Locked in 4-LO

I tried to back my 2005 Tacoma out of some rather deep snow, but could not shift to H-4 while traveling, since I was stuck. Put the truck into L-4 and got out OK. Now I can't shift back to H-2. When trying to go from L-4 to H-4, the buzzer sounds and the "4-Lo" icon flashes on the dash. Nothing happens when trying to go to H-2 while driving. Reverting to L-4 silences the buzzer, and the icon stops flashing.

Am I locked in L-4? Is this an actuator problem? Also, it has been a loooooong while since I last had the truck in 4-wheel drive.

 

Neutral is a must.

 

And the clutch needs to almost be pushed through the floor. It threw me for a loop the first time I tried

 

I've only gone into 4L a few times but every time I've misread the instructions and either put it in "P" when it should have been put in "N" or vice versa.

On a separate note is it recommended to put the truck into 4L periodically to keep things lubricated and moving freely or does engaging 4H basically do all of that for you? Like I said I rarely use 4L but use 4H often enough that everything is nice and easy to engage.

 

neutral to go in and out of 4lo (and neutral/engine off/switch/engine back on) if it remains fussy

it is NOT needed to go to 4lo to keep things working, unless you have an e-locker

with an e-locker is makes sense to go to 4lo and engage locker it a few times a year to keep
it from possibly sticking

 

I have shifted into Neutral, as the Owner's Manual states, but no luck. I do not think I have an e-locker, can't determine what that is from any description in the Owner's Manual.

 

Did you turn the engine off?

 

I tried to put mine in 4-lo last night after reading this thread and it would not let me go into 4-lo. I was in neutral and stationary and it would just beep and the light would flash. 4-hi worked fine, I needed that on the way home with the snow. I will experiment again later and, maybe, just maybe, get the owners manual out to see what it has to say about all this. Just maybe though.

 

Try moving the truck a little forward or back and try again. The same when disengaging from 4 low. Sometimes there's tension in the drive train and the gear can't be released. If you can unload the tension it will let the gear slide out.

 

Do I have to give it a back rub too?

 

It's all about the happy ending...

 

Haha, that's the way it seems sometimes, eh? Back in the old days when 4 low would lock up you'd know it because you had to manually try and reef the shift lever out of gear. If you've ever tried this, you'd wonder, like I do, how a simple little junky electric switch could ever do that. Of course, once the drive line is untied, you can shift easily. I'm just guessing its the same way for the switch. We're such a push button world, when we push something we expect it to work! But with drivelines, there's a mechanical reality that comes to play first.