4runner Help - This is driving me crazy #1

[Mr. Sonora]

Hey guys... I recently (Jan) bought a 2001 Toyota 4runner 4x4 V6 (not TE or LTD) and have enjoyed it quite a bit. I have had two major questions that I have not been able to answer with the manual or on the internet. I will post them in two different posts, hopefully you guys can help.

#1. - I live in México and climb up 12,000 foot mountains/ volcanos with some regularity. I have had several wranglers and tacomas, and I am pretty used to off-roading, at least moderately. With the 4runner I have noticed that everytime I hit loose sand/ ash/ dunes, the engine compartment makes a weird noise and the brake pedal starts to vibrate. I assume this is some sort of automatic traction control (TRCC or whatever they call it). The thing is... I would like to turn that off. I know enough about driving on adverse surfaces to know when I can deal with my tires slipping (without making a horrible noise) or when I would rather deal with it in 4WD. I don't like the car thinking for me. Is there anyway to deactivate this in order to just 4wheel normally?

Thanks in advance,

Mr. Sonora

 

[Johnny Utah]

i have no idea. but, can we can a mod to move this thread to the appropriate category, that will get you more responses from guys/gals that have the same year truck as you.

Good luck man.

 

[4ShoreRunner]

i have no idea. but, can we can a mod to move this thread to the appropriate category, that will get you more responses from guys/gals that have the same year truck as you.

Good luck man.

I think it was a typo - he has a 2011

 

[dRGNpHNX]

It doesn't bother me as much, but I started noticing it on my very steep driveway. If I stop on the driveway prior to pulling in the garage and then try to start up the incline again, I get the beep and the brake pedal vibrations and the truck stops itself from rolling backwards anymore. I also had a Jeep and I would also be interested in disengaging this off-road as well. You have motivated me to try and figure out how to turn it off.

 

[dRGNpHNX]

Done and done... wasn't too bad; I just haven't cared enough to check it out until now. Since I am not sure what exactly the SR5 is equipped with versus the TE, this may be different for you. In the 2010 4Runner Owner's Manual, on pg. 253, all the various driving systems are discussed. I imagine you have VSC/TRAC and you can skip to pg. 257 to the discussion about turning off TRAC only or TRAC and VSC. Basically, to turn off both, hold the far left button on the overhead console for at least 3 seconds (the one with the truck skidding with the word OFF printed at the bottom). Unfortunately, I went out to test it and for whatever reason I cannot get HAC (Hill-start Assist Control) to engage, so I cannot test. I assume you will want both systems off for the conditions you described. Let me know if it works for you.