Talk me out of this FJ (1 Viewer)

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My wife wants an FJ cruiser. I had been kind of looking at some stock ones. We did want 4wd. So then she sends me this



I'd be buying this as her daily, with some occasional offroading and camping trips. Of course she is stoked about the lift, tires, bumper and winch. I'd probably sell the tires and throw on some k02s. I'd be planning on keeping it for the long haul, and we have 2 kids that would be in car seats. Is that doable in an FJ?

Would you be scared of one this modded?
 
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we have 2 kids that would be in car seats. Is that doable in an FJ?

Most people will HATE that. I've put grandkids in car seats in the back of mine a few times, and it's a pain in the ass with the rear suicide doors. It's not bad in your own driveway, but wait 'til you have to do it in a parking lot next to other cars. I predict your wife will tire of that quickly.


Would you be scared of one this modded?

Like most 4wd trucks, most owners never take them off road, so the mods themselves don't mean it's been abused. If it has a decent service history that shouldn't be a problem.
 
Has your wife driven an FJ? If she likes the looks of that particular one, well that's important.

Not my choice for color and I don't like the wheels or front bumper. The tires do look worn out and not street friendly.
Wouldn't be ideal for a couple kids IMO. 4Runner more practical.
 
Has your wife driven an FJ? If she likes the looks of that particular one, well that's important.

Not my choice for color and I don't like the wheels or front bumper. The tires do look worn out and not street friendly.
Wouldn't be ideal for a couple kids IMO. 4Runner more practical.


she hasn't driven one, I think she likes the FJ looks over the 4runner and is willing to compromise on the space.

I agree on the tires, too big for me.
 
The back seats will be an issue with small children in car seats. Just a pain have to have both door open and there not being much room in the back unless you move the front seats forward,

Also, there are blind spots, so you may need to add some small convex mirrors.

Does the height of the vehicle bother her when getting in or out?

Remember, those tires or most tires in the 33" category will be heavy. Maybe too heavy for your wife to change a tire, if she gets a flat, so get AAA.

On the other hand, they are very capable off road. Camping and wheeling with the family will be a blast with memories to last a lifetime.
 
It needs tires soon. If it is not rusty underneath and if you could get out the door under $19k would be my goal. I would baseline it and drive it. It has all of the good options. Except manual transmission.
 
Definitely see what the lift situation is. If it doesn’t have quality UCAs and a lift that is suited to hold the bumper and winch that is another chunk of money you will end up throwing at it.
It’s going to drive like trash with those tires and you might think “Oh it will be fine once I replace those.” Then you do that and it doesn’t help much due to the rest.
 
Definitely see what the lift situation is. If it doesn’t have quality UCAs and a lift that is suited to hold the bumper and winch that is another chunk of money you will end up throwing at it.
It’s going to drive like trash with those tires and you might think “Oh it will be fine once I replace those.” Then you do that and it doesn’t help much due to the rest.

What's a quality lift for the FJ? What brand should I look for/look out for?
 
new uca.

20200612_100941.jpg
 
icon suspension, traction control light is on....dealer said it's because of the 4 " lift?
 
Sounds like a dubious explanation. Pull the codes and see what it says. Dealer should have that capability in the service center somewhere.

apparently someone with bad credit tried to buy it (couldn't get financing) and had Toyota dealer inspect it. They told them the stored transmission codes were from running 315 tires on stock gearing, and that's why the traction control light was on. I do have a reader so I'll hook it up.

it actually drives really good, other than those loud ass tires. I crawled around all under and couldn't find any leaks. It has skid plates as well
 
A 4" lift without lowering the transaxle is supposed to cause issues, like a failing transaxle and CV joints. Also, didn't Icon have some issues with that specific UCA? Might be why it has new ones. You may want to ask if they are the upgraded version that doesn't wear out in 20,000 miles. And then there's the weird wear on the front tires: the lift didn't do the needed mod to move the lowers for making the alignment sane.
 
looks like a 2" lift. part of the deal was losing the 315s and putting on 285s. They are offering to get me 5 new falken wildpeaks in 285/75.

I crawled all under the truck and everything looks pretty good. No leaks or rust. CV angles seem pretty good so it must have a diff drop, boots looked good.
 
A 4" lift without lowering the transaxle is supposed to cause issues, like a failing transaxle and CV joints. Also, didn't Icon have some issues with that specific UCA? Might be why it has new ones. You may want to ask if they are the upgraded version that doesn't wear out in 20,000 miles. And then there's the weird wear on the front tires: the lift didn't do the needed mod to move the lowers for making the alignment sane.
*ProComp UCAs
 
are the procomps ok or do I need to plan to swap them?
 
Those are good. I expected a spacer lift and stock UCAs. That FJ has a nice suspension setup (even if its old or needs rebuilt - may not). Point is, the owner put some money in the right place to get it to where it is and I would take that as more of a green flag. I bet the new tires will totally transform it and it will be a nicely equipped truck youll get your moneys worth from it.

The light is on likely because whoever replaced the UCAs maybe stretched or broke the little sensor wire that goes to the wheel sensor. I have had mine come on after working on the suspension, but I just unhooked the battery and it reset and never came back.

If it is JUST the trac control light, maybe it is just off? I think you can turn it off on those newer FJs?
 
thanks for the help guys.....but the wife fell in love. All I heard was how she had to have the practical car ever since she sold her jeep, and how I have my LX, blah blah blah.....anyway here she is in the NC mountains
 
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