Neutral Safety Switch
- Thread starter BltByKrmn
- Start date
I do the work in November on my vehicles .. change oils /grease /inspect the rust and remove it then use cold galv paint and then over coat with rustoleum high performance paint ..
I lube brake components with silicone brake grease and I put dielectric grease on the exterior connector pins ..
kenwilliams0803
New member
You adjust it but I put mine pretty much right in the middle and it has worked fine.
kenwilliams0803
New member
I think they were included if I recall correctly.
Got mine swapped out. As expected the center part of the switch was corroded to the transmission shaft. Easy removal was to remove the nut and break off the aluminum that the nut threaded onto. Punch and hammer did the job. Good dose of penetrating fluid. Clean rust from shaft. Wriggle the sensor off of the shaft. Replacement was simple.
kenwilliams0803
New member
Good for you. Took me almost 6 hours to get mine off and I did have to destroy the old sensor in the process as well.
What was interesting, once I got the old sensor off, I expected it to be bound up with corrosion but it was as free turning as the new one. Cut it apart to see what the inside looked like and was like new. I think the corrosion must have broken loose while trying to muscle it off of the shaft. Tranny shifts very smoothly now and no check engine light��
nb rob
New member
thanks for the great thread, part numbers, experiences removing the NSS.
I've had a sticky shifter for about a year. I tried lubing the cable from both ends, and the actuator at the transfer case. It went away briefly, but came back with a vengeance.
I called my favorite dealer and asked if they could come close to the $200 CAD price (after duties, taxes and import fees) that I found online. They came back with a price of $248, I said "lets do it". It's been severely cold the last couple of weeks, so I had them do it in the shop. 1 hour of labour. Not bad at all.
The shifter works buttery smooth again. No more fuss.
Thanks everyone. And [MENTION=26691]Bossman[/MENTION] for the helpful posts through all the NSS threads I waded through. Cheers
I've had a sticky shifter for about a year. I tried lubing the cable from both ends, and the actuator at the transfer case. It went away briefly, but came back with a vengeance.
I called my favorite dealer and asked if they could come close to the $200 CAD price (after duties, taxes and import fees) that I found online. They came back with a price of $248, I said "lets do it". It's been severely cold the last couple of weeks, so I had them do it in the shop. 1 hour of labour. Not bad at all.
The shifter works buttery smooth again. No more fuss.
Thanks everyone. And [MENTION=26691]Bossman[/MENTION] for the helpful posts through all the NSS threads I waded through. Cheers
Dianna
Member
My '14 started having this issue a few years ago. I sprayed it with PB Blaster and use Woolwax every fall and it's been fine since. My Dad's '15 had the same issue. I spray it in the fall and he hasn't had any issues since. After replacing one that was seized on my '06 Tacoma, it's not a job I care to do again!
My advice to anyone with a 4Runner in the rust belt, spray the intermediate steering shaft joint and the NSS whenever you rotate your tires. Also pull the caliper pins and lubricate those as well.
Trailrunner1
New member
Thanks for this thread, its been helpful.
so I've had an issue with my NSS for about a year, hasn't been a big deal, just error code, no actual drivability issue.
so i had a couple recalls that needed done so i had the dealer look into the NSS issue too. I've previously tried to replace the switch but couldn't get the switch off because of corrosion, but i figured id lit the dealer figure it out instead of me getting the "persuasion" tools out.
dealer said the switch is "completely seized to the shaft" and they're saying the ONLY way to fix it is to completely replace the shaft itself which involves basically rebuilding the transmission. they quoted me $2,500!!! for a $250 part... ill be picking up my truck today and taking it to an independent garage. Toyota refused to cut off the switch, bunch of excuses as to why they wouldn't. crazy.
so I've had an issue with my NSS for about a year, hasn't been a big deal, just error code, no actual drivability issue.
so i had a couple recalls that needed done so i had the dealer look into the NSS issue too. I've previously tried to replace the switch but couldn't get the switch off because of corrosion, but i figured id lit the dealer figure it out instead of me getting the "persuasion" tools out.
dealer said the switch is "completely seized to the shaft" and they're saying the ONLY way to fix it is to completely replace the shaft itself which involves basically rebuilding the transmission. they quoted me $2,500!!! for a $250 part... ill be picking up my truck today and taking it to an independent garage. Toyota refused to cut off the switch, bunch of excuses as to why they wouldn't. crazy.
Humble Leader
Senior Member
toyota wont cut the switch out because it's risky. if you slip up or don't do it properly you will damage nearby components. they'd rather have you pay the $2,500 than try and cut it out, break something and then have to cover the bill for it. and it can also take a hell of a long time to take the old stuck one off
Sorry to dredge up old wounds, but I wanted to thank everyone for this extremely helpful thread. Add me to the 34k-mile, "4-hours to get it out" club. I live in Detroit, so my truck (2019) has seen winters here. Nothing super new to report here, but here's what I did:
* As soon as I knew this was going to be the problem, I started soaking the switch in PB Blaster 3 times a day for 2.5 days - morning, lunch, and after work.
* Dealer quoted $172 for the part and 3 hours of labor - their rate made that $495(!) for just the labor.
* Even though this isn't my only vehicle (which allowed me to soak the thing that much while it sat in my driveway), I am under a time crunch because I need the truck to tow a trailer in the next few days. I ordered the part through the dealer (was more money but they could get it in 1 day) and decided to take my chances on the removal.
* All the bolts/nuts came out fine. Switch was stuck, as expected.
* Broke off what I call the "collet" threaded parts with a screwdriver.
* Still no dice, so I soaked the now exposed area with PB again.
* I finally got relative motion between the switch and the shaft, and I was able to break it free...until it slid to the corroded part of the shaft and stopped.
* 2 hours of emery paper sanding later, I was able to get the switch off. Perhaps something more aggressive than emery paper would have been faster, but I was worried about taking off too much material, so I just toughed it out with what I had.
* New switch will be here on Monday (it's Saturday as I type this), so no detail on the install. New switch has a different part number then the one that came off, so hopefully I won't be doing this again in another 3k/4 years...
Thanks again to everyone for the wealth of info on this. I hope I don't see P0705 ever again...
* As soon as I knew this was going to be the problem, I started soaking the switch in PB Blaster 3 times a day for 2.5 days - morning, lunch, and after work.
* Dealer quoted $172 for the part and 3 hours of labor - their rate made that $495(!) for just the labor.
* Even though this isn't my only vehicle (which allowed me to soak the thing that much while it sat in my driveway), I am under a time crunch because I need the truck to tow a trailer in the next few days. I ordered the part through the dealer (was more money but they could get it in 1 day) and decided to take my chances on the removal.
* All the bolts/nuts came out fine. Switch was stuck, as expected.
* Broke off what I call the "collet" threaded parts with a screwdriver.
* Still no dice, so I soaked the now exposed area with PB again.
* I finally got relative motion between the switch and the shaft, and I was able to break it free...until it slid to the corroded part of the shaft and stopped.
* 2 hours of emery paper sanding later, I was able to get the switch off. Perhaps something more aggressive than emery paper would have been faster, but I was worried about taking off too much material, so I just toughed it out with what I had.
* New switch will be here on Monday (it's Saturday as I type this), so no detail on the install. New switch has a different part number then the one that came off, so hopefully I won't be doing this again in another 3k/4 years...
Thanks again to everyone for the wealth of info on this. I hope I don't see P0705 ever again...
Last edited:
add me to 4 hours, a few trips to home depot and a lotta cursing
Im at 51k miles on a 2017 TRD Pro. Ive done all the mods myself, but this one intimidated me a bit.
The switch has been giving me trouble on and off for about a year. I only put about 7k miles on the truck. UP to the woods of Maine/Vermont were is seed moderate offloading and lots of mud, and some beach driving on the Cape in the summer. I run winter studs on it, minus the last two since they have been so mild. So it does see some salt here as well.
After watching a few youtube videos, I got to work. Since I was taking the skids off, I did an oil change in there as well.
So, skids off, disconnected the wiring and removed the two bolts easily. Then I went right to a torch. Took it to the device for 2 min. Pry bar behind it and destroyed it getting it off. But it came off real easy once the needs were melted. The material was indeed seized to the shaft. I had been dousing it daily with Mouse Milk and a mix of acetone and transmission fluid(this stuff works killer for rusted bolts etc). But that still didn't work. Tried a large pry bar behind it, Tried a pin and hammer but was afraid I'd damage the shaft.
So when in doubt, burn it out. The material begins to soften and almost melt within a minute, and was able to crack it off easily with a large flathead screwdriver.
Ran off to HD to grab a new Dremel head, and sanded the rust off all sides for about 20 minutes. Put a bunch of anti seize and lube on the shaft, and replaced easily. Works like new. I was a little concerned with the torch and damaging surrounding materials, but all looked in good shape.
This was one of the more pain in the A$$ jobs I have done on the truck. Its not easy access even with a lift. If you can get a dealer to do it for under a grand, Id go that way. I purchased online from the dealer which saved me 20%, but was 160 and change for the part.
Im at 51k miles on a 2017 TRD Pro. Ive done all the mods myself, but this one intimidated me a bit.
The switch has been giving me trouble on and off for about a year. I only put about 7k miles on the truck. UP to the woods of Maine/Vermont were is seed moderate offloading and lots of mud, and some beach driving on the Cape in the summer. I run winter studs on it, minus the last two since they have been so mild. So it does see some salt here as well.
After watching a few youtube videos, I got to work. Since I was taking the skids off, I did an oil change in there as well.
So, skids off, disconnected the wiring and removed the two bolts easily. Then I went right to a torch. Took it to the device for 2 min. Pry bar behind it and destroyed it getting it off. But it came off real easy once the needs were melted. The material was indeed seized to the shaft. I had been dousing it daily with Mouse Milk and a mix of acetone and transmission fluid(this stuff works killer for rusted bolts etc). But that still didn't work. Tried a large pry bar behind it, Tried a pin and hammer but was afraid I'd damage the shaft.
So when in doubt, burn it out. The material begins to soften and almost melt within a minute, and was able to crack it off easily with a large flathead screwdriver.
Ran off to HD to grab a new Dremel head, and sanded the rust off all sides for about 20 minutes. Put a bunch of anti seize and lube on the shaft, and replaced easily. Works like new. I was a little concerned with the torch and damaging surrounding materials, but all looked in good shape.
This was one of the more pain in the A$$ jobs I have done on the truck. Its not easy access even with a lift. If you can get a dealer to do it for under a grand, Id go that way. I purchased online from the dealer which saved me 20%, but was 160 and change for the part.
Last edited:
Similar threads
