NHTSA Complaint #10203509 — 2007 TOYOTA FJ CRUISER

THE INNER FENDERWELL APRON CRUSH ZONES ARE BUCKLING, CRACKING AND RIPPING UNDER NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS - IT APPEARS THE FRAME HAS TOO MUCH FLEX AND IS CAUSING THE WEAK SPOT IN THE INNER FENDERWELL TO BREAK. CONCERNED THAT BECAUSE THIS IS A SAFETY RELATED AREA OF THE BODY THAT THIS ISSUE MIGHT IMPACT THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE VEHICLE IN AN ACCIDENT, OR EVEN UNDER NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE TOYOTA DEALER, AND A TOYOTA FIELD ENGINEER AND DISTRICT MANAGER EXAMINED THE VEHICLE, INCLUDING TAKING NUMEROUS PICTURES. NO REPAIRS WERE OFFERED AT THAT TIME, AS THEY WERE UNSURE OF THE CAUSE OR REMEDY. I AM AWARE OF AT LEAST 113 OTHER SIMILAR VEHICLES WITH VARIOUS STAGES OF THIS IDENTICAL PROBLEM, SOME WHICH HAVE ALSO BEEN INSPECTED BY VARIOUS TOYOTA PERSONNEL. INFORMATION ABOUT THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN POSTED TO AN ON-LINE FORUM TO GATHER ADDITIONAL DATA - WWW.FJCRUISERFORUMS.COM - WHERE PICTURES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THE VEHICLES, EQUIPMENT, AND BUILD DATE / MILEAGE HAVE BEEN GATHERED. AS OF THIS DATE, I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT "TOYOTA WILL TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM", BUT HAVE RECEIVED NO SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON WHEN OR HOW. *JB