The is a retro-styled mid-size SUV produced by Toyota between 2006 and 2022. Introduced as a concept car at the January 2003 North American International Auto Show, the FJ Cruiser was approved for production after positive consumer response and debuted at the February 2005 Chicago Auto Show in final production form.
The FJ Cruiser was built by Toyota subsidiary Hino Motors in Hamura, Japan, between 2006 and 2022. The vehicle shares many structural underpinnings with the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. The FJ Cruiser entered the Japanese market on 4 December 2010, announced on 25 November in that year.
On 5 November 2013, Toyota USA announced the 2014 model year Trail Teams edition would be called the "Ultimate Edition" and that the 2014 model year would be the last for the FJ Cruiser in that market. It continued to be made for sale in other markets such as Australia until its export to that market was discontinued in August 2016. , it was still sold in markets such as Chile, the Middle East, the Philippines and Southern African Customs Union countries.
On 1 October 2022, Toyota announced that the FJ Cruiser would be discontinued in the Middle East by December 2022, along with a final edition model.
Design and development By the time the production of the original FJ40 ended in 1984, Toyota had shifted towards increasing the size and luxury of the Land Cruiser line. The idea of a new FJ with rugged capabilities of the FJ40 originated in the mid-1990s with Toyota's product planner Dave Danzer and vice-president of sales and operations Yoshi Inaba.
Danzer worked secretly with Akio Toyoda to set up a special shop at the NUMMI plant to test the feasibility of a new FJ40 by combining Tacoma underpinnings with the bodies of Toyota Bandeirantes, an FJ40-based vehicle, which was still in production in Brazil (as a diesel model only) at the time; the Bandeirante was discontinued in 2001. Toyoda returned to Japan to join the board of directors giving a high level support to the project. Toyota's flagship design studio, Calty, was then brought in to deliver a fresh interpretation of the FJ40.
Offroad vehicle was known internally as Rugged Youth Utility (RYU) aimed at attracting young male buyers, a segment Toyota felt they were losing touch with at the time. Many takes on the RYU concept were created including the 2001 Rugged Sports Coupe concept before a retro style design created by 24-year-old designer Jin Won Kim was chosen as the final exterior concept, with William Chergosky designing the interior.
The FJ Cruiser concept debuted at the 2003 Detroit Auto Show in Voodoo Blue, which would become the signature color for the production FJ Cruiser. The bold styling was an immediate hit with the automotive press and general public despite competing with more exotic concepts like the Cadillac Sixteen and Dodge Tomahawk. By resurrecting design traits from the iconic FJ40, the FJ Cruiser was viewed as a new halo car for Toyota, much like the similarly retro-styled 2005 Mustang had been for Ford.
In mid-2004, Toyota began extensive off-road evaluations of the FJ platform by driving development mules on many of the most difficult trails in North America, including Moab, Utah, the Angeles National Forest, the Mojave Desert, and the Rubicon Trail. Despite each one-off mule costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, the development team was determined to push the capabilities of the prototypes in order to deliver reliable offroad performance in the production model. Changes to the A-TRAC traction control system and suspension tuning came as a direct result of the prototype testing.
The exterior of the FJ concept remained largely unchanged when the final production model debuted at the 2005 Chicago Auto Show. However, chief production engineer Akio Nishimura had to significantly alter the amenities offered in Chergosky's interior concept to keep the price of the production FJ Cruiser reasonable. Unique interior touches like the gear shifter that doubled as a shovel handle, removable interior lights which doubled as flashlights, and flat-folding front seats were removed, though several concept items remained as factory options.
Exterior
The FJ Cruiser features a short wheelbase, stocky frame, and grille-headlight arrangement much like the original FJ40. Other throwback design cues include a nearly vertical windshield with three windshield wipers for maximum surface area coverage. The FJ Cruiser also featured the name "Toyota" spelled out across the grille instead of the corporate emblem which has been in use since 1990, another reference to the FJ40 and other older Toyota trucks. The FJ's body features rear-opening access doors that give a unique look to the SUV. Special high-strength steel was used to give the vehicle side impact protection without the need for a door pillar.
Interior
The interior of the FJ features many design elements focused on enhancing off-road practicality. All interior surfaces are covered with washable rubber materials to aid in fast cleanup after heavy outdoor use. The FJ also incorporates oversized controls to aid drivers with gloved hands. The three-gauge cluster (with compass, temperature, and inclinometer) as well as the 120V rear outlet were carried over from the FJ Cruiser concept vehicle as options on the final production model.
Specifications At in length, the FJ Cruiser is a mid-size SUV offered by Toyota in North America, slotting between the smaller RAV4 and larger Highlander. Toyota sources many components from other vehicles to produce the FJ including shared engines and transmissions found in the Tacoma, Tundra and 4Runner as well as suspension components used in the Prado, Hilux, Tacoma, and 4Runner.
The 4x4 FJ Cruiser has of ground clearance, 34° approach and 30° departure angles, and a 27.4° breakover angle, with of front and of rear suspension travel. The FJ is also designed to drive through up to deep of water and has a towing capacity for both 4x4 and 4x2 variants. On road, the FJ accelerates to in 7.8 seconds and has 0.69G of lateral grip tested with stock Bridgestone Dueler tires.
Chassis Structurally, the FJ Cruiser incorporates a body on frame truck style design similar, but not identical to that of the two-door Prado platform. The FJ Cruiser uses a high-mounted, double wishbone front suspension and stabilizer bar, and a 4-link rear suspension with lateral rod with coil springs and stabilizer bar. The 120-series Land Cruiser Prado, Tacoma, 4Runner, and Hilux share the same suspension parts as the FJ Cruiser. The FJ Cruiser uses power-assisted four-piston front and two-piston rear ventilated disc brakes with an anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), brake assist (BA) and is also equipped with vehicle stability control (VSC) and a specialized traction control system known as "A-TRAC". The A-TRAC system applies braking to control wheels that have lost traction, mimicking the performance of a locking differential without the "binding" that can make steering difficult in normal locking differential setups.
Toyota made revisions to the engine bay's inner fender aprons due to some bulging and cracking issues with the 2007 and some early 2008 models. The bulges and cracks in the inner fenders were attributed to a Toyota design flaw through certain vehicle identification numbers. Toyota addressed the problem and has changed the design.
Powertrain
The FJ Cruiser uses the 4.0-liter 1GR-FE DOHC V6. For the 2007 to 2009 model years, the engine came with single variable valve timing (VVT-i) which produces at 5,200rpm, and of torque at 3,700rpm on 91 octane fuel.All octane ratings determined using the (R+M)/2 calculation For the 2010 model year, the FJ Cruiser's engine gained Dual VVT-i technology which adjusts timing on both intake and exhaust camshafts resulting in at 5,600rpm, and on 87 octane, in addition to slightly improved fuel economy on 91 octane fuel. For model year 2011, these figures rose to at 5600rpm, and . The 2011 onwards engine meets stringent LEV II/Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions certification. Both versions of the 1GR-FE engine run normally on 87 octane fuel though they produce less power thus Toyota recommends premium fuel for demanding situations such as towing, off-roading, and driving at high elevation.
Four-wheel drive models equipped with the RA61F manual transmission have a full-time 4WD system; it employs a center TORSEN differential, with a locking feature and distributes the engine's torque under most driving conditions. The TORSEN unit varies torque distribution as needed, based on steering angle and wheel slippage.
Rear-wheel drive models were available in some markets, only with automatic transmissions, and came standard with a limited-slip rear differential. Five-speed A750E automatic transmission on rear-wheel drive models Five-speed A750F automatic transmission with VF2A transfer case on part-time 4x4 models Six-speed RA61F manual transmission with VF4B transfer case on full-time 4x4 models
Safety Side curtain airbags for both rows and side torso airbags optional on 2007 models became standard on 2008 models. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awarded the FJ Cruiser its Top Safety Pick accolade. The FJ Cruiser received a "good" overall rating in both the front and side impacts tests and also received the "good" rating in all 14 measured categories.
+ NHTSA crash test ratings (2008) and 2014Frontal driver:Frontal passenger:Side driver:Side rear passenger:Rollover: 26.7%
+2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser on IIHS: Category RatingModerate overlap frontal offset Small overlap frontal offset (2009–present) Side impact Roof strength
Markets The FJ Cruiser was primarily developed for the North American market but has been sold in small numbers globally since its launch. On 25 November 2010, Toyota announced sales would begin in right-hand drive form for the Japanese market. Sales began on 4 December, replacing the outgoing Hilux Surf and selling alongside the Land Cruiser. Japanese-produced right-hand drive models have a different rear bumper to North American models with the license plate located on the bumper as opposed to under the tailgate door handle. In addition, right-hand drive versions have the side indicator markers located on the fender panels, rather than located on the side-view mirrors used for left-hand drive production FJ Cruisers. Sales of right-hand drive model began in Australia and New Zealand in 2011 available in only four-wheel drive with automatic transmission and a petrol engine.
Japanese market sales, never substantial to begin with, were halted in January 2018.
Special editions TRD Special Edition
For North America, in 2007 Toyota Racing Development (TRD) produced 3,200 units as limited production TRD Special Edition FJ Cruisers. This model was released with the body painted in a black diamond pearl color, and with a matching black roof to set itself apart from its standard, white-roofed counterparts. The special edition model included TRD cat-back exhaust system, TRD Bilstein offroad tuned shocks, rock rails, 16-inch alloy gun-metal gray finished TRD wheels with BFGoodrich all-terrain tires, and TRD badges. The TRD Special Edition also included mechanical changes to synchronize the locking differential with the active traction control (resulting in the rear differential no longer overriding the active traction). Early production 2006 FJ Cruisers had an issue that caused the rear differential to override the active traction control, except in the TRD Special Editions. However, by November 2006, Toyota had changed production to incorporate synchronization of the locking differential with active traction control on all FJ Cruisers.