Apologies if this has already been addressed but I couldn't find it with a search. Something weird happened to me the other day on the drive home from town. I use my cruise control pretty consistently and while running about 58mph on a 2 lane road with gentle hills it downshifted but did not kick out of cruise control. I waited for it to upshift again when it topped the hill but it stayed in the same gear. It was running abut 3200 rpm at that speed, which was more confusing since it normally only needs to kick down to about 2200 (or I guess out of OD). I killed the cruise and it stayed where it was. I tried the S Mode and as soon as I moved the shifter over it showed I was in 4th gear. I tried manually upshifting it to 5th and 6th, but the engine rpm did not change. I nursed it home, the engine never stuttered (although I had initially thought it was the engine cutting out on me) and it seemed fine other than this issue when I got to the house. Has anyone else run into this? 2008 LX570 with around 220,000 miles. I've recently had the neutral position switch replaced at a Toyota dealer but I don't think this should be related. I have asked about this on a Facebook 200 group and received the answer below:
"This same behavior happened to my 08 but it happened when my 4LO light stayed flashing and VSC warning came on too, which lead me to check the transfer case actuators. My transmission was “tricked” into thinking it should be operating in 4LO mode and would only shift as high as 4th gear, even in S mode, same exact symptoms as you describe. Anyway, turns out that the grounding cable for the actuator assembly was completely eroded away and not connected. I ordered a new one and replaced it, now everything is as good as new. Might be worth a look if nothing else comes up."
I'm almost 66 years old, have arthritis pretty much from the lower back down, and while I am physically able to crawl under and check it, it will leave me pretty beat up for the next several days. None of the warning lights on the dash has activated, so I'm not sure if what he is describing is the problem I have. I've already spent $4,000 this year having assorted repairs done on this thing and would just like to see if anyone else has run into this particular issue before I run it into my local dealer (bend over artist). Any reply would be greatly appreciated.
"This same behavior happened to my 08 but it happened when my 4LO light stayed flashing and VSC warning came on too, which lead me to check the transfer case actuators. My transmission was “tricked” into thinking it should be operating in 4LO mode and would only shift as high as 4th gear, even in S mode, same exact symptoms as you describe. Anyway, turns out that the grounding cable for the actuator assembly was completely eroded away and not connected. I ordered a new one and replaced it, now everything is as good as new. Might be worth a look if nothing else comes up."
I'm almost 66 years old, have arthritis pretty much from the lower back down, and while I am physically able to crawl under and check it, it will leave me pretty beat up for the next several days. None of the warning lights on the dash has activated, so I'm not sure if what he is describing is the problem I have. I've already spent $4,000 this year having assorted repairs done on this thing and would just like to see if anyone else has run into this particular issue before I run it into my local dealer (bend over artist). Any reply would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the replies. I'll probably still try to get them to look at the wiring harness for the 4WD actuator.
