2007 Toyota Fj Cruiser Body & structure Problems

Took FJ in for an inspection and was informed the frame was rusted to the point it could not pass inspection.

NHTSA ID

11746560

Incident

Jun 25, 2026

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser. The contact stated that while her son was attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic; however, no cause for the failure was found. The independent mechanic informed the contact that the undercarriage and subframe were severely corroded. The contact was informed that the vehicle should not be driven because the wheels might detach from the vehicle. The vehicle remained with the dealer unrepaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 185,000.

NHTSA ID

11689262

Incident

Sep 2, 2025

Mileage

185,000 mi

Frame and undercarriage have excessive wear for age of vehicle despite normal maintenance and care. Rust and corrosion has made the vehicle unsafe to drive.

NHTSA ID

11671174

Incident

Jan 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser. The contact stated that after it had rained, the front driver's side seat belt was wet, even though the windows were rolled up and the doors were closed securely. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 00707 (Structure); however, the vehicle was not included in the TSB. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

NHTSA ID

11642157

Incident

Jan 1, 2016

Mileage

90,000 mi

-Toyota recalled the vehicles using the same/similar frame has the same rusty issues, like Tacoma. This recalled made me pay attention on this issue and I found the my FJ cruiser is no longer 100% safe while driving. -The frame of the body is very rusty after years which is not normal. I believe most owners of this model having the same issue. There are rust everywhere under the body, when change some parts, it was really hard to do so, need the fire gun to burn all the screws. And the exhaust system all rusty and leaked as well, cost me a lot of money to fix. -The frame may broken anytime while driving which is risky to me and my passengers. -No dealers would like to fix that frame for me unless to pay a huge amount of Labour costs, which is higher than the value of the car. -it has been inspected by more than 5 car specialists and body shop workers, saying that frame is dying and won’t last for long, maybe will completely broken in a few years. -There is no issues on mechanics, just the under body rust. It happened a lot of years maybe 5-7 years before. -I’m from Canada.

NHTSA ID

11612569

Incident

Mar 1, 2024

My fj cruiser has terrible rust on the frame. It literally looks like it was stored in the ocean for 50 years. This vehicle is from 2007 and should not have this much rust.

NHTSA ID

11581956

Incident

Apr 9, 2024

I own a 2007 FJ Cruiser with very low mileage (below 80,000). It has a terrible carriage rust problem. I thought I'd had it remediated, finally, after endlessly searching for someone to address it. Dry ice treatment and undercoating were applied recently. I replaced the wheels and tires, as well. All seemed well and it passed inspection. But, then the power steering started stiffening. So I had that attended to. The mechanic then told me the rack and pinion and a plethora of other issues were happening due to rust and corrosion - at an additional $$$$$$ cost. So far, this summer, I have spent close to $5,000 to resurrect this vehicle. I can't afford to invest anymore or justify doing so. I am looking to sell. But first I am investigating the FJ class-action against Toyota. I understand this class-action was denied in part last year in California. I plan to check any legal status that might still exist. My hope is that Toyota will acknowledge the problem with the FJs, recall and FIX the problem or at least reimburse me all my repair/remediation expenses. I know they won't do anything unless there is a lot of pressure and outcry to do so. Although, my FJ spent the first 16 years of its life in NJ (which many claim is the cause and of course is plausible - I don't disagree but not to this degree), it was not driven that much, garaged and well cared for. I did not really notice the rust issue until January 2021 when I took it to the local Toyota dealership. I think I was taking it there for an oil change. They were surprised that I'd driven it there because the brakes were so bad. I had it towed home and spent the next many months searching for someone to fix it. No one wanted to touch it until this summer 2023. The gentleman who dry iced and coated informed me about the lawsuit. I never received any kind of notice (thus far) from Toyota about any recall. So now I am garnering information and investigating the best I can. My FJ looks brand new except for frame corro

NHTSA ID

11546647

Incident

Jan 6, 2021

Frame rust prematurely affecting integrity of the rear lower control arm mounts. Back half of frame almost completely rusted through requiring a full frame replacement.

NHTSA ID

11531473

Incident

Jul 10, 2023

the frame and associated components are severly corroded putting the vehicle in danger of the back axel detaching . i was informed of this by a repair shop who were concerned of the safety of operating vehicle. there is some type of coverage for related vehicles but not for this model. i think this is the same platform which was recalled under a truck model. toyota refuses any coverage or help for this problem. the vehicle has 70k miles but is unsafe to operate. photos are available. although the top of the vehicle is what you would expect with 70k miles, it is unsafe to operate because the back axel could fall off at any time

NHTSA ID

11496411

Incident

Dec 1, 2022

took the vehicle to a toyota dealership which stated the frame is dangerous and rusted very badly. they told me to file a complaint since the delaer was not covered under the lemon law

NHTSA ID

11496354

Incident

Oct 2, 2020

I was planning on trading in my FJ Cruiser, so I took it to our local mechanic to look it over. After he put it on the lift, he showed me that the frame and gas tank straps were rusted out and that it wasn't safe to drive. I took it to another body repair shop and after putting it up on the lift, he said he has never seen a frame so rusted out in his twenty five years of doing body work. I contacted Toyota and they said they would NOT repair the frame.

NHTSA ID

11490732

Incident

Oct 1, 2022

Backing out of my driveway we heard a slight pop and a dragging feel on the right passengers front.( thought I ran over a landscape brick) Stopped and inspected nothing was under the vehicle starting to leave my complex vehicle started to shake some. When I got up to 20 MPH it was obvious I should not drive. Called tow truck. Thought I needed ball joints or something similar. Mechanic said frame was completely rusted out and unfixable. The Toyota FJ cruiser is suppose to be a tough off road SUV which I never used for off road driving They even advertised how tough the frame is in commercials . I see there has been recalls for other Toyota models of SUV and trucks of the same year and their is a class action lawsuit already started I think in California. If I would have continued to the freeway A serious accident would had happened. I contacted Toyota and opened a case # [XXX] which after two communications they closed because there is no recall on the vehicle. The car is in great condition other wise. A frame should last more than 15 years on a truck \SUV designed for off road driving . her are some details of the pending lawsuit: Plaintiffs allege that a manufacturing defect causes excessive rust and corrosion to the frames of 2007-2014 FJ Cruiser vehicles. The suit claims the defect weakens the structure of the vehicle, therefore posing a serious safety threat to vehicle occupants. In some cases, vehicles failed to pass safety inspection and are no longer safe to drive. As a result, owners find themselves stuck with a vehicle that is no longer legally allowed on the roads with a greatly diminished resale value. Toyota Activity Marketed the FJ Cruiser with Special “Electrocoat Deposition” Rust Protection Coating Despite Toyota’s marketing highlighting the “Electrocoat Deposition” protective coating, plaintiff’s claim FJ Cruiser frames prematurely rust and corrode at an accelerated rate. The suit states Toyota had been aware of the frame defect, but fail INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFOR

NHTSA ID

11489377

Incident

Oct 8, 2022

Toyota used interior metal to make the frame and it has rusted to the point the whole frame needs to replaced.

NHTSA ID

11483755

Incident

Sep 7, 2022

Frame rust has become a major safety issue even though we do rust prevention twice a year.

NHTSA ID

11483751

Incident

Sep 9, 2022

Massive amounts of rust underneath the car on the frame and pretty much everything is affected around it. Concerned for my families safety…Toyota needs to address this immediately!!!

NHTSA ID

11472892

Incident

Jul 8, 2022

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser. The contact stated while having the vehicle routinely serviced, the mechanic observed that the subframe showed severe corrosion. The contact had taken the vehicle to another independent mechanic and had the subframe inspected. The contact was informed that the subframe was dangerously corroded and perforated and that the vehicle should not be driven. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

NHTSA ID

11472360

Incident

Feb 5, 2022

Mileage

160,000 mi

I purchased this vehicle used in April 2022. It was not driven much until June 2022 because the car was purchased for our son, who attends school at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The goal was to get him a car before his 3 week summer break and he and his sister and his best friend would drive it out to Colorado for him to use throughout his last two years. Their trip began on June 16, 2022, leaving central Ohio. We started getting texts from our daughter about loud noises the car was making while she was sitting in the back seat. Then we started getting texts from our son about noises by the rear tire. We had him check the tires for proper inflation or for any damage. None was reported. My daughter complained about the handling of the vehicle when she was driving. Saying it was not easy to control when going 70 through the plains of the US. They were very pleased to arrive in one piece out in Colorado. My son started to think it was a suspension issue because of the way it handled going over bumpy roads. He took it to a dealer and the dealer took video of the frame, and the black goo used to try and cover the holes and cracks in the frame. $21,000 was their estimate to put a brand new frame on the vehicle. This is a known defect with this vehicle. We should not have to pay for such poor manufacturing.

NHTSA ID

11472095

Incident

Jun 16, 2022

The vehicles frame and other underbody components have rusted extremely badly. The fuel tank straps broke due to rust, the radiator splash guard fell off while driving due to being very rusty, exhaust clamps have also broken due to rust.

NHTSA ID

11469963

Incident

May 31, 2020

While working on car notice extreme rust and broken frame welds

NHTSA ID

11464647

Incident

May 14, 2022

Heavy rust continues to occur and rot frame from seemingly within the frame. Terrible build quality. I have spent thousands keeping this car alive. Plenty of 07-era cars on the road with not this much rust and I clean my CAR!

NHTSA ID

11462160

Incident

Apr 25, 2022

The SUV frame rails are prematurely rusted completely through from within the frame rails at a minimum of four know locations while other areas of the frame still appears solid (a further deeper inspection will be performed and repairs will be made after documenting the rust failures). We were at risk of the frame rail failing completely under load due to the size/length of rusted our areas which measure up to 12-inches or so, which would lead to loss of control of the vehicle while driving. The vehicle is home in my driveway for repairs of the clutch system (after failure on the roadway at 65mph) when rusted areas were observed April 2022. The dealer performed a recall for an unrelated part on the vehicle in April 2020 along with performing an oil change, however the dealer did not report an issue to me at that time.

NHTSA ID

11461415

Incident

Apr 17, 2022

Major frame issues due to poor quality steel.

NHTSA ID

11459912

Incident

Apr 6, 2022

Possible structural frame rust. Just like every other FJ cruiser Toyota has built. I’m making this complaint in hopes that the NHTSA will force Toyota to recall FJ cruiser frames due to the amount of FJ cruisers that have the same frame rust issue.

NHTSA ID

11459341

Incident

Apr 2, 2022

Frame ha rusted to the point of failure after only 14 years.

NHTSA ID

11443407

Incident

Sep 10, 2021

FJ Cruiser in Tennessee Was filling up gas tank and heard a noise under the car. I looked and noticed that the back of the gas tank was hanging down. After I got it home, I discovered that the rear fuel strap had broken due to rust. The front fuel strap was also extremely rusted and probably would have failed also

NHTSA ID

11435597

Incident

Sep 24, 2021