2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser Steering Problems

I was driving the vehicle to work and was unable to stop. I had to use the emergency brake system.

Loss of brakes while driving. Brakes locking up. Complete frame rust

Due to rust on my 2007 FJ Cruiser, I've had many unexpected expenses. I first was losing brake pressure and my brake lines had to be replaced after breaking when in a mechanic's shop. I've also replaced all four calipers, all the rusted pulleys on the engine, lower control arms that were so rusted that they had to be cut out, and hub assemblies for both front wheels. The hub assembly lead to a failed vehicle inspection for safety concerns. The exhaust pipe literally broke apart near the rear frame crossmember and was sitting on it, so had to be replaced. The exhaust manifold rusted apart and separated from the engine block, leading to dangerous fumes in the engine bay and horrible gas mileage. The O2 sensors were rusted in place and giving poor readings and had to be replaced. Turning the steering wheel became difficult and that was due to being extremely rusty, so it had to be replaced. Shifter cable and PRNDL switch had to be replaced due to not shifting into drive or lower gears. The front differential drain plug was so rusted that the dealership would not attempt to remove it. Now there are holes rusted through the body mount brackets, as well as the passenger side floor. The cargo area's floor where the charcoal EVAP canister connects to the vehicle has completely rusted through, and one of the subframe brackets rusted so badly that it was taken off by hand. Both subframe brackets need to be replaced. The rear control arm mounts are very thin due to extreme rust. My mechanic is now replacing coolant lines because they have rusted through and started to leak, and gas tank straps which were on the verge of failing.

MY VEHICLES FRAME/ SUSPENSION HAS DETERIORATED TO THE POINT THE TOYOTA DEALER WONT PASS IT FOR SAFETY INSPECTION. THE FRAME AND SUSPENSION HAVE DISINTEGRATED. THIS TRUCK HAS BEEN GARAGE KEPT SINCE NEW AND IS IN OTHERWISE PERFECT CONDITION.

SEVERE SUSPENSION BRACKET RUST ON MULTIPLE REAR AND FRONT COMPONENTS. I LUCKILY WAS ABLE TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT WHEN BRAKING BUT MY ENTIRE CAR SWAYED WHEN THE REAR LATERAL SUPPORT BAR BRACKET BROKE RIGHT OFF THE MOUNT THAT IS WELDED TO THE REAR DUE TO RUST. I THEN INSPECTED AND FOUND MULTIPLE RUST AREAS ON FRAME AND OTHER SUSPENSION BRACKETS. MAKING THIS VEHICLE UNSAFE TO DRIVE. I AM AWARE OF TOYOTA'S ONGOING DILEMMA WITH USING THIS HORRIBLE UNTREATED STEEL AND HOPE THE NHTSA ADDRESSES THIS ISSUE. THIS IS NOT NORMAL CORROSION THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE NEGLECT IN SAFETY BY NOT HAVING THIS STEEL TREATED ON SUCH CRITICAL COMPONENTS OF A VEHICLES FRAME. HAD THIS INCIDENT HAPPEN ON THE HIGHWAY AT SPEEDS OF 55 MPH OR GREATER. SERIOUS INJURY AND/OR DEATH CAN OCCUR. IF I AM NOT THE ONLY CONSUMER HAVING THIS ISSUE ON TOYOTA FJ CRUSIER VEHICLES. I HOPE THE NHTSA ENFORCES A RECAL ON THESE FRAMES AND/OR CRITICAL SUSPENSION COMPONENTS. MY VEHICLE IS 16 YEARS OLD, I PURCHASED IT FROM A DEALER WHOM RECIEVED IT FROM THE ORIGINAL OWNER WITH 57,000 MILES ON IT. NOW CURRENTLY AFTER 4 YEARS OF OWNING THIS FJ CRUISER I ONLY HAVE 71,000 MILES ON IT. HAD THIS BRACKET CAUGHT ONTO MY BRAKE LINES WHICH IS LOCATED DIRECTLY BELOW THIS REAR BRACKET I WOULD HAVE LOST ALL ABILITY TO STOP MY VEHICLE.

GAS TANK STRAPS BROKE FRAME DETERIATED ON FJ CRUSIER WITH ONLY 72000 MILES ON IT WOULD HAVE NEVER KNOWN HOW UNSAFE FRAME IS IF STRAPS GAS TANK HANGING

FRAME AND SUSPENSION COMPONENTS ARE VERY RUSTY TO THE POINT OF A SAFETY CONCERN. I REPLACED THE REAR BUMPER WITH AN AFTERMARKET ONE TO DISCOVER THE REAR BUMPER SUPPORT WAS SO RUSTED IT WOULDN'T BE OF ANY HELP IN THE EVENT OF BEING REAR ENDED BY ANOTHER CAR. ALSO, THE REAR BUMPER COMES STOCK WITH 2 SENSORS SO WHEN BACKING UP WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN YOU GET CLOSE TO SOMETHING. BOTH SENSORS WERE NON-TRANSFERABLE TO THE NEW BUMPER BECAUSE THEY WERE SO RUSTED ON THE INSIDE WHEN YOU TRIED TO REMOVE THEM THEY CRUMBLED INTO BITS, A COMBINATION OF METAL AND PLASTIC. THE RUST WORKED ITS WAY UP THE WIRES AS WELL. NUMEROUS BRACKETS UNDERNEATH THE TRUCK WHICH HOLD WHAT APPEARS TO BE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS THE VEHICLE WOULD NEED TO OPERATE. IF ONE OF THESE COMPONENTS BROKE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED I WOULD NEED TO BUY NEW BRACKETS ALONG WITH THE NEW COMPONENT - NEW SCREWS WOULD ALSO BE REQUIRED ALONG SIDE A HOLY PRAYER THAT THE OLD SCREWS DON'T SNAP OFF WHILE ATTEMPTING TO REMOVE THEM. BY THE TIME I WAS DONE PAYING OFF MY VEHICLE AND HAVING MORE FREE INCOME TO PUT TOWARDS OTHER PRIORITIES I WAS CONSISTENTLY DELAYED WITH REPAIRES THE VEHICLE NEEDED TO KEEP FUNCTIONING. I HAD TO PAY FOR NEW TRANSMISSION LINES BECAUSE THE ONES ON THERE WERE SO RUSTED, IN A LUMP SUM I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR. POWER STEERING LINES WERE REPLACED ONCE AND THE POWER STEERING STILL HAS AN ISSUE HOLDING FLUID. I AM GOING TO CHOSE TODAY'S DATE AS THE DATE THIS OCCURRED BECAUSE NOW I AM AT MY WIT'S END WITH THE RUST. I TOOK MY TRUCK TO HAVE THE A/C RECHARGED TO BE TOLD ITS GOING TO BE ABOUT $2000 TO REPLACE ALL THE LINES AND THE CONDENSER THAT IS RUSTED PLUS LABOR. WHILE ON THE LIFT THE MECHANIC TOLD ME TO COME TAKE A LOOK UNDERNEATH MY TRUCK AND HE SHOWED ME HOW EXTENSIVE THE RUST HAS BECOME AND THAT I MIGHT NEED TO HAVE SOME WORK DONE ABOUT THE RUST FIRST BEFORE HE CAN FIX THE A/C.

2007 TOYOTA FJ CRUISER. THERE IS WIDESPREAD AND SIGNIFICANT RUSTING ON THE FRAME AND DRIVETRAIN COMPONENTS. WELL-MAINTAINED, AND NOT LOCATED IN A SALTY ENVIRONMENT, NOR AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE THE ROADS ARE EVER SALTED. THIS VEHICLE IS UTILIZES THE SAME FRAME AS ANOTHER TOYOTA VEHICLE (4RUNNER), AND THAT VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED WITH THE FRAME-RUSTING RECALL DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD THIS VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED.

WHENEVER THE VEHICLE IS IN 4 WHEEL DRIVE IT IS UNSAFE ON SLIPPERY WEATHER CONDITIONS. DIFFICULT TO CONTROL 3 TIMES I'VE USED THIS CAR ON ICY CONDITIONS GOING NO MORE THAN 35 OR 40 MILES AN HOUR AND I HAVE SLIPPED THE MOST RECENT TIME WAS EASTER AND THE CAR LITERALLY ROLLED OUT OF CONTROL.

THE FRAME HAS RUSTED BEYOND EXPECTATIONS, WRONG KIND OF METAL OR LACK OF TREATMENT ON METAL CAUSING OXIDATION, CAUSING A SAFETY ISSUE OF THE POWER STEERING BRAKING LOOSE AND CAUSING POTENTIALLY INJURIES OR DEATH TO PASSENGERS. VEHICULE IS AT HOME

I WAS DRIVING ON A DIVIDED HIGHWAY WITH DIRT SHOULDERS AT THE POSTED SPEED (65 MPH) AND AS AN 18 WHEELER PAST ME AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED, IT FORCED ME OFF OF THE RIGHT HAND SHOULDER. THE DROP OF THE ASPHALT TO THE SHOULDER CAUSED THE STEERING TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY AND I FOUND MYSELF INTO THE SHOULDER AND FORCED INTO A 180 DEGREE SPIN. THE STEERING ON THE FJ HAS BEEN HORRIBLE SINCE 95,000 TO 100,000 MILES AND STARTED AT AROUND 75,000. I HAVE SPOKE TO MANY FJ AND TACOMA OWNERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM AND READ IN MULTIPLE FORUMS AND BLOGS REGARDING THIS ISSUE. THERE ARE HOME BREWED REMEDIES FOR IT BUT I BELIEVE IT IS AN ISSUE THAT TOYOTA SHOULD ADDRESS. *TR

WHILE DRIVING MY CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED FJ AT 65MPH, I EXPERIENCE SIGNIFICANT STEERING WHEEL SHIMMY WHERE THE STEERING WHEEL OSCILLATED LEFT AND RIGHT AT LEAST15 DEGREES IN EACH DIRECTION. AS SOON AS VEHICLE SPEED DROPPED TO 64MPH, THE OSCILLATION STOPPED. THIS IS REPEATABLE. THE VEHICLE HAS STOCK WHEELS AND TIRES. *TR

WHEN YOU GET ABOVE 55 THE STEERING WHEEL BEGINS TO SHAKE AND ALSO WHEN BRAKING. *TR

ONCE VEHICLE IS CRUISING ON HIGHWAY AT SPEEDS BETWEEN 55-70MPH, STEERING WHEEL SHAKES UNCONTROLLABLY. HAVE HAD THE TIRES SWAPPED, ROTATED AND BALANCED AT DIFFERENT BUSINESS AND STILL HAVE SAME ISSUE. DEALERSHIP SAYS EVERYTHING IS FINE. DID A TEST DRIVE WITH THEM AND IT SHOOK AND STILL SAID EVERYTHING WAS FINE. *TR

SINCE LATE JUNE OF 2012, MY TRD FJ CRUISER HAS HAD SERIOUS STEERING WHEEL SHAKE AT ABOUT 62 MILES AN HOUR. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THE STEERING WHEEL VIBRATES SLIGHTLY BETWEEN 55-60 AND 65-70 BUT EXPERIENCES PEAK SHAKE AT ABOUT 62 EXACTLY. THE SHAKE IN THE STEERING IS INCREDIBLY VIGOROUS AND MAKES ME CONCERNED FOR THE SAFETY OF THE VEHICLE. I HAVE SPOKEN WITH MECHANICS AT MY LOCAL TRUCK SHOP AND THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM COULD BE AS THE SUSPENSION IS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY RAISED AND THE WHEELS ARE IN GOOD SHAPE WITH A RECENT ALIGNMENT. THE STEERING ALSO THE STEERING LISTS TO THE RIGHT NOTICEABLY WHEN AT IT'S FULL VIBRATION SPEED (62 MPH). *TR

STEERING SHAKES AT SPEEDS AT AND ABOVE 35 MPH, I HAD THE DEALER LOOK AT IT AND THEY SAY IT IS OKAY. IT HAS PRETTY MUCH BEEN THERE FOR THE PAST YEAR, I HAD A 93 LAND CRUISER WITH 253000 MILES THAT DID NOT HAVE STEERING WHEEL SHAKE LIKE THE FJ DOES. *TR

I CURRENTLY OWN A 2007 TOYOTA FJ CRUISER AND HAVE EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS WITH THE ABS BRAKING SYSTEM. AS OF YET IT HAS NOT CAUSED AN ACCIDENT IN MY VEHICLE, BUT SOONER OR LATER SOMEONE WILL BE KILLED IF THIS PROBLEM IS NOT CORRECTED. WHEN COMING TO A STOP AND APPLYING THE BRAKES IF YOU SHOULD HAPPEN TO HIT A RUT IN THE ROAD YOU SEEM TO LOOSE YOUR ABS AND THE VEHICLE BEGINS TO ACT VERY ERRATIC UNTIL YOU COME TO A COMPLETE STOP, ALMOST TO THE POINT OF LOSING CONTROL OF THE STEERING. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO MY VEHICLE AT LEAST A DOZEN OR MORE TIMES IN THE 2 1/2 YEARS I'VE OWNED IT. *TR

I HAVE A 2007 TOYOTA FJ. THE STEERING SEEMS TERRIBLY WEAK AND UNPREDICTABLE. IT DRIVES LIKE A VEHICLE THAT HAS TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MILES ON IT, BUT THE STEERING HAS BEEN LIKE THIS SINCE I PURCHASED IT. I'VE HAD THE WHEELS ALIGNED THREE TIMES, BUT THE PROBLEM CONTINUES. TOYOTA SAYS THE THERE IS NO ISSUE BUT THAT THE STEERING ON THIS STYLE VEHICLE IS JUST SENSITIVE. WHILE I REALLY ENJOY THE VEHICLE, I'M ALWAYS ON FULL ALERT WHEN DRIVING KNOWING THAT AT ANY GIVEN TIME, THE STEERING MAY SUDDENLY TAKE THE VEHICLE LEFT OR RIGHT WITH NO PREDICTABILITY. I'VE DRIVEN A LARGE NUMBER OF SUVS AND PICKUP TRUCKS. I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED A NEWER VEHICLE THAT REQUIRES SO MUCH ATTENTION TO THE STEERING. IT MAY GO LEFT OR RIGHT WHEN THE ROADWAY SURFACE CHANGES, WHEN ENCOUNTERING UNEVEN ROADWAY SURFACES, WHEN TRANSITIONING FROM WET TO DRY OR ICE TO CLEAR PAVEMENT, OR FOR SEEMINGLY NO REASON AT ALL. OFTEN I FIND MYSELF ACTUALLY COUNTER STEERING (INPUTTING OPPOSITE TENSION ON THE WHEEL) TO KEEP THE VEHICLE FROM GOING LEAVING THE LANE I'M TRAVELING IN. IT IS VERY UNPREDICTABLE WHILE CHANGING LANES. AS I BEGIN A SLOW MOVE TO AN ADJACENT LANE, THE STEERING MAY SUDDENLY JUST PULL ME OVER TO WHICH I THEN HAVE TO COUNTER STEER TO KEEP FROM GOING TOO FAR. *TR

WHILE DRIVING IN A STRAIGHT LINE AT ABOUT 35 MPH I EXPERIENCE SUDDEN APPLICATION OF THE RIGHT FRONT BRAKE AND THE SKID INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON. THE APPLICATION OF THE BRAKE CAUSED ME THE SWERVE TO THE RIGHT. HAD I BEEN AT HIGHWAY SPEED I SUSPECT THAT THE FJ WOULD HAVE ROLLED. *TR

2007 TOYOTA CRUISER TRD - TIE ROD BROKE. I WAS BACKING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY AND TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL WAS DIFFICULT. I GOT OUT AND LOOKED AT THE VEHICLE. ONE TIRE WAS POINTED ONE WAY AND ONE THE OTHER. THERE WEREN'T ANY EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE. SHORTLY BEFORE THE TIE ROD BROKE, STEERING FELT AS IF I WAS ON ICE FOR A FEW SHORT MOMENTS. FORTUNATELY, I WASN'T DRIVING THE VEHICLE WHEN THE TIE ROD BROKE. VEHICLE WAS UNDRIVEABLE AND TOWED TO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IN EDMONDS, WA. THE TIE ROD WAS REPLACED BY TOYOTA. DEALERSHIP HAD NO INFORMATION AS TO HOW IT COULD HAVE HAPPENED. NO REASON WAS GIVEN. CAR WAS 2 WEEKS OUT OF WARRANTY AND DEALERSHIP WASN'T GOING TO COVER THIS SAFETY ISSUE. AFTER APPLYING SOME PRESSURE, THEY DID HANDLE THE PROBLEM. *TR