Help!!! 4x4 Problem

My truck is brand a new 2010 DC 4x4 SR5 and it seems like it takes forever to shift it into 4x4 High or low. The little thing keeps flashing for like a minute before it locks in! Is this normal or should I take it to the stealership?
While sitting still in Neutral

 

while driving, while accel., sitting still...?

 

Sometimes you need to turn the wheels left or right to align the gears in order for the actuator to engage.

However, it should not take a long time. Practice with it. I use 4HI often and mine will even engage with the truck parked on asphalt sitting still. I have also engaged it many times while traveling at speed.

Test yours thoroughly. If you think yours is bad it very well could be, its not unheard of.

EDIT: Here is a post from a guy who had a bad 4WD actuator in his 2010: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...a-rust-quality-issues-rant-8.html#post1610372

 

I have only had a problem putting mine into 4lo. But it was only because I was moving when I put it in. But it didn't harm my 4x4.

 

its been posted somewhere. but, if its new it will take awhile for it to go into 4x4. but, as you use it overtime - it will switch more quickly. and you only need to be in neutral on 4l

 

Ya it seems to go faster while in motion. I'm not complaining but that does kinda suck, what happens if your stuck and cant move to shift it? Oh well, need the old fanishioned manual shifter!!!

 

I keep it rolling into 4HI, you can engage it at up to 60mph. I stop for 4LO, have to.

I swear mine has gotten faster. When I first bought it I noticed a lag but now it's instant most of the time.

 

You can put it in park... switch to 4hi... it'll go 4x4 immediately. then put it back in drive. Most of the time you won't even need to do that.

Also, the vehicle doesnt have to move, only the wheels.

 

Hmmmm... H4 is sift on the fly... do it ll the time...

L4 you must STOP, put the shifter into N (NOT PARK), then turn the dial from H4 to L4... light will stop blinking right away or when you start to move... IF not, repeat.

Otherwise, take it back, make them fix... ALSO, read your owners manual... it is in there!

If you have a TRD OFF ROAD, then the following will help, as it is not 'in there' very well!

 

Ok, so I'm all confused one guys saying one thing and one guy another........and I only ask because I've only had mine for a month now and never had a 4x4. Oh, and I didnt have an owners manual either when I bought it.

So is the above entry correct on going into 4x4 Hi or Lo ? I mean geeze, is it that difficult ? I just dont want to mess up my truck....as we know this could be an expensive mistake.

What would be proper procedure go into 4x4 in either or Hi/Lo??

 

4Hi you have the option but 4Lo you must be stopped to get it to change.
My 2010 was really slow too when I first got it but now after about 5 months or so it has definitely gotten smoother at it.

 

Read the little thing on the driver side visor.

For 4hi you can do it anytime under 55mph. If you are trying to shift to 4hi on a stand still... i.e. you left your truck in 2wd and a snowstorm showed up, you can shift into 4hi while in PARK.

For 4Lo, you must be in N (neutral) postion going under 3mph or completely stopped... press down on the 4x4 knob and turn it to 4Lo.

 

Hi Phoneguy,

I have had three 4WD Tacomas... and all three worked the same... as I said above, for H4 (4WD High Range) which is for four wheeling at speed on slippery roads, you can engage while moving 'shift on the fly' (up to 60 mph or there abouts). If you are parked and need to get into H4 right away, then you may need to move a bit to engage/ as well as disengage. You can just leave it in 4WD all the time if you live on dirt roads or it is always snowing (like in Canada, eh?).

For L4 (4WD Low Range), you must be in NEUTRAL (not Park), thus stopped... When you turn the dial to L4, the light may be blinking or go solid right away. If blinking, it isn't in yet... Put truck in Drive and begin moving... The light should stop blinking and you will feel the LOW RANGE when it is engaged... (repeat the steps if it doesn't engage).

Low Range is for strong torque power at the wheels, for deep snow or mud as well as climbing steep grades... Your speed is limited because of the low gearing.

If you have the Rear Differential Locker, it only works while your truck is in L4. The rear locker puts torque to both rear wheels, equally... this helps in a stuck or steep climb situation when one of the rear tires is in a slippery condition or off the ground, but the other isn't... to keep you moving.

A-TRAC (Active Traction Control) on the '09 and newer Off Road TRD 4WDs is like having lockers on the front and rear, with 'intelligence' .. or 'smart lockers'... it won't cause your truck to track straight on a curve. With A-TRAC, only (any) one tire needs to be on the ground or firm soil to move your truck.

 

Toyota made it dummy proof. It will not allow you to make a catastrophic mistake.

For example, Toyota states not to shift into 4Hi above 60mph. Well I tried it just to see what would happen. Simple. The truck will not shift into 4Hi above 60mph and it will beep continuously until I reduced speed or moved the 4WD switch back to 2WD.

All the other transfer case operations work very much the same.

On my truck, the driver side sun visor has all the 2WD / 4WD statements for operator control.