Got stuck in 4Lo

Was wrapping up a day of hunting and had to use it to get out of a muddy section of a firetrail. When I hit the main road I shifted to neutral and it refused to go to 4hi. Drove it a few miles at around 20mph with the flashers on until I could pull over. No amount of shifting in out of neutral would make it budge until after pulling over and restarting the car it finally took. Any chance I did any damage while driving about 3 miles at low speed in 4lo? I've heard complaints about people having issues getting out of 4Lo in older models. Driving ok now.

 

Were you completely stopped when you shifted from 4L to 4H?

 

Yes. First time it would not come out of 4L. In the past it would come out after I put the car in drive when stopped.

 

Never exceeded about 20MPH. Engine wasn't redlining. Guess I just need to be more careful about ensuring its out of low before moving onto the road.

 

I've always had good results when stopping, putting it in N and going to 4H. When I put it in D, it would switch.

I wonder what happened in your situation to cause that.

 

Auto

 

So long as the traction where you were driving wasn't inappropriate for 4H, it is highly unlikely you did any damage whatsoever driving in 4L. As for not popping out of 4L, I don't have any answers. Had a (non-Toyota) company truck once that always required reverse to get the on-the-fly transfer case to shift, but something was very wrong there, never got a fix. Give me back my damn manual shift t-case already, the dial is a waste of time and money. And now I'm coming off the rails. Take it to the dealer I guess.

 

Road was wet/slick didn't notice any binding and no turns. Just annoyingly slow and of course freaking the fck out trying to get out of low as the cars behind me became irritated. Lesson learned. get it out of low before getting on the road. Tried it again today and it engaged/disengaged without issues.

 

Next time it doesn't want to come out of low. stop on a soft spot and back the truck up hard in reverse. Then stop and try your shift out of low. Sometimes it may take a couple of attempts. Sometimes you may find anticipating a shift out of 4 low you can shift the tranny into neutral and coast to a rolling stop and after stopped make the shift out of low. In low range all the gearing gets bound up tight and needs a little pressure release in the drive line to come out of gear. This is natural and common with 4 low. 4 High to 2 high or 2 high to 4 high is another story this should be no problem to shift on the fly.

 

This spot definitely called for it. Its steep hill that was also a bit of a mess.

 

One of the things I really miss about the Jeep world. A true transfer case shift lever. I hate the dials used in most 4x4s these days.

 

Yep, I miss the T case shifter also. The dial has lag time into 4h from 2h which I have never dealt with before. Also had some issues getting it into 4l while stopped. Finally got it after a couple attempts.. The few times I've had my new rig in 4wd, it was great. The dial blows

 

Easier to spin the tires so they clean out in low range, I've had my truck in mud so sticky it didn't have the wheel speed (torque) to get above 2nd gear even though i was in 4 low, I probably would've burnt my trans fluid in 4H.

 

Agreed, as long as you don't force it and break the plastic clip going into the TC lol.

 

My wife's 2010 4-runner SR5 has a manual shift lever t-case. That was a welcome surprise. I wish more trucks had that.

 

Welcome back!

 

I use 4L almost every day (pulling trailer on farm) getting easyer and faster as it gets some miles on it. I did find if I want it to lock in/out without moving, turn knob shut off engine as soon as I turn key back on it is locked you can hear it.

 

Not quite relevant, but in my 4 cyl manual, I found that if you leave the truck in neutral and move the clutch in and out while moving the knob, it will switch. If not, cycle the knob and try again. Sometimes I have to move the truck a foot or so and then try again. Automatic sucks, give me a dang shifter. Whats next? Blue tooth app to shift into 4wd?

 

I was hoping it just needed some actual 4low run time to get shit broken in.. For the future trucks, I vote for manual T-case & locking aisin hubs.

 

I miss my locking hubs. It was nice to tool around with a 5x10 trailer in "2 low" when loading and hauling brush. I also used it to move my boat in and out of the water. After letting out the clutch no need to mess with it till it was time to stop. I was in no hurry. That was a Nissan Hardbody.