This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
A few weeks ago I was working on my vehicle and I had to remove the rear bumper then I found the chassis damaged by so much deep rust, that for a moment I just thought to brush and put an anti corrosive but the damage is not fixed with brushing and painting. I call Toyota for a frame recall and they don't have any yet. My vehicle it's not safe to pull anything. I also feel that one of these days the body can be detached from the chassis.
I currently own a 2007 Toyota Fj cruiser that has very bad rust problems. I have included photos. As you can see from the photos the vehicle has been very well taken care of inside and out. I own a 2014 highlander, and have owned a Scion and avalon and none have had any rust issues. I had intended to tow a boat with this but after a Toyota of kingsport dealer rust inspection he said, 'there is a large amount of rust under the truck, it is not safe to tow with because of rust damage. There appears to be other rust damage to critical areas of the frame'. I have had other mechanics look at it and they all agree that the frame needs to be replaced, and anything touching it that is rusted. One mechanic noticed that the vent for the rear differential was rusted over preventing it from venting properly. We replaced the rear differential fluid but he said it may be in poor shape also. I believe this is an unusual amount of rust and is due to materials of construction problem or poor rust coating from the factory. I think that Toyota might want to investigate this vehicle and determine why it rusted so badly. If you need additional photos or information just let me know. I realize some of this is surface rust.
Replaced rear differential $2,500, was advised when picking up the car the frame has rotted out. Mechanic advises life of vehicle approximately 2 years. We would have never repaired the vehicle had we known. I have been advised this is a known Toyota problem.
Recently I noticed my Fj cruiser has inner fender cracks under the hood inside of the engine compartment, bigger than 5 inches long, on the both sides of sheet metal of the fender, and the hood has bulges also at both sides. I call Toyota and told them about this problem, and they just told me that my vehicle has a chassis and this should not bother me. Also they tell me that my vehicle is not under warranty, so they cant do anything about it. I do a search over the internet for inner fender cracks, and found this to be a recurrent problem in the same place that cracks occur on the Fj cruiser, some vehicles cracks are bigger and some are smaller, but it is just matter of time to happens. I am not a car technician, but I am really worried about my safety and the safety of my family, so I opt to not drive with my family members, I don't really know if those cracks can make the vehicle collapse at the front. I really need some professional help.
- Caguas, PR, USA
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While driving at 25 mph, I hit a relatively small pothole on the road. Immediately as the vehicle went down on one side, the windshield cracked, about 4 inches from the middle bottom up. There had not previously been any damage to the windshield and nothing hit the windshield during this incident. The following day, the entire windshield cracked entirely, from the left to the right. After being inspected by the Toyota dealer, the windshield has to be entirely replaced at owners cost. The vehicle has never been off road, nor was this an accident or a major incident. The vehicle has never been in an accident. Toyota knows of the problem that due to the way the vehicle was manufactured, there is potential for the windshield to crack. I also sent a report to Toyota informing them of this problem.
I was driving approximately at 30 miles per hour, in a residential street, when suddenly I heard a noise and noted that the windshield developed a five inch crack, starting from the bottom center going up. A few days later, the crack moved significantly, to the left and right of the windshield moving to cover the entire windshield. There was no prior damage to the windshield, the vehicle has never been in an accident and it has never been taken off road. The crack seems to have developed due to pressure stress- a defect from manufacturing. There are numerous other reports from other owners of this type of vehicle with similar reports, often times, even after having the windshield replaced. This is a safety concern and manufacturing error.
Both passenger and driver air bags did not deploy at the impact of a head on collision which totalled the car my son was driving, and he sustained head, back and neck injuries because of that.the car locked up after the crash, disabling him to exit the car and had to be pulled out from the passenger side of the car.
I was cleaning this vehicle and noticed that there are tears in the sheet metal of the body. After further investigation online, I found several people with the same issue. I am filing a complaint in the hopes that Toyota takes responsibility for this issue. In a crash I do not know how well the defective body panels will hold up and protect the people in the car.
The inner fender of my 2007 Toyota Fj cruiser has developed a noticeable tear, between the designed safety crumple zones. This area is obviously not sturdy enough to support normal driving conditions over time. Once this weak point in the inner fender tore, it distorted the outside fender distance (gaps) between the fender and the driver side door. I find this tear to be an alarming alteration in my Fj cruiser and I worry about the safety of myself and my family. Please let me know if this is common and if a fix has been discovered!
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Fj cruiser. The contact stated the driver's side door was rusted from the inside to the outside. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture was contacted and stated that the failure was an isolated event caused by environmental conditions. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.
Cracks have appeared on both driver and passenger sides on the inside of front fenders. There have been numerous reports of this on the internet including forums and even facebook pages. In some cases the fenders have bulged out. I contacted Toyota and they claim they have never heard of this problem. They could not tell me if this compromises the structural safety of the vehicle. This issue seems to be in the 2007 and early 2008 models. I looked at a friend's 2007 Fj cruiser and he also has these cracks. It is interesting that Toyota has no knowledge of this issue but seems to have remedied it in newer models. The following is Toyota's response (in part) to my complaint: "we are unable to weigh the legitimacy of the information found during your online research, as the details of the individual concerns are not known to us. For that reason we encourage you to contact our offices regarding your Toyota vehicle, sales, or service experience so that it can be fully addressed, and any trends identified. The warranty for the fenders is the warranty coverage for the front inside fenders is 3 years or 36,000 miles, whichever occurs first from the vehicle's date of first use. Our records indicate that date is September 2, 2007. Once the vehicle is beyond these warranty parameters, the cost of repairs becomes the owner's responsibility. Please be aware the information you have provided is used in combination with warranty claims and other customer contacts to track trends with our vehicles. If in the future a special service campaign (ssc)/recall or warranty enhancement is issued that would cover your specific issue, and you have already made repairs to the vehicle, Toyota would review your repairs for reimbursement at that time. "
The chassis is so corroded and full of rust it has got to a point of loosing the strength and integrity of the whole body. This is very worrisome specially if the car is involved in an accident where the front part chassis cannot resist the impact. This has to be recalled by Toyota or at least fixed in some way like they did with the Tacoma and Tundra.
The left rear tire blew out, I didn't hit anything prior, and I tried to control the vehicle and bring it to a stop. I got it to be about 40 mph before I hit the cement railing on the bridge. Please call [xxx] at [xxx] claim number pa[xxx]. information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Another fender bulge issue. The bulge started at 30K miles. I'm at 90K miles now and the passenger side bulge has now become a tear. The drivers side has also become a tear. I believe this issue is very common on the Fj cruisers built in 2007. This issue was attended to on the newer models. The crumple zones is where these tears appear and I am very concerned for the safety of myself and my passengers. My vehicle is not the first this has happened to and it will not be the last until Toyota recognizes this as an epic failure on their part. I cannot understand how a vehicle that has 90K miles still has the stock battery and brake pads but has two major tears in the body!
The inner fender well apron crush zones are buckling, cracking and ripping under normal driving conditions - it appears the frame has too much flex and is causing the weak spot in the inner fender well to break. Concerned that because this is a safety related area of the body that this issue might impact the structural integrity of the vehicle in an accident, or even under normal operating conditions. The vehicle has been taken to the Toyota dealer, and a Toyota field engineer examined the vehicle, including taking numerous pictures. No repairs were offered at that time, as they were unsure of the cause or remedy.
The inner fender wall liners are splitting on each side. The fj has on 69K miles. We only found out about this problem when we took the vehicle into the deal for noises we heard under the hood. Toyota refuses repairing the problem completely.
Informed via the internet about possible problem, with at this time unknown cause, December 2006. Inner front fender ripping and bulging of fender support panels leading eventually to jamming of front doors while in the closed position when front fenders drop down to a lower position on frame blocking same. This appears to be occurring to approximately 20% of the older vehicles with build dates of 06', 07' & 08' with mileage from 10,000 to 75,000. Information gathered from Fj cruiser forum via the internet and web research. Vehicle has been taken to dealer for inspection and am awaiting a response. Damage was not discovered until 60600 miles when vehicle was being inspected after detailing, mileage of damage occurrence is unknown. Dealer inspected vehicle and took pictures at their location.
Left section of the hood of a 2007 Toyota Fj cruiser flew off while driving on the highway, causing cars to swerve. No wrecks. I took the car to a body shop and they said those panel fly off all the time because they are not affixed in place. No screws, glue, or nails. Nothing. Very dangerous. Could have killed families traveling along the highway for summer vacations.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Baltimore, MD, USA