First issue with my truck, any ideas what's wrong?

[scanny]

Today I had my first issue with my truck. 2010 SR5 had no single glitch for 5.5 years and 123,000km, so I was really surprised when I saw "VSC OFF"
and "Check Engine" lights when I was going back home from work today. Just those two lights, nothing unusual in truck behaviour, today is dry though and VSC
wouldn't be active anyway.

At home first thing I had restarted the engine, but light were still on. So I got my OBD scanner and code was P0705. I deleted the code, shut down engine,
wait a little bit and started truck again. Both lights were gone. I moved back and forth on drivay, no lights.
I did quick search on the Internet and P0705 code is refering to Transmission Range Sensor Circuit Malfunction. Which is confusing because why then VSC Off light
came on and I didn't feel anything wrong with transmission.

So guys, any ideas what I can check and possibe try to fix before I give up and and surrended to a mechanic?

 

[mickeyblue]

Did you check your gas cap? Mine did this when I got the plastic tab caught in the cap and it didn't tighten down correctly.

If it is loose, tighten it and then clear the code and drive it a bit.

 

[SalsaRed]

I can't answer your question as to what to check, but I do know about the VSC off light. That usually comes on along with the check engine light. I believe it's due to the fact that the computer doesn't have the complete control of the vehicle that it needs to control the VSC.

The same light came on for me when I got a CEL saying that I had O2 sensor problems. All it was was a leak from not tightening my Y Pipe down enough. Tightened it down, unhooked the battery for 5 minutes, and no more lights.

 

[catrains]

Today I had my first issue with my truck. 2010 SR5 had no single glitch for 5.5 years and 123,000km, so I was really surprised when I saw "VSC OFF"
and "Check Engine" lights when I was going back home from work today. Just those two lights, nothing unusual in truck behaviour, today is dry though and VSC
wouldn't be active anyway.

At home first thing I had restarted the engine, but light were still on. So I got my OBD scanner and code was P0705. I deleted the code, shut down engine,
wait a little bit and started truck again. Both lights were gone. I moved back and forth on drivay, no lights.
I did quick search on the Internet and P0705 code is refering to Transmission Range Sensor Circuit Malfunction. Which is confusing because why then VSC Off light
came on and I didn't feel anything wrong with transmission.

So guys, any ideas what I can check and possibe try to fix before I give up and and surrended to a mechanic?

on toyota this is the neutral / park switch . check the connector at the side of the transmission on the assy . my have to change the switch assy.

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Rather than guessing as to what the problem is, why not pull the codes from the ecu to find out what it actually is?

Seems pretty straightforward to me, and free if you just go to your nearest parts store. Most all of them will read it for you while you wait, no charge, no hassle, get the code then come back here and search to see what solutions were to that specific code.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Rather than guessing as to what the problem is, why not pull the codes from the ecu to find out what it actually is?

Seems pretty straightforward to me, and free if you just go to your nearest parts store. Most all of them will read it for you while you wait, no charge, no hassle, get the code then come back here and search to see what solutions were to that specific code.

I think he said he pulled P0705.

P0705 Transmission Range Sensor Circuit Malfunction (PRNDL input)

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Ahh, my bad then, missed that part of him finding code p0705.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Ahh, my bad then, missed that part of him finding code p0705.

I think Catrains nailed it. Pretty limited code as to issue thankfully. They aren't all that way.

I had an evaporative system fault on my 2002 T4R and it was a ***** to track down. Turned out to be a cracked charcoal canister above the fuel tank. Kudos to the unknown tech at Toyota that figured it out as I was stumped.

 

[scanny]

Yes, code is P0705 and if it transmission sensor I guess there's nothing I can do myself. I still have slight hope that since I didn't get any symptoms except lights it might be something simple. And VSC OFF light seems to be out of place if it's sensor dying...

 

[Bonnies4runner2010]

Weird same thing just happened yesterday with the wifes 2010 87k. Same code. Hoping it's just some type of weird glitch and not a $1200 dollar repair.

 

[scanny]

Weird same thing just happened yesterday with the wifes 2010 87k. Same code. Hoping it's just some type of weird glitch and not a $1200 dollar repair.

I reset the code, it didn't pop up again, but I guess I'll have to take truck in shop if it happens again. Unless some knowledgeable folks give me any idea what I can check, like electrical connections or I don't know what. Let us know how your issue fixed..

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I don't think this one will be difficult to track down.

Do you have an alldatadiy.com account?

 

[scanny]

I don't think this one will be difficult to track down.

Do you have an alldatadiy.com account?

Nope, don't have an account there. And I hope of course it something easy, but 4Runners are not common vehicles here and they don't break often so I would expect mechanics don't have much knowledge about T4Rs : )

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Nope, don't have an account there. And I hope of course it something easy, but 4Runners are not common vehicles here and they don't break often so I would expect mechanics don't have much knowledge about T4Rs : )

Are you mechanically inclined or not so much? I really don't think this is much more than your shift selector switch (educated guess) but you'll have to know how to trouble shoot a bit. I can help you with that, but its tough long distance.

What I suspect is your switch is either dirty or wearing and its getting confused thinking you are in 2 gears at once. Again, should not be a huge deal to track down.

 

[scanny]

Are you mechanically inclined or not so much? I really don't think this is much more than your shift selector switch (educated guess) but you'll have to know how to trouble shoot a bit. I can help you with that, but its tough long distance.

What I suspect is your switch is either dirty or wearing and its getting confused thinking you are in 2 gears at once. Again, should not be a huge deal to track down.

I'm not really mechanically inclined but I think I knew where the switch is I probably can try to clean it up. If it's deep in the engine and requires to remove bunch of stuff to get to it, I would probably take it to a mechanic...

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I'm not really mechanically inclined but I think I knew where the switch is I probably can try to clean it up. If it's deep in the engine and requires to remove bunch of stuff to get to it, I would probably take it to a mechanic...

If you send me an IM with an email, I will cut and paste stuff from alldatadiy to send to you to troubleshoot. I really don't think this will be difficult to trouble shoot and I think it will probably be the sensor on your shift lever IMO.

Just my .02

 

[cjacob316]

I'm not really mechanically inclined but I think I knew where the switch is I probably can try to clean it up. If it's deep in the engine and requires to remove bunch of stuff to get to it, I would probably take it to a mechanic...

Check the diagram here, if it's the neutral switch, it's front left side of the transmission.
2010 Toyota 4Runner. #8454060050: SWITCH ASSEMBLY, NEUTRAL START

 

[scanny]

I was reading about that switch and what's interesting is that all symptoms are supposed to be transmission related, i.e. vehicle doesn't start, or starts only in neutral, or works funny. I didn't noticed any of those...

 

[scanny]

Just a little update for those who curious. After I reset the code, truck behaves like noting has happened. Since last Friday. Today on the way from work I noticed that there's no "D" on the dashboard shifter position display. Tried to switch to manual, "4" flashed on display and disappeared, manual shift didn't work. Later on went to a grocery store, everything worked just fine. By the way I didn't find that sensor on transmission, I guess it's deep under vehicle, I'll try again to look at it when it gets warmer this weekend.
And I can't bring my truck to a mechanic because there's no definite symptoms anymore, so I won't even know for sure if it's fixed or not... I doubt that it's fix itself, so I guess i'll be waiting when something is definitely broken, or "check engine" comes up again.

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Ya know, it sure does sound like the selector switch on the side of the trans. Why do I think this? Not completely related here, but my '98 Isuzu Rodeo had the exact same problems, intermittent display on the dash for gear selection, error code (don't recall what it was any more, this was 6+ years ago) set a day or three from resetting it.

It gradually got worse, and started shifting really bad, to the point that it was dangerous to drive. Found a write-up of the issue and it was the selector switch on the side of the trans.

Luckily, I could remove it, open it up, clean it out inside and put new dielectric grease in it.

So, reason for this long post, if you determine that it is this switch, see if its serviceable by disassembling it, cleaning up the grease inside, and putting it back together! Of course, if the unit is glued together, chances are you won't be able to fix it and you're looking at 200 bucks for a new one.

You can also try this...

Run through the gears with the engine off a bunch of times. Park to Drive and back. All that's in this little box are metal wipers against a pad, similar to a volume control knob. They get dirty or the grease gets hard and crusty, and the wipers don't touch the pad all the way any more. Moving the shifter back and forth a ton of times may move the grease around enough to make better contact again, or get the dirt to be pushed away from the pad.

At least this is a free fix to try, won't cost you much more than a few minutes of moving the shifter back and forth!