Reliable Auto DB

2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 23 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser over 14 years — 2 per year. That is the fewest complaints per year among the 3 FJ Cruiser years on this site. NHTSA has 4 recalls on file, including Labels, Exterior lighting, and Anchorage.

2012 Toyota FJ Cruiser
Photo by Calreyn88, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

23

Per year

2

Recalls

4

Years on the road

14

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Structure (10 of 23), then Suspension (6) and Air bags (3). Those filings include 1 that reports a crash and 1 that reports an injury.

Next to 2012 and 2014

The 2012 FJ Cruiser has 40 complaints, 5 per year, and the 2014 has 30 complaints, 3 per year. The 2013 has fewer complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has fewer complaints per year than the 2014.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (4)

Recall Labels 2014-08-04 · NHTSA campaign 14V475000
Summary Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2008-2014 FJ Cruiser and Tacoma vehicles equipped with accessory wheels and tires installed by Toyota or dealers prior to the vehicle's first sale. The affected vehicles may list incorrect spare tire size and/or cold tire inflation information on the tire placard. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 110, "Tire Selection and Rims for Passenger Cars."
Remedy For the involved vehicles, overlay stickers to correct the tire placard will either be mailed to owners or provided to dealers for placement over the incorrect information on the placard. The recall is expected to begin in September 2014. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.
Recall Exterior lighting 2013-04-25 · NHTSA campaign 13V163000
Summary Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2007-2013 FJ Cruiser vehicles manufactured January 25, 2006 through February 23, 2013 and equipped with a Toyota Auxiliary Driving Lamp Kits mounted to the front bumper. These lamp assemblies include 55 watt bulbs and due to this wattage and mounting angle, the combination of the upper beam headlamps plus the auxiliary lamps are too bright and exceed the maximum light output allowed for an upper beam headlamp. Therefore, these vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, "Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
Remedy Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the 55 watt bulbs with 35 watt bulbs, free of charge. The recall began on June 6, 2013. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Recall Labels 2013-04-09 · NHTSA campaign 13V123000
Summary Southeast Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 and 2010-2013 Toyota Tundra, 2010-2012 Rav4, 2012 Toyota Sequoia, 2010-2011 Toyota Corolla, 2010-2011 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser, 2011 Toyota Land Cruiser, 2010-2013 Toyota Venza, 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner, 2010-2013 Toyota Tacoma, 2011-2012 Toyota Sienna, 2012 Toyota Prius, 2013 Scion FR-S, 2011 Scion XD, 2011 Scion XB, and 2012 Scion TC vehicles. These vehicles were sold with labels that were outside the allowable one percent of accuracy of actual weight added. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Remedy Southeast Toyota will notify owners and provide a corrected label with instructions concerning its installation. A small group of the affected vehicles will need additonal remedies which are still being developed. The recall began on May 28, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
Recall seat belts, front, anchorage 2013-03-15 · NHTSA campaign 13V098000
Summary Toyota is recalling certain model year 2007 through 2013 FJ Cruiser passenger vehicles. The retractors for the front driver and passenger seat belts are mounted in the access door (rear door) panels of the vehicle. Due to insufficient strength of the access door panel, cracks may develop in the panel if the access door is repeatedly and forcefully closed over an extended period of time.
Remedy The safety recall began on June 6, 2013. Toyota will mail an interim letter to owners late in April 2013. Remedy notifications to the owners for the repair will begin in late May 2013. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

Complaints by component (23 total)

Structure
10
Suspension
6
Air bags
3
Steering
3
Electrical system
2
Powertrain
2
Service brakes
2
Visibility and wipers
2
Fuel and propulsion system
1
Wheels
1
Show 2 more Show less
Crash-flagged

1

Fire-flagged

0

Injury reports

1

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

1201232013220141201632019220206202112022120241202522026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "Please consider opening or expanding an investigation into frame, underbody, brake-line, and suspension-mount corrosion affecting Toyota FJ Cruisers. I own a 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser 4WD. A professional inspection found…"
    Suspension, Structure, Service brakes · filed 2026-05-08
  • "I purchased my beloved 2013 FJ Cruiser from Wellesley Toyota 6.5 years ago and have really enjoyed it. I have had it serviced religiously at McGee Toyota of Hanover since my purchase and expected to continue to enjoy it…"
    Steering, Suspension, Powertrain · filed 2026-02-11
  • "I had a car accident on Feb 10, 2025 and my air bag did not deploy"
    Air bags · filed 2025-03-14
  • "The contact owns a 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser. Upon having the vehicle inspected by a State Inspector, the contact was informed that there was significant corrosion on the undercarriage of the vehicle. The contact took the…"
    Structure · filed 2024-08-05
  • "I went down the road & hit a bump my car rocked a little so I stopped to check the lug nuts & see if anything was wrong. I did not see anything. So, I continued to go pick my friend up as I was driving down the freeway…"
    Suspension · filed 2022-05-23

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser SUV 2WD Not rated Not rated Not rated 3 stars
2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser SUV 4WD Not rated Not rated Not rated 3 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
FJ Cruiser two-wheel drive 4L, 6-cyl Automatic 5-speed Rear-wheel drive 16 20 18 MPG $3600
FJ Cruiser four-wheel drive 4L, 6-cyl Automatic 5-speed Part-time four-wheel drive 17 20 18 MPG $3600
FJ Cruiser four-wheel drive 4L, 6-cyl Manual 6-speed All-wheel drive 15 18 16 MPG $4050

Specs and fitment

Single generation (XJ10), 2012–2014
Body styles SUV
Oil 0W-20 , 4.5 qt capacity
Tire size 265/70R17, 265/75R16 (trim-dependent)

Known issues for this generation

Recall 13V-163 covers certain model year 2007-2013 FJ Cruiser vehicles: the steering relay rod may rust and develop cracks, and in some cases the steering relay-rod tie-rod end may break. Recall 14V-475 covers certain 2008-2014 FJ Cruiser and Tacoma vehicles equipped with accessory wheels and tires installed by Toyota or dealers before first sale: the tire placard may list incorrect spare tire size or cold inflation information, failing FMVSS 110.

Compare

Previous year 2012 Toyota FJ Cruiser Next year 2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser See every Toyota FJ Cruiser model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser reliable?

Owners have filed 23 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser over 14 years — 2 per year. That is the fewest complaints per year among the 3 FJ Cruiser years on this site. NHTSA has 4 recalls on file, including Labels, Exterior lighting, and Anchorage.

What are common problems with a 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser?

The complaints owners file most often name Structure (10 of 23), then Suspension (6) and Air bags (3). Those filings include 1 that reports a crash and 1 that reports an injury.

Is the 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2012 FJ Cruiser has 40 complaints, 5 per year, and the 2014 has 30 complaints, 3 per year. The 2013 has fewer complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has fewer complaints per year than the 2014.

Has the 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser been recalled?

The 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser has 4 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser?

Owners have filed 23 complaints about the 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser is 17.3 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What oil does a Toyota FJ Cruiser take?

0W-20 on the 2012-2014 years listed here. Confirm the filler-cap grade.

When did Toyota stop selling the FJ Cruiser in the US?

US sales ended after the 2014 model year.

What does recall 13V-163 cover on the FJ Cruiser?

Certain model year 2007-2013 FJ Cruiser vehicles: the steering relay rod may rust and develop cracks, and in some cases the steering relay-rod tie-rod end may break.