I have an 03 4runner and have never utilized the 4WD. Recently I was approaching a steep hill and put the transmission into the 2 position thinking that this would give me more torque to climb the hill, I heard a clunk and some clicking and immediately stopped and put the vehicle back into D (drive) and proceeded. After researching, I realize I should have simply utilized H4 L4. and that the 3, 2, and L positions are for downhill engine breaking. I have had the vehicle for 12 years and have never used the 4wd and made the mistake of thinking the 2 position would help getting up a steep incline. My 4runner ran fine afterwards with no discernible shifting issues in normal Drive mode - stop and go as well as highway. Is it possible that I damaged my transmission by my mistake ?
03 4Runner engine breaking mistake
- Thread starter oktoday
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
Chuckles89
New member
Putting the transmission in L, 2, or 3 only sets that as the highest gear the transmission shifts to. That wouldn't have done anything weird with the transmission.
Did you engage 4WD? I would imagine the solenoids/ actuators are frozen from never being used.
The ticking was probably from your traction control kicking in and is normal.
Did you engage 4WD? I would imagine the solenoids/ actuators are frozen from never being used.
The ticking was probably from your traction control kicking in and is normal.
CAN-03runner
New member
If by the 2 position you are referring to the transmission gears as in D-4-3-2-L, putting it into 2 could help going up hill in that it will prevent the transmission from shifting into a higher gear and you'd be able to keep your RPM up hence additional torque available as you mentioned.
If this steep road was not a paved road then 4Hi might have been useful otherwise on a paved road I don't see 2wd or 4hi making much difference. In fact as the weight shifts to the back you might be better off sending all power to the rear.
If this steep road was not a paved road then 4Hi might have been useful otherwise on a paved road I don't see 2wd or 4hi making much difference. In fact as the weight shifts to the back you might be better off sending all power to the rear.
Thanks for your insight - I really appreciate your comments. I didn't engage the 4WD.
In the future when I approach the steep incline of my friends driveway, should I just come to a stop and turn the 4wd knob from H2 to H4 (or L4) or should I just go ahead and accelerate on up the steep incline in Drive. Would you recommend having the 4WD serviced prior to trying to engage it, due to 12 years of non use?
In the future when I approach the steep incline of my friends driveway, should I just come to a stop and turn the 4wd knob from H2 to H4 (or L4) or should I just go ahead and accelerate on up the steep incline in Drive. Would you recommend having the 4WD serviced prior to trying to engage it, due to 12 years of non use?
