rr diff lock highway speed

2008 taco TRD v6 double-cab off-road pkg

i think I accidentally pressed the RR diff lock button just as i was pulling out of a gas station today. I got on the freeway and went on a 1.5 hour drive. I look down under my gas gauge and see a red light blinking. It finally stops blinking as I near my destination and stays on. I'm not doing much turning but when i do turn I'm going slow anyway. I pull up and when i go to park it it kind of stutters and I thinking I have a tow truck rescue in my near future.

I hand over my keys my truck to a friend and let him know him the situation. I later ask him if he noticed anything. He says that initially there was a stuttering type movement and I'm thinking probably like the one I felt when I handed him the keys. My question is:

Did i just fry my read differential lock? Theres no visual damage.

I'm planning to see if it still works tomorrow. Should I not and go straight to a transmission shop to get it fixed. What's a reasonable rate for a transmission inspection?

Does anyone have a link to the thread that discusses the pros and dangers of changing the transmission oil?

 

If it was blinking that means that the diff lock was never engaged. It only engages after it goes solid. If you flipped it back off you right away you should be fine

 

it was solid for maybe a minute or two as i neared my destination and was at reduced speed. Thanks!

 

This must be on a PreRunner right? As I don't think mine will work unless in 4-Lo range?

That's dope if you can just flip it on in 2wd on PreRunners, makes no sense why they programmed 4x4's to only work in 4-Lo range.

 

Tbh it's right next to the fog light button and is the same size. I've hit it a few times by mistake it's even easier to hit because there's no lighting

 

Its fine.

 

You'd know it by now if you hurt it.
When the locker Breaks you WILL know it.

Turn it back off. And DRIVE.
And try not to do what ever it was you did to turn it ON at those speeds again.

 

You should be fine. Your tires would be barking if it actually engaged.

 

thanks everyone. and no it was not on L4 although like an idiot i popped it into L4 to see if i could get the light to stop blinking. no its not mod'd and yes its a prerunner. thanks again!

 

You couldn't put it into L4 if its a prerunner.

 

So yes it did engage, once thst red light turned solid, the locker is on, and that's why your wheels were stuttering...you now have full power to both wheels.

If that ever happens again...usually you can just turn the truck off and your fine, BEFORE it engages. If it engages, hit the button again and do a little back and forth at super low speed until it disengages. If you roll your windows down you'll hear a loud 'CLACK' when that locker does its thing. You're not gonna fuck it up from a little bit of driving...if you drove around all day long...Yea probably lol, but I've accidentally engaged it as well before and mines doing just fine.

 

Do some research about what "L4" means. Usually a Prerunner (2WD) uses only 2 wheels. "L4" stands for "Low 4 Wheel Drive".

You can't put it in 4 low, Hero.

 

I'm still confused, how did Op get his locker on at highway speed, if his truck is not a PreRunner, and is actually a 4x4-OR?

I only ask as I don't think my '14, OR's locker will work unless I come to a dead stop, switch to 4-Lo, then proceed.

I must have missed the part where the op explained he had done the "locker anytime mod"

 

sorry to be such a total noob but i guess I'm not completely sure if my truck is a Prerunner other than it says so on the back lower part of my tail gate. "PreRunner V6 SR5". there were lots of things i wasn't told (nor for that matter to be fair that i asked about it) when i purchased it. bastards at the dealership tried to sell me an alarm. lo and behold it had one but they had engaged the valet switch. lucky for me i got my money back!

anyway my shifter goes from P to R to N-D-4-3-2-L. I thought L4 was the one next to D and i'm pretty sure I'm not 4WD. heres a link to a picture of it. hope it works

https://www.dropbox.com/s/61rg5y5y6medy1r/2014-10-27 04.57.04.jpg?dl=0

i'm not completely sure the locker ever engaged. i either hit the switch while stopped but just before i pulled out of the gas station. i only noticed the light blinking while i was moving and come to think of it i was stopped at least once or twice at stoplights after i hit it and it never went solid nor did i feel anything.

i don't remember actually pressing it but i have one of those devices to keep my iphone at eye level and it fell while putting my iphone in it and i think thats when i accidentally knocked it. even after getting off the freeway near my destination i was doing lots of stop and go driving and i don't remember feeling anything. but at some point the light went solid and after arriving at my destination thats when i was feeling that stuttering type movement and thats when i decided to check and sure enough the button was pressed and that red light turned off. and there was another light on just above the gas gauge that said "ABS" that i hadn't noticed before and that light turned off as well.

anyway since this happened i went to a parking lot and i have brought my trunk to a complete standstill. i dropped the truck into both 2 and L and pressed the button. the red light blinks and the ABS light is on solid. how long to i wait? i don't think i've actually gotten it to engage. ie/ turn the light solid. is there some trick to do? I'm thinking i better figure it out now before i get in some mud.

any of you taco owners from sunny San Diego like me? could use a fellow taco owner that i can text when I'm being a noob like i am. thanks everyone!

 

Weird, I took my new '14 Off-Road out for a quick wheelin adventure, around the lake a few weeks ago. I went through all of the functions, just to see what everything does ( Locker, A-Trac, the various traction control etc). If I pushed the locker button, it did nothing unless the truck was put into 4-Lo range.

Humm, going to have to try it again when I get a free moment again.

 

Look above the cubby that's just behind your ignition switch where you put your key. Is there a knob that has 3 positions (2H, 4H, 4L)? If yes, you have a 4x4, otherwise it's a PreRunner.

 

nope its not there. i was pretty sure it wasn't a 4x4.

PreRunner = 2WD, gotcha!

do you think it matters to have the shifter in L or D if I'm planning to use the locker for its intended purpose? i would think so since you want the max torque but not max speed. correct?

 

I really don't want to say this...but OP, did you think you had a 4WD because the gear shift had a 4 under the D?

 

haha. very funny

 

I mean, its a reasonable question. How did you put a Prerunner in 4L?