XRe Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Just curious if anyone has any personal experience with owning one? How'd it treat you, etc? Looking at possibly buying one in the near future... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoShooter Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 (edited) Stuart has one . If ....IF something is breakable- he can break it. I think this is his third year to torture test it. As far as picking something to dive to a match in with more that two = I don't like rideing in the back seat for more than 5 miles. When I drove it last year from Double Tap =Wind & Ice to shoot the LaRue eveny = it was good , better than the Nissan Xterra , but it cost twice as much. does that help? Edited January 11, 2010 by AlamoShooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Just curious if anyone has any personal experience with owning one? How'd it treat you, etc? Looking at possibly buying one in the near future... Yep....wifey's ride is a 2007 AWD (manual) that has been great. She traded in a Lexus SUV and absolutely loves the FJ. It's essentially a 4-Runner with different body work, so you're looking at a platform with a long track record of reliability and durability. Right now Toyota is running some great deals on FJs since they not going to make them any more. They orginally planned to only make them for a couple of years, and sales were better than originally expected, but it's never going to be a mainstream sorta ride. The FJ Cruiser forum has lots of good info if you want to read up. I'll say the only things she really misses is heated seats (you can get an aftermarket place to make them) and I'd like to order the TRD blower for it....it's got plenty of power, but I'm silly like that:-) http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 (edited) Stuart has one . If ....IF something is breakable- he can break it. I think this is his third year to torture test it.As far as picking something to dive to a match in with more that two = I don't like rideing in the back seat for more than 5 miles. When I drove it last year from Double Tap =Wind & Ice to shoot the LaRue eveny = it was good , better than the Nissan Xterra , but it cost twice as much. does that help? You can get an Xterra new for $15K? My wife's was right at $30K and was pretty much loaded. I will say in really high crosswinds you're going to notice it. It's not a long vehicle, but it's got a lot of "sail area" to use a nautical reference. It's not terrible, but it's there. R, Found my older post: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=579506 Edited January 11, 2010 by G-ManBart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 Toyota apparently keeps claiming they're going to stop making them (for instance, early in 2008 and in 2009), and yet they continue to make more... They're cutting deals because everyone car sales are sucking, I imagine... But... I'm probably looking at low mileage used rather than new. Not sure I want to afford the payment on new... I've been poring over fjcruiserforums, searching for common problems, and the like. Surprising lack of issues (well, maybe not surprising, but...) in general... Sounding like the legendary Toyota performance, so far. The back seat doesn't surprise me - it's kind of an afterthought, isn't it? But, I won't be riding in it, so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 Chris... how does her's do w/ gas mileage and maintenance, being full time 4WD? She's had it for a couple years, now, so you should have a good feel for it, I imagine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear23 Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Gas mileage in the neighborhood of the SUX2000. Neighbor has one, she likes it, If you need a smaller SUV it seems to be ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Chris... how does her's do w/ gas mileage and maintenance, being full time 4WD? She's had it for a couple years, now, so you should have a good feel for it, I imagine? Her driving is pretty unusual in that she's never commuting and is rarely on the highway. Last time I did the mileage for her normal running around, I think it was right at 18mpg. It'll do better than that on a trip, but if you really whip it (like a low 90s average through the middle of nowhere AZ on the way to A2....not that I have any personal experience) it drops back down into the high teens again. Absolutely zero issues to report of any significance. I am going to have them check the vents at the next service because when you put it on floor heat you still get some through the top vents...might be normal. Yeah, I'm down to trivial stuff to find something for you. The back seats are better than a lot of people give them credit for. What most people don't like, and don't realize they don't like, is the small windows on the suicide doors. It makes for a more confined feeling when, in fact, there's quite a bit of space. The nice thing is that the back to seats fold down quite flat and you can get some surprisingly large stuff in the back. Since we have two big dogs, that was the dog hauler coming cross country. We put the seats flat, threw two large doggy beds back there and they had all the room in the world. When it's time to clean, a litle 409, Fantastic, etc and a damp rag is about all it takes......wash and wear almost. R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 I took a group of them fourwheeling and I was shocked at how capable they are even with stock tires. With a decent set of tires, they will do anything that a rig on 31s is capable of doing, even with their miserable lack of wheel travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 Gas mileage in the neighborhood of the SUX2000. You don't understand... I'm feeding a car that gets 20-22 MPG super unleaded right now, so... I'm figuring my gas cost will be roughly the same, based on expected MPG and the difference in cost of fuel... I was mainly asking to get a feel for how the manual version of the ride (which is full time 4WD) does vs. the automatic (which is part-time 4WD... they also have a 2WD version) Absolutely zero issues to report of any significance. I am going to have them check the vents at the next service because when you put it on floor heat you still get some through the top vents...might be normal. Yeah, I'm down to trivial stuff to find something for you. That's about what I'd expect. Is she out of warranty, yet? The nice thing is that the back to seats fold down quite flat and you can get some surprisingly large stuff in the back. I have fit a surprising amount of stuff in my WRX Wagon due to the same effect. The FJ will obviously have more space... When it's time to clean, a litle 409, Fantastic, etc and a damp rag is about all it takes......wash and wear almost. R, That's an appealing thing for a guy who spends a lot of time in dirty conditions... (not that kind of dirty, Jay...) Don't have to worry about mud or other crap getting ground into the carpets, etc. You can just about firehose the whole thing out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Landcruiser? LANDCRUISER??? Now THAT'S a LANDCRUISER Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 Now THAT'S a LANDCRUISER I learned how to drive stick in an old LandCruiser Maybe someday.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoShooter Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 (edited) His is loaded at over $40, He gets 15 and less mpg and he drag races at every light my F 250 gets better mileage Edited January 11, 2010 by AlamoShooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45 Raven Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Just curious if anyone has any personal experience with owning one? How'd it treat you, etc? Looking at possibly buying one in the near future... I had a 2007 model I bought new and had for about 14 months. Very capable off road. The head room was very limited and the vehicle had lots of blind spots when driving in city traffic. I always felt that the interior was somewhat "chintzy" for the money. Fair fuel mileage (about 16.5 MPG combined around town, on the freeway, and off-roading). Didn't like the fact it required premium fuel. The vehicle was all in all a good one, except the paint was absolutely terrible. (This is the second Toyota vehicle I have experienced paint problems with). It took almost nothing to knock chips of paint off the hood and front fenders down to the bare metal. And I don't mean stones or rocks. This would happen when a hard shelled bug hit the paint! Traded it off on a new Dodge Ram 4X4 with a hemi engine and then purchased a used 2006 Jeep Rubicon with low (16,000) miles on it. This is my third Jeep (second Rubicon) and I like it really well so far. Bottom line: Like the Jeep for off-road better and like a full size pickup for highway driving. The FJ does okay in both applications, but there are compromises you have to live with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boz1911 Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Rode in the back of one once. Was I comfortable? Not really. Was I grateful? Hell yeah since my BMW was stuck on the side of the rode 90 miles from home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Delta Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I'm a Toyota Master tech and I can tell you that we don't see many problems as far as the powertrain is concerned. The biggest complaint is the blind spots and the fact that you have to use premium fuel. The FJ is not on a 4Runner chassis it is a shorter wheelbase and slightly wider. It is going to go away soon (2012) Because Toyota has too many SUV's right now and the FJ is a niche market (like competition shooters). I think they are very good off road, Reece Millen son of Rod Millen took one on the Baja 500 back in 07 I think and they did pretty well if I remember correctly. It re-aired on speed channel a couple months ago. If you live an off road lifestyle I think that you would be happy with one. Good luck. G-Man I did search for Technical Service Bulletins and the are none concerning the air flow being diverted when on floor I would have the dealer check it out on your next service interval. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIO Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 2nd on the Blind spots. Had one for a bit. Honestly, it's not as tough looking but a AWD limited Highlander worked better for me. If you're off road most of the time I guess the FJ would be better but then an old LC or modded Jeep would do also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 When we were shopping for a new SUV for the wife the FJ was up there on the list but the blind spots and rear sits killed it for us. Its ok to need a spotter in a tight spot while off roading, its is not ok to need a spotter in the Home Depot parking lot. We ended up getting an X-terra OffRoad and she absolutely loves it, and yes you can get really really good prices on the Xterra's I think we payed around $26k for hers, with all the doodads and the offroad package, a "plain" X should be easy to get in the mid to high teens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 The blinds spots are easy to work around, though - on the one I test drove, I pulled it up next to a parked in a manner simulating traffic, and carefully examined where I could see it in the mirrors, etc. No worse than my Subaru was - actually a little better. What you can't do is be looking over your right shoulder - you have to trust the mirror. For additional piece of mind, a blind spot mirror doesn't hurt anything. I agree that if you're wanting to look over your shoulder to see things, it's going to be a bitch, though. Rear seats I don't care about so much, but I can see where if you're going to have people in them a lot, the FJ would not be a good choice. Getting a kid in and out of a car seat back there would be a chore, I would think. Now... parking will be interesting until I learn where the corners really are. After that, it's like any other big vehicle. I decided to pull the trigger on one - bought a used '07 yesterday for a stellar deal. Needs a couple of little upgrades (like the '08 side sun visors, and the "put the $60 A-TRAC switch in and get a $2500 feature free" A-TRAC upgrade). Maybe some new speakers. Nothing crazy. Just nice to be back in a Toyota... and something that doesn't have a fuel leak under the hood in cold weather... right over next to the turbo... We'll see how it does once I've lived with it for a while Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liontribe Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 glad i found this thread. the wife is wanting one and i can't stand the looks. i like the old square body style. gives me some good shut-up juice for little lady. liontribe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Hello: The gas milage sucks on the FJ. We looked at lots of different vehicles and my wife liked the Jeep 4Door Wrangler. It rides alot better than the old Jeeps Fuel milage on the highway is about 24mpg with her 2 wheel drive automatic. On the flip side I have a 2009 Jetta diesel. It gets about 55-60mpg highway The truck I am looking at is a Dodge Mega Cab diesel. I have a friend with one who is getting 24mpg highway towing a small trailer. It depends what you want it for really? Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan O Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 When we were shopping for a new SUV for the wife the FJ was up there on the list but the blind spots and rear sits killed it for us. Its ok to need a spotter in a tight spot while off roading, its is not ok to need a spotter in the Home Depot parking lot. We ended up getting an X-terra OffRoad and she absolutely loves it, and yes you can get really really good prices on the Xterra's I think we payed around $26k for hers, with all the doodads and the offroad package, a "plain" X should be easy to get in the mid to high teens. I've got a 08 Xterra S model, bought it for $16K last year with 23K miles. I really wish I had looked a little harder to find an Off-Road model, I really could have used the rear locker the other day in the snow. I am very happy with it otherwise, tons of power with the dynomax exhaust and volant cai I put in it! Still miss my 05 F-150 though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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