What To Know Before Buying A Used Toyota FJ Cruiser

While it's normal for used Toyotas to retained their value due to the brand's rugged, long-lasting reputation, there's another factor that keeps the littlest of the Land Cruisers prices high: they're just so damn cool. Who doesn't want a full-sized Tonka truck with off-roading prowess in a fun color? 

U.S. sales of the Toyota FJ Cruiser started strong with 56,225 units in 2006, but dropped to 14,718 units its final year in the North American market in 2014. It hung on unchanged until 2022 in global markets such as Chile, the Middle East and South Africa.

Even with that famed Toyota resale value, a car that hasn't been built in 12 years, but still isn't really considered a classic, has to be affordable by now, right? Not necessarily. A quick search on Autotrader shows FJ Cruisers nationwide listed for $35,000-$55,000 for vehicles with mileage under 100,000. That's around or over the last MSRP of these cars brand new. You're going to have to be cool with over 300,000 miles to get one of the few examples under $10,000. Reasonable compared to some other Land Cruisers!

The FJ Cruiser has a strong Land Cruiser heritage and was built on the same chassis as the global workhorse, the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. With 9.6 inches of ground clearance, good departure angles and available traction goodies like A-TRAC (Active Traction Control) and rear electronic locking differential, it was built to explore off-road. Before the FJ's release it was put through its paces running trails in Grand Junction, Colorado and Moab, Utah to prove it was indeed good in the rough stuff.

It was powered by the proven a 4.0-liter V6 engine which started out making 239 horsepower in 2007 and got up to 260 hp by 2012. Underneath it has a body-on-frame chassis similar to other Toyotas of the era, with independent front suspension and a live rear axle. It's a solid, stout build, which also makes it thirsty.  The official EPA rating for the FJ Cruiser averages to around 17 city/20 highway, depending on year and configuration. Speaking of configurations, it was available as a manual transmission that came with full time four-wheel drive, and an automatic transmission that had a rear-wheel drive only option. 

Generally the FJ Cruiser was considered reliable. JD Power gave it a 84-86 out of 100 and owners on Kelly Blue Book gave it a 4.8 out 5 across years. With that said, there are some noted issues. Rust is a big issue across the production run, the deep, frame-eating kind. Toyota issued a recall for its platform mates the 4Runner and Tacoma for rust issues, but not for the FJ Cruiser. Pre-2010 vehicles had an issue with inner fenders bulging which leads to a structural crack on the inner fender wall. Owners reported vibration in the drivetrain, as has shaky steering and a faulty driveshaft as issues to look out for.

On the bright side, there are a good number of unique FJ Cruisers out there. Instead of having numerous trim levels, Toyota built one highly configurable trim. The available colors also changed annually with new colors added while others were retired. Additionally, Toyota rolled out Special Editions every model year except 2009. These were usually a monochromatic package with a color matched roof. Toyota also offered additional off-road accessories and wheel packages. 

The hardest part about buying a FJ Cruiser very well may be finding the one that matches what you want. But once you find it, history tells us that you won't want to let it go.