Approx 10 month later I showing sign of fenders bulging and tearing. They had me sign a wavier that warranty may not cover modifications after accepting vehicle. Yet there having vehicles lifted and put on there lot to sell. I have talked to many others who have this problem some lifted some not. Also Toyota have a upgraded the parts to fix problem .which I have pictures of. The problem is frame flexes to much and rips in wrinkle zones on vehicle for frontal crashes. I uses vehicle for trail riding and hunting . And I also own 2 other 4x4 Ford, Jeep and have no body tearing on them. *tr

The foot rest broke free of its attachments and shifted to the right under the brake pedal. *tr

Frame rusted way too early in its life time

Excessive rust on the frame and undercarriage. Needed to be cleaned and treated.

2008 Toyota fj cruiser is experiencing inner fender bulging. This started occurring shortly after buying the vehicle. The vehicle currently has 4800 miles. This problem has been well documented and in most cases does not stop until the inner fender is cracked all the way through. Obviously, there is some sort of design flaw. *tr

Extensive frame rust, heavy rust on rear crossmember and rear axle, body mounts

Driver side seat belt does not retract. Stays loose over chest. There was a recall over this but for some reason my fj wasn't in the recall.

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Toyota fj cruiser. The contact stated that the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 13v098000 (seat belts). The recall repair was performed and afterward, the passenger's side seat belt would not retract. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where the technician stated that the seat belt spiral would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 45,477. Updated 12/30/13*cn

The driver seat belt will not contract back.

Seat belts no longer working,ends do not click together to secure safety

Brakes do not work properly when the car hits any kind of rough patch in the road while brakes are being applied. Extremely dangerous condition because it is very difficult to stop the car when this occurs. Occurs repeatedly and not limited to an isolated incident. Took car to dealer and dealer will not acknowledge issue instead claiming that I do not understand how anti-lock brakes work. This is an absurd excuse. *tr

Firmly applying brakes to slow for traffic, ABS stopped vehicle very quickly, then acted as if ABS was working but with minimal braking power. Incident happened on smooth, dry pavement. Vehicle moving in a straight line. *tr

While driving on dry pavement I made a lane change while approaching a stop light when it turned yellow. I applied the brakes slightly harder than normal at which point the car took over and applied 100% braking force. The car slammed to a stop and both the passenger and I were whipped forward and were luck to have not been rear ended. I am very concerned with all the similar problems with the ABS controllers. *tr

Just bought a brand new fj cruiser and within 2 months the windshield is cracked. In two places. They are impact but I have heard this is a very big problem with the suvs. *tr

I was given this car seat as a gift 12/18/2021. The metal buckle is inserted backwards on the left side. This results in a twist of the seat belt that can’t be corrected. I cannot remove the metal piece to fix this because the strap is sewn together. I thought it was just twisting because that’s what car seats sometimes do. But when I remove the padding to clean it today I realized it was a manufacturer error.

I have 47k miles on my car. I took it in for an oil change (Fox Toyota, Rochester Hills, MI) and was told that it was dangerous to drive. I needed a new rear axle and much more. No details were provided. I could not open the email link they sent to my phone. I left the car at the service dept. 10/21/25 -prior to this visit I brought my car in to Fox for an oil change august 2024 and was told I would probably need new struts soon. I had appx 44,000 miles on my car at that time. - I park in my garage every night and have had an undercarriage wash each month at a car wash. - I live on a dirt road but my husband's 2017 Chevy Silverado has 180,000+ miles. -People online have asked me if I parked in the ocean -I contact Toyota Brand Engagement immediately. They paid a small amount ($3900) tow

Loss of brakes, tried to stop. Both feet applied to brakes and nothing. This was a t stop with a 20' drop on the other side of the road . This was on a road driven constantly in our neighborhood. Turned the car to the right went over the curb through a yard hit a fire hydrant took it across the street jumped the other curb and stopped in brush. There were no skid marks in the grass or road where the breaks had been applied. Drivers side air bag ripped or shredded at bottom did not inflate fully, passengers did inflate correctly. No one was hurt seriously or taken by ems. *tr

A vehicle was traveling very slowly on a rural interstate as my Toyota fj cruiser approached in the same lane. The driver of the fj cruiser braked quickly to avoid hitting the slow moving vehicle. However, an 18-wheeler behind it could not stop fast enough. It rear-ended my fj cruiser sending the front-end colliding directly into the back of the slow moving vehicle. As the 18-wheeler continued forward, my fj cruiser was squeezed out from between the two vehicles and pushed into another lane. Both the driver and passenger of my fj cruiser were transported to the hospital for injuries. No airbags deployed at any time during the collision with the slow moving vehicle. Extensive damage to the front and rear of my vehicle resulted in a total loss. *tr

The frame of the vehicle is rotted out. Holes in it. Front to back , side to side ROTTED. TOYOTA DEALER looked at it at my request when it was in for service and said it was very bad. I’m [XXX] on Social Security, I cannot afford a frame or a new car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Toyota fj cruiser. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 2 MPH, the passenger side front ball joint fractured. The vehicle was towed to autonation Toyota spokane valley (8600 e sprague ave, spokane valley, wa 99212, (509) 850-9359) to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.