Just used 4lo to drag downed trees on my inlaws property. Effortless, didn't even lock the diff and just feathered the gas.

Didn't even tear up the lawn.

Just purchased an 06 Limited V8 so this is maybe a stupid question but when you go to 4lo, do you continute to leave the car in D? Or should you also use a lower gear?

AFAIK you have to be in neutral first, your sun visor should give instructions, or the manual.

https://www.toyota-4runner.org/216149-post2.html

So if I understand correctly, you’re asking about driving in 4LO, not shifting the 4WD into 4LO mode. When driving, you should choose the gear that works best for the situation. For example, and this is my experience & practice only, I stay in D or 4 (those are different) if the terrain/trail is rough but reasonably level. The steeper the grade (up or down doesn’t matter), the lower the gear I use. My YT channel is linked in my sig and the 2 Kentucky Toyota Trail Ride vids may be of interest as I drove much of each in 4LO. There are some steep grades & I was down to 2 and even 1 on a couple of them.

Edit: As an example, I was in 4LO/2 for the climb at 2:37 into the 2018 Kentucky video. (If you’re familiar with dash cams on trails, they don’t begin to convey how steep or bumpy the terrain really is. That was a fun ride.)

Yes, this was what I was asking with my poorly worded question. Thanks, I figured D or 4 was fine for 4Lo driving while using it monthly. It does shift quicker in 4Lo, which I thought was weird but car has been great so far!

I am glad this thread was started and has been a great reminder, it’s something I didn’t realise. Mine definitely struggled shifting into 4wd when I bought it in February. It was an old guy in the city and I don’t know if he ever or rarely used it. Since owning it I’ve been actuating it, it’s gotten easier. Just did mine again.

did mine yesterday at a buddys hunting camp, 4lo flashed a little long than i wanted but she went in and worked great after that

Hi all...true newbie here; new to this forum...owning a 4Runner...a Toyota....or any vehicle with legit 4x4 that has an actual low gear set.

I just (like last weekend) purchased a pretty high mileage (219k) 4Runner that is apparently not very common; a 2009 Trail Edition. Amazingly, all of the 4wd functions do work (4Hi, 4Lo, Center Diff. Lock, Rear Diff. Lock) and I tested them out in a gravel lot before I dropped the cash for it.

I'm obviously just learning, but I'd heard this monthly use-it-or-lose-it was important so I want to make sure I do everything I need to. I have a few questions, plus looking for some feedback on what I think I should be doing every month.

My monthly plan

1. Switch 2Hi to 4Hi a few times while driving around; put 10+ miles with this on.
2. Switch to 4Lo at least once a month and put a mile or two on; around the neighborhood, etc.
3. Switch center diff. locker on/off a few times a month (This is for actuator exercise only; not about putting mileage on in this mode, right?)
4. Switch rear diff. locker on/off a few times a month (This is for actuator exercise only; not about putting mileage on in this mode, right?)

Questions:

• I know the rear diff. lock is the main feature that makes this T4R so unique. Does anyone know if the rest of the 4WD features/components/drivetrain are shared/identical to the more common late-4thGen SR5/Sport V6 T4R's?
• Does the addition of the RDL change anything that needs to be done monthly to exercise the rest of the 4WD system/actuators, or is it just one more thing to add to the list?
• As I mentioned, I've successfully engaged and disengaged all of the features, but I have to say, throwing the other traction control/wheel braking features and functions in the mix gets pretty confusing (VSC, A-TRAC). I've read the 4WD sections in the owners manual a few times now and it's pretty confusing when I should manually activate/deactivate these functions, when they will automatically activate or deactivate based on the 4WD mode I'm in, and what combinations I need to avoid if I'm on pavement. Are the VSC and A-TRAC functions things that need to be exercised monthly as well? Does anyone happen to have a link to a thread that does a better job of explaining a 4thGen Trail Edition's full combination of 4WD modes better than the user manual?
• Does the "only in a straight line on pavement" rule apply to the rear locker as well? (i.e. is it ok to drive short distance, straight, on pavement with the rear diff. locked?)
• How about "all in" mode; 4Lo + Center diff. locked + Rear diff. locked; does locking both differentials change the rules about being able to drive for a short distance on pavement? Is pavement just completely out if both diff.'s are locked?
• Are there any particular combinations that need to be worked very month, or am I good as long as I at least do everything individually?

Anyway, I'm pretty excited to finally be doing stupid stuff with the proper vehicle for it instead of trashing cars that shouldn't be out in the woods. I'm a stickler for reliability, and I'm tired of dropping $$ and time on vehicles that just aren't worth it. Any feedback/comments you have are appreciated!

Best Regards

Bump !!!

I feel like I scared everyone off, lol!
Bump......??

I've done about 3 rounds of engaging and disengaging all the 4WD components since my post above about a month ago. Engaging speed has definitely improved; I spent about 45min one day in a gravel parking lot just driving forward and backwards engaging and disengaging everything. Now, 4W-Hi, 4W-Lo, and Center Diff. Lock are all very predictable and relatively quick ( always less than 10 seconds; generally 1 to 2 seconds). The rear diff. is the only one that is still slightly unpredictable; I'll have a period of 10 minutes where I can engage/disengage the rear diff. lock and it engages and disengages almost immediately, then there may be another 5 to 10 minutes where it just refuses to engage, with me trying to engage it while driving forward, backwards, braking slightly, accelerating slightly, trying to engage while in neutral, etc. Not sure what makes it sporadic like that, but it does concern me a little bit.

For anyone reading this that happens to have a 4th gen Trail: what have your experiences been with the rear diff. engagement/disengagement times and reliability/predictability?

For the group: is the 2009 rear differential (mechanicals and/or system) shared with any other Toyota platforms (5th Gen 4Runner? Tacoma? any Lexii? FJ?)?

Have you swapped fluids in both diffs and transfer case (or have record of them being changed)?

A reply!!!
Thanks, lol!

Yup; this was done prior to me purchasing it but fairly recently. I have records of front and rear differentials and transfer case serviced, all seals and bearings reworked, by a Toyota dealership 5 months (6000 miles) ago. Also, I took it to my local mechanic after I purchased it for him to give it the "once over"; he checked the differential fluid; said it all looked new and he didn't see anything in the maintenance records that looked false.

I'm very new to off-road vehicle mechanical systems, so I don't have a point of reference yet. The rear diff may be operating exactly as it is supposed to for all I know; just wondering if someone else knows what "normal" is, lol! When engaged it works perfectly. Just takes a while to engage sometimes.

Alright so my 2016 4Runner rear diff lock does this to me too. And it's been mine since brand new, only 27K odometer. What helps me a LOT with rear diff lock engagement is slightly turning the steering wheel while driving slowly in sort of a slalom maneuver back and forth about a 10 degree turning angle. So very little. And I can hear it click right into place by the second slalom every time.

What I accredit it to is that the rear axle shafts are not aligned TOGETHER for the locking sleeve to engage. So driving forward or backward perfectly straight does nothing since that keeps axles in the same position relative to each other. The slow slalom forces the axles to spin at slightly different speeds to each other allowing the splines of whatever sleeve needs to engage to line up correctly.

I would bet a center diff lock issue could be tested the same way but probably would need a more severe turning radius since those alignment shafts are for front and rear tire speeds, not side to side tire speeds.

July bump.


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Changed front read and diff case to mobil1 last year, made a nice difference in the quality of shifting. I keep my '07 v6 in 4hi most of the year, I just like the way it hooks up under acceleration and cornering. It took a few months of exercising the the system to get 4lo to initially work, once working it works everytime now.

At 177k miles , it really is flawless, well other than the paint. But that doesn't effect how it performs. Thought I am looking at the c-hr. I'll probably keep this for another year, then sell.