Used 1999 4runner Gauge promblems

[Tennlyon]

Hey everybody,

I am brand new to this forum and to Toyota's. I just bought this 4runner and the speedometer, fuel gauge, rpm, and cruise control are either out or switching on and off sporadically. Are all these things connected? How expensive will it be to fix? Is this the type of thing I should take to a mechanic or is it easy enough to do on my own? It runs fine and even with the gauges going out, it doesn't seem to affect the performance of the vehicle. Makes me think it is just sensors.

God bless

 

[kball]

Welcome to the forum!

So do all these things work sporadically or just some of them? The fuel gauge being wacky is pretty common. It can act good for a bit and then sit on empty even though you are full. It can be either the gauge or the sender unit in the tank. I'm not sure how to be sure which one though...

Cruise control working sometimes?? If so I would see if your horn also does not work when the cruise does not. If so I would guess spiral cable in the steering wheel. If the cruise never works it could be the unit itself or brake or clutch switch causing it.

speedo and tach could be related. Not to sure on that but possibly speed sensors. Never dealt with that one.

 

[davidch]

If you have a manual gearbox, I can suggest a possible cause of one of your problems.

A '97 4Runner I bought last year, manual gearbox, had an intermittently working cruise control. The problem was that the clutch pedal return spring had worn its way into the lever so much that the spring no longer consistently raised the pedal with sufficient force to close the switch at the top of the clutch pedal's travel. (This is all under the dash.)

I solved the problem with the hardware store spring fix mentioned in other posts.

Note for those who aren't following what I wrote: the clutch pedal activates a different switch at each end of its travel. One switch when you press all the way to the floor enables the starter. The other switch is activated - or deactivated, depending on how you look at it - at the slightest downward pressure: its purpose is to disable the cruise control. Tap the brakes or tap the clutch: the cruise control deactivates.