general problems of the 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser

While operating my vehicle at normal legal speeds on a public road, the aftermarket rough country lifted steering knuckle suffered a sudden, catastrophic structural breakage at the tie-rod mounting point after hitting a standard pothole. The complete fracturing of the steering knuckle resulted in an immediate, unpreventable loss of steering control on the driver's side wheel. This sudden structural failure forced the front wheel assembly out of alignment, completely disabling the vehicle's steering mechanics and bending the lower drop crossmember brackets. This is a severe life-safety hazard. Had this casting failure occurred at highway speeds or in heavy traffic, it easily could have resulted in a rollover, a head-on collision, or a fatal accident. Heavy-duty cast suspension components should never experience catastrophic metal breakage from everyday public road imperfections. The manufacturer, rough country, is refusing to recognize this as a structural defect and is denying liability. This failure needs to be investigated immediately to see if there is an underlying casting, metallurgical, or design defect in rough country's lifted steering knuckles before it causes a fatal crash on public roads.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Fj Cruiser. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring increased steering wheel rotation before the vehicle started to maneuver in either direction. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 197,000.

The brakes are constantly binding up due to rust and need replaced, recently abs brake lines rusted off causing me to miss a stop sign, very dangerous, upper rear control arm mount rusted and cracked completely off causing steering and braking problems and had to be replaced to even use this vehicle, , the front rack has been replaced due to excessive rust of lines and fittings, same with transmission cooler lines-rotted off. . . Brake backing plates rotted off. . Even though I have had this undercoated and rust treated, the frame is rusting inside-out. . . Frame braces, everything on the frame is rusted much more than one would expect, even in a salt state like ohio. . . . My safety was put at risk by faulty brakes, the frame is not safe under hard braking and may cause an accident, the dealer has seen this vehicle, a local independent says "get rid of it". . . No warning lamps, just wild things happen with brakes, pulls left, pulls right, front, then back and this past time . . . None!. . . Only 111,000 miles.