stranded...

CatskillsRunner

CatskillsRunner

New member
So, we came down from upstate NY for a week and are in the OBX. Turn on the car in town, all sorts of warning lights going off (select terrain, e brake, traction control). I pulled over, turned car off, started it again, same deal, except now it wont allow me to shift out of park.

I called closest Toyota dealership in Elizabeth City and they told me it had to be worked on by Toyota. 120 minute drive.

I just took a taxi back to the rental house and my husband rode with the tow truck driver to the dealership. So, were a few hundred in already, even without a rental car yet...

I am so hoping it is a simple little glitch. I'm scared to ask, but...anyone experienced something similar? In 3 Toyotas, I've never had an issue like this. Its at 47K miles, a 2010 Trail, and I'm hoping this is under warranty but doubt it.

The worst part? My daughter just started telling my dad (Jeep owner) that 4runner "beats Jeep." My dad has already told me that she will never forget this.
 
Register to hide this ad
CatskillsRunner said:
So, we came down from upstate NY for a week and are in the OBX. Turn on the car in town, all sorts of warning lights going off (select terrain, e brake, traction control). I pulled over, turned car off, started it again, same deal, except now it wont allow me to shift out of park.

I called closest Toyota dealership in Elizabeth City and they told me it had to be worked on by Toyota. 120 minute drive.

I just took a taxi back to the rental house and my husband rode with the tow truck driver to the dealership. So, were a few hundred in already, even without a rental car yet...

I am so hoping it is a simple little glitch. I'm scared to ask, but...anyone experienced something similar? In 3 Toyotas, I've never had an issue like this. Its at 47K miles, a 2010 Trail, and I'm hoping this is under warranty but doubt it.

The worst part? My daughter just started telling my dad (Jeep owner) that 4runner "beats Jeep." My dad has already told me that she will never forget this.
Click to expand...

I would call Prestige and ask them if they might have done anything while installing the lift?

..grasping for straws here...
 
Great, guys, I relayed 1engineer's pinched sensor idea to Toyota, if that is the case, maybe they will determine it sooner than later.

I will keep you posted. Its there now. Thanks so much!
 
Some bastard rats chewed through my abs sensor wire a few months ago and all those same lights stayed lit. Not being able to shift out of P is different though. I was still able to drive mine.
$250 to repair the wire at Toyota of Dallas.
 
And it did start right up, a bunch of times while we messed with it waiting for the tow. Just with all the crazy lights on. And even tho it was running it would not shift out of P.

Read all the links, thanks guys. In the future, maybe I should just search "WTF" in times like these. But seriously, i think a code reader might be in order, at the very least. I am worried about this happening again and being in a more remote place.

Meanwhile, 3 guys from Elizabeth City Toyota met my husband in the parking lot when the 4runner came in on the truck, and one said "you should see the lift MY 4runner has!" They brought it right in and now just waiting to hear what the damage is...
 
I did not. Not sure if my husband did. He spent more time on it than i did. I had asked the dealership if we could get it going, should we just drive it in, and they said not to. So i dont know if it would have mattered (at least by what they told me).
 
So it is a bad sensor unique to the Trail ($280). They said it had nothing to do with the lift. They looked at swapping our bad sensor with one off an SR5 and no go. Once the sensor goes, it locks you out from putting the car in gear. Our temporary fix is to have some fuses on hand so that once it does it again we can just put in a new fuse and it will be ok. I guess there is a plug on the transmission and by unplugging it and plugging it back in again it will clear the system and "unlock" it.
They looked everywhere for a sensor that would work for us. Seems like a great place. Going to have it fixed before the drive back.
Thanks for help guys!
 
Doh! Not the Throttle valve if it will still runs . But people should still be aware there's a TSB on it and can leave them stranded.
Do you know what DTS codes it threw yet?I have a Scangauge and a laptop with Techstream in my truck in case of trouble.......knock on wood!

TOPDECK had the same problem as you on his TE and reported it as bad brake sensor.Not sure where the brake sensor is they changed but the brake switch is under the brake pedal or it might have been an actual ABS sensor. Many have had,including me,bad ABS sensor wires and didn't affect the tranny shifting though................... Here's Topdeck's thread.....http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/141232-shifter-locked-park.html
 
CatskillsRunner said:
So it is a bad sensor unique to the Trail ($280). They said it had nothing to do with the lift. They looked at swapping our bad sensor with one off an SR5 and no go. Once the sensor goes, it locks you out from putting the car in gear. Our temporary fix is to have some fuses on hand so that once it does it again we can just put in a new fuse and it will be ok. I guess there is a plug on the transmission and by unplugging it and plugging it back in again it will clear the system and "unlock" it.
They looked everywhere for a sensor that would work for us. Seems like a great place. Going to have it fixed before the drive back.
Thanks for help guys!
Click to expand...

Can you elaborate on the fuses and where it goes if you have this problem? I would like to know just in case. Thanks!
 
CatskillsRunner said:
So it is a bad sensor unique to the Trail ($280)...They looked everywhere for a sensor that would work for us. Seems like a great place. Going to have it fixed before the drive back.
Thanks for help guys!
Click to expand...

FYI - There's a few Toyota Dealerships up in Chesapeake/VA Beach area, only about 60mins north of OBX (depending where in OBX). If they are having trouble locating one or have to get one shipped in you could try these places as it might be a quicker turn around.
 
CatskillsRunner said:
So, we came down from upstate NY for a week and are in the OBX. Turn on the car in town, all sorts of warning lights going off (select terrain, e brake, traction control). I pulled over, turned car off, started it again, same deal, except now it wont allow me to shift out of park.

I called closest Toyota dealership in Elizabeth City and they told me it had to be worked on by Toyota. 120 minute drive.

I just took a taxi back to the rental house and my husband rode with the tow truck driver to the dealership. So, were a few hundred in already, even without a rental car yet...

I am so hoping it is a simple little glitch. I'm scared to ask, but...anyone experienced something similar? In 3 Toyotas, I've never had an issue like this. Its at 47K miles, a 2010 Trail, and I'm hoping this is under warranty but doubt it.

The worst part? My daughter just started telling my dad (Jeep owner) that 4runner "beats Jeep." My dad has already told me that she will never forget this.
Click to expand...

I hate to tell you this, but the real trouble is that you call your 4Runner a car. They're very sensitive to that sort of thing, and there's no telling what will go wrong next if you keep it up...
 
Ha! Well, I have a pickup truck, so I guess that makes me call it a car. I will make a sincere effort to change my ways.

The dealer could not locate a replacement sensor anywhere, so we are driving it home and having the sensor replaced there. They were very helpful and were willing to send someone to get it if they found it.

The sensor is called the "neutral safety switch." The fuse is labeled "ecu ig #1." Right in the center of the box. It is a 10 AMP. So, switch the fuse first, then start the engine, unplug sensor which is beneath the car on the passengers side on transmission, then plug it back in, then you are good until it happens again. The tech my husband spoke to said you actually could drive it with the sensor unplugged (I guess if it became a huge issue), but it will not start with it unplugged. And I have a 2010 Trail ---the dealership had an SR5 that did not have the same sensor because they tried to swap sensors. So with a Limited or SR5 you might not have the same issue.

We drove it all around town today without an issue, so as much as we dont want to leave the beach, looks like we'll be able to.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 323 (members: 3, guests: 320)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,305
Messages
3,554,041
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top