PLEASE HELP, grinding when going into 4L

DanielG

DanielG

New member
Hello everyone...I'm the proud owner of a 2015 Trail Edition Runner.

When switching from 4H to 4L......I put the truck into neutral......with my foot on the brake...and shift the 4WD shifter into 4L.

As I do this I always feel a grinding of gears before the shifter locks into place. The same thing happens when I go back to 4H from 4L.

Is this normal? ANY feedback would be helpful.

The vehicle is brand new with only 600miles/1280kms on it!

And....for the record...I AM following the manual's rules of:

Stopping
Putting in into neutral
then shifting from 4H to 4L

THANKS

Daniel
 
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A little grinding is normal with that transition to and from 4L. Does it grind at all going into 4H while moving? Either way, it's functioning fine in all likelihood.
 
Shiftinginto 4L

You may get flamed good for not doing a search on this one. I asked the same question and got good input from the members:

Move the lever from 4H to 4L directly without hesitating in about 1 to 2 seconds. Do not stop in neutral on the way.

:flamethrwoer2:

Congratulations on the new TE, we all know what a 4Runner looks like but you need to post a photo or two.

:worthless:
 
Last edited:
My essentially 1 day old TE had a grinding/gear slamming incident yesterday during the first use of 4WD following a dash error code from the diff locker (also not in use). Group consensus was that such gearbox issues are normal and exaggerated by user error. I feel that in my case the grinding but particularly the slamming into gear was extremely severe and I am still worried about potential damage done. And I was thumbs down on the user error. BUT…… (big BUT)…this issue has not replicated despite three attempts at it over the past day. I went out last night (twice) and again today and the truck shifted fine into and out of every position. Maybe it was growing pains on a tight new unit (or as my Dad said, stiff muscles). Also, I have now searched the forums in more detail for similar issues and you will find that general grinding/difficult shifts are common and may be caused by cold fluid conditions, lingering in neutral too long, or not showing the lever who's boss. Weird or not, this appears to be the truth. My fingers are crossed over my transfer case (although I still plan on bringing it to dealer for inspection and to note on my record). Hopefully your issue works itself out.
 
1engineer said:
Normal.
Click to expand...

Erkelbot said:
A little grinding is normal with that transition to and from 4L. Does it grind at all going into 4H while moving? Either way, it's functioning fine in all likelihood.
Click to expand...

while I will agree that it is "normal", it really should not be grinding. you may feel the gears click in as they mesh together, but there shouldn't be any GRINDING.

being NEW it may take a while to get broke in, as everything is very tight. give it time.
 
BobsTrail said:
You may get flamed good for not doing a search on this one. I asked the same question and got good input from the members:

Move the lever from 4H to 4L directly without hesitating in about 1 to 2 seconds. Do not stop in neutral on the way.

:flamethrwoer2:

Congratulations on the new TE, we all know what a 4Runner looks like but you need to post a photo or two.

:worthless:
Click to expand...

This! I've found that the pause before shifting has all but eliminated my grinding.

Now we know why they went to a dial on the SR5.
 
If I anticipate the grind and back off just a tad on the lever then go on into 4L it doesn't grind at all. Very smooth transition.
 
I believe the reason is that unlike a manual transmission our transfer cases don't have a clutch which assists in providing a lower rotational speed for the syncros to engage smoothly. So to make up for that you have to be quick and deliberate in your shifting so the syncros "snap" rather than "glide" like a manual transmission.
 
Let me first admit that I am a complete idiot for missing this...

This morning -- early -- I wanted to try out the 4LO feature of the 4WD system. Well, I came to a stop as the book dictated but I completely forgot to put the main shifter into N (it has been a long while since I drove a manual style 4WD truck). Well, I somehow forced the 4WD lever into the 'N' position, and eventually into the 4LO position -- despite a fair amount of grinding (no clunking). Getting it back out into 4HI was a bit harder and more panicky with just as much grinding, but I eventually got there...

Then, poof I realized what happened -- what I missed -- and immediately felt sick over the mistake. WHAT AN IDIOT.

Since then, I've extensively tested the 4WD system since and all seems to be working normal when properly following procedure. It shifts smoothly into and out of gears without issue (4LO, 4HI, etc...), and has no problem grabbing. Still, I am SUPER worried I effed it up by forcing it.

Can anyone tell me if I did irreparable damage to anything? I mean it all checks out and there aren't any lights, but the grinding haunts me. So dumb... Help?...

Sorry for being one of those guys...
 
Erkelbot said:
The question is should I be worried?... The truck is not even a week old. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

dont worry about it.
they are built to take much more abuse than that over the long term.

if you did that everyday, and every time you used 4wd, then you may end up with a problem. but just once, no problem. live and learn.
 
nevada said:
dont worry about it.
they are built to take much more abuse than that over the long term.

if you did that everyday, and every time you used 4wd, then you may end up with a problem. but just once, no problem. live and learn.
Click to expand...

Thanks for putting my mind at ease. Lived. Learned.
 
Ever drive a manual and grind the gears? Same sort of thing. Do it a couple times and it shouldn't be a big deal. Do it often and you're going to wear the gears out.
 
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