Is the line on the 4WD knob supposed to illuminate on SR5?

[genec]

I've had my '14 a couple of months now and starting to notice different little things. There is a line on the 4WD knob that looks like it is supposed to illuminate showing the current drive mode. It does not light when the lights are on. Does anyone else's light up? The moonroof controls don't light up either so i'm wondering if i have a problem or if they are working as designed. thanks.

 

[Whiplash Willy]

Mine don't either on my 2013 SR5, and neither does the Home Link, Dash Dimmer, or Rearview Mirror controls....

Just more instances of Toyota being cheap. I wounder how much it costs to light up a switch.

 

[Stream2Stream]

Mine don't either on my 2013 SR5, and neither does the Home Link, Dash Dimmer, or Rearview Mirror controls....

Just more instances of Toyota being cheap. I wounder how much it costs to light up a switch.

Sounds like a good Antman mod…

 

[ATOYOT4R]

Mine don't either on my 2013 SR5, and neither does the Home Link, Dash Dimmer, or Rearview Mirror controls....

Just more instances of Toyota being cheap. I wounder how much it costs to light up a switch.

Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing the other day, sure looks like it should light up

 

[harper7]

Mine don't either on my 2013 SR5, and neither does the Home Link, Dash Dimmer, or Rearview Mirror controls....

Just more instances of Toyota being cheap. I wounder how much it costs to light up a switch.

Toyota sells a model like that right now and it's called the Lexus GX460 for those that want to pay.Maybe your the cheap one!:whip:
My LE 4x4 switch doesn't light up but there's a LED opera light from above shining down on it. They didn't have to put those LED opera lights there or on the door handles,window switches,floor either as they were not there in my 4th Gen. Sport.

Sounds like a good Antman mod…

A dab of glow in the dark nail polish Amazon.com: Glow In The Dark Nail Polish (Orange) works for those as I put a couple of small dabs on my moonroof and garage door opener switches that were not lit up.

 

[Whiplash Willy]

We shouldn't have to spend $50k on a vehicle to get a light in our 4WD knob. For $33k+(Mine was $37k), Toyota could have thrown in an extra $1 worth of incandescent bulbs.

 

[FrontRange4Runner]

There is a light on the instrument cluster that indicates weather or not you are in 4wd.

 

[eddiebx]

What boggles my mind is, if one feels that Toyota is being cheap, one could simply not buy it; instead of buying one, and ranting about Toyota being cheap.

You aren't exactly sticking it to the man by continuing to purchase these "sub-standard" vehicles. Perhaps if everyone who thinks Toyota is ripping them off just stopped buying them, Toyota might actually get the point.

But the fact that you still bought it, kind of shows that you're still willing to sacrifice whatever it is to own one, which pretty much tells Toyota it's A-OKAY to be "cheap".

So what incentive do they have to change? To quiet a bunch of people ranting about their cheapness on the internet forums? :lol:

 

[FrontRange4Runner]

What boggles my mind is, if one feels that Toyota is being cheap, one could simply not buy it; instead of buying one, and ranting about Toyota being cheap.

You aren't exactly sticking it to the man by continuing to purchase these "sub-standard" vehicles. Perhaps if everyone who thinks Toyota is ripping them off just stopped buying them, Toyota might actually get the point.

But the fact that you still bought it, kind of shows that you're still willing to sacrifice whatever it is to own one, which pretty much tells Toyota it's A-OKAY to be "cheap".

So what incentive do they have to change? To quiet a bunch of people ranting about their cheapness on the internet forums? :lol:

The 4Runner has been the same price for the last 15+ years. I can see why people have complaints. They are cutting costs somewhere. However, I'm completely happy to trade a "worse" interior, a Torsen center and *maby* some light bulbs for a stronger frame, bigger brakes, updated safety measures, better control layout and an engine that makes more HP than every 4Runner before it, while returning better gas millage. This does not even include things on my Trail like KDSS, crawl control, and a locker which are all awesome. To me, the 4Runner is being forcibly returned to its roots due to cost. As long as they don't cut the stuff that makes an SUV a SUV then it is an awesome choice. People like to complain everything, and I am included in that, but every time I hop in the Runner, all I can think is "***k this thing is solid".

 

[Canazes9]

The 4Runner has been the same price for the last 15+ years. I can see why people have complaints. They are cutting costs somewhere. However, I'm completely happy to trade a "worse" interior, a Torsen center and *maby* some light bulbs for a stronger frame, bigger brakes, updated safety measures, better control layout and an engine that makes more HP than every 4Runner before it, while returning better gas millage. This does not even include things on my Trail like KDSS, crawl control, and a locker which are all awesome. To me, the 4Runner is being forcibly returned to its roots due to cost. As long as they don't cut the stuff that makes an SUV a SUV then it is an awesome choice. People like to complain everything, and I am included in that, but every time I hop in the Runner, all I can think is "***k this thing is solid".

This^^^!

David

 

[20034RunnerV84x2]

If you're whining about some lights, you have a problem. Push the damn map light button on the roof. If you can't do that, I don't see how you got your DL in the first place.

Also, if you don't like it then why did you buy it? Sell it and buy a Ford, and I'll laugh at you while I'm passing you on the side of the road with my non lighted 4WD knob. :cry2:

 

[Whiplash Willy]

There are alot of things about my 4runner that I love, and a few that annoy me. Not enough to deter me from buying it, which is why I did. It would be pretty stupid to not buy a vehicle because the 4wd knob doesn't light up. It would just be nice if it did, and I can't imagine it would have cost Toyota much to do. It would be nice to not have to turn on console lights or paint buttons with glow in the dark nail polish, just so I could see the buttons I use regularly in the dark.

 

[Go JayBee]

Do you really need a light on the Manual Shifter knob?
I can't recall ever seeing a manual shift knob lit. You just "know" by feel, where the shifter is. For shifting to 4H from 2H, you just pull the shifter towards you and watch for the dash indicator to verify it's in gear. I can do the shifting with my eyes closed. Now for getting into 4L, you do need to be nearly stopped before it will shift, but I can still do it by "feel". I don't need to "look" at the shifter while doing it.

Get in tune with your vehicle and its controls. eace:

 

[Whiplash Willy]

Do you really need a light on the Manual Shifter knob?
I can't recall ever seeing a manual shift knob lit. You just "know" by feel, where the shifter is. For shifting to 4H from 2H, you just pull the shifter towards you and watch for the dash indicator to verify it's in gear. I can do the shifting with my eyes closed. Now for getting into 4L, you do need to be nearly stopped before it will shift, but I can still do it by "feel". I don't need to "look" at the shifter while doing it.

Get in tune with your vehicle and its controls. eace:

I should have said 4WD Dial, and not knob. Yea if it was still a manual lever that wouldn't be an issue. The 2013+ SR5s have a dial similar to the limited.

 

[Go JayBee]

I should have said 4WD Dial, and not knob. Yea if it was still a manual lever that wouldn't be an issue. The 2013+ SR5s have a dial similar to the limited.

Ahhhh....my bad. I jumped to the conclusion it was the manual transfer case lever/knob.

Still seems to me that once you get to know the controls, it would be second nature to select the mode. Will it even go into 4Low if traveling past a certain speed? If not, try one way, then the other, and watch for the dash indicator, right?

I am glad to have a TE...simple shifter lever/knob. No guessing.

 

[eddiebx]

The 4Runner has been the same price for the last 15+ years. I can see why people have complaints. They are cutting costs somewhere. However, I'm completely happy to trade a "worse" interior, a Torsen center and *maby* some light bulbs for a stronger frame, bigger brakes, updated safety measures, better control layout and an engine that makes more HP than every 4Runner before it, while returning better gas millage. This does not even include things on my Trail like KDSS, crawl control, and a locker which are all awesome. To me, the 4Runner is being forcibly returned to its roots due to cost. As long as they don't cut the stuff that makes an SUV a SUV then it is an awesome choice. People like to complain everything, and I am included in that, but every time I hop in the Runner, all I can think is "***k this thing is solid".

This is exactly my point! They put the money to where it counts, IMO of course

There are alot of things about my 4runner that I love, and a few that annoy me. Not enough to deter me from buying it, which is why I did. It would be pretty stupid to not buy a vehicle because the 4wd knob doesn't light up. It would just be nice if it did, and I can't imagine it would have cost Toyota much to do. It would be nice to not have to turn on console lights or paint buttons with glow in the dark nail polish, just so I could see the buttons I use regularly in the dark.

Every dollar adds up when you're manufacturing things...I mean what would you think if say Toyota decided to add lights on every single button and at the same time get rid of a cool feature like A-TRAC. I certainly wouldn't be too thrilled.

Pretty sure a traction control feature does not cost more than a couple of bucks to program and implement; probably about the same price as throwing in some extra light bulbs.

It would be nice to have a lot of things straight from the factory like better tires, sliders, yada yada, but not everyone cares/wants it; can't make everyone 100% happy, so might as well focus on providing the consumer with the more important stuff I guess.

 

[grey_ghost]

I think the point of the OP is that on a 5th Gen SR5 (I have the same small complaint) with 4 X 4, you just have a dial to to shift between 2WD, 4Hi, 4Lo. this dial is similar in size & shape to the AC control or even the radio knob.
it is not obvious what position it is in just by feel and more importantly, it has a pointer tab on the top that sort of looks translucent.... as though it was made to be illuminated but is not. This is something a lot of potential buyers wouldn't notice until much later after you took it home.
Anyway, its a little irritating but strongly agree with the other posts here that the good qualities overwhelmingly outweigh the small annoyances in these tough trucks!

 

[cyclist]

This post saved me a trip to the dealer. I was going to look at another LE to see if it was just mine. The translucent pointer really does look like it is designed to be lit up. It's not a fault you would notice on a test drive, unless you do your test drive at night. Incidentally this is the first vehicle I haven't test drove at night in many years. Deal breaker? No. Oversight? Yes. If it's not meant to be lit make it black not translucent.

 

[Chieftain]

Do you really need a light on the Manual Shifter knob?
I can't recall ever seeing a manual shift knob lit. You just "know" by feel, where the shifter is. For shifting to 4H from 2H, you just pull the shifter towards you and watch for the dash indicator to verify it's in gear. I can do the shifting with my eyes closed. Now for getting into 4L, you do need to be nearly stopped before it will shift, but I can still do it by "feel". I don't need to "look" at the shifter while doing it.

Get in tune with your vehicle and its controls. eace:

The only car I have had where the 6 speed is lit up is on my M3. I'd expect it out of a car like that, but not so much with the 4runner.

 

[Chieftain]

Lit up