TRD Off Road Rear Locker

Three years ago I bought my 2012 Tacoma TRD Off Road with AT. Today it has 191,000 miles. I have driven it the last 33,000 miles which have been completely trouble free with the exception of two tire pressure sensors.
Yesterday I was crossing the field at our farm after a rain. I decided to try locking the rear differential but it would not lock. The light kept flashing after a number of attempts. Given the history of the truck I seriously doubt anyone has ever locked the rear differential since it was new. Any thoughts?

 

Was it in 4LO?

 

Exactly. It will only engage if you are in 4LO

the pre-3rd gen e-lockers have a small electric motor that shifts a collar to engage the locker. It's not unusual for those to need servicing or replamcent. You can get OEM Aisin shift motors (~$300) on Amazon as well as a number of cheaper knockoffs.(~$100)

 

Just the fact that it hasn’t been exercised for a while it might be seized or stuck.

 

Mine just needed a few light taps with a hammer while someone operated the switch to get it going again, now I engage it occasionally to keep it moving.

 

I think I tried it in 4 lo once or twice. The other attempts were in 4 hi. I will try that and if necessary a little coaxing with a hammer. Thanks

 

It will only operate in 4Lo.

 

Good luck….hope it frees up.

 

Its a pretty simple apparatus. The locker actuator just spins a little gear which moves a lever forward and back. Then there is a little ball sensor on top to indicate it engages. You can pull the actuator and make sure it spins when you engage / disengage. You can also use a screwdriver to manually move the lever once the actuator is pulled out to make sure it locks freely.

 

Adding to this - sometimes the locker will "stick" when once it's engaged and then not want to disengage, and vice versa. You may need to slightly steer left & right to get the locker to actuate.

Also, be careful using your locker on paved surfaces as you can seriously damage your diff by turning on pavement with a locked rear end. I watched a dude grenade the rear diff on his Dodge Ram doing this, or maybe it was just his Ram doing Ram things lol

 

12psi, tight corners on sandstone in moab while locked... handles it like a champ. I doubt the street at street pressures would be a problem. Granted you are usually not using a lot of throttle.

 

Yea bud, I use my diff locker on hard rock & all sorts of shit out in Eastern Oregon, bed loaded up with hunting gear & quartered up elk/deer.

It does handle it fine, but that doesn't mean OP should go full send and hit a 90 deg turn at 30mph with the rear end locked lol.

Tight turns are harder on the axle assembly when it's locked. Agree pressure isn't a factor

 

What does the manual say?

 

I’d like to refer to the owners manual but the truck has gone from Massachusetts to Texas to Oklahoma with three previous owners. One of them might know what happened to it.
Putting the truck in 4 wheel low did allow the locker to engage. Thanks for the information.

 

Digital owners manuals can be found here.
https://www.toyota.com/owners/warranty-owners-manuals/

 

On my 2016 Off Road, I would engage rear locker once a month on a back dirt road. drive about 3 miles at about 15 mph. and then stop and back up about 20 feet. own truck for 8 years, always worked fine. Will do the same with my 2024.

 

That is one of the disappointments about this truck. No locker in 4HI. I've never really needed 4LO but like others have said here, I do it monthly in some dirt to make sure all of the actuators and gears and levers turn and that I'm getting fluid in all the right spots.

 

Looks like you may need to do the locker anytime mod.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/locker-anytime-mod-for-dummies-2005.353724/page-43

 

Were you moving or stationary? 4lo, turn the wheel sharply to one side or the other, and roll forward slightly. The rear axle splines line up in the pumpkin easier that way fwiw. Locker engagement with no gear movement is a crap shoot.