Am I too late to play around with this car ?

I mean I heard they just stopped the production of this car and my friends are telling me that I am gonna get stuck finding replacement parts for the car since it wont be available in the market anymore.

Do they have a point and I should look into new ones instead ?

Hello everyone, I have recent joined the FJ cruiser club here on reddit as I have very recently (few days ago) acquired this beauty. BUT, there may be some issues, and I definitely have many questions for those of you that have a bit of time to help me out.

Quick info : Body has 370k kms, all fluids have been changed properly in the past few kms (supposedly, I trust the guy tho). Engine has 170k on it (supposedly). Previous engine was removed by previous owner as the first owner was an old lady and apparently forgot that an engine needs oila changes! The rest of the vehicle is unknown as to whether the parts are new or original, the only certain newer part is a rear CV axle. Just needed a new shoe or whatever its called but the previous owner changed the entire axel for the fun of it.

Anyways, onto the problems.

First problem/question: Wheel bearings!

So I have never driven a vehicle before that is as uninsulated as the FJ and also that has All Terrain tires. So I am not sure if the noise I am hearing is bad bearings or just the tires. It sounds quite similar to when my 08 grand Cherokee had bad bearings. Anything I can look out for to know better?

Another question about All Terrain tires :

When I brake, occasionally I feel the steering pulling to the left, and in general steering feels a bit off. Is this also an All terrain tires driving on regular asphalt with pot holes and road irregularities simptom or am I likely to have another issue?

Transmission!

So the transmission seems okay, it was mostly a highway driven car, never off-road, maybe some mountains, it was used to regularly drive from Nanaimo, BC, Canada, to somewhere in Saskatchewan, Canada, by the first owner. Up until the engine started getting tired of no oil changes anyways. Should I invest in a transmission cooler or at this point (at 370k kms) or is it too late/pointless now?

Heated seats : They seem to have previous been installed but they don't work, any recommendations and good experiences? I would like to avoid a product that stops working again lol. While I'm at it, is it difficult to make the seats leather?

I have already ordered the Japanese convex heated mirrors so that's one question ill spare you guys from.

That's all I got for now, I greatly appreciate your time and responses, I will reply to every single one and I am looking forward to being on this reddit with you guys!

Just past 100k and the dealer says I need a front end alignment. Problem is they say $4400. which isn't going to happen. (Alignment/Replace both front lower control arms/Replace both struts). I am sure there are some solid packages for this at a reasonable price. Can anyone suggest a good set? Thanks. -Derryl

Okay guys, 07 FJ here, I’ve let the mechanic check the car for a little bit of time now. We’ve changed the camshaft position sensor, oil change, vvt solenoid, and maybe another thing I’m missing off the top of my head. The (suspected) problem is that while driving the bank 1 vvt sensor is going on/off constantly throwing the code… any outside the box ideas for what might be causing this??

Ps. timing sounds good so we do not think it is the chain yet, I want to make sure I’ve checked other things out before we crack open the engine

Thanks for any help

Edit: spelling

I replaced an aftermarket backup camera with a new one and I made one change: I tapped into the positive reverse light bulb wire in order to make the camera only come on when it’s in reverse. While I was testing stuff out I don’t think these lights were in. Once I buttoned it all back up these lights were on.

What I touched: pulled out the driver tail light bulb and reverse bulb. Tapped into the reverse wire and wired it to camera power. Threaded the camera wire through the back door grommet pretty aggressively with a wire hanger. So in general I was in the light housing, and the back door panel.

Incidentally, the reverse camera works, so all the power there is ok.

Thoughts?

My wife cleared a path to her FJ and blasted thru the plow wall (like a boss) to see if the gym was open during this amazing storm ❄️⛰️❄️ It was not. She passed a couple women walking in not-so-winterlike clothes, so stopped to see if they were ok or needed a ride. Apparently the dean(?) at the college passed and they were relatives on the way to his funeral. They got in and we're in a panic about other family members snowed in too, so my wife became a one-woman SaR team to go get family to the funeral, "because I have an FJ that can get them anywhere they need to go."

I love you so much. I just thought you were at the gym, omg.

I'm trying to split the reverse camera cable to my aftermarket head unit while preserving the mirror . I purchased this (https://accessorides.com/products/toyota-fj-cruiser-rearview-mirror-oem-reverse-camera-to-aftermarket-radio?rq=yr\_2013\~mk\_toyota\~md\_fj-cruiser) splitter cable but I'm not sure where I can patch it in - I'm pretty sure it's somewhere in the panel to the lower left of the steering wheel but I didn't see an plugs that match the cable .

Please and Thank You.

Parked next to three dumpsters.

You made my day.

Peace and happiness be upon you all, lads.

I came to acquire your experiences and knowledge about what height is the most suitable for off-road,floods and desert conditions.

How do you guys manage to keep the FJ cruiser working with ur personalized height option and what do you recommend me to do to make it meet my demands for the FJ cruiser?

Thanks

When I get to look back at them, pretty grateful.

One burns a lot of gas, the other burns a lot of gas.

About to sell my 2014 6 speed fj with 35k miles.

Does anybody else feel that the 1gr is just extremely underpowered? Honestly feels like a chore to drive. I genuinely want to know how people enjoy driving this thing.

Open to any an all veteran owners suggestions or tips. I'm already treating some mild undercarriage rust but otherwise this beauty is in almost perfect condition.

https://preview.redd.it/g02p0saridzd1.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=05c6abe1a66e7da69c0a6336b548cdba71a791e1

https://preview.redd.it/p8eao5bridzd1.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=574efa85e119ae19e9d95a7d0cd267d212e0149a

Bought this 2007 with 150k miles. Clean title. No rust (Va vehicle). Very nice condition. So far: car seat covers. Black OEM grill. OEM headlight housings. LED projectors. LED grill lights. Rock sliders. Loving this thing so far! What are your favorite bumpers and roof racks? I can’t find a good OEM rack so I’ll have to see what else is out there!

So what have you done to improve the visibility on your side mirrors?

Would love to see your setups!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOeOEIoXBbY&t=225s

Not an FJ, but it's nice to see a 4x4 prototype legit from Toyota, as opposed to the AI fantasies all over YouTube.

So here's a query for FJ owners with a Pike Pass. Where do you put the transponder sticker? It's weird because if I put it below the mirror, as per the instructions, it will basically be smack in the middle of the windshield.

Can I drive my fj with street tires on the beach? I plan on going to Pismo soon and would like to drive it on the beach but I don't have a nice tire setup yet I just have street tires so would you guys say it's fine with 4wd of course and airing down or would you advise against it until I got better tires?