THE ISSUE STARTED ON 8/23/2012 WHILE DRIVING ON I-95 IN SC, MY 2011 FJ CRUISER TRAIL TEAMS EDITION TIRE PRESSURE WARNING INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON. THE VERY NEXT DAY, I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IN WEST COLUMBIA, SC TO HAVE IT INSPECTED. THE DEALERSHIP COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE AS THE LIGHT HAD TURNED OFF THAT NIGHT. HOWEVER, THEY DID DISCOVER AN UNUSUAL AMOUNT OF ERROR CODE MESSAGES FROM THE CPU SYSTEM AND THOUGHT THIS MAY HAVE CAUSED THE LIGHT TO INTERMITTENTLY TURN ON/OFF. THE DEALERSHIP RESET ALL ERROR MESSAGES AND RELEASED THE VEHICLE BACK TO ME. AS IT WAS AN ISOLATED INCIDENT, I THOUGHT THERE WAS NO REASON TO WORRY ABOUT IT. A WEEK LATER, WHILE DRIVING MY VEHICLE ON I-95 IN NC, THE SAME INDICATOR LIGHT TURNED BACK ON, THIS TIME FOR THE REMAINDER OF MY TRIP HOME TO MD. AFTER CONTACTING TOYOTA OF BOWIE TO INSPECT THE ISSUE, THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH IT AND RELEASED THE VEHICLE BACK TO ME. SOON THEREAFTER, THE SAME INDICATOR LIGHT TURNED BACK ON UNTIL MID-JANUARY 2013 WHEN DRIVING THE VEHICLE TO GA, THE INDICATOR LIGHT TURNED OFF. I HAD THE VEHICLE SERVICED AT I-95 TOYOTA (NEAR BRUNSWICK, GA) AND THEY INDICATED NO ISSUES WERE FOUND WITH THE VEHICLE EVEN THOUGH I ADVISED THEM OF THE INCIDENTS. THEY CONCLUDED THAT WHEN I RETURN HOME TO HAVE THE VEHICLE LOOKED AT THEN. WHILE RETURNING HOME TO MD, THE INDICATOR LIGHT TURNED BACK ON AND HAS STAYED ON EVER SINCE. CONSIDERING I HAVE NOT RECEIVED NOTICE FROM TOYOTA FOR THE SAFETY RECALLS FOR THE VEHICLE, I DISCOVERED THEM THROUGH THE NHTSA WEBSITE AND I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT FOR THIS MORNING TO HAVE A FEW CURRENT RECALLS THAT THE DEALERSHIP KNOWS ABOUT TO BE FIXED AND WILL ADVISE TOYOTA OF ANNAPOLIS (KOON'S) (WHERE I ORIGINALLY PURCHASED THE VEHICLE) OF THE INDICATOR LIGHT ISSUE AND CONCERN. IF ANY FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME. *TR
2012
STEERING
MY TRUCK'S STEERING WHEEL SHAKES VIOLENTLY BETWEEN 55 AND 65 MPH WHEN OUTFITTED WITH OFF ROAD LT CATEGORY TIRES. THE SHAKE IS OFTENTIMES VIOLENT AND ENERGETIC, AND CAN MAKE THE VEHICLE DIFFICULT TO CONTROL. THE TRUCK IS A DEDICATED OFF ROAD CAPABLE SUV AND SHOULD EASILY TOLERATE SUCH TIRES. THERE IS A VERY ACTIVE ONLINE COMMUNITY OF FJ CRUISER OWNERS, AND THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN DISCUSSED THERE AD INFINITUM WITHOUT SOLUTION, AND HERE IS A LINK TO ONE OF THE BETTER THREADS WHERE IT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED ... HTTP://WWW.FJCRUISERFORUMS.COM/FORUMS/NEWBIE-DISCUSSIONS/113533-2010-FJ-TRAIL-TEAMS-EDITION-SHAKING-HIGH-SPEED.HTML THE PHENOMENON STRONGLY SUGGESTS A TIRE BALANCING ISSUE, BUT MANY ATTEMPTS ALONG THOSE LINES BY MYSELF AND OTHERS HAVE FAILED. THE CURRENT CONSENSUS AMONG MEMBERS OF THE ABOVE FORUM WHO ARE KNOWLEDGEABLE IN VEHICLE MECHANICS IS THAT CHANGES TOYOTA MADE TO THE SUSPENSION/POWER STEERING SYSTEMS IN 2010 TO MAKE THEM MORE SENSITIVE ARE THE ROOT CAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. SOME SORT OF UNDAMPENED VIBRATIONAL RESONANCE OR HARMONICS SEEM TO FEED BACK THROUGH THESE SYSTEMS FROM MANY TIRE BRANDS AND TYPES TO CAUSE THE PROBLEM. TOYOTA'S DEALERSHIPS SEEM LARGELY UNABLE TO CORRECT THE ISSUE SINCE IT SEEMS TO BE A DESIGN/ENGINEERING ISSUE. TOYOTA THE MANUFACTURER HAS RECOGNIZED THIS PROBLEM IN VARIOUS MODELS OF VEHICLES IT PRODUCES AND HAS PROVIDED RECALLS. SO FAR IT SEEMS UNWILLING TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM WITH FJ CRUISERS. THOSE OF US AFFLICTED WITH THE PROBLEM TRY TO DEAL WITH IT BY AVOIDING THE 55 TO 65 MPH SPEED, BUT THAT IS DIFFICULT. I PERSONALLY SPEED A LOT WHICH IS DANGEROUS TO MYSELF AND OTHERS BECAUSE THE VIBRATIONS TEND TO GO AWAY AROUND 70 TO 75 MPH FOR WHATEVER REASONS, AND I FEEL I'M SAFER DRIVING AT 70 MPH WITHOUT VIBRATIONS, THAN AT 55 - 60 WITH VIBRATIONS. *TR
