Do you have to be in 4H to shift to 4L?

After reading a few post on here where people were experiencing problems getting into 4L I decided to check mine out again seeing as how I use 4H but hardly ever 4L. So I tried it yesterday and lo and be hold I can't get into 4L with out first being in 4H. When I first got the truck I could go right into 4L without any problems. Is this normal. And yes I am doing it correctly, to get into 4H I slow down to 5mph or less and just turn the knob, that works fine no problems. Now after being in 4H I stop and shift into Neutral then press and turn the knob and bam that works too. What I can't do is go from 2wd to 4L without first getting into 4H.

 

No you can't...

You can't physically go directly into 4lo without passing through 4hi first (on the knob).

 

Thank you for your response. I was starting to think I was nuts, I must have been mistaken and just thought I used to go directly to 4L without first engaging 4H. Lately I have been engaging and disengaging 4 wheel drive. It seems the more I do this the smoother and quicker it gets in gear, I barely have to roll for it to lock

 

I'm gonna be in trouble if I ever need 4lo... I think I've only engaged it once in the last year. That's really bad..... I just haven't had time or space to do it.

Mine's probably worse than my grandmothers knee joints!

 

this is just my $.02. I've heard its good to find a gravel road or mild trail and drive in 4 hi and low to keep everything functioning properly. makes since to have any problems then and there and address em than to have a suprise at the worst possible time. I just play in mine occasionally to make sure everything's good. thats all the assurance i need.

 

Yeah I use 4 hi atleast once a month weather it be offroad or on the pavement, I know alot of yall are against 4wd on pavement but If I can drive a posi trac 600hp chevelle every day on the road I can handle the 4hi, I don't make any sharp turns or drive like i'm nuts just slow down and pay attention to the road ahead and make adjustments. Since I have been doing this my truck engauges very nicely.

 

Another thought, while checking the 4lo engage the locker (if applicable). When I first got my 08, going into 4lo was a pain. It would just beep, finally it went in. Same thing with the locker, I would hit 4lo and engage the locker and it wouldnt work. It was like it had to be used a bit. Now they both work like a charm

I'd rather find out something is wrong during my once a month or so test than find it out when I really need it.

 

Just a note, the Toyota manual recommends driving 10 miles a month in 4hi to keeps things lubed.

 

Guys,
I have struggled for 4 years with the same problem. Finally, after reading this hilarious post, I decided to do something about it. I took some of your advice and it just would not work. Frustrated, I called my dealers service guy and asked him if there was a "Service Bulletin" on the Tacoma.
In the conversation, he detailed a plan for me to try...hehe...this is soooo simple I hate it.

Step 1 - Stop vehicle (or be below 2 mph) he recommended stopping completely.

Step 2 - Be sure to "Press the clutch pedal in all the way to the floor"
Step 3 - Flip switch to 4L (you should hear the unit engage)

Now, his explanation was that there is a switch or sensor on the clutch pedal that trips the 4L piece. If you are like me, once you get to the point of knowing where your clutch releases, you adjust your seat accordingly and seldom push the pedal all the way to the floor. It was so simple that I had to laugh.
I hope this keeps you guys from having to deal with this any further.

Mike

 

And for us Automatic Users....
Be in 4HI first. Be completely stopped. Put the truck in Neutral and flip into 4lo. It should work. I just did it last night for 2nd time in 2 years.

 

Just don't take anything but very gentle turns and you'll be fine.

Otherwise you'll slowly but surely weaken and eventually destroy the transfer case.

http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/driveline-bind.html

 

Man I love my 99. No switch, just a lever. It always works.

 

Yeah, you need to stop and be in neutral with the clutch on the floor for manuals for it to work. You can work with 4Hi all the way up to 55mph however. I've been at 65 on the highway, come up on snow or standing water, and had to drop to 55 for 4Hi to lock in.

There are so many switches and sensors on this truck it's almost funny... Starter switch under clutch, CC cancel/power inverter power drop switch above clutch, VSS for powering down inverter AND preventing 4HI/4LO from engaging..... Some of it really seems pointless. Ok, 4Hi/4Lo limits are good, but seriously why is the power inverter tied into that too?

Oh, and for the record I've NEVER been able to engage 4Lo while moving despite the manual saying "5pmh and under" to engage it.

 

Old thread, I know, but I've been researching some old ones and still haven't found an answer, and this one seemed semi-on topic.

I know how you're supposed to shift from 2h to 4h, keep it under 60mph and turn the not clockwise, once that light stops blinking you're set. To shift from 4h to 4l you stop, put it in neutral, and turn the switch the rest of the way. That much is easy enough.

That all sounds great if you're riding down a road and think 'it would be nice to be in 4wd' and have time to plan it, especially because my truck seems to like a a few blocks before it engages fully. My concern is what happens when I parked my truck on a nice sunny dry day in 2h, and don't need to drive again until there's a foot of snow that has been packed down. I parallel park next to my house facing uphill, and I feel like I'm just gonna be out of luck with the 4wd.

A normal thought would be to park it in 4h or 4l when I think snow might be coming, but it's really tough to take tight turns when the 4wd is engaged, and obviously parallel parking consists of turning you wheel pretty much to full lock in one direction, then full lock in the other. I haven't tried it yet, but I don't even know if it would be possible to park in a tight spot on a dry road with 4h engaged.

Is there anyway to get into a truck parked in 2h, realize you now need to get into 4h/4l to get out of a parking spot, and convince the truck to shift, or is that function only useful if you can plan ahead for it??

I love the new truck, but I think I was somewhat spoiled by the all-time 4 wheel drive on the subaru I used to own. You never had to think about it and it would just walk right out of the parking spot no matter how bad the snow was. I thought my truck was broken the first time I put it into 4h and tried to take a turn and felt the front end chattering like that haha.

 

It is impossible to go into L4 without passing through H4 first... there is no shortcut... no worm hole through a parallel universe... LOL

 

You shouldn't need 4L to get out of a parking spot, 4H will do it. Start the truck, put it in N, turn the knob to 4H and the light will blink, put it in D (or R) and the light should turn solid. If it doesn't put it in gear and LIGHTLY hit the gas. Don't floor it or it'll slam into 4wd and you could do some damage. You should be able to move forward and backward at least a little.


OR.. don't be lazy and shovel yourself out

 

Go ahead and do that while parked like the poster asked about, you still won't be in 4LO , the truck needs to be moving , so you would still be in 2wd with the dial in 4LO .

 

It doesn't take a few blocks to engage... It will engage instantly or within a few feet or a few wheel spins. Yes, difficult to steer sharply on dry pavement in 4WD... but it pops back out into H2 almost right away if you leave it in H4 at night and it didn't snow the next morning, when you turn the dial back to H2.

 

Why? If you live on the beach, in a snowfield, or in a desert sand dune field... you sure wouldn't be ever taking it out of 4WD... and I am sure there are places in the world where Toyotas NEVER see pavement!

I camp on a beach in the dunes... and while it isn't more than a few days at a time, I can assure you my dial is set to H4 all night long, and my truck is quite happy!