03 4runner stuck in 4hi won't go to 2dr

[cellularunivers]

we are a stereo shop and replaced the radio in a V8 limited auto and the vehicle in now stuck in 4w dr. it is @ toyota and they say it needs a new trans case cuz the 4lo-4hi switch was removed. what the funk is that shiznit. the battery was not disconnected and that switch was removed like 4 times and put back and drove fine over 3 days of working on it. any other followers that say toy is bs or is this a common $3800 problem. : (

 

[toybox]

we are a stereo shop and replaced the radio in a V8 limited auto and the vehicle in now stuck in 4w dr. it is @ toyota and they say it needs a new trans case cuz the 4lo-4hi switch was removed. what the funk is that shiznit. the battery was not disconnected and that switch was removed like 4 times and put back and drove fine over 3 days of working on it. any other followers that say toy is bs or is this a common $3800 problem. : (

Uummm......If you have a '03 V8 then yea it will always be in 4hi....there is no 2wd in that vehicle.

Do you mean it is stuck in 4lo?

 

[cellularunivers]

reply

sorry stuck in 4lo when you switch to 4hi the 4lo light flashes and beeps. : (

 

[sharp4runr]

Re: reply

sorry stuck in 4lo when you switch to 4hi the 4lo light flashes and beeps. : (

Are you in Park or Neutral when you are switching from 4LO? It beeps and flashes when it isn't changed properly. If you look at the back of the Driver's sun visor you'll have the directions from going to the different modes.

 

[cellularunivers]

reply

the vehicle is @ Toy you would think they would know that. they said we have this problem because the 4lo-4hi switch was removed while power was still on and im tring to call b.s. that doesn't make sense to me. we have worked on high end lux cars and our master tech has been doing this for 15years he knows what he is doing. there is no way that switch is that detramental to the transfer case when not in motion. if it was you would think there would be a large sticker on that wire stating DO NOT REMOVE MAY FUNK UP YOUR VEHICLE !!! if i am wrong please someone tell me yeah dude that switch on every 03 4runner if removed while power is hooked up will fail all trans cases... um no!

 

[toybox]

I can't see why you would need a new mechanical part (transfer case) when it is the electronic component that is apparently broke. There is no way you need a new $3800 transfer case to fix this.

I'd call it total B.S. and would look further or bring it to another Toy dealer.

 

[Kmvreter]

I think they are stiffing you. Like Toybox said, why would you need a transfer case when it should be electrical parts. The worst case is you fried something (even an ECU isn't 3800 bills.) But I doubt you even did that. Did they check for blown fuses? That is the protection. If the light is flashing and beeping then the ECU is trying to do it's thing so it can't be toast. Maybe a solenoid is stuck? They should pull the negative battery cable for a few minutes and let everything reset. Then follow the shifting procedure as outlined (neutral; not moving.) After that, find another mechanic with better troubleshooting skills.

 

[Bluto]

The dealer is BS. I've removed mine twice with the battery hooked up, no problems. They need to read the owners manual.

 

[haro]

when my stereo was stolen they broke the switch and it was replace by a local shop and no problem. I have a 2003 v6 and was damage in july 2005

 

[cellularunivers]

reply

You guys rock. Thanks for all the support !!! I called the dealership and told them that I was going to contact Toy of America because they don't know what they are doing. It is kinda weird that a 03 with 67000 miles broke in my shop. They think we did it. The work that was preformed was...

remove the entire passenger side panels to get to the factory amp in the rear quarter. Unplug the harness into the amp and we used an amp bypass plug from Metra and ran the supplied harness up to the factory radio location. The bypass gives 10 ch audio in the harness the radio can handle 4. We added a 4 channel amp and it under the dr seat to run the rest (the only harness under that seat is the seat harness if we would have hit any harness) and got power from from the dist power in engine bay went through factory grommet. Can anyone come up with anything we might have done ?

 

[Bluto]

Re: reply

You guys rock. Thanks for all the support !!! I called the dealership and told them that I was going to contact Toy of America because they don't know what they are doing. It is kinda weird that a 03 with 67000 miles broke in my shop. They think we did it. The work that was preformed was...

remove the entire passenger side panels to get to the factory amp in the rear quarter. Unplug the harness into the amp and we used an amp bypass plug from Metra and ran the supplied harness up to the factory radio location. The bypass gives 10 ch audio in the harness the radio can handle 4. We added a 4 channel amp and it under the dr seat to run the rest (the only harness under that seat is the seat harness if we would have hit any harness) and got power from from the dist power in engine bay went through factory grommet. Can anyone come up with anything we might have done ?

Nothing you did, other than removing the switch, could affect the system. It is a bad switch, harness, or wire.


I think directions for switching between 4-hi and 4-lo are on the sun visor. Make sure they are followed.

 

[cellularunivers]

Thanks guys but I lost

We the stealership discounted to $3500. The silinoid was stuck in 4lo and the part only comes from Japan. We were blamed for driving it with that switch not pluged in. The part would have taken 2-3 weeks to get here and the Toy mechs are not trained on replacing that part. A local trans shop was hesitant on doing it but quoted a crazy $$$ to do it and I would have only saved a couple hundred bucks. I guess thats why we have insurance. Peace to all. see ya on the flip side...

 

[toybox]

Re: Thanks guys but I lost

We the stealership discounted to $3500. The silinoid was stuck in 4lo and the part only comes from Japan. We were blamed for driving it with that switch not pluged in. The part would have taken 2-3 weeks to get here and the Toy mechs are not trained on replacing that part. A local trans shop was hesitant on doing it but quoted a crazy $$$ to do it and I would have only saved a couple hundred bucks. I guess thats why we have insurance. Peace to all. see ya on the flip side...

So the solinoid (sp?) is in the transfer case and you had to buy the whole case instead of buying the solinoid and installing it in the case?

 

[cellularunivers]

Yep. The stealership doesn't cave the ability to change that and no one in the US sells the part

 

[Kmvreter]

Yep. The stealership doesn't cave the ability to change that and no one in the US sells the part

I guessed stuck solenoid in my earlier post because it is such a small item. Changing out the whole gearbox because of one small part is a HUGE issue. I've never heard that one! Did the stuck solenoid cause damage to the gears? You should have been able to drive it in 4LO and not wreck anything as long as kept the speed.
Make sure you get the "broken" box back because you can bet they will R&R it, then make a BIG profit on the next sucker. Have the box checked out by a competent tranny shop and then you have 3 options: (1) it is toast and they weren't lying (in which case we all have to worry about our gearbox; which isn't a common issue with Toyota); (2) it is fixable, let the stealer, your insurance and your lawyer know it and sue his a$$; or (3) order and wait for the part, R&R it and then resell it yourself to recoup some of the lost coin.
Good luck.

 

[Good Times]

I am surprised that a bad solenoid would equate to a new transfer case. That just doesn't sounds right.

I'll talk to my parts guy and find out the skinny as there may be a chance that the dealer is just pulling a quick one on ya.

I'll post back when I get a response. In the meantime, keep everything and document everything. If nothing else, I may be interested in your busted Ttransfer case so I can take a look at it too.

Good luck