What does this light mean on my dash?

[lawless97]

I borrowed an '04 4wd and had some problems getting up an icy hill. Well I didn't know what I was doing and while driving I put it into low and switched from 4H to 4L. It made an awful clicking sound and I couldn't get any traction. Long story short, I restarted the car and switched back to 4h and got up the hill, but ever since then, this green icon has been on the dash and my sister said it wasn't there before. I checked all through the manual but couldn't figure out how to turn it off or whether it's supposed to actually be on. I think it has something to do with the VTC or the differential?

Anyway, the car runs fine and the light has been on ever since, but I'm wondering what it actually means and whether it should be on at all. Thanks a lot for any help.

 

[chris360hawks]

Its probably still in 4wd....

 

[davem]

thats the 4wheel drive icon,meaning the vehicle is in 4x4

 

[CXS]

You locked the center differential, the clicking was because you weren't in neutral when you tried to put it in low. There's a button on the left side of the steering wheel with that symbol on it, push to turn it off.

 

[DC Dude]

I borrowed an '04 4wd and had some problems getting up an icy hill. Well I didn't know what I was doing and while driving I put it into low and switched from 4H to 4L. It made an awful clicking sound and I couldn't get any traction. Long story short, I restarted the car and switched back to 4h and got up the hill, but ever since then, this green icon has been on the dash and my sister said it wasn't there before. I checked all through the manual but couldn't figure out how to turn it off or whether it's supposed to actually be on. I think it has something to do with the VTC or the differential?

Anyway, the car runs fine and the light has been on ever since, but I'm wondering what it actually means and whether it should be on at all. Thanks a lot for any help.

Turn the knob to 2wd if you want to get rid of the "green icon."

 

[highspeed]

It means it wants you to only turn right from now on.:cheers:

 

[KB084RUNNER]

It means it wants you to only turn right from now on.:cheers:

LOL...exactly! :thumb3:

 

[scottm]

It's in "All-Wheel-Drive" with that icon on, that's what 4Hi is. Green because it's good for any driving, I keep mine in that mode most of the time. If you hit the center differential lock that is traditionally called 4-Wheel-Drive, not good for dry pavement as it can cause binding in the drivetrain and damage. A second amber icon will come on to indicate center diff locked. Switching the transfer case from 4Hi to 4Lo is a gear change, and has to be done while stationary in neutral or park. Trying to do it in motion can work but isn't recommended.

 

[DC Dude]

It's in "All-Wheel-Drive" with that icon on, that's what 4Hi is. Green because it's good for any driving, I keep mine in that mode most of the time. If you hit the center differential lock that is traditionally called 4-Wheel-Drive, not good for dry pavement as it can cause binding in the drivetrain and damage. A second amber icon will come on to indicate center diff locked. Switching the transfer case from 4Hi to 4Lo is a gear change, and has to be done while stationary in neutral or park. Trying to do it in motion can work but isn't recommended.

With the diff locked, what conditions would you have 4Hi or 4Lo?

I know 4Lo (no lock) is for towing and 4Hi (no lock) is for no towing/general driving.

 

[scottm]

With the diff locked, what conditions would you have 4Hi or 4Lo?

I know 4Lo (no lock) is for towing and 4Hi (no lock) is for no towing/general driving.

The transfer case transfers power to the front and rear axles, and it contains a differential that allows the front and rear axles to rotate at different speeds when you are turning. That also allows one axle to spin if you are in slippery stuff. Locking the center diff forces both front and rear axles to turn at the same speed, giving you more traction. When you turn on pavement the front wheels need to rotate faster, and if the center diff is locked the tires have enough grip to twist and break some drivetrain components.

4Lo isn't really for towing, it's very low gearing for more power and control at slow speeds. I'm not sure how fast you can go in 4Lo, but you'll probably redline the engine at 30 or 40 mph.

 

[DC Dude]

The transfer case transfers power to the front and rear axles, and it contains a differential that allows the front and rear axles to rotate at different speeds when you are turning. That also allows one axle to spin if you are in slippery stuff. Locking the center diff forces both front and rear axles to turn at the same speed, giving you more traction. When you turn on pavement the front wheels need to rotate faster, and if the center diff is locked the tires have enough grip to twist and break some drivetrain components.

4Lo isn't really for towing, it's very low gearing for more power and control at slow speeds. I'm not sure how fast you can go in 4Lo, but you'll probably redline the engine at 30 or 40 mph.

So if you were stuck in mud or snow, you'd switch to 4Lo first, and if that didn't work, you would lock the diff?

And, I'd assume you'd switch to 4Lo if you needed to pull another vehicle out of a ditch or pull a stump, but not lock the diff either.

 

[Nuke]

Do I understand you correctly that the icon is on indicating it's in 4WD even with the selector in 2 WD?

I'm wondering if your improper switch from 4HI to 4LO may have damaged the servo and it won't disengage.

 

[scottm]

So if you were stuck in mud or snow, you'd switch to 4Lo first, and if that didn't work, you would lock the diff?

And, I'd assume you'd switch to 4Lo if you needed to pull another vehicle out of a ditch or pull a stump, but not lock the diff either.

You get more traction by locking the center differential, more torque by switching to low gear with 4Lo. So if you are stuck with wheel spin, you probably need more traction and should lock the center differential first.

Pulling is different with every situation. I've pulled bushes from my yard while on pavement, plenty of traction but need low gears for power, 4Lo. Locking the diff could put all my torque on one wheel, not great, so I didn't lock the diff.

I pulled someone out of the ditch a few weeks ago on snow with a snatch strap, spun all four tires. I left it in 4Hi and locked the diff.

There are times you want to move slowly with control, like rock crawling, and 4Lo is good for that. It's also good for decending steeply and slowly.

 

[Ridger]

Do I understand you correctly that the icon is on indicating it's in 4WD even with the selector in 2 WD?

I'm wondering if your improper switch from 4HI to 4LO may have damaged the servo and it won't disengage.

The original poster never mentioned 2WD, perhaps he has a V8?

 

[scottm]

The original poster never mentioned 2WD, perhaps he has a V8?

Is the green AWD icon usually on in a V8?

 

[cali_axela]

No, the V8 doesn't have that green icon, it's just always in 4WD mode. The amber center-diff icon comes on when you lock it, and the 4LO comes on when in 4LO... that's it. In 4HI (most of the time) there are no related lights on, when it's working properly.

 

[Nuke]

Was alltime AWD even available in the '04 T4R?

 

[cali_axela]

My 04 V8 is fulltime AWD (4HI)... I believe all V8 models with the 4WD option are fulltime AWD like this. Only the V6 4WD model ever has a 2WD option.

 

[DocMT]

Was alltime AWD even available in the '04 T4R?

All 4wd 4th gen 4Runners have full-time 4wd (or alltime AWD, as you call it). The only difference is that the V6 also has a 2wd mode.

 

[DocMT]

I've pulled bushes from my yard while on pavement, plenty of traction but need low gears for power, 4Lo. Locking the diff could put all my torque on one wheel, not great, so I didn't lock the diff.

Not sure what you're saying here. If you lock the diff, it will guarantee that you have a 50/50 torque split between the front and rear axles. So even if ATRAC wasn't operating, you'd have at least 50% of the engines power going to one front wheel and one rear wheel. With ATRAC operating and the differential locked, you should have all 4 wheels digging in for traction. I've pulled stumps out of my yard with my 4Runner and it works great in 4LO with the differential locked. I've actually put 4 marks from my tires in the grass when pulling out fairly large stumps, as the tires still spin a bit.