More 4WD issues

About a week ago, my new to me 19 Tacoma (30k miles) started flashing 4lo on startup and then gave me the failure to change dash warning. I hadn't used 4wd in about a week. And it did this with no attempt to change out of 2wd. I went thru a bunch of threads and videos. Ended up pulling the ADD, it was pristine inside. Tested the motor, works. Set to mid range, Soldered the connections, and reinstalled. No help.
Pulled the transfer case actuator, looked pristine. Made sure the transfer case rod was set at 2wd, Soldered those points as well, timed the gears, reinstalled. No help.
Went to a local 4x4 shop today. The guy used a code reader and showed me the truck was throwing P279E which makes sense. He cleared the codes, which came back immediately. Made appointment for service in a couple days.
Got home, started looking at more threads, came upon a suggestion to check the selector switch. I had been monkeying around behind there installing an OEM ditch light switch a couple weeks ago, maybe I jacked the harness. Pulled the harness off, wiped it off, reinstalled. Problem gone! No error messages on dash and Truck shifts into and out of 4hi and 2wd. Took it up the mountain to go check the 4 lo.
First attempt to get into 4lo gave beeping and dash indicating 4lo, but it def wasn't. Switched back to 4hi then 2wd went a little further, tried 4lo again. This time all is right with world. 4 lo, no beeping all is great. Went up the trail impressed with myself.
Bottom of the trail I tried to get out of 4lo, no joy. The truck is stuck in 4lo. Just got back after taking the long way home to avoid pavement.
I can't help but feeling I'm close to getting this thing licked, but after an hour of messing with trying to get out of 4lo, I left it in the driveway and cracked a beer and came back to TW to see if anyone has any advice. I wouldn't be posting if this was an isolated "I'm stuck in 4lo and didn't read the card on the visor" it's a progression of issues that I just can't seem to get fixed all at once!

 

Great effort to diagnose and repair, but I believe that perhaps the Toyota factory powertrain warranty may be a prudent next step.

 

Unfortunately, I'm three months out of warranty.

 

Powertrain warranty is 5 year/60K miles

 

Not in Mexico. 3yrs/60k Klicks. Maybe I can bring a bottle of tequila to the service advisor if I decide to try the dealer, lol. They wouldn't even do an alignment on the truck after I did the suspension because the truck is "heavily modified" . I can only imagine what they would say IF I was in warranty and they saw my solder inside those actuators.

 

Look in your owners manual(s). It should tell you how long each warranty lasts. Bumper to bumper is usually 3years/36k and power train is almost always longer

 

Sounds to me like all is not right with your switch.

 

No dice on the warranty. Toyota Mexico only offers their standard 3yr/60k KM warranty and an optional extended for 7yr/150k KM but the previous owner didn't purchase. A big difference down here is that you are OBLIGATED to have your vehicle serviced at the dealer during the warranty period, they actually provide a book that the dealer stamps at every service. If you are late or miss a service, your warranty is void. We missed a one yr oil change on our '21 Terrain by 2 weeks due to being out of the country, and I had to beg and plead for an "exception".

 

That's a valid point, and a not too expensive part. Im not a throw parts at a problem guy, but this seems like an inexpensive stab. Thanks

 

That’s pretty shitty. You’d think Toyota as a company would operate a little more professionally than that

 

I am close to 60. I have made pretty much every mistake that is listed on this forum at one point or another.
Here is my free advice... Always trust Toyota to be better than you or a shop. Meaning, go look for things you or a shop might have done before thinking an OEM part messed up.
Save a lot of time that way.

 

It ain't just Toyota, bro it's every manufacturer down here. Rules are just different and the lack of consumer protections is a real issue.

 

That's why I went to the selector switch after an "ah hah" moment reading a thread. It's probably my fault. I'm retired and have more time than money.....

 

Can't get the truck out of 4lo. Going to take off the TC actuator and manually reset it. This is probably a rookie question, but when I push the rod in manually does it matter what position the selector switch is in? Truck is in 4lo, should I turn the selector switch to 2wd and push the rod all the way in? Or does it matter? Just don't want to have to tow this thing to the shop..

 

Suggest you try to probe the connector pins with a multimeter. Check the voltage going to things in different settings. That could help figure out actuator vs wire harness/selector.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/4wd-system-operation-help-thread.742420/#post-26430333

 

Ok, so it doesn't seem to matter. I put 9v to pin 1-2 on the TC actuator and it moved out of 4lo into 2wd. I can now switch between 2wd and 4hi without problems. I can get into 4lo, but not out until I apply voltage to the actuator manually. Bad actuator?

 

I'll do that. Thanks.

 

Do you measure voltage going to the actuator connector pins when trying to get out of 4L? I’m not that familiar yet with the system but if it moves with applied voltage, I would think switch is possible issue.

 

I'll take some readings later this afternoon and post them up. Seems to me that either the actuator is bad or more than likey I buggered the selector switch when I was hamfisting the ditch light switch into the dash.

 

Given the work you were doing in the dash recently I would suspect the switch. Id try probing those leads and see what the switch is doing. Not exactly sure how it could work INTO 4Lo, but not OUT of 4Lo? But it seems like the place to start. Manually applying voltage to the t-case actuator and having it move tells me thats not your issue.

Keep in mind the thread linked above is great, but its for 2nd gen trucks. 3rd gens are slightly different in pinouts / wire colors. Though I do think they physically operate the same