4 wheel drive not engaging?

D

Donovan1

New member
'16 Trail Premium. Coming back from Reno over Donner summit this weekend, we got some snow. First time the T4R was in 4X4. I popped the transfer case lever down into 4H at about 60 and nothing. Slowed to about 45 and still nothing. Began to accelerate again then got the engaged light on the dash finally after a few seconds.

I thought, this can't be right, so I put it back into 2H until the snow was coming down enough to really want 4X4. Pulled the Tcase lever again and got a flashing engagement light again. Changed speed several times and it still would not engage. Finally came to a stop then accelerated very slowly finally getting the 4X4 to engage.

My FJ is pretty much the exact same system but it has always engaged quickly without issue. This leads me to believe something may be wrong on the T4R.

Ideas??
 
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[MENTION=43997]Donovan1[/MENTION] My SR5 (with the dial shifter, not the lever) has had the same issue. My 4th gen did too. The more you engage 4WD on these things, the smoother the mechanism becomes. I try to engage mine once a week for a mile or two on a straight stretch of road to avoid the slow engagement issue. What you're experiencing sounds pretty normal to me.
 
Well the owner's manual says not to engage 4WD (HI) over 50 MPH, if I remember correctly. That is also the standard speed for most on the fly 4WD systems. I'm sure someone on here can explain why 50 is the magic number, but I'm assuming it's for a good reason.
 
salong53 said:
[MENTION=43997]Donovan1[/MENTION] My SR5 (with the dial shifter, not the lever) has had the same issue. My 4th gen did too. The more you engage 4WD on these things, the smoother the mechanism becomes. I try to engage mine once a week for a mile or two on a straight stretch of road to avoid the slow engagement issue. What you're experiencing sounds pretty normal to me.
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I'll have to try it a few times around home then especially with all the rain we're suppose to be getting. I don't remember this going on with my FJ but I will try it. It really was NOT fun headed up Donner at night in the snow with the truck refusing to go into 4X4...
 
blacksheep4 said:
Well the owner's manual says not to engage 4WD (HI) over 50 MPH, if I remember correctly. That is also the standard speed for most on the fly 4WD systems. I'm sure someone on here can explain why 50 is the magic number, but I'm assuming it's for a good reason.
Click to expand...

I remember that too. I slowed down to 45 or so then to a complete stop and then a crawl too. It didn't like any of that. I don't think there is a speed limiting piece to this but I did try it at a slower speed and still had the issue.
 
Donovan1 said:
I remember that too. I slowed down to 45 or so then to a complete stop and then a crawl too. It didn't like any of that. I don't think there is a speed limiting piece to this but I did try it at a slower speed and still had the issue.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm just wondering if that initial attempt at 60 messed something up. Hopefully nothing serious but it sounds like something in the transfer case didn't like that too much. I've always been able to shift very smoothly into 4HI with no issues, but never going that fast.
 
Pulling the lever back is only half of the equation. That locks the transfer case into 4wd. The light is blinking because it is waiting for small electric motor up front to engage the splines near the front diff. If you are driving straight, and the splines aren't lined up initially, they aren't going to line up as you continue straight at any speed. You need to do something to help them line up, such as turn the steering wheel. It usually doesn't take much, but it is essentially the same principle as waiting for the rear diff to lock, it can take some movement to get everything to align properly.
 
check your manual. If I remember correctly, the magic mph# is 60. My SR5P will engage just under 60 mph and sounds the "oh shit" alarm if I'm going too fast. It kinda pisses me off that I have to slow down unlike my manual 5 speed pathfinder that I could shift to 4wd at any speed.

also, I believe that the manual also rerecords to put it in 4wd once a month for 15 min or so to keep the mechanism lubed. Read it to be sure.
 
Mine took a long time to break in. It used to just sit there and flash sometimes. 65k later, and it works much better. Just make sure you exercise it every chance you get.
 
There are many good reasons to slow down to engage 4wd...

Two things happen when you shift to 4H.

1. The transfer case engages the front drive shaft. At a high speed... That abrupt acceleration is not ideal and seems like it would create unnecessary wear.

2. After the the drive shaft is spinning up to speed, the diff should have equal speeds on each side (before this they are actually rotating in opposite directions) The ADD fork/motor needs to slide the collar on the passenger axle to line up with the stub shaft splines coming out of the diff. It's not always clocked correctly... Higher speeds will make this alignment attempt more difficult and the 4wd ECU won't allow it at speed.

If you are going slow and the light keeps flashing... Turn slightly to create a slight rotational delta and align the splines. I don't think it will ever engage in a turn unless you are going really slow.

There is a bit of a break-in where all the splines and gears mesh up better over time.

There is nothing wrong with your truck... The error is between the controls and the seat ;-)
 
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Read the OM. From my 2015 OM, for the Trail with the lever 4WD shifter: Shifting from H2 to H4, "Reduce vehicle speed to less than 50 mph."

As noted earlier, use of the shifter over time makes engagement faster. Also, for the person who thought that the FJ Cruiser had full time 4WD, only the manual transmission has full time 4WD, just like the 5th Gen Limited edition is the only current 4Runner offering full time 4WD.
 
I hate to pile on here but you don't even have to read the owner's manual to know this. It's posted on the visor right above your head.

Have you tried to re-engage it after you've stopped the car and let it sit for a while?
 
Typical chain on events is to reduce vehicle speed first, and if traction is still limiting then engage 4wd.. to each their own though.
 
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