Since Cruiserlarry posted his spreading damage, I have two things to say:
1) It may be the shock towers are failing first, unnoticed, then the fender panels give way.
2) If that is true, I am concerned Toyota has not been examining those pieces, too.
O.K., three things;
3) I take back my acquiesence that my earlier posts were bombastic. I smell a recall, possibly a buy back (hopefully a voluntary one).
3a) Some here are finally absolutely as convinced as I that Toyota knows about this. It is unreasonable to continue to argue they are not hiding.
Harddrive, I'd like to make a couple of corrections to your statements, IMO:
The lower cracking is directly related to the failing upper crush zone - it has nothing whatsoever to do with the frame structure or shock tower, neither of which it is attached to. I have not seem any signs of cracking / deformation of any frame-related structures. If I did, I would park it at the dealer while they prepped my new one.
Of course Toyota is aware of this problem - I don't think anyone truely believes they have their heads in the sand. But knowing about something, and publishing a response to it without first analyzing what the problem is are two different things - they are actively looking into this issue, as many of the members here who have had their FJCs inspected by Toyota Field Reps can attest to.
I would say the chance of a buy back is a definite possibility IF they narrow the problem to a specific VIN range - otherwise they will fix them unless pressured otherwise by the NHSTA (file your complaints, folks !!!).
Personally, I have so much time and money in my FJC, I'd need some serious compensation to release it back to toyota....
Again, we are speculating (even if they are educated guesses) about what Toyota knows and will do. Interesting, but not productive. It is still very important to have your vehicle's symptoms documented by a Toyota dealer and/or field rep, take pics, log mileage, and file complaints with the NHSTA. These are actions that will help lead to actions on our behalf, and possible fair resolutions by Toyota...
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No frame damage and the body has not been repainted, I doubt it will even be detectable once it is all back together. There is not an insurance claim and warranty repairs do not appear on Carfax, you should be alright as far as value goes. Just make sure the shop does a great job and inspect it thoroughly before taking delivery.
Doesn't matter. It's on the verge of getting too much publicity. If Toyota actually has to do something drastic to a lot of vehicles and it breaks in the general automotive press, forget it. There will still be a market, but everyone will know that certain model years are suspect, and they won't want those model years.
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No frame damage and the body has not been repainted, I doubt it will even be detectable once it is all back together. There is not an insurance claim and warranty repairs do not appear on Carfax, you should be alright as far as value goes. Just make sure the shop does a great job and inspect it thoroughly before taking delivery.
The new welds involved will be obvious, not to mention the fact that there are new inner fender panels on the trucks....very easily detected if you know what to look for.
I can confirm based on my conversation today with the Service Director that the New Inner Fender Panels put on my Truck to replace the bulging ones are the same inner fender panels(with new crumple zone design) found on the 07" Build Date FJ's. As you may or may not know, member q80fj has those Revised Crumple Zone and is experiencing the bulging and tearing still.
If you have bulging or tearing with the 07 Build Date with Revised Crumple Zone Design, please bring your Truck to the Dealer ASAP.
Can we please get some more high quality photos from you folks with 07 build date FJ's with bulging and tearing?
I can confirm based on my conversation today with the Service Director that the New Inner Fender Panels put on my Truck to replace the bulging ones are the same inner fender panels(with new crumple zone design) found on the 07" Build Date FJ's. As you may or may not know, member q80fj has those Revised Crumple Zone and is experiencing the bulging and tearing still.
If you have bulging or tearing with the 07 Build Date with Revised Crumple Zone Design, please bring your Truck to the Dealer ASAP.
Can we please get some more high quality photos from you folks with 07 build date FJ's with bulging and tearing?
That's very interesting and useful info.
It's also disappointing, but, not too surprising; at least not to me.
I have suspected for some time that the vehicles currently under repair are getting a band-aid solution.
For those of y'all whose vehicles are in the shop right now, I hope I'm wrong, but, that's my gut feeling. Anyway, only time will tell. Unfortunately it may take a lot of time. For example, it took over a year and about 15,000 miles for my cracks to form.
So, I would like to second wjorg's request for high resolution photos of any new style panels with cracks. I believe this will be crucial evidence that the problem is wide-spread in nature and will indicate Toyota must engineer a different fix.
I, for one, don't like the idea of having to completely rebuild the front end of my truck. If that's what's got to happen, then so be it. But, the idea of having to go through that twice is completely unacceptable to me.
I'm an attorney by trade. I suggest you folks that have this problem hire a class action attorney and get this **** in the media. Toyota will fix your situation with quickness!!
I have asked this before in different threads (without much response other than a shot or two) but it is worth asking again - what advice to those of you who are having these problems have for those of us who do not own FJs now but are interested in buying them. Specifically, would you buy now or would you wait until this is all sorted out?
I have asked this before in different threads (without much response other than a shot or two) but it is worth asking again - what advice to those of you who are having these problems have for those of us who do not own FJs now but are interested in buying them. Specifically, would you buy now or would you wait until this is all sorted out?
I would not buy, wait till they figure out what the problems are . I have owned eight toyota vehicles in the last twenty years. My family has been loyal Toyota owners as well. I hope Toyota does right. I love my FJ and this make me sick.
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Last edited by therelaxer : 10-02-2007 at 12:41 PM.
I have asked this before in different threads (without much response other than a shot or two) but it is worth asking again - what advice to those of you who are having these problems have for those of us who do not own FJs now but are interested in buying them. Specifically, would you buy now or would you wait until this is all sorted out?
Be advised, there are some here who might feel your question is best discussed in a different thread. But, you said you tried that already and that's good enough for me.
I'd put it to you like this: I own an FJ. Actually, I own two. One is mine and the other is my wife's. My wife's truck is completely stock, but, mine is modded to the tune of a few thousand bucks. So, as you can see, I'm in pretty deep with the FJ Cruiser.
I love my truck, cracks and all. My wife loves hers too. We hope like hell Toyota comes up with a fix and does so soon. But, if I was in the market to buy right now, I'd sit back a wait a while. Somehow, someway this situation will be resolved, but, that has not happend yet.
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