Weird clicking/thumping under the hood when...

[ScottDetroit]

Hi all

I'm new to the board. Just switched from an M3 to a 2002 4Runner. I live in Michigan and yesterday when I was driving on some snow (1") in 2 WD, I lost traction to the rear wheels, a small orange light came on, and a weird sound came from under the hood. It sounded like a loud ticking and thumping and the hood of my truck started to "bounce" as I was pushing on the gas pedal. Is this "normal" for a 4Runner? Is this the VSC working? Thanks for any help/answers, Scott

 

[02sport]

yup, sounds like the vsc/trac control doing its thing.....did you hear beeping too? i just experienced the same thing yesterday on some wet roads for the first time.

 

[Sac State]

Yes, that is your Toyota nanny kicking in to make sure you behave yourself. That same device, while great for ice, makes wheelin hard through sand or deep mud. As you said, you pushed on the gas and probably nothing happened. Your VSC takes over braking and limits the amount of forward motion as you slide, ie. it cuts your power to the wheels.

 

[Thai]

Your Toyota makes more noise than the M3. The M3 is pretty quiet when slipping. The 4runner makes more noises, simply because it's a 4wd system in addition to having stability control.