Stuck in 4 Lo

2019 TRD OR. My truck will go into 4Lo, but will not come out until the truck is turned off and back on again. Is this “normal” with the 3rd Gen? Do I risk taking this to the dealer and having them screw with it? Thank you.

 

That is not normal. Take it in.

It sounds like it is consistent, so you should not have any problem at a good dealer.

 

What specifically is it doing? Doesn’t seem to add up

 

Next time you use 4lo try reversing about 15-30 ft after switching out and see if that helps.

 

What did you try besides turning it off and on? Is it really in 4 low or does the light just say it?

Did you try what willie64 recommends too?

 

If in drive go neutral then bump reverse and back to neutral , it should come out .

 

Mine did this in 4hi. It would stay blinking on the dash and not come out until I left the truck Turned off for about 15 minutes then it would pop out of it.

Dealer said normal
Etccc

I learned to use 4wd more often on any dirt road to “break in the system” and always keep it lubricated.
Haven’t had any problems ever since. Even the Manue says l to use it 10 miles a month to keep it tip top

 

How many miles are on your truck? When I first got mine it took longer than it should to engage/disengage. After using 4wd more and putting more miles on the truck I don't have that issue.

 

isn't that what warranty is for

 

I am not understanding why it is a "risk" to return the truck to the dealer to fix a problem? This is what you are supposed to do, under warranty. NEVER do any work on a warranty covered item. It is FREE to have the dealer fix it and it remains under warranty still.

Now, as for going into and out of L4... Are you doing so from H4 or H2? You should be in H4 first since you only need L4 for extreme off-road and should have been in H4 when you left the paved road or at least the graded road. Do not wait to be stuck before you use 4WD!
As for Low Range (L4):
If an automatic, you need to be in N Neutral (not P Park) to go into OR out of L4. You get a warning buzzer otherwise. If a manual, then the clutch has to be fully depressed.

 

Can you describe your sequence for going in and out of 4lo, just to cover the bases?

Should be at a complete stop when doing it, 4lo can't be disengaged on the fly like 4hi can.

If it's stuck in 4lo until you turn the truck on/off it sounds like an electrical issue, I'd have the dealer look at it if you're under warranty.

Make sure you clean the truck real good first, especially underneath. They see any dirt or marks on the skid plate and this will turn into another "dealer denied my warranty because I went offroad" threads.

 

I have heard from my Toyota Tech dealer buddies that if you do not use 4wd very often this will happen. They recommended to me to run it in 4Hi at least once a month, if you don;t use 4lo, to keep everything lubricated.

 

If it shifts into/out of 4LO when restarting the truck, then my guess is nothing is wrong with the system, but rather you are either not following the process of shifting into/out of 4LO correctly, or you just need to drive forward/backwards a few times to allow the system to disengage.

 

I'd be taking it to the dealer. Like others said, it has a warranty for a reason. Don't risk doing any damage

 

In 4 low I believe you must be in neutral to get and in neutral to get out. To get into 4 Hi you must be in neutral, and when I say in neutral also stopped. To get out of 4 Hi you can be in drive and moving with your foot off the gas. Even then asap stop and back up to make sure .

 

I’m not OP!

 

Sounds like you are not ever going into 4Lo. My guess is you are requesting 4Lo, without putting the truck in neutral as required, and turning the truck off and on again just resets that request.

 

So you're saying no one gets denied a warranty repair on the grounds that they used their truck offroad? There are countless threads in this forum alone that prove otherwise. Washing the mud and dirt off your truck before you take it in to deal with a warranty issue isn't a dumb move imo.

Here I found a few among several in a simple search

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/09-tacoma-4x4-warranty-coverage-denied.149280/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...r-under-warranty-due-to-offroad-abuse.547456/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ng-offroad-dealer-blames-dirt-and-mud.272766/

 

No, Im saying that just taking it offroad and having dirt under it isn't a valid enough reason in itself to deny a warranty, the dealer has to show more than that.

Lots of us have gotten warranty work even though there were scrapes and dirt under our trucks, Ive had wheel bearings replaced and other warranty items done and hardly ever washed my entire truck, save for the windows.

The thread examples you posted were unfortunate accidental breakdowns for the owners, but also possible situations of abuse. They would not be easy to prove that they weren’t.