NHTSA Complaint #11472095 — 2007 TOYOTA FJ CRUISER

I purchased this vehicle used in April 2022. It was not driven much until June 2022 because the car was purchased for our son, who attends school at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The goal was to get him a car before his 3 week summer break and he and his sister and his best friend would drive it out to Colorado for him to use throughout his last two years. Their trip began on June 16, 2022, leaving central Ohio. We started getting texts from our daughter about loud noises the car was making while she was sitting in the back seat. Then we started getting texts from our son about noises by the rear tire. We had him check the tires for proper inflation or for any damage. None was reported. My daughter complained about the handling of the vehicle when she was driving. Saying it was not easy to control when going 70 through the plains of the US. They were very pleased to arrive in one piece out in Colorado. My son started to think it was a suspension issue because of the way it handled going over bumpy roads. He took it to a dealer and the dealer took video of the frame, and the black goo used to try and cover the holes and cracks in the frame. $21,000 was their estimate to put a brand new frame on the vehicle. This is a known defect with this vehicle. We should not have to pay for such poor manufacturing.