Stuck in 4 Lo

Look at all the trucks on construction jobs getting the underside scraped up and in for warranty for this or that with no problem .

 

Mine was one of those too.

 

The truck is definitely in 4LO. I use the 4WD pretty often, so I’m familiar with the sequence of how to engage and disengage the 4HI, 4LO, 2WD. Also, I have a manual 6sp. transmission. The truck only has 4100miles on it. I’ve used the 4WD system at least 20 times, but only 3x’s into 4LO.
When shifting, in Nuetral, from 4LO to 4HI there is simply a steady beeping that occurs and the system shows 4LO on the dash. I can drive forward or backward, but will not relinquish 4LO until the vehicle is turned off and then back on.
Thanks for all your help. Sorry for not including more information initially. I’m a little agitated because it’s a 2019 with 4000 miles. It only worked as it should the very first time I used it. The other 2 times. It did not.

 

By the way. I understand “that’s what the warranty is for” etc. However, it has been my experience that nobody takes care of your things like you do. Quite possibly the worst example of this is taking your car that was purchased out of town to a local dealer. I just don’t believe they will treat my vehicle as kindly as I would. That it my concern with simply bringing it to the dealer to have them jack around pretending to fix things, then decide that it “never happens when they try it” and so on and so forth.

 

I've owned a dozen 4X4's going back to the 1970's. Every one of them could be difficult to get out of 4lo. I find it best to come to a complete stop, shift the transmission to neutral, or press clutch all the way to the floor with a manual, then shift to 4hi. It is important to go to 4hi first. That way you're not asking the transfer case to do 2 things at the same time. Then shift the transmission to "D" and drive off. You can then shift back to 2wd on the move. It just seems to work better that way. Technically it is possible to go straight to 2wd from 4lo, but I see fewer problems doing it my way.

Even then it may not want to shift out of 4lo. In that case drive in reverse 10-15', stop then move forward 10-15' and try again. If it still doesn't shift out of 4lo repeat until it does. I've had to do this little dance several times in the past. Not just with the Tacoma.

 

Are you stopped and holding the clutch to the floor when going from 4Lo to 4Hi? That messed me up on the first couple tries.

 

So I need to hold the clutch down? Even if I have it in Nuetral?

 

I would say yes .

 

...give me 10 minutes. I’ll try it right now.

 

Bleep100!!!! ....That’s it! Very simple. Just hold the clutch ALL THE WAY to the floor and it will transfer out of 4Lo. Wow! I never would have guessed that. Thank you. Thank you. The system works fine, the driver has errors! TacomaWorld has helped me so many times. Awesome. Thanks again.

 

Tonered...thanks so much. Huge help you guys.

 

Very much yes.

I glad that all worked out. With the MT, you don't need to be in neutral. But, stopped and clutch to the floor.

The manual say 2mph is okay to go in and out of 4Lo, but I have not had luck with that.

 

I figured Neutral was the best I could possibly do...no strain on the driveline at all. I guess there is something in the electronics that wants the clutch depressed.

 

There is no strain on the driveline with the clutch disengaged, esp when going between 4Hi and 4Lo. It is just swapping cogs in the transfer case. No big deal either way though.

Yes. There are switches on both ends of the clutch travel. The 4wd ECU is looking for a signal from the one at the bottom of the travel.

Also, if you ever get annoyed by the somewhat odd engagement, check out this mod:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/mt-accumulator-delete-mod-adm-and-bs-thread.568303/

 

... and you didn’t even have to wash off the bottom dirt!

 

@Panda2 -By the way, I have an AT so mine is different, what does the shifting info say about it on your visor, does it mention pushing the clutch also?

 

It does. ATs need to be in neutral with a foot on the brake, and MTs need to be nearly stopped (2mph or less) and clutch fully in.

That said, there has been a lot of posts about the finickiness of getting in and out of 4Lo. For me, I need to be completely stopped. Like you know, this is why is it often recommended to test it all out before you really need it, and to do the 10mi/mo exercise.

For @Panda2 , this is some really good reading as the manual skimps on a lot of details:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-traction-control-modes-explained.530695/

 

I wish we had twin sticks and manual freehubs for simplicity, but I do very much enjoy my Taco. It just took some learning, esp being my first truck and part-time 4wd vehicle.

 

I did it once just to see if I could, think I was on the grass in my backyard. Smooth as butter when I did it, not sure I could replicate it out wheeling or something. Moving at 2 mph, then clutch in is a pretty small window. I guess you could switch the knob as you were coming to a stop, assuming you weren't already spinning.

Glad youse guys figured out OP's problem, I was about to say double clutch does the trick for me when switching in/out of 4lo.

 

It is a very small window. I can understand why they want us to be nearly stopped, but I would really appreciate something like 10mph and clutch in. I'm thinking of towing and climbing situations where it would help to have low range to get rolling, then swap over to 4Hi. By the time the T case did its thing, we'd be down to a few MPH anyway.