Driving while locked

[gonzo]

the other day my dad borrowed my 4runner. it was night time and he told me that he had a hard time finding the lights, emergency brake, and dimmer switch. he also told me that every time he tried to turn the vehicle, the brakes would engage and he would have to really press down on the accelerator to get it the truck to move. of course, what had happened is, he had mistakenly engaged the center diff lock :cursin: . he drove for about 4 miles through city streets on relatively dry pavement. any ideas as to how i could check for damage? everything seems to be working fine, but then i am not sure what to look for. might be worth noting too that if anyone borrows your truck, remind them not to touch that button!

 

[dcampen]

he had mistakenly engaged the center diff lock . he drove for about 4 miles through city streets on relatively dry pavement. any ideas as to how i could check for damage? everything seems to be working fine,

In this case any damage other than to the tires would be obvious so if it seems fine then it is fine. The only thing your dad has done by driving with a locked center diff is put a lot of wear on your tires. Driving with a locked center diff on pavement can put a lot of stress on your drive train but if anything broke it would be obvious.

 

[Sac State]

locked

Same thing happened to me. I let my father test drive my vehicle, when he got home he asked what this button was for. It was the diff lock button. He had driven home, on dry pavement, with it engaged. It was a relatively straight and uneventful drive, so I figured if nothing fell off after a day everything should be fine.

Nobody else has ever driven my vehicle w/o me in it. Not even my wife. :angel:

 

[Noloc]

Can someone enlighten me? How would I know if my center differential is locked??

 

[dcampen]

If your center diff is locked there will be 2 indicator lights on your instrument panel - one showing the locked center differential icon and another showing VSC OFF.

 

[Noloc]

Ok, here's another stupid question. Under what circumstances would I need to lock my center differential??

 

[gonzo]

the only time that you would lock your center diff is when you venture off the dirt roads and in to more difficult terrain that requires your front and rear wheels moving at the same speed. some examples would be soft sand, mud, and very loose gravel. exceptions would be off-road surfaces that still have have high friction coefficients, such as a granite face. a good rule-of-thumb would be to leave the center diff unlocked unless you think that there is a strong possibility that you might get stuck.

 

[skategoat]

I wonder if there is a way to disable the lock? Perhaps a fuse? I might need the diff locked once a year. I once hit that button by accident and didn't notice until I turned onto my driveway. No damage but it's still unnerving.