2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other FJ Cruiser years
- Far more complaints than other years 2nd of 10 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 9 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 124 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser. That ranks 2nd out of 10 FJ Cruiser model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is structure (42 complaints, 34%), typically at around 34,000 miles. Complaints mention 5 crashes, 1 fire, 3 injuries. There are 9 safety recalls covering this model year.
- 124owner complaints
- 9safety recalls
- 0NHTSA investigations
- 5complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure | 42 | 34% | 34,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 17 | 14% | 25,000 | — | — |
| Suspension | 14 | 11% | 73,000 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 13 | 10% | 85,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 12 | 10% | 71,498 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 10 | 8% | 160,277 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Electric | 8 | 6% | 16,750 | — | — |
| Power Train | 6 | 5% | 74,000 | — | — |
| Steering | 5 | 4% | 137,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 5 | 4% | 4,032 | — | — |
| Electrical System | 4 | 3% | 13,325 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 4 | 3% | 116,500 | — | — |
| Visibility | 4 | 3% | 4,526 | — | — |
| Traction Control System | 3 | 2% | 27,000 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 2 | 2% | 54,000 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 2 | 2% | 4,375 | — | — |
| Equipment | 2 | 2% | 16,000 | — | — |
| Tires | 2 | 2% | 14,000 | — | — |
| Wheels | 2 | 2% | 40,000 | — | — |
| Chest Clip, Buckle, Harness | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 1 | 1% | 3,500 | — | — |
| Equipment Adaptive/mobility | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 1 | 1% | 1,000 | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 1 | 1% | 26,500 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 1 | 1% | 25 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser recalls (9)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Seats:front assembly:seat heater/cooler
Problem: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2005-2011 4Runner, Highlander, Sequoia, and Sienna, 2005-2010 Avalon and Tundra, 2006-2008 Camry Solara, 2006-2010 Highlander hybrid, 2006-2011 Rav4 and Tacoma, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2007-2011 Camry hybrid, 2009-2010 Venza, 2010-2012 Prius, 1988-1990 and 2005-2010 Camry, and 1989 and 2009-2010 Corolla vehicles equipped with aftermarket accessory seat heaters with a copper strand heating element. The electrical wiring in the seat heaters may be damaged when the seat cushion is compressed.
Risk: If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the seat heaters, free of charge, and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory. The recall began on July 14, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET number for this recall is SET16B.
Seats:front assembly:seat heater/cooler
Problem: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2010-2011 Prius and Corolla, 2009-2011 Venza, 2006-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2005-2011 Sienna and Sequoia, 2006-2011 Tacoma 4x2 and 4x4, Camry, Highlander, Tundra 4x2 and 4x4, and 2007-2011 Rav4 and 4Runner. The affected vehicles may experience compression of the seat cushion which may damage the seat heater wiring.
Risk: Damage to the seat heater wiring could cause the wires to short, increasing the risk of the seat burning and causing personal injury to the occupant.
Fix: SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the heaters with copper strand heating elements and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory, free of charge. The recall is expected to began in January 2015. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226.
Equipment:other:labels
Problem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2008-2014 FJ Cruiser and Tacoma vehicles equipped with accessory wheels and tires installed by Toyota or dealers prior to the vehicle's first sale. The affected vehicles may list incorrect spare tire size and/or cold tire inflation information on the tire placard. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 110, "Tire Selection and Rims for Passenger Cars."
Risk: If the spare tire is inflated to the incorrect pressure provided on the placard, tire failure may occur while it is being driven on, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: For the involved vehicles, overlay stickers to correct the tire placard will either be mailed to owners or provided to dealers for placement over the incorrect information on the placard. The recall is expected to begin in September 2014. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.
Exterior lighting
Problem: Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2007-2013 FJ Cruiser vehicles manufactured January 25, 2006 through February 23, 2013 and equipped with a Toyota Auxiliary Driving Lamp Kits mounted to the front bumper. These lamp assemblies include 55 watt bulbs and due to this wattage and mounting angle, the combination of the upper beam headlamps plus the auxiliary lamps are too bright and exceed the maximum light output allowed for an upper beam headlamp. Therefore, these vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, "Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
Risk: Light intensities above the maximum allowable limit could cause increased glare for oncoming traffic and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the 55 watt bulbs with 35 watt bulbs, free of charge. The recall began on June 6, 2013. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Seat belts:front:anchorage
Problem: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2007 through 2013 FJ Cruiser passenger vehicles. The retractors for the front driver and passenger seat belts are mounted in the access door (rear door) panels of the vehicle. Due to insufficient strength of the access door panel, cracks may develop in the panel if the access door is repeatedly and forcefully closed over an extended period of time.
Risk: If cracks occur in the panel around the lower retractor anchor, the seat belt retractor could become detached, which could increase the risk of injury to an occupant in the event of a crash.
Fix: The safety recall began on June 6, 2013. Toyota will mail an interim letter to owners late in April 2013. Remedy notifications to the owners for the repair will begin in late May 2013. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Tires:pressure monitoring and regulating systems
Problem: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 through 2011 fj cruiser, land cruiser, tacoma, sequoia and tundra vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 138, "tire pressure monitoring system (tpms)." when factory-installed wheels and tires were replaced with toyota authorized accessory wheels and lt tires prior to first sale, the tire pressure monitoring systems were not re-calibrated correctly and therefore do not start illuminating the low tire pressure warning telltale at the required minimum activation pressure.
Risk: Failure to warn of tire deflations is a non-compliance with fmvss 138 and could lead to tire failure increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: For the land cruiser, sequoia, tacoma and tundra vehicles, the dealer will re-calibrate the tire pressure monitoring system on affected vehicles and install an updated tire and loading information label at no charge. For the fj cruiser vehicles, the tpms cannot be reset so the electronic control unit (ecu) for the tpms will be replaced. Toyota is currently developing the remedy ecu. If an owner is not certain whether his or her vehicle is equipped with these accessories, please contact any toyota dealer for an inspection at no charge. The safety recall began on march 31, 2011. Owners may contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Equipment:other:labels
Problem: Gulf states toyota is recalling certain model year 2005-2010 vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." these vehicles were sold between september 1, 2005 and june 2, 2008 without the requisite load carrying capacity modification labels.
Risk: This does not meet the standard requirements.
Fix: Dealers will mail to consumers the corrected label or the customer will have the option for dealers to install the label free of charge. Dealers will also correct the owner's manual. The safety recall began on may 27, 2010. Owners may contact gulf states toyota at 713-580-3300.
Equipment:other:labels
Problem: Southeast toyota is recalling certain model year 2005-2011 passenger vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims." these vehicles were sold without the requisite load carrying capacity modification labels.
Risk: A driver may overload a vehicle which may increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will mail to consumers the corrected label or the customer will have the option for dealers to install the label free of charge. The safety recall began on may 27, 2010. Owners may contact southeast toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
Equipment:other:labels
Problem: Toyota is recalling 27,080 model year 2005 through 2010 passenger cars built from september 1, 2005 to may 4, 2009. These vehicles were not equipped with load carrying capacity modification labels which fails to conform with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 110, "tire selection and rims."
Risk: Incorrect load carrying capacity modification labels could result in the vehicle being overloaded, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners and provide them with a new, accurate label to be installed over the inaccurate label free of charge. The safety recall began on august 18, 2009. Owners may contact toyota at 1-888-270-9371.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
While operating my vehicle at normal legal speeds on a public road, the aftermarket Rough Country lifted steering knuckle suffered a sudden, catastrophic structural breakage at the tie-rod mounting point after hitting a standard pothole. The complete fracturing of the steering knuckle resulted in…
Chassis frame rotted
I have 47k miles on my car. I took it in for an oil change (Fox Toyota, Rochester Hills, MI) and was told that it was dangerous to drive. I needed a new rear axle and much more. No details were provided. I could not open the email link they sent to my phone. I left the car at the service dept…
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring increased steering wheel rotation before the vehicle started to maneuver in either direction. No…
Premature frame rust
Other Toyota FJ Cruiser years
← 2007 FJ Cruiser · 2009 FJ Cruiser →
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 FJ Cruiser | 0 | 1 |
| 2014 FJ Cruiser | 30 | 5 |
| 2013 FJ Cruiser | 23 | 4 |
| 2012 FJ Cruiser | 41 | 4 |
| 2011 FJ Cruiser | 23 | 6 |
| 2010 FJ Cruiser | 66 | 10 |
| 2009 FJ Cruiser | 7 | 10 |
| 2008 | 124 | 9 |
| 2007 FJ Cruiser | 593 | 8 |
| 2006 FJ Cruiser | 1 | 0 |
See all Toyota FJ Cruiser problems by year, every Toyota model, or the Toyota VIN decoder.
Similar Toyota models
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser?
Owners most often report structure, service brakes, hydraulic, suspension problems. The top one, structure, accounts for 42 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser?
Yes, 9 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other FJ Cruiser model years, the 2008 has far more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.