[Ryan4544]

Hey everyone.... First off this is my second vehicle and my first Toyota that I have owned. I love it to say the least. Its a used 2007 and I got a great deal on it. I got it last October with 75k on it. I admit I should have researched a lot more before I bought it but everyone I know that has a Toyota has loved them and had nothing but great things to say about the reliability. Anyways... as the excitement of a new vehicle is beginning to wear off, a few issues are starting to sink in. I drive 40 miles round trip to work each day... gas is expensive and at premium unleaded prices I filled up the other day @ $4.03/gal for $55.00. This definitely sucks but I can live with it for now. I will probably just switch to regular anyway. I have done basic maintenance such as oil changes on the engine, changing the air filter only once so far in 10,000 miles. Thats actually about it. It just dawned on me the other day while driving home from work that this vehicle has over 84,000 miles on it and I have no idea what maintenance the previous owner had done to it. So here is my hypothesis.... When I bought the truck it still had stock tires on it that were very bald, I changed these out with 265/70r/17 bridgestone dueller apt's. This could probably give the impression that the break pads were never changed. I seriously doubt if the spark plugs were changed and im praying they aren't seized. The rear diff im completely certain has never been changed. Not to mention all of the sensors have 84k on them and I guess what im asking is if anyone can attest to the fj being very reliable? I realize everything will wear over time and I am not trying to complain or sound like im whining. I would just like to know if the fj will be worth it for the long haul or if I just purchased a money pit. On a lighter note...I love the Fj and I enjoy doing work on it. My first car was a neon....they are no fun to work on :[

Thanks everyone! I love the forum!

 

[Xx_Black-out]

Man that is hard to read

There are guys with over 200,000mi on there FJ's. They can be very reliable with routine maintenance..

 

[1911]

Welcome to the forum.

I've got more than 120,000 miles on mine and it's been extremely reliable, but I've done all the maintenance myself on schedule. Toyotas are reliable, but like any vehicle you must do regular maintenance if you expect it to last.

 

[Hemingway]

84k? Wow. I bought my 2007 new and I just hit 30k on it. I think it will rust out before the engine runs out-underneath it looks horrible. Body and inside look brand new.

 

[football751]

Brake pads probably need to be changed if they haven't been.

You probably want to change out the diffs and transfer case oil (unless you know it's been done) to a good synthetic.

You probably want to check the plugs. Assuming they did them on schedule they'd be due again to be replaced at 90k miles, but who knows.

 

[Ryan4544]

I agree. I will probably change them this weekend.

 

[fj6high]

I have the same mileage and no problems that I didn't cause myself. I do my own maintenance and for what you mention to be serviced is not going to cost you much. That is if you DIY.

I just checked the values of the FJ and there holding really well for trade in...

Gas was killing me and Lucky me I could afford to buy another small gas sipper and keep some miles off the FJ.

 

[amilke27]

I was in the same boat as you, bought mine last april with 40k miles on it. I picked a weekend and did both diffs, transfer case oil changes to a red line synthetic, new sparkplugs, new intake filter, greased all the zerks, cleaned the MAF. This won't take you more than a good days work and will give the peace of mind that your truck good to go! It won't cost more than a few tanks of gas and you'll learn something about the FJ...you can search the forum to do all this routine maintenance work. Cheers!

 

[Ryan4544]

Thanks everyone!

 

[bartt]

Don't forget to grease the drive line. There are 6 zirt fittings. Don't over do the slip-joint ones just 2 or 3 squirts there..

And you might want to think about flushing the brake fluid, brake fluid will retain water and cause all sorts of troubles down the road.

If you do your brakes, make sure to get the rotors turned before reassembly. I did a write-up on the front brake job a while back, which you can follow if you've never done it before.

Redline and Royal purple make some nice gear oils for the diffs and xfer case.

Almost forget, you can also flush your trany (assuming its an automatic), following another article that I posted and many have added to..

Have fun with your new toy.

 

[Ryan4544]

Thanks man!