I'll try to keep this short and sweet. My 16 sr5 has been at the dealer for 9 days now. Last Saturday i took it in because the 4wd stopped working no high or low and the icon was flashing. They couldn't figure out what was wrong that day because their sr. Tech was off til Monday. He looked it over on Monday and said it was the actuator for the transfer case. No part in stock so they ordered one it came in on Saturday. They started working on it this morning (mon.) Installed new actuator and put everything back together . 4wd engaged while on the lift. They took it for a test drive and boom no 4wd. If anyone on here can help i would be grateful. I'm not mad at the dealer I just would really like to have my 4runner back.
4wd is broke and dealer can't figure it out.
- Thread starter 24poepoe
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samwhich
New member
Sounds like the exact same thing mine was doing, had water intrusion in actuator somehow. It would work fine when warm but not when very cold as it would freeze up. I'm surprised the actuator replacement didn't fix it. They're on the right track I would say. - see thread here: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/248987-mystery-flashing-4wd-light-solved.html
wfo9
New member
It's probably one of 4 things.
-Transfer case actuator
-4wd actived switch at top of transfer case
-ADD actuator on the passenger side of the front diff
-4wd ECU
First thing to do is check if the front driveshaft is spinning after being engaged (that does not mean 4wd, but it does tell you if the t-case actuator is working or not).
We are not going to be able to fix it for you.. I'm sure the dealer will eventually figure it out.
-Transfer case actuator
-4wd actived switch at top of transfer case
-ADD actuator on the passenger side of the front diff
-4wd ECU
First thing to do is check if the front driveshaft is spinning after being engaged (that does not mean 4wd, but it does tell you if the t-case actuator is working or not).
We are not going to be able to fix it for you.. I'm sure the dealer will eventually figure it out.
16000 miles. I use the 4wd often at least weekly.
post back what broke or fixed it .. I have same vehicle...
I use 4wd perhaps every month for about 500ft... when new did not like going into 4wd.. worked good after a few months of break in.
[MENTION=170834]samwhich[/MENTION] or [MENTION=145940]24poepoe[/MENTION], were any other lights on your dash illuminated? From this and other threads I’ve seen, it’s usually only the flashing 4WD dash lights.
I have the following dash lights illuminated:
Traction control, ABS, and 4WD are all disabled.
Tomorrow it’s going to the dealership. Will update.
Don't mean to thread hijack, but here's how it all went down (reference for anybody else with the issue)
No CEL; TORQUE app reads no codes & I couldn’t find anything relevant.
• Yesterday we got about 5” of snow and the roads were sloppy. Kinda cold - about 15 degrees. I maybe put 50 miles on and there were a few times I used 4WD – no problems whatsoever. (Also happy with new KO2s)
• Parked outside overnight. It was -6° the whole way to work.
• I did not use 4WD the whole way to work.
• About 15mi in everything decided to light up.
• Got gas, parked at work all day, went to class, drove home, issues persisted. High of 12° today.
• Had a lot of fun with more snow this afternoon and no abs/traction/4wd.
• It's in a heated garage now - hopefully tomorrow the issue persists.
Also strange – this happened 1 day last year. Similar scenario. Same lights & symptoms – however it resolved itself (service writer told me not to bother since they could not troubleshoot).
So something obviously got wet & froze, maybe one of the items suggested by wfo9 or maybe some other ABS/traction sensor.
2014 SR5
I have the following dash lights illuminated:
- BRAKE
- ABS
- Traction icon
- 4WD icon [flashing]
- 4LO [flashing]
Traction control, ABS, and 4WD are all disabled.
Tomorrow it’s going to the dealership. Will update.
Don't mean to thread hijack, but here's how it all went down (reference for anybody else with the issue)
No CEL; TORQUE app reads no codes & I couldn’t find anything relevant.
• Yesterday we got about 5” of snow and the roads were sloppy. Kinda cold - about 15 degrees. I maybe put 50 miles on and there were a few times I used 4WD – no problems whatsoever. (Also happy with new KO2s)
• Parked outside overnight. It was -6° the whole way to work.
• I did not use 4WD the whole way to work.
• About 15mi in everything decided to light up.
• Got gas, parked at work all day, went to class, drove home, issues persisted. High of 12° today.
• Had a lot of fun with more snow this afternoon and no abs/traction/4wd.
• It's in a heated garage now - hopefully tomorrow the issue persists.
Also strange – this happened 1 day last year. Similar scenario. Same lights & symptoms – however it resolved itself (service writer told me not to bother since they could not troubleshoot).
So something obviously got wet & froze, maybe one of the items suggested by wfo9 or maybe some other ABS/traction sensor.
2014 SR5
MissouriBreaks
New member
I believe they call those lights lighting at the same time, the "christmas tree" and it has been reported before.
4wd
I had the same problem. Although mine is a trail so it has the manual T-case it still would engange 4wd but all the “Christmas tree” was flashing. I work at a dealership now as a tech/ tech shadow and took it in after hours hooked it up and it showed the right front wheel speed when driving at zero. All others correct with the speedometer. After replacing the front right ABS line I had zero issues and all lights were gone. Yours could possibly be an ABS line or a wheel speed sensor. It will need to be plugged in to a computer to tell which line for which wheel. You don’t be able to tell if it’s the line or the sensor. The way I was able to tell was that I tested the resistance in the line after I removed it which is a very easy process. The read out on the resistance will tell you if it’s the wire or not. If it’s not the wire it is the sensor. The truck uses the ABS and EBCM to control the 4wd. For the trail models it also controls the crawl control and a-trac. It senses slippage in a wheel and applies the break to that wheel which thens transfers power to the wheel that’s not spinning because it is harder to turn than the one spinning. Hope this helps. PM if you have any questions. Best regards, Tucker
I had the same problem. Although mine is a trail so it has the manual T-case it still would engange 4wd but all the “Christmas tree” was flashing. I work at a dealership now as a tech/ tech shadow and took it in after hours hooked it up and it showed the right front wheel speed when driving at zero. All others correct with the speedometer. After replacing the front right ABS line I had zero issues and all lights were gone. Yours could possibly be an ABS line or a wheel speed sensor. It will need to be plugged in to a computer to tell which line for which wheel. You don’t be able to tell if it’s the line or the sensor. The way I was able to tell was that I tested the resistance in the line after I removed it which is a very easy process. The read out on the resistance will tell you if it’s the wire or not. If it’s not the wire it is the sensor. The truck uses the ABS and EBCM to control the 4wd. For the trail models it also controls the crawl control and a-trac. It senses slippage in a wheel and applies the break to that wheel which thens transfers power to the wheel that’s not spinning because it is harder to turn than the one spinning. Hope this helps. PM if you have any questions. Best regards, Tucker
daveherrmann
New member
I am not a mechanic, but my old Tacoma had a similar issue, I would put in in 4wd and it would not come on for a while, the dealer told me nothing was wrong. I had them go to another truck and try that to see the difference then they admitted there was a problem. after many many hours on the lift they found a bad vacuum hose, your issue sound quite similar to what I had
T2000 nailed it. Left rear wheel speed sensor had no signal.
The sensor was found covered in grease, which after cleaning worked properly.
Dealer couldn't explain why the thing was covered in grease (neither could I).
ETA I'm not convinced that grease would impair its function but at least I know where to look next time.
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wfo9
New member
Just to clear something up.. The OP has a different issue as it is only 4wd no working. The abs Christmas tree would be on all the time there is an error from the speed sensor.
Also, to clear up another misunderstanding that I see people constantly make here. ODBII scan will not pickup anything but standard emissions related trouble codes. Anything related to the body, 4wd, ABS.. are only going to show with TIS scan.
no 4wd and bad speed sensor the dash lights will be all lite up...
I spoke with my customer rep. this afternoon and he said that they are going to change out the other actuator in the morn. I guess if changing out the rear didn't work maybe doing them both will fix it. He also told me that the Warranty bill is already over 4k. Day 10 in the books lets see what tomorrow brings.
wfo9
New member
Complete lack of troubleshooting skills by the dealer/tech. Should have been tested right away. Very unlikely that both actuators were bad. They most likely just threw parts at it and did not diagnose. Should have been a 1 day repair if parts were available (and they usually are for the ADD actuator).
