I'm in need of some help from the fj guys here. I currently drive a regular cab tacoma 4x4 and I like the fact that it's been reliable and does pretty well offroad wise. When I bought this truck my wife agreed that it would be a good truck for us since it's just me and her and we weren't going to have kids for a few years. Well that's changed. Now she wants a baby within the next year and since my truck has only 2 seats we woul be stuck driving her ford escape everywhere. I figure if I have to get another vehicle before we start a family, I might as well get something I've been wanting. Looking back to when I bought this truck I wanted an fj but couldn't find any locally and I should have just expanded my search area.

I understand that the back seat is limited space wise, but since this will be my vehicle there won't be passengers a majority of the time. What I'm mainly worried about are the small things that get annoying over time like the tacomas have. Us tacoma owners have to deal with axle wrap, front end vibrations, squeaky suspension, and shitty leaf springs. What will I have to look forward to with an fj? From what I've read most owners are very happy with them and haven't heard of too much. I already know about the visibility issues and the cracking fenders. Are the bad fenders only on the 2007 models? That's what I seem to recall. I also remember hearing about steering wheel shake. What's this about?

Another issue I'm having is deciding which route to take. We want to have 3 vehicles total. This way if something happen we'll have a backup. I figure within the next year I can save up somewheres around 10k and sell some land to add some more money to that. I figure I could have enough to buy an older model with higher miles and pay cash. If i do this the fj will be our third vehicle and I'll trade my tacoma in for a newer crew cab truck of some sort. Would you have a problem buying say a 2009 with 115k miles on it if it was only to be driven every so often? Mainly fishing and hunting trips or trips to the beach and if we need a backup for some reason. Would you rather have a newer fj to drive daily and an older crew cab truck as a backup?

My own mind is full of fuck over all of this. The tacoma is the first vehicle I've ever financed and I don't want to be upside down on it either. In the end, I have a year or so to decide on what to do and to save up money.

May I suggest you also take a look at the 4-door Jeep Wranglers?  

I have one and the back seat has more than enough room for the child's seat and the trunk for all the stuff that goes with the babies.  

Let alone that you also have a very capable offroad vehicle.

They're on my short list. The only problems are they're priced higher and the issues I've read about have me second guessing them. The ones in my price range are all older 3.8s and high mileage.

I also need to clear this up before this turns into a wrangler vs fj thread. I do more overland type of off-roading rather than crawling. There aren't many places locally to even go offroad. The majority of the time I'm offroad is just getting to local fishing holes or driving around our land checking feeders and stuff. The occasional beach trip also gets thrown in. I'd honestly rather have the fj over the wrangler due to the fact that most of the driving will be on the highway unless it's an older one that is just a weekend cruiser. Plus I just seem to like the fj more.

You can build the Wrangler for overlanding.  Actually, it's what I've been doing since I'm not into crawling and my Wrangler is my DD.

As for the used vs. new I agree.  I got mine in early 2011 and it's a 2007 model.  They are indeed overpriced when new but you can find used ones for very good prices.   I got mine at the Jeep dealer fully revised.  

I also looked at the FJs at the time but since I like to tinker with my cars myself and the Jeep has a ton more of aftermarket parts I opted for it.    The FJ's interior is also tighter and that influenced because of the baby.

Apparently Toyota is (or already did) discontinuing the FJs so the price will likely drop quite a bit.  

My wife and I were looking for a new vehicle for her a while ago. We narrowed it down to the FJ and Wrangler JKU. After test driving and climbing in and out of a bunch of each, we ended-up with the 4-door Wrangler. It has a ton more room inside, the back seats fold FLAT, it has "good enough" power (the FJ edges it out, but I bought a Flashpaq for the JKU that evened up the power gap a bit) and it handles just fine on the road (FJ might be a bit more "refined").



And the top comes off!



I'm not trying to turn this into an FJ vs. JKU debate. I'm just saying, look into both before you make your choice. We did, and we liked them both. We just found that the JKU fit our needs better.

You'll still get that feeling like someone bumped into you when letting off the brake from a stop, if you fail to grease the slip yoke regularly, but nothing like with leaf springs. They use the exact same front suspension components. Front end vibes are 99.9% caused by poor balancing. All of the 6 lug Toyota truck wheels are 106.1mm bore, which most shops don't have a cone that fits worth a damn, so getting a proper balance can be hit and mostly miss.

2010+ gets you dual VVTI motor with a little more HP, but no available super charger option, and from the latest update from TRD, sounds like its never going to be released. You also get a stronger rear diff and some frame reinforcements.

FWIW you may be better served getting a beater car to last you a few years.  You won't be able to take kiddo off roading for a while till their neck gets stronger and they're in a forwards facing seat, and not to mention the time suck that kids are.  

We're still going to go places even without a child. My parents are so hard up for a grandchild we'll have a babysitter for life.

2007 FJ owner here. If you find an FJ you like, have someone knowledgable about FJ's look it over. I have 178k on mine and am still on the original clutch and rear end. No fender cracks here. I just recently replaced the alternator. My kids were 3 and 8 when we bought it. Now they are 11 and 16 and still fit in the back somewhat. Good luck with your decision.

I have a 2013 FJ that I bought new and has 36k miles on it now.  It's my daily driver and I love it.  Not too big yet not too small.  I have fit some fairly large items in it with the seats down, like a boxed recliner from Costco.  With the seats up there's still decent cargo room.  I'm not much of a "top down" person so a removable top wasn't really on my list of requirements when I bought it.  I prefer the hardtop and like the added security (versus a Jeep softtop) it provides.

My wife & two teen daughters are all 5'5" tall and we all fit in it.  Backseat room isn't luxurious and my kids wouldn't want to sit back there for long trips but they do fit.  I've taken coworkers to lunch in it (a bit more cramped then) but it works in a pinch.

So far it has not given me any trouble.  I do have the steering wheel shake issue though.  I've swapped out four different sets of tires and had them balanced multiple times.  Running Michelin LTX M/S2's have mostly cured the issue for me.  There is a TSB out now for the issue, though it seems more like a bandaid fix and people on the forums have had mixed success with it.  I'd like to run a more aggressive AT tire but in reality the tires I have are probably the wise choice since 99% of my driving is on pavement.

Get two sets of tires.


I have a 32in AT for the daily mall-crawling asphalt commute to work and a 35in MT for the offroad fun.   The offroad thread with the bigger size makes the mileage drop around 3mpg.  

But they make all difference when offroad.  

I love my 2008. I have not had any problems with mine other than those  that have been fixed with a TSB or a recall (driveshaft thunk and seatbelt).

When my daughter was an infant it was a  piece of cake to get the car seat in the back,  We each had a base that stayed in the car and the carrier snapped into the base.   It is still easy to get her into an toddler seat,  but rear seat space suffers because the toddler seat is so big.  The lack of space gets worse when the wife has to go back there to help her eat,  plus it is hard for her to get out from back there.

Jeeps might be fun,  but as a father I'm  more concerned with a good crash rating than driving around with the top off.

I still have my FJ,  but recently bought a new 4Runner, which is suiting our needs better.

we have a 4runner and now an FJ.  Bought the FJ for the wife about a month ago.



If you like your tacoma you will like the FJ.  



Only complaint is backing out of some parking spaces that are at 45 degrees and can't see shit where you are going.  Aside from that it is fantastic.

I don't know exactly which year they started having them but the later years have a backup camera.  My '13 does and it's very helpful.

I can only imagine.  I am going to upgrade her stereo and add one for sure.