Stuck in 4low/ Repair shop recommendation?

2017 Tacoma TRD offroad. On Saturday after doing a short run up a hill in 4L I wasn't able to disengage 4low so I drove it slowly to the closest shop which was in Cave Creek. I just heard back from them today they aren't able to get anything from the diagnostic codes to pinpoint what is wrong and I have to take it to a Toyota Dealership. Few questions; first can anybody recommend one dealership over another for a repair like this? Alternatively, is there a trusted shop outside of a dealership that is capable of tackling this and can maybe save me a few $$ as I know dealerships can be silly expensive? Hell, I'm already racking up quite the rental car bill. Has anybody had this issue and any insight on repair/cost?

Truck has 115k miles so it's out of any warranty. I bought the vehicle new at Berge Toyota in Mesa and live near downtown Phoenix.

Here's a picture when it was happy and working :-/

 

Trouble getting out of low range is a common problem. It is usually solved by putting the truck in reverse and backing up 10-15', then pulling forward 10-15'. Repeat as many times as necessary until the gears are no longer in a bind. I've had to do this little dance for several minutes in the past. Not just with Tacoma, but any 4X4.

 

Thanks Marshall. When it happened I tried exactly that over and over more times than I can count. Also tried disconnecting the battery in case it was an electrical issue. Nothing worked, after 2 hours of screwing around I drove it to the closest shop. The 4lo light is blinking as well, whatever issue that indicates. The shop it's at can't diagnose the problem and told me to take it to a dealer.

 

Man, I have a tool that can diagnose this and some prerequisite information on the entire 4wd system, but I leave town permanently tomorrow, and I don't want you towing it around for no reason.

I wish you the best. I had a t-case actuator issue and it was remarkably expensive to rectify.

If you just want your truck back in 2wd so you can use it day after day, PM me. If you know how to do some basic wrenching I can get you into 2wd without the electrical system functioning.

 

Getting back in 2wd would be great! It would keep me from having to either drive it at 25mpg to a shop or calling a tow truck. I'll PM you

 

Pull and replace the fuses and disconnect the actuator itself under the truck. Mine did this years ago.. and after disconnecting the actuator and pulling fuses it worked. not sure which one of those actually solved it, but I would recommend trying both regardless.

 

Hey everyone,

I'm out in Arizona for seasonal arborist work and I'm having the same issue. Anyone around that can help? I have a 1st gen 2001 4x4

 

did you get this fixed? I saw this post earlier today and thought it might be helpful pinpointing the problem?

edit: seems like a lot of stuff is intertwined together; could be a sensor somewhere
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...3rd-gen-today.399305/page-13381#post-29141283

 

tried to put the switch back into 4lo and then back into 4hi?

i had the same issue with a 4runner. what i ended up doing, is taking the center diff actuator apart and putting it back together.