Driving in 4hi and gear shifter in L rather than just 4lo

I was driving down a steep colorado hill in a blizzard with a automatic transmission. historically ive had some issues engaging 4lo so when things got sketchy and steep i was already in 4hi and then shifted my gear stick to L. I drove probably 10-15 miles like this. The car was def moving slower than 4hi so im under the impression the lower gear engaged but there wasnt any cranking or anything while driving or since.

any thoughts/would you think there was damage?

 

As long as you stayed under redline it's fine

 

Its not going to engage 4lo that way.

 

What you did is no different than driving a manual in first gear while 4Hi was engaged. Drive all day in 1st gear (or Lo) in your case as long as you are within the operating limits of the motor (temp + RPM) and the xfer case (not binding it up doing tight turns and whatnot on high traction surfaces) you're fine. When I think low speed and 4WD in an auto my first concerns are engine and transmission temps since you are moving so slow. You were in a blizzard though so temps shouldn't be a concern.

I like your style. Sometimes when my friends ask me a question I answer something totally off topic that they didn't even ask. Ex: "Hey when did you say you were going out of town?" ... "Roast beef sandwich with avocado toasted. Lettuce, Mayo, and tomatoes. Could you also fill up the truck while you are out? Thanks."

They give me the same look I am giving your post right now.

 

He said he put the transmission gear selector into L = 1st gear.

 

Not that I’ve tried but can you even bury the needle on an automatic 2nd gen Tacoma? I’m pretty sure that if you shift into L while going too fast, the ECM will not allow the shift to actually occur, or will it?

@gearcruncher

 

the rpms stayed between 2-2500 and the temp gauge never diverged from right down the middle between hot and cold. really appreciate all of the insight!

 

If you drove in the lower gear for an extended period about all that might do is raise the transmission temperature... probably fine but i wouldn't make a habit of it.

 

What is L

mines manual so it’s 6speed 4HI 2HI or 4LO

it seems engagement requires the following
4HI be in a gear, revs up a bit, under decel to take the load off. Hit the switch. It’ll flash then go solid. Now it’s in 4HI

4LO complete stop. Clutch in. Turn knob. Click. Goes into 4LO.
Getting out is the same steps.

if not done it won’t go into 4LO just flashes and beeps. didn’t know how to do this when I first got the truck.

use depends on conditions like RPM and traction
I towed through snow before in 4HI and felt like there was enough weight pushing down on the truck I had a lot of grip vs other cars not towing.
Visor instructions say some stuff about this.

but also sometimes went 4HI downhill in that scenario (don’t know if that was a mistake or not) just to have more engine braking to slow and control hill descent without riding the brakes.

 

The chances you went 10-15 miles in 4Lo is slim to none.
4Lo in 1st gear (L) is like 3-5 mph.......and for 10-15 miles?....Nahhhhh
If the switch was in 4 High, you were in High range 1st gear (L)

 

What you did is called engine braking and it’s the most important technique for safe driving in mountain passes in any weather, and safe braking on any slick road condition. Read up on it and use it, every time! It works regardless of transfer case setting.

 

The op said he was in 4H with the auto shifter in the L position... never said he was in 4L. Like metioned above it's normally used for engine braking/slowing down steep grades instead of riding the brakes.... not to be used for extended periods of time per owners manual due to possible overheating of tranny iirc.

 

The simple answer is, your experience was normal.
Nothing to worry about.

I would look into the 4Lo shifting issue when you get time.
There is a thread dedicated to 4WD issues.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/4wd-system-operation-help-thread.742420/

 

Unless something changed you have to stop the truck put it in neutral then switch it to 4lo
4lo wont just engage with pull of stick

 

Lmao at all the keyboard warriors in here. Go and re-read the OP, as many times as it takes to comprehend he was not touching his transfer case gear selector.

@TacoTuesday1 ”L” means locking an auto trans into first gear. You never drive an automatic?? We still have choices too you know


to expand, whatever gear you select there will be the max gear the ECM will allow but it can still shift lower. For example, put it in 3 and come to a stop, then go again, and the truck will start out in 1st but never shift higher than 3rd unless you shift to 4 or D.

edit: oh and “R” stands for Race

 

The problem is, OP didn't make his question clear.
He says he has issues with 4Lo.
Then he says,

You can't be "lower" than 4Hi, with out being in a gear lower than 4Hi. The transfer case houses 2 ranges, Lo and Hi.
The transmission has nothing to do with 2Hi or 2Lo.
There is not but one way to be "lower" than 4Hi, that is 4Lo

You (TireFire) may already know this.
But this is where some have gotten confused and answered the way they did.

The question is, what is OP calling 4Hi?

 

No. Not sure if I'm missing out. Crawling with auto sounds easier.

I'm guessing 2L means 2nd gear, Low Gear
start in 1st
max out in 2nd. Don't know why it would do that. 2nd isn't much capability. Off roading maybe?

I can understand the purpose of drop down from 5th to 4th. Maybe the more options shifters just gives it more capability based on what scenario might need it.

Automatic is controlled by a TCM so it should in theory not allow accidental issues like over rev (fuel cut) and just simply result in revving too high sounding bad and burning more fuel if it's in lower gear than it should be.
vs. manual without any sort of controls like that where it's possible to money shift mechanical overrev and damage everything. Seen someone do this, I think they redlined 2nd, went to shift into 3rd. Missed it went into 1st.

 

Back in my Honda days, I missed a 3-4 shift.
North of 9,500 rpm is where I sent the needle.

Things happen. I was lucky that day.
No valves or bearings were harmed.
The engine was still going strong 30k miles later when I sold the car.

 

No dude, there is no 2L. It’s 2 (2nd gear) on the left and L (1st gear) on the right. It’s to allow engine braking with an automatic, VERY useful and critical to keep brakes from fading. Also super useful off-road.

IDK what your talking about with “simply revving too high, sounding bad vs later mechanical overrev” …. There is no difference. Overrev is overrev. The engine is connected to the wheels thru the drive train. Even with full fuel cut bad things can happen (think valve float, rods, main bearings, belts & chains, etc).

by the way, both in manual & auto trucks the ECM already cuts fuel under engine braking in all modern cars. I’d you had an AFR gauge you see it read all the way lean

 

Good ole in-line 4banger Honda. It probably liked it