The Shocking Unexpected Trading Of The FJ

When I bought this FJ in May 2014 I had plans of keeping it forever. Even as late as last Friday I had plans to keep it. Things had been changing though and by late Friday night I was searching on cars.com for 2007 FJ's for sale within 100 miles from my house .. I also went to a site called cargurus.com to see if their analysis was a good deal and find out how long they had been on the market for sale. 

The story actually starts two days after I bought the FJ in 2014, when those 4 warning lights on the dash blinked on all at once. I called the small family owned car dealer I bought it from, someone I did not know, and asked about the lights and any info they could give me. They said they had never seen them. Sure they hadn't ...

I went to a FJ forum, and found it was a common problem with FJ's that had a lot of miles. There were various ideas, solutions, some worked some didn't. I started by unhooking the battery so the ESC could reboot itself and then find out if the lights came back on. They did but it took over 5 short trips for them to do that.

Possibilities were:

• O2 sensors were bad
• Gas cap was not tightened properly or o-ring wore out
• Gasoline may have ethanol in the mix
• Catalytic converters were bad

I went to the local Toyota Dealer to talk to their service manager and found out most likely it was the O2 sensors, they could be cleaned and that could be a fix. They tested the car and it coded out as O2 sensors NOT catalytic converters. He told me I could drive the car with those dash lights on but eventually I'd have to replace the converters.

Move forward to the end of May 2015 a year later. After the lights had stayed off once the O2 sensors were clean, about a week before we were headed on the trip to Utah, all four of them came back on. The guys on the forum had said all of those lights were set to come on at once, as a packaged deal.

Flying down I-70 going through Kansas in June 2015 with Heidi riding shotgun, with Winston and Sadie in back ... at about 80mph, those lights clicked off ... never saw them again until a few weeks after we returned home in Indiana.

Was it change in altitude or the difference in octane ... 91/93 here in Indiana but 93/96 out west. So any thought of catalytic converters went out the window of my mind. At this time I did not know the cost of replacing them.

So from June 2015 until December 2015, those lights went on and off intermittently. At no time did the performance of the engine decrease ... ran like new. It was quiet, powerful and with the hood open and then engine idling ... nothing sounded strange.

Sometime last winter in the snow .. January or February the lights come back on to stay on all the time. I am sitting at Dairy Queen drive through, close to the pickup window but right next to the wall of their building, window rolled down ... when I hear some sort of metal vibration or small rattling. I figured I had a loose nut or bolt on one of the skid plates, thinking I would fix it when the days got warmer and I could crawl under the FJ to look around.

It was the same "rattling bb's sound" I heard last week when I am under the FJ trying to find that sound ... catalytic converter ... off to Toyota we went.

By August 2016 I "thought" I was hearing a whine from somewhere, transmission, wheel bearing, u-joints ... what? That is like me trying to figure out if those blog photos are blurry or not or is it just my eyes. Since I am half crazy ... or accused by some people to be 100% nuts ... was I hearing things?

I was almost positive what I was hearing was getting louder by the week although I really don't drive that many miles per month now while retired. Even when I drove to Indy to trade it on Tuesday the sounds had gotten louder and I was concerned a little bit ... if I would make it 70 miles with a breakdown.

Last Friday, the 21st I had gone over to see my friend and stopped by Toyota Dealer to have them plug into my car to see what codes were popping up. A SHOCK!!!!

Catalytic converters were bad PLUS a new one ... something about 'brake lights circuit'. I had brake lights and tail lights so that one was confusing. It was at this time on the drive home for 20+ miles I thought about making a possible trade.

I wasn't going to take ~$5,000 out of my account to fix a car, any car with 146,252 miles on it. I might be wrong on that idea but I won't do it. So I started looking for a possible trade around midnight Friday night and as you know once I start researching it's a non-stop venture and things start moving pretty fast.

One reason I wanted to buy from a Toyota Dealer this time was because I know the car would have been gone over with a fine tooth comb to fix any issues it had before it was put on the lot for sale. Toyota actually pays their mechanics extra for every problem they find and fix during their inspection before putting the used vehicle up for sale.

In the mean time, Saturday morning I called the Toyota Dealership for a cost estimate for replacing the catalytic converters (2 each) and new O2 sensors. Plus I checked with a business I have used in the past that works on all foreign made cars along with the garage in town that works on all kinds of cars and trucks.

Cost estimates were from $4,500 to $5000 with the Toyota Dealership being the cheapest. I did an estimate to compare what it would cost to fix to trading for a new car and financing it. Since I had bought the Z4 in May with cash, I was going to have to finance the FJ if I made a trade. My analysis showed it was very close to the same amount of money if I were to make the trade compared to fixing the problem. I compared total cost left for paying it off and looking at estimated new loan to see it was going to cost me close to $5,000 either way.

One key point in the decision ... I could trade for the same FJ model except for the off road package that included rock rails, extra skid plates and the TRD performance exhaust ... but ... I would have an FJ with only 119,000 miles instead of 146,252. That's a lot of miles to some but with regular preventive maintenance Toyota's are known to go for 200-300,000 miles ... I'm afraid I will not live that long to test that amount of miles out at my current annual mileage rate.

You may be asking why not buy a newer model, less miles???? I like the style of the older models more than the newer ones. I also haven't found a color I like on the newer models. Toyota stopped making them in 2014 but currently there are rumors they are going back into production.

I had found one with a stock look instead of the radical "blacked out" look of the Voodoo Blue one I had. Same size of tires although it looked lower to the ground compared to the one I had. I actually liked what Toyota calls "black cherry" compared to the "voodoo blue".

The new one had a lot less rust on the undercarriage than the one I had. There was one minor body mark that I can get fixed, but it was also cleaner on the inside than mine from the previous owner, not the hounds. I also need to buff up the roof rack.

I also estimated that if I wanted to go back to a "blacked out FJ" I could do that to the new one for a lot less than spending $5,000 cash to fix the one I had. I didn't see keeping the old one just because of the way it looked.

So after talking to the sales person on Saturday I planned to go up on Tuesday to test drive and look at theirs while they looked at mine. (I also knew if I could go to Indianapolis for most of the day, that would give any strangers that were blog readers enough time to stop by the house and check on the hounds for me while I was gone. j/k)  I sent them all the photos of mine including the dash warning lights that were on ... plus told them the story of O2 sensors and the recent findings of bad catalytic converters. They offered a NADA trade in value sight unseen ... we both agreeing that it could be adjusted after they confirmed exactly what need to be repaired.

I thought at that time they would decrease the trade in value for the cost of catalytic converter replacement of $4,500. Would I still make the trade if that turned out to be true? I decided after more analysis that yes, I would make the trade even if they reduced their trade in value offer. If they had to fix the problem before they could sell it ... that would only be the fair thing to do.

I found out they were going to decrease the offer by "their cost" to replace them for $3,000 not $4,500-$5,000 retail.

While looking the engine over I could see, as these pictures show ... Toyota had replaced the oil cap, new hoses, new switches, along with some new clamps. I knew from the Carfax I would be the 3rd owner but the previous owner had only driven the FJ around 8,000 miles per year for the last 4-1/2.

Both previous owners had it serviced as scheduled at Toyota Dealerships. No accidents or major repairs were reported. On the test drive on I-70 it ran quiet with not a sound from the transmission, transaxle, wheels etc. I still think and thought at the time mine might have had some future repairs in store based on those sounds I was hearing recently. The dealership also took my FJ out for a test drive on the freeway to check it out.

It has running boards instead of rock rails .. that also makes it look lower. Also both driver side and passenger side windows were not tinted like my other ... easy fix if I want to go back to that style.

It also doesn't have the second larger skid plate over the stock skid plate in front like my other did. I'm really not sure how much I would need that since I have no plans to be a 'rock climber' like you see out in Moab. If I changed my mind on that then I'll make the required changes.

Although it does not look like it the tires are the same size as the Bridgestone tires I had on the other one, the Yokohama's are the same size and TireRack has some good reviews for those tires. I will replace them with BF Goodrich AT once these wear out.

So that is the LONG story of what took place and a little bit about why the decision was made.

The hounds have not made their maiden voyage in the 'black cherry' FJ yet, although Stella has left some fresh drool on the rear corners as she was trying to see if there was a way she could open the back door and jump inside. She believes that there isn't a door that she cannot open and get in or get out. Dried bloodhound drool is hard to get off the surface of a car. LOL

There might have been some buyers remorse on the way home because I loved that blue FJ yet by the next morning all was good. By the time I was taking the trip to the lake yesterday I knew I had made the right decision ... it rain quietly ... no whines from anywhere!!

If you made it this far after reading all of that babbling ... you really are an "official blog reader" about the hounds.

Cooler temps today here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.

The Invite Problem Update

First of all I can tell a difference in the first picture I take every day after I changed the settings to 'single point focus' on my camera.

As you see the field was "mowed" of soybeans and will most like see corn planted there next May.


I have found out some things for those unable to accept the invitation to join the blog. Of coarse those people cannot read this post, so I have sent them an email telling them the problem or what I am trying.

So this post is really used as a test because there are two way for me to set this up privately ... add your email address to a box named "add readers" ... some of you have been able to accept the invite with no issues. The other way Blogger lets me send an email to those I add every time I have a new blog post.

So this post is also a test for those on that email list ... I am on that list, using a different email address than the one tied to my blog. When I added my other email address to the "add readers" block, I got the email immediately, clicked the link and it processed without any problems.

I searched on Google with the exact error message some have sent me, not being able to get back in ... it has been a common problem with Blogger as far back as 2010 and nothing since February 2015. Of coarse on the Google Forum or Blogger help ... I have yet to find a solution from them although I am still searching.

It was interesting that as the blog owner not that I received an email tell me that I had accepted my own invite, just like I did for those that have accepted ... but what it said:

"The purpose of this message is to inform you that your invitation to my email address was accepted, but using a different email address. If your invitation has been accepted by someone you do not know, you can remove them by visiting the “Settings > Basic > Permissions” section of the Blogger dashboard.

Happy blogging,

The Blogger Team

Well that is NOT true Blogger or Google, I accepted using the same email address that the invitation was sent to.

Also if I sent an invite to someone that did not have an gmail address, those people were able to sign up using a 'google account' but I cannot figure out how someone can have a google account without having a gmail address.

It looks like rain ... but intellicast shows me it's just a day of being very heavy overcast, so I can mow the leaves and yard later this afternoon after it is good and dry.

The picture below is a 'teaser' of my post tonight with a very very very long story to back up the decision. It was an "accounting" based decision.

Well since Sadie has been tossing me various bones at me, begging me to play fetch inside ... I'll put on the waterproof hiking boots and get our first walk of the day in before their lunch. When you are up until 4am and can't get to sleep even after that, the day starts kind of late.

Why does Blogger have to be such a pain here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.

My First Post By Invitation Only

Well it's been an interesting couple of days. If you are able to read this post, you know why I went private and 'by invite only'. Blogger has two different ways to do this ... I have added your email address to a list of approved readers. If you are reading this you already know that Blogger asked you to log in to read the blog.

I am not sure how that works for those that don't blog on blogger and if it matters where your email address is coming from. Let me know if this process causes you problems.

The other way, Blogger tells me I can add your email addresses to a list where you will send the blog to you by email when I post something new. For those that have already signed up to follow by subscription I am not sure if me going private will block your feeds that you have signed up for ... so just in case I will add your email to an email list.

Early in the evening yesterday, after I had gotten back and was sitting here trying to wrap my fingers around someone looking in my house, not invited, and a stranger ... I heard some big slow moving noises on the highway and was pretty sure it was the combines to harvest the soy beans across the highway.

I guessed right and closed all my windows to control the amount of dust that would blow up to my house ... it does because I can see how much on my cars.

I was too confused/pissed over the daily event to go out and take more pictures of their progress but they were loading trucks late into the night ... even for a field that small. By this morning everything was finished ... or I thought. They continued to fill up these trailers multiple times as they returned empty.

The hounds and I slept in late this morning. That means we get up at 8am no matter how late I am up, feed them breakfast and I go back to sleep while they are eating. They all sleep after their breakfast until I get up.

We were on our first walk around noon.

Stella stayed near Sadie and I ... it was different for her.

They really like that right corner of the field but today they picked up a strong scent and headed left.

Sadie has a very strong ability for tracking, better than Stella.

As we made the turn for home, they both take off trotting. They knew where they were going and what was there.

Whatever it is, it must be good.

Stella always looks disappointed when I tell her to "come on".

After lunch we head out for a short trip outside. I had just received a text from my old college friend, who was bringing his canoes to a lake close to my house. It was a chance to go canoeing.

Once again Heidi found one of her favorite spots. That pipe is a capped off water well from 1975. The have been on 'city' water every since. At least that is what I was told.

This is part of my overgrown yard and will be mowed over on Wednesday ... as will all the fallen leaves.

By 2:30 I was down at Lake Greenwood, somewhat of a private lake because it's on government property. Since the lake is closed for the season very little if any traffic and it's only a few to fish or people with a canoe.

A few years ago, this same friend brought up his small sailboat that we took out, but there wasn't enough wind to sail. Yet, it's great for canoeing and great to fish in.

We canoed way past that area to the left ... almost 3 hours total time on the water. A good workout and I'm sure I might feel it by tonight.

Since Ralph has been using a 35mm camera since I met him in 1975, I asked him about my recent photos ... that seemed out of focus to me. He immediately gave me the solution, so from this photo on ... my photos should be much better.

Neither one of use took cameras on the canoes with us, so when we came back and got my canoe out of the water (48lbs), he grabbed his camera to take some across the lake of in area we both agreed would be a great photo. It gave me a chance to try the new setting.

My photo sequence was with him all the way to the boat ramp, but I chose to only go this far.

The setting on my camera had been set to "auto area focus" instead of "single point". What I was getting was a lot of blurred photos of the hounds and a sharp clear photo of the grass they were walking or running on.

Like up above I wanted a clear photo of the combine but it was blurred while my leaves along the fence line were perfect.

A family across the water, where I took photos from in April or May 2015, were the only ones tent camping ... so after we left, that family had the whole lake to themselves as well as all the woods ... plus if you didn't have some sort of government, government contractor or military id card, you would not be able to get inside the huge area similar to a National Forest, let alone find the lake .. one way in, one way out.

I have other news ... quite surprising but something I had been working with off and on. I mentioned some part of it in recent posts. I'll include new photos and a story of how it all transpired in tomorrows post. It will shock most of you, but as usual a lot of analysis was done before the decision was made.

That is if my "invited readers" can see and read this blog.

Really, all is good here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana ... but a few things to think about and to keep an eye on. I've been here 19 years and have never seen anyone looking in my house.

A Very Nice Sunday

It was sunny and cold when we woke up this morning but I'll take that over winter weather any day of the week.

Not much was planned for today, besides the normal Sunday NFL games, buy some gas for the FJ, and cook my weekly batch of brown rice, different beans for salads and burritos this week.

Knowing I had shoes that could handle the wet field dew, our first walk of the day was pretty early but after the two cups of daily coffee. Today I thought I'd pull another new pair of hiking boots out of my closet to make sure they were waterproof. I wanted to try them on this wet morning walk.

I had bought some Oboz Tamarack hiking shoes a couple of years ago and never used them because I couldn't make up my mind if I really liked them after I bought them. I had gone to the store to buy some Keen's but they were sold out and I was told they were getting great feedback on this model of shoe.

They also worked well in the wet field, were comfortable, but didn't feel as good as the last pair of Keens I had wore out. Since I've worn them in the field, no chance I'll sell them 'used' on eBay for any price close to what they are worth ... so I think I'll start wearing them a little bit each day to break them in before this winter.

It was another beautiful morning and Sadie didn't want to wait to long before she and Stella could start their exploring.

They didn't wait for me to take the picture above, by the time I looked down after taking the picture both of them were sprinting for the turn ... I didn't see any deer on the horizon but they obviously had found something of interest.

I finally caught up with them and let both of them roam at their own pace. No commands, just let them do what they wanted ... as long as Stella stayed within her boundary.

After taking a lot of pictures this time of day, late morning, I have come to the conclusion that might be the worst time of day to take pictures because of the lighting.

Both of the hounds were very active with scent tracking. We must have missed deer by minutes or half hours ... but they had been through this area very recently.

They don't know what to do ... obviously the deer scent is really strong but they don't see or know anything is in the area ... should they take off or return to where I am. I still had not said anything to them.

They are almost beside themselves with confusion.

While we made the last veer to the left to head the final leg home, they still had a lot of stuff to identify. Really that is what the majority of their nose activity is ... 'identifying' what has been in the area.

Finally Sadie decided she was coming in for the afternoon.

Between that last walk and the first football game at 1pm ... the hounds jumped into the FJ and we headed to Country Mart gas/mini mart. Their gasoline quality is rated a top tier plus their 91 octane gas has no ethanol in it. Since it was mentioned on the FJ forum that might be the reason for my warning lights on my dash ... I thought I'd give it a try. It's the same gas I put in the Z4.

While suffering through another Indianapolis Colts game ... only they won this time after blowing a lead ... I decided that as soon as the game was over I'd give Heidi not only a bath with shampoo but end it with a 20 minute soak in warm water and Epsom Salts for her skin.

She actually laid down in the water this time and almost fell asleep again. I was ready to pull her out of the tub if her nose went below the water line. It came close as her lips were underwater with her eyes closed.

After that it was time for the afternoon walk. How did I know that?? Stella was howling and Sadie was hopping up and down on her rear legs as if we were going for a ride in the FJ. It was already 5:30pm.

 
Once again I let the hounds roam at their pace. As Sadie and I were almost to the back of the field ... there was no sign that Stella had even made the first turn.

By the time we were walking parallel with the back edge of the field, Stella came running as if she had heard a gunshot somewhere. She is 'gun shy' but I did not hear anything.

She was really on her own pace during this afternoon walk. Sadie and I were heading for the last half of the walk and Stella was still at the back of the field.

She finally figured out I wasn't going to call her and she was way behind us.

That gave her and Sadie check out some places one more time before coming in.

Sadie was ready to 'call it a day' ... Stella had other plans.

Sadie and I were already back at the house. I went inside, loaded the photo card into the iMac and made sure Stella was still out there. I wanted to see if she would come home on her own.

It didn't take long for her to glance up and she could tell Sadie and I were not around. She sprinted from the back of the field directly behind the house all the way to the door ... she was happy to come inside.

With only one NFL game on local tv at 4:30, I've had it turned on in the background but while it was on I've washed hound bedding and vacuumed the house. I'm going to put air in the tires of the mountain bike and start riding that around the border of the field without the hounds.

It seems like a picturesque idea to have both bloodhounds follow along side me while I ride around the border of the field but there are two issues with that.

1. No matter what I am doing or where I am riding -- they would follow their nose at their pace.
2. If I ride along the edge of the field I will be going by the yards of three neighbors, places where I don't want Stella and Sadie to become familiar with. The old 'out of sight out of mind' theory works for them.

Big plans for Monday afternoon ... mowing the grass and mulching as many leaves as possible during that exercise. There are not many more times left to mow the yard for this year but a lot of leaves left on the trees. 

I can't complain about anything ... the weather has been great this fall and October is a week away of being over. I am hoping for a mild winter.

All is good today in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.