Engine Bay Body Rips

[BeerHat]

Just took mine into the dealership; fully stock(except tires and sliders) 5/07 build FJ. They did not notice anything. I just wanted to add it into the service record. That I wanted to be the 1001 post of this tread

[JFiddy]

Missed by 1

[Briareos]

All,

I hate to be a killjoy, but I am not so optimistic at this point. I don't currently have any problems, but I wanted to obtain answers to the following questions "just in case":

1. If my truck exhibits this cracking after 36000 miles will it be covered? The cracking seems to be an inherent defect.
2. If I take my FJ off-road and I have cracking, will Toyota stand behind this "flagship" off-road vehicle and repair crack damages?
3. What modifications to the vehicle could cause problems with warranty work on any possible cracking?

I presented these questions to my local dealership, along with a description of the problem others are having, and links to this site. My local dealer checked with his chain of command, and said I had to call Toyota National at 800-331-4331. I relayed the same concerns to them, along with the same three questions. In summary, here is the response I received:

1. It sounds like Toyota is guaranteed to perform repairs outside the warranty period only if they issue a recall (not TSB).
2. If I choose to off-road the vehicle while in the warranty period to intentionally surface any defects, I am gambling that the repairs will not be covered since I took the vehicle off-road, and it becomes the regional Technical Specialists decision on a case-by-case basis.
3. Third, Toyota can use the existence of any modification to deny service.

Overall, I am not happy in the least. If I had known this going in, I would have purchased a Jeep. They stand behind their off-road products. I didn't purchase my FJ because of its heritage. I purchased it for its supposed performance, which means the windshield, rattling doors, and poor visibility were compromises I willingly made to get said performance. Now it seems the so-called off-road performance is taboo if I expect to have toyota stand firmly behind their product. (I expect toyota will stand behind a few, but it will be "out of their good graces," which I don't trust). Right now, it feels like my FJ is a time-bomb, and cannot be used for what it was marketed to do, and my only hope is that this inherent cracking defect surfaces in my own vehicle while I am still under warranty.

The person I spoke with at Toyota National did go back to check her chain-of-command and aknowledged that Toyota was investigating the problem, and their initial position is that it is likely caused by aftermarket equipment.

Can you say "scapegoat"

I did open a case number just so toyota would be aware of customer concerns over this issue.

Thanks,
Shawn

[PaulThePhotographer]

Briareos previously said:

Overall, I am not happy in the least. If I had known this going in, I would have purchased a Jeep. They stand behind their off-road products.

I also belong to a Jeep club and there are stories on there where Jeep has denied warranty repairs just because of some suspected Off-Road use.

So it is not so rosy on the other side!

[MudLovingFJ]

Briareos previously said:

All,

I hate to be a killjoy, but I am not so optimistic at this point. I don't currently have any problems, but I wanted to obtain answers to the following questions "just in case":

1. If my truck exhibits this cracking after 36000 miles will it be covered? The cracking seems to be an inherent defect.
2. If I take my FJ off-road and I have cracking, will Toyota stand behind this "flagship" off-road vehicle and repair crack damages?
3. What modifications to the vehicle could cause problems with warranty work on any possible cracking?

I presented these questions to my local dealership, along with a description of the problem others are having, and links to this site. My local dealer checked with his chain of command, and said I had to call Toyota National at 800-331-4331. I relayed the same concerns to them, along with the same three questions. In summary, here is the response I received:

1. It sounds like Toyota is guaranteed to perform repairs outside the warranty period only if they issue a recall (not TSB).
2. If I choose to off-road the vehicle while in the warranty period to intentionally surface any defects, I am gambling that the repairs will not be covered since I took the vehicle off-road, and it becomes the regional Technical Specialists decision on a case-by-case basis.
3. Third, Toyota can use the existence of any modification to deny service.

Overall, I am not happy in the least. If I had known this going in, I would have purchased a Jeep. They stand behind their off-road products. I didn't purchase my FJ because of its heritage. I purchased it for its supposed performance, which means the windshield, rattling doors, and poor visibility were compromises I willingly made to get said performance. Now it seems the so-called off-road performance is taboo if I expect to have toyota stand firmly behind their product. (I expect toyota will stand behind a few, but it will be "out of their good graces," which I don't trust). Right now, it feels like my FJ is a time-bomb, and cannot be used for what it was marketed to do, and my only hope is that this inherent cracking defect surfaces in my own vehicle while I am still under warranty.

The person I spoke with at Toyota National did go back to check her chain-of-command and aknowledged that Toyota was investigating the problem, and their initial position is that it is likely caused by aftermarket equipment.

Can you say "scapegoat"

I did open a case number just so toyota would be aware of customer concerns over this issue.

Thanks,
Shawn

shawn,
i think we all understand your concerns.

please refer to my post coming up in a few minutes and you will be satisfied...

[FamilyJ]

[quote=BoBoNel;582131]would it be interesting or useful to set up a poll with BUILD DATES and problems or no problems, current mileage, etc?
my build date is 9/06......no problems so far.[/QUOTE

Ditto on all the above...

[FJ-Dozer]

"their initial position is that it is likely caused by aftermarket equipment"

Then how can they explain the problem occurring on stock vehicles? I think they will have a hard time using that as an excuse to deny taking care of this problem.


My FJ is a 06/06 build that is stock(except for stock size BFG's) and I have not noticed any bulges or tears yet. Just mild off-roading and a few trails at the Summit.

I'm not going to get too upset about this issue just yet. With some of the forum members having their vehicles inspected and in one case repaired by Toyota, I'm going to wait it out and see how Toyota decides to handle this issue with the rest of us before I panic.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a recall instead of a TSB. They supposedly have just been made aware of the problem and they won't make a decision overnight on something like this.

Normally if this issue came up with any other vehicle I have owned, it would have gone straight to the Pre-Owned lot. But since I enjoy the FJ so much I'm willing to wait a little longer before I jump ship.

[MudLovingFJ]

Great news today!

my truck is all apart and getting ready for different inner fender panels. the body shop was in contact with toyota and they said they have different panels to fix this problem. they did NOT say if they were a new made panel, or just panels off of the 2008 truck. i will be getting both panels replaced.

there will more than likely be a TSB for this issue. once my truck is done they will spend some more time researching the issue and then will possibly send out the TSB. I am not sure exactly how this will work, however, so dont quote me on it .

I was told ny the body shop guy that it is possible that this issue is caused by the factory wheels and tires coming up andd grabbing the inner fenders with stock suspension. this explains why it is happening to more of the stock trucks. my lift and wheels/tires were put on after 5k miles. i now have 14k. the cracks on my truck could have started when the truck was stock and since i have lifted it it could have stopped the cracking process. this all is still to be tested and determined though.

here is the truck before it went in:



her it is today:






here is a shot of the inner fender with all the plastics removed:



here is the drivers side crack:


passengers side bulge:

[MudLovingFJ]

also, i forgot to say, the body shop will be painting my headlight bezel white to match the roof for a nominal price

[MrsMudLovingFJ]

I was there....I saw it.

It is very impressive how wonderfully they are taking care of everything.