I have a 2003 limited with 120k on her. Recently the gear selector got a loose sloppy feel to it and will not stay in 4th gear, slides over to D. Will stay in other gears just fine, but now I have to drive in 3 or D. Toyota wants $1,000 to fix and put a new unit in my vehicle. Has anyone tackle this repair as a DIY? Seems like it is just the box bolted down and a wiring harness plug in to it. Toyota wants $650 for part alone, but I found a Dealer than sells online and wants $450 plus $50 shipping. Thanks
Gear selector gone bad
- Thread starter tnark
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rfuree11
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I would try a used one. There are a TON of center consoles on car-part.com. The shifter probably isn't a part of it, but that gives you a starting point on vendors that have 4runners that are still somewhat intact. It also shouldn't be a big deal for one of them to pull it out and send it to you.
I just discovered an issue with mine that's electrical in nature... When I move the shifter all the way down to "L", the electrical switch has an intermittent connection where the "L" shift indicator on the dashboard doesn't light up and also the transmission won't stay in first gear. If I wiggle the shifter then the "L" will come on and and the transmission behaves accordingly. This was an issue for me a while back when in Death Valley where I wanted to stay in 1st in 4-Lo on a fairly steep descent but couldn't. Looks like the shifter mechanism has other issues as well!
