First let Me say that my FJ is considered my 4th child what to my wife, the mistress.
Besides coaching my kids or being with them, working on my FJ is my one guilty pleasures. With passion, I keep her in pristine condition, other than cargo areas scuffs. Living in New York I take great concern in maintaining a rust free under carriage. I've researched in combed through every FJ Cruiser Forum gaining extensive knowledge, add to their dos and don'ts and the engineering of its electrical and mechanics. Basically can take it apart and reassemble in the dark. I am not a mechanic per say but I pretty much can do anything as I'm a high end contractor and never say I can't do.
I have my FJ for 4 years purchased over 27000 miles and she has been wonderful besides the normal locking of a caliber changing power steering pump an alternator. Upgraded my exhaust to the Borla exhaust, and within the last year replaced rear brakes, rotors, calipers and pads, full sway a way suspension, throttle body, Sprint booster throttle controller. I've upgraded spark plugs and have flusshed every system other than the transmission.
My complaint is with assisted braking and needless premature ABS chattering and dramatic hard stopping at basically to 10mph speeds. It's become a intermittent problem, not sure when I hit the brakes if descent ability will be to the point of causing the truck to stop short or if the chattering of the ABS brakes ultimately extends the braking distance. I'm leaning heavily towards a known Toyota culprit regarding the actuator of abs system that has been a recall on other Toyota models within FJ Cruiser production years. In addition, I believe that the ecu needs software update that also has been a additional fix on some of Toyota's models that have been recalled.
I mean the FJ has enough history of problems with the brake system for it to be taken into consideration as their other models of same year's and tech experience same defect/problems, why wouldn't this vehicle being added in the software update and then added to recalled for the actuator of the braking system? The reality is the volume of FJ's are not enough and generally the owners a very handy and love modding them and take great pride in working on them vs bringing them to the stealer- ship.
There's just not enough of us taking time to file the complaints of this known existing condition, Every FJ has this brake issue is just a matter of time before it goes from a well that's just the way the vehicle is, you have to learn how to use it; to where the actuator progressively gets worse, to the point where they realize it's a engineering issue defect. For guys like me, we learn how to do safely deal with it, but for the average person, it's a nightmare. We get charged ridiculous amounts of money trying to fix the problem.
I love my rig. Everyday I get complimented on it. I know what the bugs are with the vehicle, as do most of us guys and them ignoring our model which shares parts with their other models which have been recalled for this part is insanity. Basically saying; well there's not enough for us to be forced into doing it, why hasn't a watchdog group realize that this part is problematic? Recall that's utilized in multiple vehicles within the same production years and force Toyota into acknowledging the FJ.
We deserve better as we proudly exemplify our passion for their product, even with it's warts we would not disparage its heritage and passion to own it. Meaning we love it unconditionally. I only have my kids that I can truly say the love is unconditionally. We shouldn't have to force the issue on something built by them that's loyalty loved with intent preserving to its immortality.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
First let Me say that my FJ is considered my 4th child what to my wife, the mistress.
Besides coaching my kids or being with them, working on my FJ is my one guilty pleasures. With passion, I keep her in pristine condition, other than cargo areas scuffs. Living in New York I take great concern in maintaining a rust free under carriage. I've researched in combed through every FJ Cruiser Forum gaining extensive knowledge, add to their dos and don'ts and the engineering of its electrical and mechanics. Basically can take it apart and reassemble in the dark. I am not a mechanic per say but I pretty much can do anything as I'm a high end contractor and never say I can't do.
I have my FJ for 4 years purchased over 27000 miles and she has been wonderful besides the normal locking of a caliber changing power steering pump an alternator. Upgraded my exhaust to the Borla exhaust, and within the last year replaced rear brakes, rotors, calipers and pads, full sway a way suspension, throttle body, Sprint booster throttle controller. I've upgraded spark plugs and have flusshed every system other than the transmission.
My complaint is with assisted braking and needless premature ABS chattering and dramatic hard stopping at basically to 10mph speeds. It's become a intermittent problem, not sure when I hit the brakes if descent ability will be to the point of causing the truck to stop short or if the chattering of the ABS brakes ultimately extends the braking distance. I'm leaning heavily towards a known Toyota culprit regarding the actuator of abs system that has been a recall on other Toyota models within FJ Cruiser production years. In addition, I believe that the ecu needs software update that also has been a additional fix on some of Toyota's models that have been recalled.
I mean the FJ has enough history of problems with the brake system for it to be taken into consideration as their other models of same year's and tech experience same defect/problems, why wouldn't this vehicle being added in the software update and then added to recalled for the actuator of the braking system? The reality is the volume of FJ's are not enough and generally the owners a very handy and love modding them and take great pride in working on them vs bringing them to the stealer- ship.
There's just not enough of us taking time to file the complaints of this known existing condition, Every FJ has this brake issue is just a matter of time before it goes from a well that's just the way the vehicle is, you have to learn how to use it; to where the actuator progressively gets worse, to the point where they realize it's a engineering issue defect. For guys like me, we learn how to do safely deal with it, but for the average person, it's a nightmare. We get charged ridiculous amounts of money trying to fix the problem.
I love my rig. Everyday I get complimented on it. I know what the bugs are with the vehicle, as do most of us guys and them ignoring our model which shares parts with their other models which have been recalled for this part is insanity. Basically saying; well there's not enough for us to be forced into doing it, why hasn't a watchdog group realize that this part is problematic? Recall that's utilized in multiple vehicles within the same production years and force Toyota into acknowledging the FJ.
We deserve better as we proudly exemplify our passion for their product, even with it's warts we would not disparage its heritage and passion to own it. Meaning we love it unconditionally. I only have my kids that I can truly say the love is unconditionally. We shouldn't have to force the issue on something built by them that's loyalty loved with intent preserving to its immortality.
- vcryder, Staten Island, US