Toyota FJ Cruiser Years to Avoid — and the Years to Buy
Every Toyota FJ Cruiser model year from 2006 to 2014, benchmarked against each other with 1,219 federal complaints, 19 recall campaigns, and the odometer readings owners put in their reports.
Avoid: 2007. These years top the FJ Cruiser's complaint rankings by volume and severity.
Safer bets: 2010–2014 — the quietest years with at least four years on the road.
The method in one line: every NHTSA complaint for this model is counted, weighted for crashes, fires, injuries, and deaths, and each year is measured against the FJ Cruiser's own worst year — full methodology.
The trouble strip
One cell per model year. The whole answer in one glance — click any year for the full report.
The defining problem
Body & structure tops the Toyota FJ Cruiser file with 340 complaints, concentrated in the 2007 model years, most often reported around 52,000 miles. The year pages break down what fails and when.
Every year, ranked
| Year | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | Top problem | Trouble index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Better year | 37 | 5 | Body & structure | 4 |
| 2013 | Better year | 34 | 4 | Body & structure | 4 |
| 2012 | Better year | 50 | 5 | Body & structure | 7 |
| 2011 | Better year | 38 | 7 | — | 5 |
| 2010 | Better year | 92 | 12 | Brakes & stability | 12 |
| 2009 | Few reports | 15 | 12 | — | 2 |
| 2008 | Typical | 166 | 11 | Body & structure | 22 |
| 2007 | Avoid | 786 | 9 | Body & structure | 100 |
| 2006 | Few reports | 1 | 0 | — | 0 |
Technical service bulletins
Beyond complaints and recalls, 1,569 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, service campaigns, warranty extensions — are on file for the Toyota FJ Cruiser. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
Browse the Toyota FJ Cruiser TSB list by year →
Questions buyers ask
What Toyota FJ Cruiser years should I avoid?
Federal complaint records point to 2007 as the Toyota FJ Cruiser years to avoid — they drew the highest volume of serious complaints relative to the model's other years.
What is the most common Toyota FJ Cruiser problem?
Body & structure tops the Toyota FJ Cruiser file with 340 complaints, concentrated in the 2007 model years, most often reported around 52,000 miles.
What are the best Toyota FJ Cruiser years to buy used?
The quietest Toyota FJ Cruiser years in federal records are 2010–2014 — each with at least four years on the road and well-below-average complaint volume for this model.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Counts cover the Toyota FJ Cruiser only, scored against this model's own worst year — not against other models. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.