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Help! I may have a serious problem with my FJ!!

8K views 45 replies 37 participants last post by  kellyfisherwoman 
#1 ·
Ok, maybe it isn't that serious, but my wife and I found out this weekend that we are expecting our first child. Now I love my FJ and it is my dream car and wouldn't trade it for any other vehicle. However, now I have to be a real adult and think about things like kids. I know a lot of you guys and gals have kids, but how hard is it to move a baby around in the FJ. Should I seriously be considering trading for a taco or 4runner? Any thoughts would be a huge help, Thanks in advance!
 
#21 ·
I don’t see what the problem is. Where she sits she has the best view and there are lots of room :rofl:



All kidding aside she has only been in The FJ a handful of times. We have an MDX for full baby duty. Rear facing is tough. I did rearrange my headliner patches over where she sits so she can be preoccupied with something.


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#4 ·
Is it as ideal as a Honda Oddyssey? Of course not. Is it doable? Sure.

I deal with 2 kids + car seats in the FJ. FJC is the kids daily, and sees 20K miles a year. We actually replaced a van. Got tired of the van. The ONLY and biggest problem with FJ + kids, that I have personally faced, is the door situation. If you are in a tight spot and both front and rear doors are open, you get "trapped" inside with the car seat. To alleviate that, I just park further away from people. It helps with the DADBOD situation.

TO ME, the amazing positives of the FJ, outweighs the inconvenience of the door situation.

Good luck with the baby and your decisions.
 
#5 ·
No problem at all, I cart my niece and nephew around all the time (since baby). Double car seats. The only time it may be a bit challenging is when they start buckling their own seatbelt. The reach-over-help them move can be a bit much between working blindly to get the buckle in, kids wanting no help, with your face right there they think it is fun to tag Uncles face with slobbery lollipop. It is a short lived hardship as they become pros real quick.

Now that they are older they can also reach each other from their seats and can make for some epic battles.....but hey....their kids.
 
#6 ·
I know a lot of you guys and gals have kids, but how hard is it to move a baby around in the FJ.
As a test, put a clothes basket in the back seat of your FJ then drive it to the local grocery store. Then have your wife hop out of the passenger side, take the clothes basket out and close up the truck. She will see the problems immediately: not a lot of space to reach into the back seat, the front and back doors create a box that limits your movement etc.

Should I seriously be considering trading for a taco or 4runner?
My wife and I traded my '11 FJ and her '15 XTerra for a '18 4Runner last year. I then built it just as I built the FJ, and I try to offroad it nearly as much. You will miss how unique the FJ is -- 4Runners are common as dirt. Beyond that, you won't see much of a difference offroad. On-road? Leather seats, factory nav, factory sunroof, a usable back seat.

I loved my FJ, but I don't miss it compared to the 4Runner.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I've had no problem with mine, she's 17 months now.
I've got a MaxiCosi MicoMax 30 base that stays in the center of the back seat (I'm too tall to put it behind the driver's seat).

I load her up in the house or with the carseat facing the driver's rear door and then snap the seat into the base. Tip the driver's seat up to get her in and out.
It's no true 4-door but it's really not that bad.
I've got a mirror on the center headrest to see her in my rear view.

Not my pic, but similar setup:



We'll see how things change as she gets bigger. My wife has a rear-facing fixed seat in her car, and it doesn't take up much more room. Once she's big enough for foward facing there should be little issue getting her behind the driver's seat.
 
#9 ·
You could do what I did, and find a good used Camry so you can have the best of both worlds. Keep the FJ for sure.
 
#10 · (Edited)
While they are still rear facing, its the worst thing in the world . I almost got rid of my truck because of this. The rear seat is set back further than the door opening so you cannot see the baby at all while you are trying to squeeze the seat back there. Oh an forget about getting the seat out of the car while you are in a parking lot next to another car. You might as well just go back home. Also dont even think about trying to put the baby in a rear facing seat thats already in the car. You literally have to hold the baby horizontally and wedge her back there blindly. This makes me want to sell my truck just thinking about it. We drive my wifes car everywhere now because it sucks to bad.

LOL for me the only good part was that the visibility in the truck is so bad it created a darker environment for her to nap.
 
#11 ·
I can get my wiggly, hard headed piggo into and out of the back seats fairly easily. I assume kids would be easier with them strapped to a handle. Mine thrash around till they hit the ground. 80 pounds of thrashing butthead gets to be a handful!
 
#13 ·
Make it work, dad. ;) :bigthumb:
Call me a pansy, but that bit is the first time it hit me that I'm dad now. Teared up a bit.

Thanks for all the advice guys. I think I'm going to try to make it work. My wife has a Kia Soul which will be the primary baby mover, but still need to figure out the FJ situation. A cheap beater may work, but it makes me nervous at the thought of breaking down in the Mississippi heat with an infant in tow.
 
#16 ·
I did the snap in to the base baby seat for 13 months on the drivers side rear for 13 months, no problem. I just removed my platform & Kennel and re-installed the rest of the back seat to make the switch to the larger, rear facing child seat and placed it in the middle. Again, not a problem.

There's baby seat anchor points on the FJ's rear seat swivel mounts. When she gets older and it's time to turn the seat around and face forward, there are anchor points on the rear of the back seats. I removed the rear when it was new in '11. Marked, tagged, wrapped everything and stored it. It's like having a new back seat in an 8 1/2 year old vehicle. :grin

My wife did the buy a 4RNR routine for a week or so, but is now okay with this setup. Love the FJC, never selling it. You couldn't ask for a safer vehicle to haul your precious cargo around. ;)

Welcome to the Party DAD! :cheers:
 
#37 ·
I just removed my platform & Kennel and re-installed the rest of the back seat.

There's baby seat anchor points on the FJ's rear seat swivel mounts. When she gets older and it's time to turn the seat around and face forward, there are anchor points on the rear of the back seats. I removed the rear when it was new in '11. Marked, tagged, wrapped everything and stored it.
Can you help me understand what you did with your rear seats and child seat? Did you remove the seat bases that swivel forward then put the child seat in its place?
 
#17 ·
I had an "ahh ha!" moment and since then I've thought of the FJ as a very safe vehicle for kids.

We were shopping and my energetic kids wanted to hop out as SOON as the vehicle stopped....
Of course they are unable to do that with the FJ.

I didn't have to jump out and rescue them from some speeding vehicle in a parking lot or at the roadside.

My girls have been in the FJ since they were in fullsize car seats. Once they transitioned to the booster seats it was clear sailing from there.

Like it's been said earlier... that period of time when they are in car seats is actually not very long and it will fly by.

As long as you and the wife don't suffer from mobility issues and are relatively fit individuals you won't have any issues lifting a toddler into and out of the FJ. If you have shoulder issues or something along those lines then it may be a bigger task for you.

For the record... my girls love the FJ and what it can do and where it can take them.

If I were to jam these teenagers in the backseat now without having grown up with it... they likely wouldn't be too fond of it... :lol:

Congrats to the new parents!
:cheers:
 
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#27 ·
My wife is a mid-50s nanny, only stopped using our 2012 TT when the third carseat / child arrived to her bosses. It is not the easiest vehicle to load babies into but .... if you want that, go to the Chrysler Town and Country forum. ;)
 
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#30 ·
I find it funny that people that already own FJ Cruiser get worried about fitting kids in the back.

When we found out we were having our first child, I used that as a REASON to buy an FJ cruiser! You could say that the FJ was a push present for myself (even though I didn't do any of the pushing)

Anyways, now we have TWO kids, a 1.5 and 3 year old and it's my daily driver. Both kids were driven home in the FJ.

The REAL problem though is that I can't fit a stroller in the back (but I have a platform and a fridge in the back so yea...) BUT that was why my wife approved a Front Runner rack, so we can put the stroller up there, except now there's a solar panel permanently mounted on it and a pair of plano cases, yet we still make it work, 99% of all trip with the kids are taken in the FJ.
 

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#31 ·
Rear-facing seats suck for the FJ. How do I know? I have twins. I’m 6’-0”, 230 lbs and it is NOT comfortable driving with the seat far enough forward to fit the rear factory seat. Also taking those things out of the rear doors can be a hassle, but manageable. BUT with just one kid, on the passenger side, it should be fine. Now the kids are 6, we did a 2k mile trip last spring with two kids and a dog and it wasn’t bad at all.
 
#33 ·
Congrats on the baby!
Having to college aged kid, but when they were young we and a Ford Expedition which worked so much better than a minivan and more fun. Knowing what I know the FJ would be tough to work around car seats. If I were you I would do a 4Runner or a Lexus GX470, the back door would be key. The FJ is my kid exit strategy with the kids, "sorry kids taking the FJ no room for you".
Good luck!
 
#34 ·
See I have been thinking of this because I’d be the one having the baby. I believe having a kid and driving him/her (or more than one) is certainly doable but anything you drive will have it’s own quirks. I have just test driven a RAV4 but it’s no FJ and I’m working through my financials to make sure I don’t regret getting one. If you think carting a kid is bad - imagine being pregnant and driving an FJ. Someone asked me about that and I’d rather climb up and be able to ease down out of an FJ instead of a RAV4. Of course I’m not pregnant either so if anyone has done this it would be great to hear from you. I’m tempted by seeing the 4Runners around town too but this is your FJ Cruiser. Don’t sell it because you’re having a baby. You and your wife can try all kinds of experiments, many of which I have read and never thought of doing. A used Camry was a great suggestion and a RAV4 isn’t bad but you can’t off-road in it without modifications. There’s a neat video on YouTube where a guy set his up to go off-road with a 3” lift in his flame blue AWD RAV4. You can do it!
 
#35 ·
I had an ‘08 trail teams edition with icon lift and 33” tires, wife complained about difficulty getting the kid in and out. It was tight. Didn’t want to get a mini van...talked her into an F-150 raptor. While not a Toyota...there is space for days, and somehow I get better gas mileage.
 
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