FJ Cruisers of Northern California

Drive Shaft Replaced Under Warranty

Ever since I bought my FJ there has been an occational thump when I would come to a stop. When I brought it to the dealers attention they said it was an unsolved problem with the drive shaft (FJs and Tacomas). They recommended greasing the drive shaft every few thousand miles. This would not fix the problem but would lessen the thump. Well, a few weeks ago, I was reminding the dearership to grease the drive shaft while my FJ was in for service and the service guy said there was a service bulletin for the drive shaft. In order to repair the issue, the bulletin recommended replacing the drive shaft (Shaft Assembly part # 37110-35B00). Fortunately, my FJ is still under warranty as this is a $680.00 part. The dealership replaced free of charge!

I thought I would pass this info on to others they may be experiencing the same issue and are still under warranty.

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Permalink Reply by Sonof40 on May 13, 2012 at 7:50pm

This is the first I've heard that Toyota even acknowledged the problem mush less take ownership of it.

I am way past warranty and have learned to live with it.

Thanks for the heads up.

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Permalink Reply by FJ Cruisin' on May 13, 2012 at 7:57pm

Yeah, They never officially acknowledged it. I had them include it in my service records in case anything ever came up I could claim it occurred before the waranty expired. But after the service bulletin a service guy told me toyota has tried a few different solutions (releasing the pressure, different parts). None have solved it. We'll see how this one works out...

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Permalink Reply by DWH on May 13, 2012 at 7:57pm

I am going to talk to the dealer the next time I go in. The FJ is out of warranty, but I will try anyway.

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Permalink Reply by Bozly on May 14, 2012 at 7:30am

Seems like if it's now an acknowledged issue, warranty has nothing to do with having it replaced, it's a defect on their part, although if it causes no problems like premature breakage then a little bump when you stop isn't so bad to live with.

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Permalink Reply by FJ Cruisin' on May 14, 2012 at 7:37am

Good point. They checked to see if I was under warranty but it might not matter. It might be good to discuss options with your dealer. At least document it if it leads to other issues.