What year FJ to buy ?

[FJ404345]

When the FJ just came out I bought a silver colored FJ the 4x4 with extra package. It was a great truck, but anyway I sold it in 2010.

Now a couple of years later Im interested to buy another one but not a new one, as they have been around longer now, are there model years that are more reliable, better then other years?

 

[BMThiker]

2008-2009 would be my vote.
Properly heat treated gear sets in the axles, still has cannister oil filter and original washer fluid reservoir.

The only [ONLY] advantage the 2010+ have is the back up camera and the slightly larger rear gear set.

 

[Delancy]

Depends on intention.

If buying to DD, I'd say the newest model budget allows, merely from an ROI persoective.

 

[winnie]

Found most of this on FJCruiserForum ... hope it helps ...

some early build 07s i.e. before Feb/07 had an inner fender bulge issue and some had a weak rear diff (ring/pinion)

main model year 2010 changes:

- new inner fender design
- new chassis (from the Prado?)
- oil filter moved to the bottom of the engine from the top, a cartridge design instead of canister
- different ECM engine tuning
- 19 HP increase
- 8 ft./lb decrease in torque
- roller valvetrain rockers
- marginally smaller turning radius
- backup camera
- no supercharger capability (Toyota has consistently said one is coming, but not sure if its happened - there is one available for 07-09s)
- ring gear increased from 8" to 8.2"

 

[alabamatacomaguy]

From my experience I would buy the one you can find and that costs what you want. They are semi hard to find in some areas.


Before I bought a 40 as a side project I was set on finding a white 6 speed and trading my current fj in, I couldn't find a white 6mt forsale anywhere in the country for 6 months. But then I decided I've had my fj cruiser from pretty much since it was new I m the second owner of it a 07 Trd mt6. I have done all the Maintaince I have babied it I know it's in better shape than any used one I could buy.... And I don't feel like paying for a new one. Didn't mean to get off topic

I have read and read and gone over my 07 fenders with a magnifying glass. I can't find fender bulges. I think it is hit or miss on the fender tears but from reading over the years I think a large factor could be how it's driven and if there's a winch bumper or heavy weight on the front, but even that doesn't always make sense on the tears. I remember when the 10s came out with new designed fenders people thought they wouldn't rip and they have had some tears as well.

I remember the earliest models had some problems with bad rear ends but I think that was fixed by 08.

If you are buying used test all the traction control and 4wd features. It's starting to look common that the switches in the transfer case go out mostly from my research it's from not being used. I hadn't put mine into LLow (or whatever the manual 4 low is called I forget) for a couple of years and then when I tried to activate the locker the transfer case sensor wouldn't tell the computer I was in 4low so all the traction control/atrac/rear locker/ crawl/ whatever wouldn't activate because the computer wouldn't let it engage without thinking it was in 4low mechanically the transfercase worked just the poorly designed sensor wouldn't work. I was lucky and after a month of tinkering with it and pulling my interior apart it started working.

Also if your looking for one with a lift check the boots to make sure they are not torn. You've owned one so you know what you would want


...via IH8MUD app

 

[FJ404345]

Depends on intention.

If buying to DD, I'd say the newest model budget allows, merely from an ROI persoective.

I bought the FJ in 2007 and took it with us to the caribbean end of 2008. Here some parts of the island are really tough and rocky so very inviting for off roading, only the vegetation is also very rough.
Huge 2" thorns and spineon large trees all the way, so having a lot scratches wasn't the option. Therefore sold it with 15k miles in 2010.
Now ofcourse comes the remorse, so resale wouldn't be an option anymore!

 

[FJ404345]

Found most of this on FJCruiserForum ... hope it helps ...

some early build 07s i.e. before Feb/07 had an inner fender bulge issue and some had a weak rear diff (ring/pinion)

main model year 2010 changes:

- new inner fender design
- new chassis (from the Prado?)
- oil filter moved to the bottom of the engine from the top, a cartridge design instead of canister
- different ECM engine tuning
- 19 HP increase
- 8 ft./lb decrease in torque
- roller valvetrain rockers
- marginally smaller turning radius
- backup camera
- no supercharger capability (Toyota has consistently said one is coming, but not sure if its happened - there is one available for 07-09s)
- ring gear increased from 8" to 8.2"

Thanks Winnie, that info helps a lot !

 

[FJ404345]

From my experience I would buy the one you can find and that costs what you want. They are semi hard to find in some areas.


Before I bought a 40 as a side project I was set on finding a white 6 speed and trading my current fj in, I couldn't find a white 6mt forsale anywhere in the country for 6 months. But then I decided I've had my fj cruiser from pretty much since it was new I m the second owner of it a 07 Trd mt6. I have done all the Maintaince I have babied it I know it's in better shape than any used one I could buy.... And I don't feel like paying for a new one. Didn't mean to get off topic

I have read and read and gone over my 07 fenders with a magnifying glass. I can't find fender bulges. I think it is hit or miss on the fender tears but from reading over the years I think a large factor could be how it's driven and if there's a winch bumper or heavy weight on the front, but even that doesn't always make sense on the tears. I remember when the 10s came out with new designed fenders people thought they wouldn't rip and they have had some tears as well.

I remember the earliest models had some problems with bad rear ends but I think that was fixed by 08.

If you are buying used test all the traction control and 4wd features. It's starting to look common that the switches in the transfer case go out mostly from my research it's from not being used. I hadn't put mine into LLow (or whatever the manual 4 low is called I forget) for a couple of years and then when I tried to activate the locker the transfer case sensor wouldn't tell the computer I was in 4low so all the traction control/atrac/rear locker/ crawl/ whatever wouldn't activate because the computer wouldn't let it engage without thinking it was in 4low mechanically the transfercase worked just the poorly designed sensor wouldn't work. I was lucky and after a month of tinkering with it and pulling my interior apart it started working.

Also if your looking for one with a lift check the boots to make sure they are not torn. You've owned one so you know what you would want


...via IH8MUD app

I would have to buy it in the US and import it here, or buy one out of the few locals.
My old FJ hardly drives and is getting babied daily by the female owner, it is always nicely washed with tires spray and so on, im happy about that, but buying it back doesn't seem an option with so much love.
For sure the fender will have nothing. Maybe i should wait 10 or 20 years before buying that one back would be possible

 

[winnie]

I have an 07 and had the rear diff issue ... took the opportunity to re-gear to 4.56 and add a front locker ... no matter what, its still an 8" ... there are people on the FJC Forum who have replaced theirs 3 times ... who knows what their doing with their trucks ... haven't read about anyone replacing the 8.2" that came with the 2010 model ... maybe others here have ... I'm not complaining about my truck, it does all I want it to do, but it is something to bear in mind if you're looking to buy a truck ...

 

[FJ404345]

Winnie, what is the mileage on your FJC? and on what mileage you had the rear diff issue?

 

[BMThiker]

Has very little to do with mileage and more to do with stressing them. It was a known problem, but it only affected offroaders. I know a couple of 2007 models that never stressed their gears enough to pop them. The issue was they were over-hardened to a point of brittleness that failed when they saw offroad types of use.

I had the first set go after almost a year of owning it. My dealership warrantied them (replaced front and rear), but it took a bit of haggling. The rear one blew again and was also warrantied. The third time I was out of warranty, so I decided it was time to upgrade and regear to 4.56 at the same time. I used Nitro ring and pinions.

 

[winnie]

Winnie, what is the mileage on your FJC? and on what mileage you had the rear diff issue?

my truck has 122k KM on it (a little over 75K miles) ... the rear diff in my truck got really noisy just out of warranty i.e. just after 100k KMs ... I agree its not about mileage ... its about a defective ring/pinion (in some early build 07s) ... it just so happened mine got really noisy in a very short period of time ... there's more than one thread on FJCruiser Forums re the rear diff issue, because frankly, there were a lot of p/o'ed people for two reasons, one, it happened to them, and two, it was a fight with some dealerships to get it fixed ...

 

[1911]

Has very little to do with mileage and more to do with stressing them. It was a known problem, but it only affected offroaders.

Bingo.

I know exactly what I did and when to blow mine - going up Wipeout Hill off of the Sevenmile Rim trail near Moab, with the rear diff locked and I hopped the rear end when I gave it too much throttle on a super steep section.

The dealer I purchased mine from (new) wouldn't warranty it so like Rick I replaced them with Nitro 4.56 ring and pinions. After another more than 100,000 miles, the Nitro rear pinion blew up and I replaced them with whatever 4.56 gears East Coast Gear Supply uses in their rebuilt 3rd's.

 

[BMThiker]

I know exactly what I did and when to blow mine -

Me too! June 2, 2007
Beasley Knob Trail 93C
SitRep: My bachelor party just weeks before the wedding. Loose dirt and chunky rocks on a fairly steep grade. Removed the drive shaft on the trail and limped back to Blairsville's Home Depot to pull the 3rd out. We called a friend of mine who was on the Trail Teams at the time. They walked us through the dis-assembly over the phone.

 

[1911]

Here's a photo of the run up Wipeout Hill that did mine in:



It started making noise right away, but amazingly, I wheeled another couple of days around Moab (with a group) and drove it home more than 1,000 miles! Drove it to the dealer and back when I got home; finally tore it down and found this:



5-6 broken teeth in three different places! It was amazing that it drove as long as it did. It was pretty noisy by the time I stopped driving it.

 

[Jadams0512]

You should buy my FJ- it's exactly what you need! http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/4459337261.html

 

[FJ404345]

Good to know these issues. Thanks a lot.

I understand 2010 and younger is the best way to go. Have there also been some option or package changes over the years

 

[BMThiker]

If you plan to regear to a different ratio at some point, I wouldn't be shy about buying a pre 2010 model.

 

[Estancio]

Those of you that have experienced rear diff problems...would you still recommend a pre-2010?

 

[BMThiker]

Yeah, it only affected build dates of 02/2007 and earlier. See sticker on drivers side suicide door for build date.