Stuck in 4low (1 Viewer)

[ZIOI]

4low light has been flashing during normal driving in 4hi, so idiot me figured I’d cycle into 4low and back to high and see if it cleared.

Nothing seems to unstick it now. I hear no sounds indicating response to the switch. No combination of rolling back in neutral or starting in neutral of such seems to fix it.

I tapped the area of the case and actuator with a soft low mallet, but nothing.

Since I bought this GX last year, I have repaired it continuously. Valley plate-twice. Radiator/water pump. Secondary air mod. Then the rear door rod broke and now it’s stuck in 4lo.

My GX experience has been awful, quite frankly. If I could go even 6 months without it breaking, I’d consider keeping it. But I’m thinking it’s time to concede defeat. I’m sick of wrenching more than driving.

Anyway, I’d appreciate some suggestions on how to get the actuator to work.

 

[Hiluxforever]

I usually rock it back and forth gently. I put it in drive get it just barely moving then push it into neutral and let it roll to a stop. Then put it in reverse and do the same. May have to repeat a few times. Make sure you are not turning.

This is a way to unbind a toyota transfer case.

 

[ZIOI]

I usually rock it back and forth gently. I put it in drive get it just barely moving then push it into neutral and let it roll to a stop. Then put it in reverse and do the same. May have to repeat a few times. Make sure you are not turning.

This is a way to unbind a toyota transfer case.

I don’t think the case is bound so much as the actuator is completely frozen. There are no switching sounds nor evidence of actuation at all. I’ve attempted every variation of rocking back and forth, shifting to D-N-R-N-D etc that i can think of and nothing is working.

Ironically, it’s actually a nice day here in the 50s, unseasonably warm for this time of year.

 

[Hiluxforever]

I don’t think the case is bound so much as the actuator is completely frozen. There are no switching sounds nor evidence of actuation at all.

Ironically, it’s actually a nice day here in the 50s, unseasonably warm for this time of year.

You won't hear anything until it unbinds then it should clunk.

 

[Hiluxforever]

I will add that when I had to run my spare, on the trail, which was smaller than my other tires, I had to go back and forth 4 or 5 times before it was happy. I was starting to panic when it finally clunked.

 

[ZIOI]

I’ve exceeded 4 or 5 times by probably a factor of 10. My neighbors I’m sure are wondering why explains my weird behavior.

I’ve done right hand circles, left hand circles coasted to a stop in neutral from driving forward, coasted to a stop in neutral from backup up, and done several dozen cycles of D-R-N-R-D shifting with the trans fully entering each position.

No luck on the t-case responding at all.

 

[BigSwede]

My GX experience has been awful, quite frankly. If I could go even 6 months without it breaking, I’d consider keeping it. But I’m thinking it’s time to concede defeat. I’m sick of wrenching more than driving.

Anyway, I’d appreciate some suggestions on how to get the actuator to work.

That's a bummer, I can understand your frustration. I've had my GX 4 years and 60k miles, inlacing lots of off road driving, and haven't had a single problem other than some normal wear items.

As to your problem, maybe try unplugging and cleaning any electrical connections to the t-case, just in case. I assume the normal lights are on the dash for 4lo operation?

 

[ZIOI]

I got it unstuck. I let it idle in neutral while I cleared codes with my scan tool. First attempt it went into 4hi like nothing was ever the matter.

 

[Hiluxforever]

Glad that the truck got finished acting like a brat.

 

[ZIOI]

Glad that the truck got finished acting like a brat.

I appreciate your support. I saw a p0705 shift position sensor code. It must have been looking for neutral and not seeing it, so effectively it disabled the t case actuator.

 

[Hiluxforever]

Of course, never a good feeling to see one of our rigs acting up. I have had issues with a few different pickups and 4runners needing some tlc to unbind when I had offroaded with some liveliness. Including my current GX and T4R

 

[Acrad]

Electronic troubleshooting on 10-19 models for the VF4BM is done with a multimeter.

‘20-‘23 it was added to OBD

Post #30

#Torsen #Diff ( #VF4BM ) - Technical overview / Diagnostics / Troubleshooting - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

GX - 2nd Gen (2010-2023) - #Torsen #Diff ( #VF4BM ) - Technical overview / Diagnostics / Troubleshooting - NOTE: Multimeter testing required for this area for 2010-2019 models The FSM would be best but here is a document on troubleshooting various Toyota 4WD/AWD systems. The center diff/transfer...

www.clublexus.com

 

[r2m]

Sorry to hear so many issues with your GX. 7 years into our 2013 with 119,000 on the clock and no major issues other than R&R the radiator and having fried the ECU which was totally my own stupid fault.
Whenever I'm off tarmac for any length of time I like to lock in 4Lo and also engage the front and rear lockers just to get a little oil splashed around and cycled through.

 

[Flight2k5]

Sorry to hear so many issues with your GX. 7 years into our 2013 with 119,000 on the clock and no major issues other than R&R the radiator and having fried the ECU which was totally my own stupid fault.
Whenever I'm off tarmac for any length of time I like to lock in 4Lo and also engage the front and rear lockers just to get a little oil splashed around and cycled through.

front and rear lockers?

 

[r2m]

front and rear lockers?

Both...
If you haven't already, here's my build thread: Builds - R²M 2013 GX 460 Overland Build - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/r-m-2013-gx-460-overland-build.1104719/
The first page as a list if everything I initially did to it.

 

[Flight2k5]

Both...
If you haven't already, here's my build thread: Builds - R²M 2013 GX 460 Overland Build - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/r-m-2013-gx-460-overland-build.1104719/
The first page as a list if everything I initially did to it.

noice