You need to keep in mind, Toyota has sold over 100,000 FJ cruisers and from what I've been reading on the forums only a hand full of people have broken the gears. You expect a company to spend millions of dollars to fix everyones FJ just because a few people had problems. If all the manufactures had this mentality we would be paying double the price for everything we buy.
Also from what I've been reading Toyota has been incredible with the stuff they are replacing under warranty. Usually once you lift or take a vehicle off road the dealership will void the warranty. I'm constantly reading about people 4 wheeling hard core stuff, breaking something and then having the dealership replace it no questions asked. Does hummer or jeep do this, No, Thats why a lot of people have traded in their other 4X4's for an FJ.
My only question about the gears failing is this only happening in the FJs with the Auto/part time 4 wheel drive(3.73 gears)
I don't remember reading any mt's with the all wheel drive and a different set of gears(3.93) having problems.
Is this problem isolated to the autos?
I know a lot of people are freaking out and assuming their rear end is going to explode because they've changed the diff fluid and saw how black it was.
But people with a 2005 or newer Tacoma's(which run the same axle, but I believe they run 4.10 gears) are also complaining about how dark their diff fluid was when they changed it, but again only a few have had breakage.
Toyota has become such a power house and the #2 auto maker because of their quality, yeah I agree is has slipped a little(which is understandable), but it is still better then any other company out their.
I've been buying Toyota's for the last 16 years and the FJ is my fifth and I have the same confidence in it just like the rest.
If your paranoid about it breaking in the woods don't wheel a lone.
Gears are easy and fairly cheap to replace if you have to pay for it yourself. If this was an engine breaking issue, then I would be more concern and worried.
Personally I never been a "sky is falling" type of person, I don't assume theirs a problem or worry about it until their is actually a problem, life's too short for that.
The only time I've been left stranded in a Toyota is when I've got it stuck in the woods, locked my keys in it and one time I ran out of gas. I never in 16 years had anything mechanical break on me on the road and off, thats why after the FJ my next vehicle will again be a Toyota.
Sorry I got a little winded, I just finished a large coffee
