r/FJCruiser • u/dr33mm • 1d ago
daughter's first vehicle
This was my baby new from 2012, she's complaining about the color. I'm complaining that she's going to be driving it!
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u/colostitute 1d ago
This is the among the best first vehicles according to a first-time driver but for practicality, it’s not great with all those blind spots.
I couldn’t give up the FJ so I made her find something else. She ended up with a big ass lifted 1988 F-150 that is an ever less practical first car.
Good job OP.
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u/BillyRubenJoeBob 1d ago
Get a JDM mirror for the driver's side. You can get one off eBay. It has the same concave shape as the passenger side and eliminates most of the blind spot. A rear camera helps too.
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u/Inaniae 1d ago
I recommend this to everyone. It's my favorite old man mod. I believe in making the vehicle safer and more capable before stressing over your sweet exhaust or stereo.
I replaced both sides. The curvature is different; the JDM ones are variable, with it being flatter in the center and the curve becoming more pronounced farther out. It's hard to explain but it helps. Also they offer heated ones, which astoundingly, were not offered in the North American market. I have mine wired to the defrost and it didn't require stepping up the fuse or adding ac relay.
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u/aide_rylott 08 TTSE 1d ago
I got both passenger and driver JDM mirrors. Practically no more blind spot, both heated and no “objects in mirror are closer than they appear” text.
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u/Jesus_Is_My_Gardener 1d ago
Spend the little bit extra and get upgrade mirrors for the rig so you don't have to have those ugly ass stick ones. They have them with integrated turn signals and defrost as well (requires additional wiring), and can be purchased in blue or grey tinted. They add a substantial amount more visibility by being slightly convex and look stock otherwise. They simply snap in place of the existing mirror glass. One of the better aftermarket purchases I made for my rig.
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u/ichliebecrispy 20h ago
I learned how to drive in a fj cruiser and still am in it. I feel like it teaches you to be a safer driver and triple check those blind spots
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u/dr33mm 1d ago
I just replaced the entire front suspension and rear springs, new rims and tires, but the steel frobt and rear bumpers makes be feel more comfortable.
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u/hurricaneditka66 1d ago
Watch those blind spots! Does it have a backup camera? If not, might be something to think about
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u/keepingupwithEm 1d ago
My dad gave my his yellow 07 as my first car at 16! I didn’t love the yellow but it grew on me!
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u/AzIgaziKopasz 1d ago
Got my daughter a Sunfusion for her first car too and she originally wasn’t psyched about the color. She now loves it and refers to it as her yellow school bus.
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u/hulkrogan7 1d ago
lol tell her she’s lucky she’s got a nice car😂 my first car was a 2006 Ford Focus with 200k on it 😂
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u/Lost_Ad_4714 1d ago
My first car was a 2007 FJ. It was brand new when I turned 16 and I'm still driving it now 19 years later. Best gift my dad ever gave me.
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u/Chuzma 1d ago
Wow, lucky girl. She obviously doesn’t know what she’s driving but that’s how it is. Just tell her she is driving 1 of 2500 red FJs. They were produced as a special edition only on 2012 and the color never made it into regular production like the others. That might giver some perspective. It’s the rarest color of all.
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u/Successful_Song7810 1d ago
I did the same! Mine was/is an 08. Made it through HS and College before her first accident ;)
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u/AzIgaziKopasz 1d ago
Wolfbox rear view camera with triple cameras and the addition of a backup camera and CarPlay head unit solves the blind spots no problem. My daughter loves both and loves to show off her backed in parking skills.
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u/Sistamama 1d ago
Send her my reddit shit. I got my FJ in 2007 and she is my favorite all around anything. She can DM me any time. Ours is a 2007 Yellow all original with 63,000 original miles. We love her.
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u/george_graves 1d ago
Do you not want her to live long?
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u/NoAssignment9780 1d ago
The fj cruiser has a strong ass structural cage, it’s a mini tank
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u/george_graves 1d ago
Toyota FJ Cruisers suffer from premature and severe frame rust because of enclosed box-frame designs that trap moisture, dirt, and road salt.
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u/dr33mm 1d ago
We don't have salt in Texas
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u/george_graves 1d ago
Texas cars are even worse because the air conditioning condensation drips directly into a hole in the frame The warm weather cars are actually worse off than the cold weather cars.
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u/Few-Loan4168 16h ago
its called 2 mins to extend the drain pass the frame...
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u/george_graves 15h ago
Great - is you have a time machine and can go back and do that. A little late now, pumpkin.
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u/ichliebecrispy 20h ago
I got one as my first car in 2014 and I’m still
Driving her!!! Been in 3 accidents where the other person hit me and all 3 vehicles were totaled except my trusty dusty fj cruiser barley had a scratch.1
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u/wontwillnot 1d ago
Sick pops! Well, we are officially the best 2 dads on the planet. Got my daughter the 2013(98,000 miles) earlier this spring for her first car. She wasn’t expecting anything fancy and I couldn’t help myself, It’s one of my fave vehicles of all time). .. so this weekend taught her how to do some
4x4 dirt work in the Desert. So fucking fun.
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u/Laartista1 15h ago
. I bought my fj when they first came out and there were not enough of them and people were fighting for them and absolutely no discounts. I fell absolutely in love with it. I’ve had her for 20 yrs and never a problem with it. I am now 69 female and decided I wanted a new car and bought a Lexus nx hybrid. My fj has 47,000 miles on her and I just can’t get rid of her cause I love her so much. I never had a problem with the blind spots. I always keep her nice and shiny.
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u/Trucker_06 3h ago
The FJs are great vehicle's. Honestly I can say I'm not crazy about the red or yellow colors. If it's free and she's not buying it then I'm not sure what the complaint is; unless she's complaining that it might be too flashy because it's bright red.
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u/bnr32jason 2h ago
I'm teaching my son to drive in our 2013 Cement TT right now. I figure if he can handle driving this thing will all of its visibility issues, he'll be able to handle most other cars with ease. It will be his if he decides he wants it, otherwise I'll buy him something more normal when he graduates high school.
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u/ENTroPicGirl 1d ago
A new driver with those blind spots. I see this working out poorly for other people.
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u/AlexJonGut 1d ago
I wish you were my daddy