Posted: 1/28/2009 6:35:05 AM EDT
Had to go to the Doc this morning. Took the new Cruiser for a brief snow run in our fresh fallen snow.
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Just picked up the new brochure on the FJ. Not one word about snow in it. AAR report? Not really sure what you are asking. As far as an AAR, the truck, it continues to impress with its capability. Not a huge fan of the VSC, but apparently there is a hack to disable it. It is a VERY effective form of Vehicle Stability Control, in that it mitigates any skidding, but it kind of makes it hard to do doughnuts. When you engage 4x, it disables it but of course then you have a lot more traction. You can still get it to do doughnuts, but not as easily. I tried to get it stuck by stopping on some pretty steep hills in 6" of snow and ice, but when you lock it in 4 lo and engage the rear locker it just crawls up the hills. Even with A trac disengaged. The truck is capable. I am researching the various adjustable suspensions now. I am likely going with the ICON system. It is a true improvement over the (already good) factory suspension. Adjustable between 0-3" of lift. That way I only have to lift just enough to clear some 285's. And if I ever add a heavy front bumper and winch, I can compensate for the extra weight. |
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My Rubicon has turned out to be a giant POS and I've decided that my next vehicle is going to be either a Tacoma or an FJ. Not UAW made too, which is a plus for me.
Care to share any other impressions of the vehicle? Quality of build, likely mechanical issues, MPG, etc? -K |
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My Rubicon has turned out to be a giant POS and I've decided that my next vehicle is going to be either a Tacoma or an FJ. Not UAW made too, which is a plus for me. Care to share any other impressions of the vehicle? Quality of build, likely mechanical issues, MPG, etc? -K Non UAW was a factor for me as well. The FJ is overall great. Mine still isnt broken in, but with mixed driving, and a bit of playing, I am getting an honest and accurate average of around 18/18.5 MPG. That is on 87 octane. Havent tried high octane which Toyota recommends if you want to get the advertised 239HP. Quality of build is solid. The interior was designed to get dirty. They did not use high end plastic, and it had been reported to scratch easily. I havent noticed it, but others have. That is a fair compromise for me though. This is a TON of vehicle for the money. Mine is pretty well loaded, and I got out the door for 23.5K. That does not include tax as MO is not a TT&L state. As far as mechanical issues, when I got mine, I had a Tire Pressure Monitoring System light staying on. Not sure what is up with it, as I am waiting to take it in for a bit to see if anything else pops up. Power is excellent, street manners are excellent, economy is good considering the power and capability of the vehicle. Some make a bigger deal than is warranted about the huge C pillars causing large blind spots. They are there, but after about 1 day driving, I had gotten used to them. I did add some convex mirrors to help, but they werent really necessary. If you can use mirrors, the blind spots are zero issue. If you cant, you really shouldnt be driving. On some of the early models (pre-mid 08) there have been some issues of the inner fenders tearing due to frame issues. As is typical, they have been over blown on the internet, but it has happened. Appears to be corrected now. Overall, this is the best vehicle I have ever owned thus far. Absolutely love it. Exactly what I wanted. A VERY capable vehicle with great street manners. Love the looks and the way it drives. Planning on adding an adjustable suspension and some 285's. Possible a winch bumper and a Warn 8274 than heading out to MOAB this summer. |
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I don't think I could drive one of them. Just don't like the look. At all. It is subjective, obviously. I have always loved the original FJ-40's, but they are not very practical though. When the FJC was first released in 06, I immediately loved the look. Just like the concept vehicle. They are one of the best looking vehicles available IMO. But again, one cant get more subjective than the looks of something. |
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My Rubicon has turned out to be a giant POS and I've decided that my next vehicle is going to be either a Tacoma or an FJ. Not UAW made too, which is a plus for me. Care to share any other impressions of the vehicle? Quality of build, likely mechanical issues, MPG, etc? -K could you elaborate (year and problem/s)? |
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What's the gain (besides looks) over the 4Runner? They're neato mosquito to look at certainly  Not sure exactly how the 4 runner is equipped. The FJ can be had with a selectable rear locker and A Trac in the front. A-Trac makes an attempt to give the benefits of a front locker without the drawbacks. It is not as effective as a true locker, but is quite effective. It tricks the front axle into applying the torque to the wheel with traction as opposed to the wheel without traction, which is what happens in a standard open front axle. It does this by applying brake to the wheel that is spinning, which diverts torque to the wheel with traction. Works very well. |
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My Cruiser rocks in the snow 6 speed manual full time 4X4 and a factory rear locker. I like it... What kind of MPG have you been setting with the AWD system of the manual? I get about what the sticker says 19MPG on the highway @ about 70 MPH and about 16MPG in traffic. If I'm on the back roads without a lot of stop signs and traffic lights I can cruise in 6th gear @ 40 MPH and get about 20 MPG that way. |
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My Cruiser rocks in the snow 6 speed manual full time 4X4 and a factory rear locker. I like it... What kind of MPG have you been setting with the AWD system of the manual? I get about what the sticker says 19MPG on the highway @ about 70 MPH and about 16MPG in traffic. If I'm on the back roads without a lot of stop signs and traffic lights I can cruise in 6th gear @ 40 MPH and get about 20 MPG that way. Not bad at all. 18-19mpg is pretty good for a 4x4 of this size with this much power. If they would put a small diesel in the FJC, it would be the perfect truck.
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| Your tire monitor system light is probably on because your spare needs air, at least that was the reason mine was on in my tacoma. Especially with all the temperature changes we have been having. Also my tacoma had all kinds of little warning chimes for the seatbelt not being on and what not. If you go to tacomaworld.com it has a tutorial so you can turn off all those warning lights yourself such as the seatbelt light/oil change light and so forth. I would think the fj has a similar setup to the tacoma for this. Just a guess. |
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My Cruiser rocks in the snow 6 speed manual full time 4X4 and a factory rear locker. I like it... That is what I was looking for. How much snow did you get up there today? It's still snowing like hell here. They say 15" where I'm at by the time we're done. |
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Your tire monitor system light is probably on because your spare needs air, at least that was the reason mine was on in my tacoma. Especially with all the temperature changes we have been having. Also my tacoma had all kinds of little warning chimes for the seatbelt not being on and what not. If you go to tacomaworld.com it has a tutorial so you can turn off all those warning lights yourself such as the seatbelt light/oil change light and so forth. I would think the fj has a similar setup to the tacoma for this. Just a guess. Thanks, but that was the 5th thing I checked.
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You call that snow? That is a dusting dude, I could drive a Harley around in that! We are supposed to get 10-16" today. I may have to go play in my pickup It is about 6", but sometimes I over estimate if you know what I mean
Seriously though, it aint a ton, but it is what I have to work with. Better than what I have been getting in the last 20 years living in TN. I would love a foot, but 6" is good enough for now. |
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My Rubicon has turned out to be a giant POS and I've decided that my next vehicle is going to be either a Tacoma or an FJ. Not UAW made too, which is a plus for me. Care to share any other impressions of the vehicle? Quality of build, likely mechanical issues, MPG, etc? -K could you elaborate (year and problem/s)? It's an '05 Unlimited Rubicon that I bought brand new off the truck. I have been having issues with it literally from day one. This is all off the top of my head and I'm sure i will miss something. I figured I would be in trouble when I found out that it had been painted on a Friday and assembled on a Monday. It came off the truck missing the 'RUBICON' sticker on the right side and the windshield was so badly scratched it had to be replaced. This caused other problems with it leaking etc. I've had alignment issues tearing up the tires. Of course, the dealers printer ate the printup showing the alignment was right on and never screwed up to begin with. 
The larger skid plate that I bought (Jeep part out of the dealers MOPAR catalog) had a design flaw that caused it to bind on the front drive shaft with hard braking. They promised to fix it for me, but I had to do it myself. The Front winch bumper powdercoat began to fail almost immediately letting it rust. The winch (Warn 9.5Ti) stopped working after only 3 uses. That was a saga in itself and when I finally got it back from the repair shop I found that UPS had dropped it breaking the aluminum housing - kaput. I didn't open the box right away, so SOL. 
The internal climate control doors have never worked right and the dealer never could fix it. 
I have had to replace vacuum hoses twice now because they keep failing. This has caused the cruise control to not work, the idle to rapidly swing from very low RPM to very high RPM over and over again the first time, and the second time to just run like shit with no power. There was also a factory recall on the transmission that the dealer refused to acknowledge, even when asked several times directly. Another dealer 45 minutes away fixed it for me. They also sold me accessories with the vehicle that the vehicle already had on it. Partly my fault for thinking I was ordering something that I wasn't, partly their fault from not knowing it would already come on the vehicle and then refuse to take it back. Fog lights had to be replaced as they stopped working. Front U-Joints are already shot and needing to be replaced. I just changed O2 sensors on it, so hopefully the check engine light will stay off and it'll stop running like shit for me. Also the transmission shift lever (automatic) is off and will probably need to be adjusted and the E-brake won't work anymore. The CD deck in the radio stopped functioning and I had to have that replaced. This is off the top of my head. There have been other issues also that I have had to pay to fix as it's out of warranty. The dealer also screwed me in a number of other ways that I mentioned, but that's not the vehicles fault, per se. Overall, buying my first new vehicle has been nothing but a giant disappointment and PITA. I've been planning on getting 200K or 10 years - whichever is first, but now I'm considering just trading it in on either a Taco or an FJ. As for the dealer, I tell everyone I can not to do business there and I know I have steered several people away from them since. -K |
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My Rubicon has turned out to be a giant POS and I've decided that my next vehicle is going to be either a Tacoma or an FJ. Not UAW made too, which is a plus for me. Care to share any other impressions of the vehicle? Quality of build, likely mechanical issues, MPG, etc? -K could you elaborate (year and problem/s)? It's an '05 Unlimited Rubicon that I bought brand new off the truck. I have been having issues with it literally from day one. This is all off the top of my head and I'm sure i will miss something. I figured I would be in trouble when I found out that it had been painted on a Friday and assembled on a Monday. It came off the truck missing the 'RUBICON' sticker on the right side and the windshield was so badly scratched it had to be replaced. This caused other problems with it leaking etc. I've had alignment issues tearing up the tires. Of course, the dealers printer ate the printup showing the alignment was right on and never screwed up to begin with.
The larger skid plate that I bought (Jeep part out of the dealers MOPAR catalog) had a design flaw that caused it to bind on the front drive shaft with hard braking. They promised to fix it for me, but I had to do it myself. The Front winch bumper powdercoat began to fail almost immediately letting it rust. The winch (Warn 9.5Ti) stopped working after only 3 uses. That was a saga in itself and when I finally got it back from the repair shop I found that UPS had dropped it breaking the aluminum housing - kaput. I didn't open the box right away, so SOL.
The internal climate control doors have never worked right and the dealer never could fix it.
I have had to replace vacuum hoses twice now because they keep failing. This has caused the cruise control to not work, the idle to rapidly swing from very low RPM to very high RPM over and over again the first time, and the second time to just run like shit with no power. There was also a factory recall on the transmission that the dealer refused to acknowledge, even when asked several times directly. Another dealer 45 minutes away fixed it for me. They also sold me accessories with the vehicle that the vehicle already had on it. Partly my fault for thinking I was ordering something that I wasn't, partly their fault from not knowing it would already come on the vehicle and then refuse to take it back. Fog lights had to be replaced as they stopped working. Front U-Joints are already shot and needing to be replaced. I just changed O2 sensors on it, so hopefully the check engine light will stay off and it'll stop running like shit for me. Also the transmission shift lever (automatic) is off and will probably need to be adjusted and the E-brake won't work anymore. The CD deck in the radio stopped functioning and I had to have that replaced. This is off the top of my head. There have been other issues also that I have had to pay to fix as it's out of warranty. The dealer also screwed me in a number of other ways that I mentioned, but that's not the vehicles fault, per se. Overall, buying my first new vehicle has been nothing but a giant disappointment and PITA. I've been planning on getting 200K or 10 years - whichever is first, but now I'm considering just trading it in on either a Taco or an FJ. As for the dealer, I tell everyone I can not to do business there and I know I have steered several people away from them since. -K Sheesh. You got a lemon. Jeep doesnt have the greatest reputation, but they are not typically this bad. Hate your dealer didnt step up for you. There are some bad apples from every maker, but that is absurd. |
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My Rubicon has turned out to be a giant POS and I've decided that my next vehicle is going to be either a Tacoma or an FJ. Not UAW made too, which is a plus for me. Care to share any other impressions of the vehicle? Quality of build, likely mechanical issues, MPG, etc? -K could you elaborate (year and problem/s)? It's an '05 Unlimited Rubicon that I bought brand new off the truck. I have been having issues with it literally from day one. This is all off the top of my head and I'm sure i will miss something. I figured I would be in trouble when I found out that it had been painted on a Friday and assembled on a Monday. It came off the truck missing the 'RUBICON' sticker on the right side and the windshield was so badly scratched it had to be replaced. This caused other problems with it leaking etc. I've had alignment issues tearing up the tires. Of course, the dealers printer ate the printup showing the alignment was right on and never screwed up to begin with.
The larger skid plate that I bought (Jeep part out of the dealers MOPAR catalog) had a design flaw that caused it to bind on the front drive shaft with hard braking. They promised to fix it for me, but I had to do it myself. The Front winch bumper powdercoat began to fail almost immediately letting it rust. The winch (Warn 9.5Ti) stopped working after only 3 uses. That was a saga in itself and when I finally got it back from the repair shop I found that UPS had dropped it breaking the aluminum housing - kaput. I didn't open the box right away, so SOL.
The internal climate control doors have never worked right and the dealer never could fix it.
I have had to replace vacuum hoses twice now because they keep failing. This has caused the cruise control to not work, the idle to rapidly swing from very low RPM to very high RPM over and over again the first time, and the second time to just run like shit with no power. There was also a factory recall on the transmission that the dealer refused to acknowledge, even when asked several times directly. Another dealer 45 minutes away fixed it for me. They also sold me accessories with the vehicle that the vehicle already had on it. Partly my fault for thinking I was ordering something that I wasn't, partly their fault from not knowing it would already come on the vehicle and then refuse to take it back. Fog lights had to be replaced as they stopped working. Front U-Joints are already shot and needing to be replaced. I just changed O2 sensors on it, so hopefully the check engine light will stay off and it'll stop running like shit for me. Also the transmission shift lever (automatic) is off and will probably need to be adjusted and the E-brake won't work anymore. The CD deck in the radio stopped functioning and I had to have that replaced. This is off the top of my head. There have been other issues also that I have had to pay to fix as it's out of warranty. The dealer also screwed me in a number of other ways that I mentioned, but that's not the vehicles fault, per se. Overall, buying my first new vehicle has been nothing but a giant disappointment and PITA. I've been planning on getting 200K or 10 years - whichever is first, but now I'm considering just trading it in on either a Taco or an FJ. As for the dealer, I tell everyone I can not to do business there and I know I have steered several people away from them since. -K you probably could have lemon-lawed it and got yourself something else. |
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My Rubicon has turned out to be a giant POS and I've decided that my next vehicle is going to be either a Tacoma or an FJ. Not UAW made too, which is a plus for me. Care to share any other impressions of the vehicle? Quality of build, likely mechanical issues, MPG, etc? -K could you elaborate (year and problem/s)? It's an '05 Unlimited Rubicon that I bought brand new off the truck. I have been having issues with it literally from day one. This is all off the top of my head and I'm sure i will miss something. I figured I would be in trouble when I found out that it had been painted on a Friday and assembled on a Monday. It came off the truck missing the 'RUBICON' sticker on the right side and the windshield was so badly scratched it had to be replaced. This caused other problems with it leaking etc. I've had alignment issues tearing up the tires. Of course, the dealers printer ate the printup showing the alignment was right on and never screwed up to begin with.
The larger skid plate that I bought (Jeep part out of the dealers MOPAR catalog) had a design flaw that caused it to bind on the front drive shaft with hard braking. They promised to fix it for me, but I had to do it myself. The Front winch bumper powdercoat began to fail almost immediately letting it rust. The winch (Warn 9.5Ti) stopped working after only 3 uses. That was a saga in itself and when I finally got it back from the repair shop I found that UPS had dropped it breaking the aluminum housing - kaput. I didn't open the box right away, so SOL.
The internal climate control doors have never worked right and the dealer never could fix it.
I have had to replace vacuum hoses twice now because they keep failing. This has caused the cruise control to not work, the idle to rapidly swing from very low RPM to very high RPM over and over again the first time, and the second time to just run like shit with no power. There was also a factory recall on the transmission that the dealer refused to acknowledge, even when asked several times directly. Another dealer 45 minutes away fixed it for me. They also sold me accessories with the vehicle that the vehicle already had on it. Partly my fault for thinking I was ordering something that I wasn't, partly their fault from not knowing it would already come on the vehicle and then refuse to take it back. Fog lights had to be replaced as they stopped working. Front U-Joints are already shot and needing to be replaced. I just changed O2 sensors on it, so hopefully the check engine light will stay off and it'll stop running like shit for me. Also the transmission shift lever (automatic) is off and will probably need to be adjusted and the E-brake won't work anymore. The CD deck in the radio stopped functioning and I had to have that replaced. This is off the top of my head. There have been other issues also that I have had to pay to fix as it's out of warranty. The dealer also screwed me in a number of other ways that I mentioned, but that's not the vehicles fault, per se. Overall, buying my first new vehicle has been nothing but a giant disappointment and PITA. I've been planning on getting 200K or 10 years - whichever is first, but now I'm considering just trading it in on either a Taco or an FJ. As for the dealer, I tell everyone I can not to do business there and I know I have steered several people away from them since. -K One of the good things about Jeep, despite their record, is they tend to hold their value. At least the Rubicons did. You should be able to sell it and put the money toward a Cruiser or Taco. There are some awesome deals around right now. Mine had a sticker of 31K and I got it for 23.5K. You could probably do the same. You will find out that the Cruiser is a lot of vehicle for the money. Even if you pay closer to sticker. |
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how were the dealers when you went in to bargain? (Just curious as I haven't bought a vehicle in a while) Edit: your write-up really makes me regret not looking at one of those when I had the chance. Damn stupid sedan buying self. Toyota and Honda dealers have traditionally been the toughest of all. I think they train their salesmen to tell customers that their product is simply superior and costs more. They have never been as willing to negotiate as the competition. That has changed, at least with Yota. I sent emails to all 8 local Toyota dealers (STL area). I told them I was about to pull the trigger on a used FJ. Wanted to make sure they werent motivated to move a unit at the end of a tough year. 2 were willing to play ball. I told them I would buy a new one if they would sell at invoice minus all Toyota money plus hold backs etc.. Both dealers were willing to sell me at those terms. I bought the one I did because that dealer offers a lifetime powertrain warranty on all Toyotas they sell. They have been in business for about 30 years. So I went that route. Again, the sticker was 31K and I got OTD for 23.5. 7.5K off sticker for a new one. Pretty good from a Toyota dealer in my experience. ETA- Over on FJCruiserforums.com, there is a militant Toyota salesman bitching at the guys trying to get good deals. Accused me of creating false hopes for potential buyers by bragging about a deal that was impossible to get. I finally had to post pictures of the sticker and my paperwork showing what I paid. You guys would get a kick out of him. Saying the economy would crash unless we artificially propped it up by "allowing the dealers to make a fair profit". He also regurgitated this gem-"the happiest customers were those who had paid the highest price". Said Toyota had done internal studies to prove this. 
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