Originally Posted by GR8BAY

Since my last comments, car has had 3 more episodes (in less than 100 miles) of dash lights flashing and no 5th gear - either just the 4 Lo flashes or the 4-Lo flashes plus skid, and check engine light all activated. Turning off engine didn't help. Anyway, yesterday, within 1/2 mile of starting car, had above 3 warning lights come on. This morning I started up 4-Runner (lights still on) and drove directly to Toyota of Portsmouth. Left the car running in the service bay and a mechanic got right on it. About 45 minutes later the mechanic advised that the situation was corrected. He said he discovered dust/debris in gear shift lever mechanism. Although only a modest amount, he said the debris was sufficient to slightly change position of shift lever when Drive was engaged. Since the shift lever wasn't properly positioned in Drive, the computer sensed a problem which activated the dash lights. He cleaned up/lubricated the problem area and advised the situation is now corrected. Have only driven from dealership to residence and so far everything works properly. I suspect other 5th Generation 4-Runner owners may experience this same problem due to apparent sensitivity of gear shift positioning.