2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser Visibility & Wipers Problems

WIDOW WIPERS MOTOR FAILURE THE MOTOR OR THE ASSEMBLY AND ITS BUSHINGS DON'T HAVE PROPER SEALS WHICH ALLOWS WATER INTO DESTROY THE BUSHINGS BY NOT BEINGVABLE TO RETAIN GREASE TO PREVENT PITTING AND RUST WHICH RESULTS IN WINDOW WIPER FAILURE AND A 600DOLLAR COST OF REPLACEMENT OF MOTOR AND ARMATURE ASSEMBLY WHICH IS JUST FOR PARTS AS THERE IS NO AFTER MARKET AND LABOR COULD SEND THIS MISTAKE BY TOYOTA COSTING ABOUT 1000$ WHEN SAID AND DONE THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL AND REDESIGN AND ITS NOT JUST THE FJ MODEL ITS MANY TOYOTA VEHICLES.

I WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY AT 30 MILES PER HOUR, IN A RESIDENTIAL STREET, WHEN SUDDENLY I HEARD A NOISE AND NOTED THAT THE WINDSHIELD DEVELOPED A FIVE INCH CRACK, STARTING FROM THE BOTTOM CENTER GOING UP. A FEW DAYS LATER, THE CRACK MOVED SIGNIFICANTLY, TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT OF THE WINDSHIELD MOVING TO COVER THE ENTIRE WINDSHIELD. THERE WAS NO PRIOR DAMAGE TO THE WINDSHIELD, THE VEHICLE HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT AND IT HAS NEVER BEEN TAKEN OFF ROAD. THE CRACK SEEMS TO HAVE DEVELOPED DUE TO PRESSURE STRESS- A DEFECT FROM MANUFACTURING. THERE ARE NUMEROUS OTHER REPORTS FROM OTHER OWNERS OF THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE WITH SIMILAR REPORTS, OFTEN TIMES, EVEN AFTER HAVING THE WINDSHIELD REPLACED. THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN AND MANUFACTURING ERROR.

DUE TO THE STEEP VERTICAL ANGLE OF THE WINDSHIELD AND THE PLACEMENT OF THE DEFROSTER VENT SEVERAL INCHES BACK FROM THE WINDSHIELD, THE WINDSHIELD CANNOT BE KEPT CLEAR BY THE DEFROSTER. THE AIRSTREAM FROM THE DEFROSTER DOES NOT HIT THE LOWER 1/3 OF THE WINDSHIELD AND THE LEFT HAND DRIVER SIDE AND NO AMOUNT OF AIR EVEN AT MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE WILL KEEP THE WINDSHIELD FROM ICING OVER. THE WIPER BLADES BECOME ENCRUSTED WITH ICE AND FAIL TO KEEP THE WINDSHIELD CLEARED. IN EVEN A MODEST SNOWSTORM, VISIBILITY QUICKLY DROPS TO NEARLY ZERO. MY WIFE NEARLY WRECKED THE VEHICLE BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. IN ADDITION, DUE TO THE LARGE THERMAL GRADIENT ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD CAUSED BY THIS ISSUE, THE WINDSHIELD CRACKS IN A HORIZONTAL LINE EXTENDING ACROSS NEARLY THE ENTIRE WINDSHIELD AT THE LOCATION OF THE DEFROSTER AIRSTREAM CONTACT. THIS PHENOMENON HAS HAPPENED 2 TIMES! I HAVE TALKED TO MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER SEVERAL TIMES AND THEY ARE IN COMPLETE DENIAL ABOUT THE ISSUE AND CLAIM "EVERYTHING IS WORKING AS DESIGNED". THIS IS A FATAL PROBLEM AS THE VEHICLE CANNOT BE DRIVEN IN A SNOWSTORM AND I WOULD NOT BE THE SLIGHTEST BIT SURPRISED IF THERE HAVE BEEN ACCIDENTS BECAUSE OF IT. USING FMEA (FAILURE MODE EFFECTS ANALYSIS) I WOULD RATE THE PROBABILITY OF THIS FAILURE OCCURRING TO BE A 1 (GUARANTEED TO HAPPEN) AND EFFECTS ARE CATASTROPHIC (LOSS OF OPERABILITY). *TR

I OWN TWO 2007 TOYOTA FJ CRUISERS, AND BOTH OF THE WINDSHIELDS HAVE CRACKED. I'VE LOOKED UP ON SEVERAL FORUMS, BLOGS, ETC..., IN REGARDS TO THIS PROBLEM AND IT SEEM THAT MANY OTHER TOYOTA FJ CRUISER OWNERS ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM. I BELIEVE THE DESIGN AND THE QUALITY OF THE WINDSHIELDS THEY INSTALLED ON THESE VEHICLES ARE SUB STANDARD AND HINDER THE SAFETY OF THESE VEHICLES IN AN ACCIDENTAL ROLLOVER. TOYOTA FAILS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS PROBLEM AND BLAMES ROAD DEBRIS FOR THIS PROBLEM. I WOULD LIKE FOR AN INVESTIGATION TO BE OPEN SO THE CAN DETERMINE THE INTEGRITY OF THE WINDSHIELD, AND HOPEFULLY A RECALL WILL BE ORDERED TO REPLACE THESE DEFECTIVE WINDSHIELDS. *TR

ROAD DEBRIS DURING NORMAL COMMUTE HIGHWAY DRIVING HAS RESULTED IN MULTIPLE HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL CRACKS IN THE WINDSHIELD. I HAVE REPLACED THE WINDSHIELD TWICE AND THE WINDSHIELD RECENTLY CRACKED AGAIN. MY COMPANY OWNS SIX 2007 FJ CRUISERS AND FOUR OF THE VEHICLES WINDOWS CRACKED WITHIN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF OPERATION. PREVIOUS TO THE FJ CRUISER, I COMMUTED ALONG THE SAME ROUTE IN ANOTHER VEHICLE FOR FOUR YEARS AND DID NOT SUSTAIN DAMAGE TO THE WINDSHIELD. *TR

TOYOTA FJ CRUISER WINDSHIELD CRACKS AND CHIPS EASILY. WE'VE HAD OUR FJ FOR TWO YEARS AND ARE ON OUR 4TH WINDSHIELD. THE SMALLEST BIT OF DEBRIS CREATES A CHIP AND SOMETIMES IT SEEMS TO BEGIN TO CRACK AT THE DRIVERS SIDE FOR NO REASON. DEALER OFFERS NO SOLUTION EXCEPT TO CHARGE $500 A POP TO REPLACE THE WINDSHIELD. THIS SEEMS TO BE A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM AS IT IS MENTIONED ON NUMEROUS WEB BLOGS AND FORUMS. INCIDENT DATE BELOW IS ARBITRARY AS WE'VE BEEN DRIVING WITH A CRACKED WINDSHIELD FOR QUITE A WHILE B/C WE SIMPLY CAN'T AFFORD TO REPLACE YET ANOTHER WINDSHIELD AT THIS TIME.*TR

A HAIRLINE FRACTURE BEGAN GROWING FROM A CENTRAL MID-POINT AT THE BOTTOM EDGE OF THE WINDSHIELD RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES AS I WAS DRIVING. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO ROAD DEBRIS THAT HIT MY WINDSHIELD THAT MADE THIS OCCUR, NOR HAVE I EVER TAKEN THE VEHICLE OFF-ROADING. FROM THE CENTRAL POINT THE CRACK GREW OVER THE COURSE OF 10 SECONDS IN BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT DIRECTIONS UNTIL ENDING AT THE LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES OF THE WINDSHIELD. I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS WOULD HAPPEN. I BELONG TO AN FJ CRUISER ENTHUSIAST WEBSITE FJCRUISERFORUMS.COM AND 33% OF 2007 OWNERS REPORT HAVING HAD/HAVE A CRACKED WINDSHIELD. NOW THAT I AM PART OF THAT GROWING PERCENTAGE, I'M NOT HAPPY THAT THERE IS NO TECHNICAL BULLETIN BY TOYOTA ABOUT THIS. NHTSA, YOU NEED TO GET INVOLVED. MANY OWNERS ALSO REPORT THE PROBLEM HAPPENING AGAIN SOON AFTER GETTING THE WINDSHIELD REPLACED. WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN TO GET A RECALL DONE HERE? A VEHICLE BUILT FOR RUGGED OFF-ROADING SHOULD BE ABLE TO NOT HAVE A PAPER-THIN WINDSHIELD AND NOT CRACK FOR ANY APPARENT REASON WHEN DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY. THIS IS NOT COSMETIC DAMAGE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND NEEDS TO HAVE A RECALL ISSUE BEFORE SOME POOR SOUL GOES SAILING THROUGH THEIR WINDSHIELD BECAUSE IT HAS A DESIGN FLAW. *TR

THE WINDSHIELD HAS BEEN CRACKED MULTIPLE TIMES BY NORMAL ROAD DEBRIS. *TR

I NOTICED MY WINDSHIELD WAS GETTING "HAZED" OVER WITH A SANDBLASTED LOOK WITHIN THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF OWNING MY VEHICLE. THE WINDSHIELD BECAME POKED WITH LITTLE CHIPS FROM ROAD DEBRIS WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR IN ADDITION TO NUMEROUS CRACKS. THE VEHICLE IS NOW 2 YEARS OLD AND THE WINDSHIELD NEEDS REPLACEMENT DUE TO EXTENSIVE CHIPS, POCK, AND CRACKS. *TR

I HAVE A 2007 FJ CRUISER. IT IS ONE YEAR OLD WITH 32,000 MILES ON IT. IN THE FIRST YEAR, MY WINDSHIELD HAS NO LESS THAN EIGHT SEPARATE CRACKS FROM ROAD DEBRIS. PREVIOUS TO THIS VEHICLE, I HAD TWO JEEP WRANGLERS FOR EIGHT YEARS AND OVER 100,000 COMBINED MILES. I HAD A TOTAL OF ONE SMALL CRACK WITH MY JEEPS, AND THEY SHARED THE SAME VERTICAL WINDSHIELD DESIGN AS THE FJ. VIRTUALLY ANYTHING THAT HITS THE WINDSHIELD RESULTS IN A CHIP AND SMALL CRACK. I AM TERRIBLY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE QUALITY OF THE WINDSHIELD. THE GRILL, HEADLIGHTS, AND AFTER MARKET LIGHTS ON THE FJ HAVE NO SIMILAR DAMAGE. ALL OF MY DRIVING IS CITY AND HIGHWAY. THE CRACKS ARE TO A POINT NOW THAT I HAVE TO REPLACE THE WINDSHIELD. I STOPPED BY MY DEALER AND ASKED THEM ABOUT THE PROBLEM. OF COURSE, THEY SAID THEY WEREN'T AWARE OF ANY ISSUES. BUT, VARIOUS FORUMS AND WEB SITES DISCUSS THE PROBLEM OPENLY. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW TOYOTA'S POSITION REGARDING THIS PROBLEM. I FEEL THAT A HIGHER QUALITY GLASS DESIGN WOULD BLUNT THE EFFECT OF NORMAL ROAD DEBRIS. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN ESTABLISHING THE SPECIFICATIONS OF THE FJ WINDSHIELD. *TR

I HAVE HAD SEVERAL SMALL ROCKS HIT MY FJ'S WINDSHIELD, TWO OF THEM LEAVING A CHIP/CRACK. ONE WAS WHILE DRIVING ON THE EXPRESSWAY, THE OTHER ON MY WAY HOME IN 45 MPH TRAFFIC. AS A RESULT, I NOW HAVE A HUGE CRACK THAT STRETCHES FROM ONE SIDE OF THE WINDOW TO THE OTHER! I HAVE NEVER OWNED A CAR THAT HAD CRACKED GLASS? IT'S OBVIOUS TO ME THERE IS A HUGE DESIGN FLAW WITH THE FJ'S VERTICAL GLASS PLACEMENT. I ALSO BELIEVE THE QUALITY OF GLASS THAT IS BEING USED IS SUB-STANDARD. THE REPLACEMENT COST IS OUTRAGEOUS! I THINK TOYOTA SHOULD BE REPLACING THIS GLASS FREE OF CHARGE. I AM NOW LOOKING TO GET RID OF THIS VEHICLE, BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S JUST GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN. TOO EXPENSIVE TO KEEP REPLACING!! SHAME ON TOYOTA. *TR

I HAVE A NEW 2007 FJ CRUISER AND I HAVE ALREADY HAD TO REPLACE MY FRONT WINDOW DUE TO A SMALL PEBBLE ROCK CHIP THAT HIT IT. IT STARTED OUT AS A SMALL PEBBLE SCRATCH AND GREW INTO AN 8 INCH CRACK WITHIN A 4 MILE RADIUS. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED AT TOYOTA WITH HAVING SO MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. *TR

WINDSHIELD CRACKED FROM POSSIBLE COLD WEATHER CONDITION. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA FJ CRUISER. THE VISORS ON BOTH THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDES ARE TOO SHORT TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE COVERAGE. THE CONTACT HAS NOT SPOKEN TO THE DEALER, BUT HAS FILED A COMPLAINT WITH TOYOTA. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 750 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 15. UPDATED 04-02-08 *BF

2007 FJ CRUISER: SMALL PEBBLE HIT WINDSHIELD WHILE DRIVING AROUND 40 MPH CHIPPING WINDSHIELD. NEXT MORNING FOUND A 2 FOOT CRACK. *TR

NEW 2007 TOYOTA FJ CRUISER, PURCHASE ON 10/26/2007 ON NOV 7TH A TRUCK THREW A ROCK AND IT PUT A 2 1/2" DIAMETER CRACK ON THE PASSENGERS SIDE. TWO WEEKS LATER GOT AN ESTIMATE $268.00 FROM WINDSHIELD DOCTOR/NAPA THE VERY NEXT DAY ANOTHER ROCK CHIP JUST UNDER THE REARVIEW MIRROR. SAID IF IT BREAKS THIS EASY NO USE GETTING A NEW WINDSHIELD, THEN ABOUT 2 WEEKS LATER A ROCK CHIP ON THE DRIVERS SIDE. ON 12/16/07, THE FIRST CRACK SPREAD FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER ACROSS THE LOWER 1/3 OF THE WINDSHIELD. TODAY 12/17 WENT AND GOT ANOTHER ESTIMATE FROM A DIFFERENT SHOP TO SEE IF PRICE WOULD BE LOWER FOR A NEW WINDSHIELD AND ITS $415.00 WITHOUT MY DEDUCT AND $350.00 WITH MY DEDUCTIBLE. THIS IS RIDICULOUS WE HAVE NOT EVEN HAD THE FJ 8 WEEKS AND THE WINDSHIELD HAS BEEN CHIPPED 3 TIMES ALREADY. WHAT A POOR DESIGN BY TOYOTA, LOOKING AT SOME OF THE FJ WEB FORUMS - THIS IS A VERY COMMON COMPLAINT AMONG FJ OWNERS!!! WILL TOYOTA HELP WITH COST OF NEW WINDSHIELD? THE TRUCK IS NOT EVEN 2 MONTHS OLD YET!! *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA FJ CRUISER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE WINDSHIELD BEGAN CRACKING AND SPREAD UNTIL IT COVERED THE ENTIRE WINDSHIELD. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE CRACKS WERE PROBABLY CAUSED BY ROAD DEBRIS. THE DEALER REFUSED TO COVER THE REPAIR COST BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. THE CONTACT HAD THE WINDSHIELD REPAIRED AND FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE MANUFACTURER. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 1,000.

WINDSHIELD CONTINUALLY CRACKS. *TR

INNER FENDER STRUCTURE IS BULGING, STARTED ON PASSENGER SIDE ABOUT OCT 15TH & ON DRIVERS SIDE ABOUT TWO WEEKS LATER. THIS IS A WELL KNOW PROBLEM AMONG INFORMED FJ CRUISER OWNERS. ALSO SOME OF THE ONES TOYOTA HAS REPAIRED & UPGRADED ARE ALSO FAILING. ALSO POOR QUALITY WINDSHIELD THAT WAS PITTED & CHIPPED WITHIN A FEW WEEKS OF PURCHASE. *TR

I PURCHASED A 2007 TOYOTA FJ CRUISER IN SEPTEMBER 2007. THE FIRST WEEK I HAD THE VEHICLE I WAS TRAVELING THROUGH TOWN AT 45MPH WHEN A VERY SMALL ROCK STRUCK THE WINDSHIELD CAUSING A HOLE IN THE WINDSHIELD. THE NEXT DAY THE HOLD SPLINTERED ACROSS THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE WINDSHIELD. I HAVE NOW OWNED THE VEHICLE FOR ONE YEAR AND I HAVE ONE DOZEN ROCK CHIPS IN THE WINDSHIELD. MY DRIVING HABITS ARE ORDINARY CITY DRIVING. EACH OF THE CHIPS WAS CAUSED BY VERY SMALL ROCKS AT SLOW SPEEDS. MOST INSTANTLY SPLINTER OUT FROM THE ORIGINAL CHIP. THE MATERIAL OR DESIGN OF THE WINDSHIELD IS CLEARLY SUBSTANDARD. THE REPLACEMENT COST IS OUTRAGEOUS. *TR