4-Wheel High Clicking Noise

Hi guys,

Newbie here....I bought a new 2018 TRD Pro last month and wanted to ask about 4WD. I put her in 4 wheel high just for fun some lately because it's new and I haven't had a 4X4 in a long long time (been a rainy Feb/March so far here in Tennessee). Saturday I put her in 4 wheel high to tow a Ski Naitique 200 (about 3,000 pounds). Nothing out of the ordinary for the 5 mile trip to the lake and the Tacoma handled it like a champ. I backed the boat down the ramp and dropped the boat in the water and still absolutely no issues. When I put it in drive and started easing up the ramp with only the trailer in tow...I heard a pretty loud clicking noise that lasted only for a second maybe. It's not a steep incline at all. Rear tires were wet and the front tires were dry. Is this a common noise in a situation like this?? Thanks

 

Your hearing the 4wheel drive actuator engaging.

 

ok really appreciate the response. Thanks

 

Are you driving around in 4x4 on dry roads hauling a boat?

 

Bad move? Just for traction. Never above 40 mph. Roads mostly dry on Saturday.

 

Were your front tires turned when you were trying to do this?

Turning hard while in 4wd on mostly dry surface = no no

 

Yikes. You should never engage 4wd on dry roads and take any turns. Things get bound up and break quickly. Will your truck engage/disengage 4wd without issue or weird noises? After it made those clicking noises did it stop? That could have been traction control aids kicking in to aid on a slippery ramp.

 

@Riding Dirty thank you for the heads up. After reading a bit I see the mistakes in my thinking. I didn't turn any super sharp corners but obviously over a 5 mile course i had to make a couple of turns. Definitely won't anymore and thanks for pointing out. I was straight up the ramp and it's the only time I have heard the clicking noise. Only lasted a split second and then stopped. Truck has been in 2wd ever since. No issues.

 

@trazerr Thank you as well. A little too gung-ho on my part with the new toy. I really appreciate you guys correcting me

 

Was the noise the traction control engaging? You said the back tires were wet on you were on a ramp.

 

Traction control for the win. That is what you heard OP, your brakes being actuated to prevent you from slipping the wheels.

 

Well, that’s good, you may not have damaged anything.

Try to engage 4wd to make sure it is still correctly working, but safest bet is to find a dirt road to test it out. You can engage on dry road only in a straight stretch, but I don’t like to do that.
Hopefully everything is still good (I suspect it is), and this can just be a new learning experience!

 

@Herniator @hiPSI This is all normal and I shouldn't change any settings right?? The back tires went into the water and it's slick (mud settles on the ramp underwater) so I suspect you guys are right.

 

It’s good to use 4x4 once in awhile. Toyota reccomends it once a month. Just don’t take any sharp corners on dry pavement. That will cause binding.
I wouldn’t worry about any damage to your truck. Normal operation.

 

The clicking was your traction control engaging like others have said. You won’t hurt your truck driving on pavement in 4hi as long as you aren’t making sharp turns. Normal driving with normal radius sweeping turns isn’t going to damage the truck, it’s tight turns in city driving or parking lots that start causing problems.

 

Nope. Just the truck taking care of you is all.
Read up on the VSC operation in your manual. It's pretty cool what it will do.

 

I agree with the traction control guesses. Perfectly normal sound, although disconcerting the first time you hear it. Also agree with the advice to generally not drive on dry pavement in 4hi or 4lo:

 

I know everyone says turning in 4hi on dry pavement is very bad, but what about 4lo? Similar issue?

 

Same problem. Probably much easier to actually damage things doing it in 4lo.

 

So even off roading you're supposed to avoid total lock out situations, or potentially run into broken cv joints if you randomly have full traction on all 4 wheels?