Broken Taco'

2nd update: Got a call from the service manager today letting me know that they finally got the green light from corporate to replace the Transfer Case and the ECU, but then during the replacement, they realized the Transmission was messed up. That's right - now it's time to replace the Transmission as well. What he now thinks happened is that the Transmission already had a weak spot, and once the Transfer Case solenoid screwed up and got it stuck in between 4wd and 2wd (although the ECU thought it was fully back in 2wd), the torque from the Transfer Case snapped something in the Transmission.

I guess I look at it this way; if something was already weak in the Transmission, I'm glad it all went out now so once I do get it out of the shop, I (hopefully) won't have to take it back for another repair for a very long time.

Final Update: I realized that I never updated this after getting the truck back, so at just shy of 3 weeks for the repair, she's back in my garage : )

The Service Manager said that after everything was said and done, it seemed like there was a malfunction in the actuator causing it to freeze up 1/2 way between 2wd and 4wd HI. This transferred problems back to the transmission (I don't know enough about these to explain how) and ultimately got the truck stuck in a situation to where it was not in any gear, but at the same time would not roll freely. Very strange.

They replaced the Transfer Case, Transfer Case ECU, and part of the transmission. So far everything works as it should. I did notice that the first few days the transmission felt different, but I suspect it was just the truck having to "learn" how I drove again (ECU memory). After driving it a few days it's back to the way it was before.

 

Starting to think I should have waited for the 2017 although I know past data proves first year models are not always the most problematic or "systems deficient"

 

Why? I hate 2016 but OP broke the truck, truck did not brake itself. He used 4wd on pavement and turn.

 

Had nothing to do with binding. Obviously it's and issue with the actuator or the computer controlling it.

 

Kinda sounds like he may have caused it, actually. Most guys around here are familiar with "well it hasn't engaged yet... roll forward a bit" or the opposite is true. I've never had my truck go from 2wd, to 4H, then 4L, then back without rolling an inch. I've always had it move and on dirt when I'm doing these kinds of motions.

 

Did you put it in neutral to go in and out of 4 low?

 

Happened to another guy on here, correct, in his case it was the actuator.

 

The computer won't try to go to 4L if it's not in neutral. Ask me how I know...

 

OP didn't break anything and no, I didn't drive 4wd on pavement - as I already stated, the truck had FULLY cycled back to 2wd before I started driving again. No instrument clusters indicating 4wd, and all the relays and "clicking" that is normal while it's switching gears had stopped.

 

Not really a great idea to engage 4wd on pavement but willing to give him benefit of the doubt that he believed vehicle was disengaged before making the turn

 

I'm officially done with toyotas and will never buy a new one. Imagine if you were deep out in the woods, and this happened? What if you were in a blizzard and this happened? Not safe at all. Luckily you were in town to get towed...

 

Same here, I've never felt confident it fully engaged or disengaged until rolling a bit and that's on 4 different trucks. Never had problems either.

I also didn't turn unless I knew I was fully disengaged.

 

On my old 4Runner I tried to go from 4L to 4H without going into neutral ( by mistake)... It made some bad grinding noises and wouldn't move.

Once I realized what I did went back to 4L, shifted properly, and drove away.

 

So let me throw out this question since there's obviously some that don't believe I had it fully re-engaged back in to 2wd before driving; WHY would a near $40K truck ALLOW me to drive it if it were NOT fully back into a drive-able gear?!?

With all the technology that is loaded into these trucks, don't you think it could / should / would prevent that situation from happening?

 

What are you planning on buying that never breaks down for any reason? Just curious.

 

The computer protects or is suppose to protect the drivetrain. That's why it's drive by fly. You can be going 55mph and switch it to 4 low. It's not suppose to do anything other than blink at you and tell you your an idiot. True it takes a minute and a bit of a roll for it to engage properly. However something failed that allowed it to damage itself to that extent. All trucks might have a slight jamb or grind extremely quick at some point engaging the 4wd but it shouldn't keep grinding and wear the gears out. OP did nothing wrong here, and obviously the dealer agrees. If he did they would love a customer pay transfer case job not covered under warranty. Believe me

 

read manual, you supposed to engage and disengage 4HI while moving (not turning). turning 4hi and back to 2wd, partially engages 4wd and partially disengages. So when you started turning before gear in transfer case could move to 2wd position it broke. IN essence you broke it. Don't take this personal, it's simple mistake a lot of people make when they buy their first 4wd and they don't read manuall.

 

Yes, DustStorm, because that kind of thing would never have happened with a Ford, Dodge or GM, right? It wouldn't have? BWAAAAA HAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, hahahaha, rotflmao

 

Sounds like it's being covered by warranty which is good whether equipment failure or driver error that showed a driveline / ECU weakness.

Note to self, continue with your roll checks to ensure transfer case is engaged / disengaged before turning.